Editors Note – Per our governing by-laws and ops tempo, the November meeting is considered the Annual Meeting of EAA Chapter 983. Last year, the officers were voted on and their term is two years. There were no other items requiring a vote by the chapter membership at this meeting.
Guests Turned Out to Check Us Out – It was great to see many guests who were invited by a member or found us on social media. The hanger started out a little chilly but warmed up to a beautiful day by the end. The seating arrangement was modified to make room for Michele Sonier’s Lancair Legacy. We ended up with about 60 in attendance for the meeting and 42 breakfasts sold.
Call to Order – President Dick Keyt called the meeting to order and recognized the breakfast food prep and service crew. There were a number of guests who introduced themselves. Denny Monder has been helping Kris during her difficult recovery period. He previously owned a PA28-235. Mike Wagner has his own 2600 foot grass strip west of Cleburne. He flies a Cub and Mooney 201. Joni Shultz and her husband live in the Landings. She is a commercial rated helicopter pilot and former insurance underwriter. She and her husband Daniel own a Cessna 182 and Waco. Will Patterson is an enthusiastic 13 year old anxious todo anything he can in aviation. He stuck around until the end of the meeting helping out. Doug Smythe is a retired USAir/AA pilot looking to get back into general aviation. John Brookby flew in from Grand Prairie in a Cessna 150 and expecting to retire soon. He flies Young Eagles so he was put in touch with John Bowen. Finally, Dick noted that the Sport Aviation Racing League was launching out of Cleburne and should be flying over Pecan at about 1000 feet AGL.
Christmas Party – Claudia Sutter requested members get there money and table requests to her during the meeting. There will be a limit of 140 to be served.
Kris Jaeckle Recognition – Dick Stultz brought Kris up front to present her with a “modified Purple Heart” in recognition for all she does for the chapter and battling her way back to good health.
Other Reports – Greg Walker announced that that Bill Eslick has discounted the prices on the “sectional themed” merchandise to start moving it. Greg also mentioned that he will finally get outstanding nametags made for the January. New members will get there nametag from the chapter. Anyone needing a replacement will need to pay for it.
Chapter Leaders Training – Bob Pastusek and John Bowen attended the Chapter Leaders Training in Oshkosh. They mentioned that the training was conducted free of charge except for travel. Bob highlighted that nametags are very important to building chapter camaraderie and they are supposed to get 50 free ones shipped to our chapter. Bob was excited about their visit to the museum where ladders were placed next to a number of airplanes to allow them to sit in the cockpit. John found out that there are 594 EAA members within a 20 mile radius of Granbury. He emphasized how important it is to reach out to become local chapter members.
Youth Programs -Dick reported that Tania Magallanes passed her check ride in Houston on October 24th. She asked Dick when she can give her first Young Eagle flight! (hers was about 2 years ago) Wyatt Richardson has been taking ground school and made several flights at the Granbury airport. The next Young Eagles event is rescheduled to November 16th and will be the last one this year. John discussed the various options to get a Ray Aviation Scholarship for next year. The chapter received a round of applause at the Chapter Leader’s training for having a completion (Tania). He said the chapter is not allowed to apply the unspent portion of Tania’s to another recipient. He is confident the chapter will get another one next year since we now have a track record of completion and under cost. The Chapter will be pursuing another scholarship for 2025 and the chapter application is due December 31st. Candidates will be identified later in 2025.
Featured Speaker – Following a short break, Dick provided an overview of all the performance modifications on Michele Sonier’s Lancair Legacy. Dick started off by explaining when he took the Ryan to Oshkosh it took 8 legs and a long time. Taking the Legacy was much quicker!
The motivation for the performance modifications was a 4th place finish out of 4 participants in the AirVenture Cup race several years ago. With his ego shattered he sought out Dave Anders (prior chapter meeting speaker about the fastest RV-4) to begin identifying the speed improvements. After this discussion Dick was informed by Michele that none of the changes could impact the beautiful paint job. He and Dave selected two principal changes; 1) a plenum inside the cowl to maximize cooling efficiency and a ram air inlet to maximize pressure to the induction system. The cowl inlet area was significantly reduced to minimize drag and serpentine ducts were fabricated to route the air. The alternator on the front of the engine had to be removed to permit the duct routing. A rear pad location hosted a gearbox alternator for electrical power. Dick pointed out, under the cowl, the extensive fiberglass work required to fabricate the inlet, ducts, and plenum.
Upon testing the modifications Dick battled high oil temperatures that would limit the cruise speed and time in flight. Even a water spray system on the oil cooler could not solve the problems. He eventually found out the Vernatherm was not completely routing all the oil through the oil cooler. He found a replacement part that did the trick and allowed sustained flight. This permitted he and Michele to compete in the 2024 AirVenture Cup and although they were more competitive there is plenty of others things to eek out more performance.
Thanks Dick for being a last minute presenter!
VMC/IMC Club
About a dozen members participated.
Thanks to all who stayed to store the tables and chairs and help put the two airplanes back in the hanger.