Lester Morrison, taking the role of master of ceremonies for the third straight year, called the seminar to order about 9 AM. Morrison introduced the speakers, pulled the tickets for door prizes and for the raffle prizes and generally kept things moving smoothly through the day. You can see him sitting down behind Dan Grunloh in the picture below.


All the presenters invited the audience to interrupt with questions throughout their presentations and that worked quite well. The first presenter of the morning was Lt. Colonel Kim Clark.



Session One: Sharing The Sky With The Military Lt. Colonel Kim Clark


Colonel Clark has been a member of the 181st Fighter Wing for over 21 years. He is an F-16 Instructor Pilot with over 2400 hours in the F-4 and F-16 and has flown nearly 20 combat missions over the skies of Iraq. He is the 113th Fighter Squadron Commander and the 181st Operations Group Air Operations Officer.


Clark’s message emphasized that flying safely in shared airspace was the responsibility of both military and civilian pilots.


Military pilots are required to practice low level flights, they are not just out there hot dogging. Clark, sectional in hand, located the Red Hills MOA in southern Indiana and Illinois and other MOA’s in our area. He said, “When we are flying training missions at 600 knots, sometimes at 500 feet AGL, we are traveling about one mile per 6 seconds. If we see a bird it is only when it bounces off the canopy. And your ultralight does not show up on our radar any more than the bird does. I’ve seen only two ultralights in all my flying. How many of you think I have passed only two?”


“We do see small planes with enough metal in them. Cessna 150’s and 172’s for example, provide a fairly good radar target.”


Certain times of the day are more dangerous than others. “Time periods that are high risk because we often fly then are 9 to 10 AM weekdays and 1 to 3 PM one Saturday a month and Sundays 9 to 10 AM and 1 to 3:30 PM. These low level flights always include two planes, so if you see one you know there is another in the area.”


“We fly routes designated on the sectional so you can check these routes. You should notice also that the routes are directional and are typically a couple of miles wide but widen out at corners or turning areas. You can call the FSS for your area to find the times of operations. But I don’t mean to put the job for safety all on you. We guys in the

F-16’s are required to check the NOTAMs before we run these missions. So call in any events you have to the FSS and the FSS will publish a NOTAM on your fly-ins, competitions and the like. If we know of an air show or heavier than usually civilian traffic we will avoid that area.”


One of the peacetime missions of the Air Guard is to shepherd planes out of restricted areas. Clarke described an F-16 pilot intercepting a plane that has strayed into restricted airspace. “The F-16 circles at 170 knots, about as slow as I like to go, drops its gear, waggles its wings, then heads for the strip where the stray plane is supposed to land.”


Again Clark returned to his theme of sharing responsibility for collision avoidance. “It takes all of us, military and civilians, to mitigate risks of mid-air collision. The military pilots are not going to be so high falutin’ they ignore others. We can all enjoy this airspace.”


“How many collisions of military craft have I seen? I know of two in twenty years, the last in Florida with a 172,” Clark said, then recounted a near miss of his own. “I was flying an F-16. You know an F-16 pilot can be busy, adjusting the radar, checking his formation position. I was doing this on one flight and looked out to see a civilian plane a hair breadth away. My brain took a snapshot--still have the snapshot in my brain. The pilot was wearing a tie.”


Colonel Clark closed with the observation, “Communication is the key word to prevent collisions. Communication by both parties, on radio on NOTAMs, we are safest when we coordinate activities. Do that, both of us, and we’ll make it work.”



Session Two Why Take Part In Microlight Competition? Dan Grunloh



Dan Grunloh has been flying ultralights for 19 years. He is the current and two-time National Champion in microlight competition and competed in World Championships in 2003 in England and 2005 in France. He competed in the trike competition.


Before getting into his theme, Grunloh shared with us both the sheer excitement and the challenge of traveling to England and France with his plane. His slides showed the beauty of the French and English Countryside. In England the competition was held in the Avon River Valley, near Stratford Upon Avon, Shakespeare’s birthplace. I could imagine how excited young Will would have been to see such birds flying over the fields where he poached a wealthy landowner’s deer.


Grunloh described a “boot sale” at the airport, what we might call a flea market. People sold items out of the trunks (called a “boot” in British) of their cars.


Grunloh said, “I spent about $6000.00 on one of the trips. This included shipping the plane, hotels, all the expenses of getting there and setting up for practice, fuel and so on. I got some help through donations about, one third of the total.”


So to Grunloh’s main theme: why should we get ourselves involved in competition?


Number one reason, Grunloh said, “is to get more out of flying, to expand your horizons. Competition will undoubtedly make you a better pilot and you will do things you never did before. And besides, getting involved in competition is just plain fun.”


“Practicing for competition is good for safety and for increasing one’s own interest in the sport,” Grunloh noted. You are pushing the envelope of your flying skills and that makes you a better pilot.


“You could take the opposite approach in your life,” Grunloh said in what was an obvious challenge to join the competition: “You could say, ‘If I am very careful, nothing good or bad will happen to me.’”


Competitors flew a number of “tasks.” The Navigation task sounded very challenging.


Pilots use dead reckoning (estimating travel times based on airspeed, wind speed and direction) and pilotage (using maps and landmarks) for this task. No GPS allowed. Fuel economy is 25% of the score, dead reckoning and pilotage are 50% and precision is 25%.


The tools pilots are allowed in their plane are a map board, maps and chalk, a compass, a calculator, a clock, and a seat cushion. Seat cushion? Grunloh says, “The cushion extends ‘focus time.’ Don’t beat yourself up with an uncomfortable seat.”


Grunloh uses a rotation map board. “The map should be aligned with the earth. I fly along with my finger on the map and my eyes moving from checkpoint to map to checkpoint continuously. We are also allowed a pencil and a plotter, both on strings.”


Grunloh showed a slide of a British sectional. If you think our sectionals are crowded with detail you should see the British sectional. “I use the hopscotch method,” he said, “along with my compass to navigate. I pick a point about 5 miles out then as I reach that point I pick another five miles further along and generally come within one mile of my target. If you pick a smokestack, say, 30 miles out, you may end up 5 miles off target.” The hopscotch method he touts as being self correcting.


Among the navigational tasks are 1. hunting for a turning point, 2. accuracy in non-linear navigation, 3. finding a ground marker which is 9 feet square and visible from 1000 feet, 4. photo identification and 5. flight planning.


“Finding a series of ground markers is pretty tough,” says Grunloh, “After finding the first one, you have to draw a course line on your map to the next marker.”


Pilots have to predict ground speed. “I learned to guess low and then circle points to make up for any variance in my guessing and actual speed.”


In a fuel task, fuel is weighed and the pilot predicts how long he can stay up. You are given 1.3 gallon for this task. Winning at this task requires a pilot to adjust fuel mix, that is have the carb set right, to set the prop pitch exactly, to fly the best airspeed (mine is

1½ times stall speed), to make sure the air filter is clean and working properly and to reduce weight.


“Competitors learn to use thermals in a limited fuel test,” he said. “Sometimes this is called motor soaring. Throttle back a bit, especially in the late afternoon, to minimum controllable airspeed. Look for heat rising from highways. When you feel a bump you have located a ride up so turn back into it and ride the ridge of hot air coming up from the highway.”


Precision tasks include a deadstick landing, which Grunloh described as the most important precision task. “Best to practice them when it’s windy and in a cross wind to get used to the biggest challenge,” he said. “Don’t do deadsticks unless you are sure you can do them safely. Don’t do them when there is lots of traffic or when the crops are out.


Grunloh concluded, “Be prepared. Have good equipment, stay calm, fly the entire task, never give up.”




Session Three Getting the Sport Pilot Roy Beisswenger, DPE



Roy Beissewenger attended the first Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) class in Sebring, Florida, in January of 2005 and became one of the first two FAA certified DPE’s for powered parachutes.


Beissewenger’s detailed presentation told us how to prepare for the sport pilot. He laid out the three areas we must be prepared to prove on our way to this certificate. for: 1. knowledge, 2 proficiency, and 3, experience. Although the procedure for getting the certification is described on the web sites and publications we all know, hearing it from this pilot examiner made it all seem real. Better get started, it’s not so hard, preparation is the key to success. Right? Right.


Beissewenger reminded us while we might pass the knowledge test by studying the bank questions that will not prepare us well for the oral part of the check ride or to become safe pilots.


You can download the Practical Test Standards from the FAA site or buy a booklet for $5.00. Try USUA, ASC, or EAA sites for the books.


Beissewenger spent most of his time telling us how to best prepare for the check ride.


You will progress through these steps with the DPE: 1. An introductory briefing, 2. an oral test, 3. a flight test, and 4. the Results and debriefing.



Schedule your check ride well in advance so after your first talk with your DPE you can prepare according to his advise. DPE’s will tell you what they look for. They want to help you. Make sure you have all the paper work, the letter from your UL certifying organization or your CFI’s recommendation that you are ready for the test.


Your DPE will give you an oral test before the flight. This will probably take much longer than the flight test itself. Bring a sectional; you might have to plan a cross country flight and you will certainly have some questions about reading the sectional. Your DPE will ask you some of the same questions you already answered on the knowledge test but in his own way. He will want to see if you understand the concepts rather than merely knowing the right choice on a multiple choice test.


You will be allowed to use resources you bring along, the AIM Manual, for example, but not on every question. Think your answers through first. The DPE expects you to be thoughtful rather than super quick. Some examples: Know how to fill out a flight plan and call it in to the FSS, define the classes of airspace and what you can do on can’t do in them, know the principles of flight, what is a MOA?


You will do a preflight and be quizzed on airport operations.


The actual flight test might be the shortest part of the test. You will be asked to do certain maneuvers, say, turns on a point, S turns on a road. If it is not in the book it won’t be a pass/fail question.


Performance maneuvers such as a constant rate turn require that you not get below 200 feet and that you fly within 100 feet of our starting altitude. All maneuvers are ground reference maneuvers.


DPE’s look for positive craft control and will likely check you on the positive exchange of flight controls. Stall and spin avoidance are important, avoiding wake turbulence, runway incursion avoidance, and check list usage are all significant areas we check for.


You should leave your check ride with 1.a temporary pilot’s certificate or 2. a notice of disapproval of application (partial credit might be given requiring you to study and practice certain areas of knowledge and flight skills. You would then have to get a new endorsement from a CFI to complete the check ride) or 3. a letter of discontinuance (this letter says something prevented completion of the check ride, credit is given for completed tasks and you can finish even with another DPE.





Session Four Converting your trainer to a ELSA Jim Stephenson, DAR


Jim Stephenson, President and CEO of Aero Sports Connection, is a Designated Airworthiness Representative (DAR). He discussed all the hoops we must jump through if we are to register our trainers or fat ultralights as light sport aircraft (LSA). Again, the procedures are available in various publications on the ASC site, but having it from a live DAR is enlightening.


First of all consider this. Stephenson says, “Register for an N number in due time because the process can take from 3 to 8 weeks. Registration Forms for ELSA (Form 8050-88A) only can be downloaded from the ASC site at. Another form you need, 8050-1, is a multi-sheet carbon form that ASC will mail to you.”


Jim adds, “You can avoid some delays for a $20.00 fee by working through www.aerospacereports.com.


So you are ready to schedule your DAR inspection. Download a program letter from ASC s www.aerosport.org , download the AW application form 8130-6, create drawings of the craft or photos (one will do) and determine the weight and balance for empty weight, aft center of gravity (CG), Forward CG and test CG. Owners of amateur built craft determine their own weight and balance data.


Make a list of all the equipment in the airplane. This should be enough to give you the idea that the process will be a bit tedious if you are mainly a flyer, maybe even a fun challenge if you are a mainly a builder. Anyway, the ASC site has all the information you need plus all the forms to complete this registration. All the forms are free. The program letter will guide you to some extent, and inform the DAR you are working with of all the steps you are taking.


A couple of things of note: the engine must run and the systems and instruments must work for the plane to pass inspection. Your DAR will help you, once you have agreed to work with him or her and agreed on the DAR’s fee. Fees vary according to how far the DAR has to travel. Stephenson pointed out he charges a typical fee of $300.00 but if he came to your area to inspect several planes, the individual fee could be less since he would have only one set of travel expenses. You can negotiate fees so don’t be embarrassed to ask the DAR how he or she might be induced to lower individual fees.


Some of the tedious stuff but not all (since you can go to ASC and see it all on the forms) you must do to prepare your craft for inspection. Among other things, you must have


1.an aircraft log book up to date, 2. a maintenance record for the craft, 3. all switches labeled as to on or off and purpose, 4. labels on the fuel tank as to type of fuel and quantity (no limit on amount) 5. a data plate (Wicks makes one for $6.00) fire proof stainless steel engraved with make and model and serial number. If you made your plane from scratch make up a serial number. This number becomes the legal serial number of the plane. 6. And of course you must have installed the N numbers on the plane visible from either side reading horizontally.


Your battery, if you have one, can be 2 years old, and the dating starts from the time of manufacture, not installation on your craft.


All gauges must have appropriate red lines, must be labeled as to use.


The DAR tries to answer one question during his inspection: “Is this aircraft in a condition for safe operation”?


If your craft passes the inspection, the DAR will leave you with an Airworthiness Certificate and a set of Operating Limitations.


Transferring a kit built plane you must show you have followed the manufacturers design with no modifications. ELSA’s can be modified by the owner.


A DAR cannot repair anything on the plane but he can tell you what must be done. If it can’t be fixed immediately, the DAR can come back later for a negotiated fee. You might get a list of stuff to fix before flight and still get your two papers.


Two cautions Stephenson gave, first regarding a Rotax gear box. Some DAR’s are not familiar with the Rotax gear boxes and have been known to believe the “hole” on the gear box should be plugged. Do not do this even if the DAR says you should. Also do not tighten the safety wires on your exhaust springs. As you know, that would defeat the purpose of the spring and some DAR’s may not be familiar with this ultralight feature.


One last question threw cold water on many an ultralighter’s dream. Is there any chance the FAA will raise the weight and fuel limits on 103 ultralights? Stephenson noted there was a petition at the FAA but with no one to “walk it through the system” he saw no hope for change in 103.



Session Five A Complete Course for the Light Sport Pilot Certificate Alistair Wilson


Alastair Wilson, an AFI for ASC and an FAA DPE (Designated Pilot Examiner) outlined a LSP course he will be offering this spring. The course covers all areas you need to know well for your LSP written test and the Practical Test and Check Ride. Contact Wilson at sportflight@aol.com.


Wilson has been flying fixed wing ultralights since the mid 80's. He started trike flying in the 90's, and has completed two major expeditions flying trikes. In 1996 he was the first person to fly a trike from the Pacific to the Atlantic across Canada, and in 1999 he flew from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean, laying out the route for the Whooping Crane Migration as part of this flight. Retired from the military, he was also British Army's leading ultralight expert. As a UK certified ultralight CFI, and an ASC AFI, he instructs in both fixed wing and trikes. He has designed and built the Astra HKS trike in Bloomfield, Indiana, and is currently developing an Astra 912.

 

Classes will meet at Shawnee Field, Bloomfield, IN, on Saturday April 22 through March 27, 2006 from noon to 4 PM.


The course fee is $250.00.


Here is a description of the course I am running between April 22 and May 27

 

Sport Pilot University:

 

A course of six Saturday afternoon sessions running from noon to 4 p.m. each day held at Shawnee field, Bloomfield IN. Participants will be able to fly in or drive in depending on weather. The course starts Saturday April 22 and finishes Saturday May 27

 

This course is designed to prepare individuals for the written, oral and practical flight tests, and every student will get practical homework assignments to help them in their personal preparation for these tests.

 

Aim


To cut the learning required for the Sport Pilot License into bite size pieces

 

To spread the process over enough time that the new things that have to be learned can be practiced sufficiently become new habits.

 

To help navigate participants through the entire process.


The subjects covered will include:

 

Outline of Subjects
Aerodynamics and Airplanes
The FAA regulations
Airspace and Airports
Aeromedical and ADM
Instruments and Airplane Systems
Performance and Weight and Balance
Weather and Weather services
Navigation Theory
Outline of Subjects
The Oral
The Check ride
Checklists
Performance Maneuvers
Ground Reference Maneuvers
Navigation Practice

 

At the end of the course I will be arranging the necessary paperwork for everyone to prepare their aircraft for the registration and inspection process. I will be booking Jim Stephenson to come to Shawnee at the end of September, so that aircraft can be transitioned to Experimental Light Sport Aircraft.


You will need to bring to the course several items so contact Allastair Wilson at sportflight@aol.com. Also, the course is limited to 15 people so don’t delay if you are thinking about signing up for this course.




Three vendors set up at the seminar.



Vendor Marty Ignazito of Prairie Skyhook, left with the beard, explains to customers his Carburetor adjustment kits. The kit included ¼ and ½ click washer type shims to place on the jet needle under the circlip in a Bing carburetor to tune the fuel/air ratio in finer increments than moving the circlip on the needle could do. He also offered a replacement carb adjustment system which allows idle adjustment and carb balancing by hand, no tools needed. Marty says these kits will be offered in the next Wicks catalogue. You can shop his web site at www.powerchutes.com.



Craig Steffan, right, stands ready to help a customer. Craig operates Believe Avaiation in Ossian, Indiana. His display featured a one brake hydraulic disk brake for PPC’s. Craig’s web site is http://believeaviation.com


Rob Rollison Of RLSA


Rob Rollison of RLSA, Rollison Light Sport Aircraft, Inc., Bloomfield, IN offered the largest selection of items at the seminar. He can be reached through his web site Web Site: www.fly-RLSA.com. Rollison’s web site is worth visiting if just for the pictures of and information on several beautiful LSA’s for which he is the US dealer.





Raffle Prize Winners

The I Com 5 radio(Purchased and donated by the Terre Haute Ultralight Club) was won by John Grammar of the Scottsburg (IN) Aero Club.

The case of Penzoil(Donated by Boyer Flight Park's) and other items was won by Mark Abney of the Indy Fliers (IN).

The Helmet(Donated by Comtronics Electronics) was won by Doug Butrim of The Terre Haute Ultralight Club (IN).

The battery was donated by Recreational Power(Hirth).