March 2005
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President's Message Sam Evans
Thanks to all of you who attended the February breakfast and signed-up for the airport ID badges. Whew! Glad that's over. I saw more folks at the February breakfast than just about any other breakfast I've seen. I never would have thought a security badge sign-up could draw such a crowd. And by the way, thanks for being receptive to the "continental" style breakfast. It sure saved us some time that we needed for the sign-up.
The Hicks Field fly-out didn't, well, "fly-out" due to a low cloud deck. That's not to say that there wasn't a group there ready and willing to go. Since the New Orleans trip was canceled, we're going to give the Hicks trip another try on Saturday, March 19th. Same deal, show-up at the T-hangars in time for a 9:00am departure.
Now, if you want to do a fun trip that's not too far, consider the Fredericksburg trip April 16-17. By then, we'll be having warmer weather and the bluebonnets should be in bloom. And NO, you don't necessarily have to fly down; just drive! Here's the info on the Hangar Hotel again. Don't miss the room sign-up window. Here's the info again:
Group Confirmation # J084006 Group Name EAA Chapter 471 Arrive - April 16, 2005 Depart April 17, 2005 Check-in 3pm / Check-out 11am Rooms Blocked - 6
NOTE: Room block will be released 3/16/05, Please have guests make their reservation before this date to guarantee room rate and availability. Rate $129.00 / night All rooms have one king bed and we do not allow pets or smoking.
If you have plans for going to SWRFI, checkout their website at www.swrfi.org. Here's some info the SWRFI folks sent: The Texas Fly-In will be held in Hondo, Texas May 13th, 14th and 15th of 2005. Preparations for the event are well advanced, especially with regard to accommodations and amenities. For the convenience of participants arriving in their own airplanes, Hertz Car Rental will have as many Rental cars on site as SWRFI needs; Hertz is the official national EAA rental-car agency. Shuttle service will be available between the Fly-In and the local hotels and motels. This same shuttle service will take people to downtown if they want to shop the antique stores in Hondo. In Hondo itself fly-in officials have blocked out approximately 50 motel rooms, and in nearby towns such as Devine, Castroville, D'Hanis, Sabinal, and Bandera at least 100 more, including some of the finest Bed - and - Breakfast establishments in the nation. In San Antonio, forty-five minutes by car, are thousands of rooms.
471 Breakfast on Calendar for March 12th
Our monthly Chapter breakfast will be held at 9:00am, March 12 in the Pride hangar. Our regular breakfast will be served.
Setup will be at 5:15, Friday and we'll need plenty of help this time.
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By Sam Evans
Steve Johnson I have to start this off saying that I was talking to Gray Bridwell a while back and told him that I needed to find someone to do another Project Spotlight article on. Gray said, "How about Steve Johnson". I said, "Who?" Gray said, "Steve Johnson, he's building an RV9-A." I said, "What!... an RV builder here in Abilene and I didn't know about it!... you gotta' be kidding!" Nope. No kidding. And I got the scoop from Steve himself. Steve started the 9-A about two years ago and has made some dandy progress. Steve is building the standard kit. (Not to be confused with the quick-build.) He is currently working on the fuselage and designing the instrument panel. The wings and tail are complete. Steve plans a Chelton EFIS panel and a 160 HP Lycoming with a constant speed prop. He anticipates finishing in 1 1/2 to 2 years. The RV9 has a higher wing aspect as compared to the RV 6 or 7. This results in slower stall speeds. With Van's sleek design, the "9" makes an excellent cross-country plane.
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Keep pounding those rivets, Steve. *************
EAA Chapter 471 Officers
President ~ Sam Evans Vice-President ~ Charlotte Rhodes Secretary ~ Arlis Wright Treasurer ~ Gray Bridwell Director ~ Seymour Beitscher Director ~ Harold Cannon Director ~ Bobby Nichols Director ~ Steve Krazer Past President ~ Chris Ulibarri
Radar Blips
Overheard on the ramp:
"Was that a landing, or were we shot down?" J
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Here's an interesting e-mail I received. Any takers?
KitFox Sweepstakes: EAA Chapter 517, Inc., in Missoula, Montana is finishing up their fund raising sweepstake on April 2, 2005, the Grand Prize being a beautiful 1997 KitFox Model V. The airplane has only 110 hours on the airframe and Continental IO-240 engine. Pictures and further details are available on their web site at http://www.eaa517.org/. The Chapter is trying to sell between 1,800 and a maximum of 4,000 tickets. Tickets are still available. The odds of winning are quite good.
If they sell only the minimum of 1,800 tickets and you buy one ticket, your odds of winning the Grand Prize (airplane) are 1 in 1,800. You chances of winning a prize are 1 in 600. If you buy 10 tickets, your odds of winning the airplane are 1 in 180. Your chances of winning a prize are 1 in 60. If you buy 20 tickets, your odds of winning the airplane are 1 in 90. Your chances of winning a prize are 1 in 30. If you buy 100 tickets, your odds of winning the airplane are 1 in 18. Your chances of winning a prize are 1 in 6. If they sell all 4,000 tickets and you buy one ticket, your odds of winning the airplane are 1 in 4,000. Your chances of winning a prize are about 1 in 1,333. If you buy 10 tickets, your odds of winning the airplane are 1 in 400. Your chances of winning a prize are about 1 in 133. If you buy 20 tickets, your odds of winning the airplane are 1 in 200. Your chances of winning a prize are about 1 in 66. If you buy 100 tickets, your odds of winning the airplane are 1 in 40. Your chances of winning a prize are about 1 in 13. These odds are so much better than the lottery, most raffles or drawings, that it is unbelievable. Considering the Grand Prize has been appraised at $48,500, the risk reward ratio is pretty darn good. Final odds will be determined base on the total number of tickets actually issued. If you don't want to own a KitFox, it should sell for somewhere between $30,000-$40,000 on eBay.
The Official Rules and entry form are available on the Chapter 517 web site at: http://www.eaa517.org/
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EAA 471 2005 Breakfast Schedule
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Planned Flyouts
April -- Fredericksburg May -- Colorado Springs June -- Oklahoma City -- Bricktown July -- Oshkosh August -- Airfest September -- Airfest October -- Las Cruces (LOE)
(see Gray Bridwell for details)
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