KC Flyer February 2004

President: Earlene McClure, Vice-President: Penrod Turk,
Secretary: Pam Ratliff, Treasurer: Marty Young

January 28, 2004 --- Our January meeting at the Holiday Inn at I-435 and Parvin Road consisted of some impromptu talks by members. Jim Dickerson, an Operations Safety Counselor for FAA KC FSDO, spoke of the usual cause of accidents, gear up landings, running out of fuel, etc. One surprising KC FSDO statistic showed an amazing drop when Vanguard and Ozark Airlines left the area. It seems that they had a number of incidents with unruly passengers, and each one was tracked in the incident category for lack of a better place to put them!

Jim also mentioned he is forming a group of pilots and aircraft to go to Oshkosh in July. There will be several stops, but the last one will be Madison where the aircraft will depart VFR. One pilot with previous experience in each aircraft flying into Oshkosh is desired. Contact Jim by e-mail at Clr2Taxi@kc.rr.com for further info.

Pam Ratliff brought pictures to illustrate her recollections of the EAA bus trip to Kitty Hawk for the 100th Anniversary of Flight. Despite a cloudy, rainy, windy day, they listened to President Bush and MC John Travolta while awaiting the launching of the replica of Flyer. A crowd of 30,000 cheered three hours later when Flyer was wheeled out, and again when the engine was started. The rain had finally let up, but the wind had died down, and the aircraft was unable to get airborne. Despite the disappointment, spirits held up.

While in Norfolk, they visited Navy Norfolk, saw the Battleship Wisconsin, and dined aboard the Spirit of Norfolk. They visited the MacArthur Museum and burial site. The trip also included a visit to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, a night illumination tour and a visit to the Smithsonian Museum at Dulles. Enola Gay and a Flyer replica are displayed there as well as a Concorde and SR-71 among others. Last stop was College Park Museum, longest operating airport in the U.S., where Orville and Wilbur Wright gave flying lessons. Larry Young told about meeting an 82-year-old WWII and Korean era Navy pilot, and one of the first recruits of the space program, M D "Shorty" Short. He recounted numerous tales about Scott Crossfield, Bob Hoover, Chuck Yeager, John Glenn and other famous personalities.

Chris St. Germain observed experienced pilots in flight simulators duplicating the hip-moving controls in a prone position with somewhat less skill than Wilbur and Orville. Ed Baucom celebrated December 17th with two successful take-offs of his radio controlled quarter scale replica of the Wright Flyer at Lake Jacomo. Unfortunately, only one landing was made. Gary Gall recounted a true story of a boy named Johnny Tremaine from Nagshead School who had heard that these bicycle builders were doing something at the beach. He helped the Wright Brothers on that historic day. When the Flyer was enshrined in the Smithsonian, Johnny was invited to attend the ceremony, but said, "Nah, I seen it once, the day it flew." Earlene McClure closed the meeting with the appropriate poem that sat on the desk of General MacArthur along with pictures of Presidents Washington and Lincoln.

February 25, 2004 - our meeting on 2/25/04 will be held AT THE Doubletree Hotel (DWT) at 1301 Wyandotte at 6:30 PM. This is the former Holiday Inn. Wyandotte is a one way street going south. The gate to the parking lot will be either open or with an attendant. If attended, tell him you are with the MPA, and you will be allowed to park without charge. Our program will be Mike Roper, Manager, Downtown Airport. He will be speaking on "The New Master Plan for the Downtown Airport." This plan was just approved.

A sign in the lobby will direct you to the proper room. The chicken dinner is $12 tax and tip inclusive. RESERVATIONS MUST BE MADE BY 9PM, SUNDAY 2/22 by calling Earlene at 816-452-2083 or Alan at 816-452-6019. Please provide your name and the number of reservations you are making. 'No-shows' will be billed.

MO-KAN Wings Contest - Remember - Get ready for next year. All non-pilot members should attend a safety meeting and have a WINGS card signed. These are needed for our interstate rivalry with the Kansas Pilots Association (KPA). The KPA is very serious about this contest and won the trophy (furnished by Ed Duckworth) year before last. All non-pilot members should send their signed wings card to Penrod Turk.

WINGS - Congratulations to Jay Loutzenheiser for earning Phase VI, Gary Seesing, Phase I, and Bob Bradford, Phase II. Remember, send a copy of your letter or certificate to Penrod Turk, 4 West 112th Street, K.C., MO 64114.

The State Wings Contest runs from April 1^st thru March 31^st each year. Let's make the WINGS year WINGS Safe. All it takes is one hour of air work, one hour of takeoffs and landings, one hour of instrument and a safety meeting. It is the responsibility of each chapter WINGS Chair to keep track of all their WINGS participants. So — please — keep Chapter Wings Officer, Penrod Turk, informed upon the completion of any phase. (4 West 112th Street, Kansas City, MO 64114-5304)

MPA Board Meetings - This is a reminder that any member can attend our chapter board meetings. They are held on the first Tuesday of the month, excluding holidays, at Executive Beechcraft, Downtown Airport, at 7:00 P.M. We always welcome your advice and assistance, and the hospitality is great.

MPA State Board Meetings - Anyone can attend the State board meeting. Check the M.P.A. NEWS for meeting date and location. Make this your additional flyout.