----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]----
Dan,
Sorry I missed you and the other coupers at
Marysville. At least I saw some of the coupes if not
the owners.
I saw what I now now was Buzz' hanger with his coupe
outside, but nobody appeared to be at the hanger and
the door was down so I didn't think anyone was around.
As far as the event goes, I thought it was fantastic!
I especially liked the performer, Dr D, who is a
retired psychology professor as well as an aerobatic
pilot, a glider pilot, an A&P, and and IA. He does his
performance in a '46 Taylorcraft that he restored
himself. I really enjoyed his old fashioned, graceful,
slow aerobatics and his choice of music to fly by.
Towards the end of his routine, he shut his engine off
(I saw the prop stop!) and finished up his manuevers
without it. Very impressive. In fact, I thought it was
the most beautiful aerobatic routine I've ever seen.
But then I'm not a fan of the super gyroscopic,
herky-jerky stuff.
I also very much enjoyed Ellsworth Getchall's
performance in his gorgeous Sea Fury and it's unusual
sounding, powerful, Bristol Centaurus sleeve valve
engine.
I happened to be standing where "Getch" as they call
him, parked his plane between flights. After one of
his performances he taxied his plane to his space,
shut everything off and got out, and walked directly
up to me and asked, "Not bad for a 70 year old man,
eh?" I said, "It was perfect. Not bad for any aged
man!"
This guy is a strong argument for not forcing airline
pilots to retire at 60! If you saw "Getch" from the
back, where you couldn't see the lines in his face,
you would think he was an athletic 20 year old. He is
trim, fit, flexible and stands tall. More power to
him, I say! At this rate, he'll still be doing air
shows in his 90s.
Dan, you said that the folks at the Merced show were
friendlier than the folks at the Marysville show? Wowm
then they must be super nice.
I thought the EAA folks presenting the Golden West
show were great. But then I am used to the extra nasty
RARA (Reno Air Racing Association) folks at Reno. RARA
is a bunch of self-centered, self-important stinkers
who are far too impressed with their own impotance in
the world. And I don't mind sayin it every time I get
the chance. OK so RARA does not treat their volunteers
all that well, nor are they particularly friendly or
helpful to the racers (except for a few select golden
boys), the fans that pay to come to the races, the
vendors, the other tenants at the airport, or anyone
else that doesn't bow down and kiss their rings.
After having numerous bad experiences with these
jerks, we decided to stop beating our heads against
the wall and stop spending all that money in Reno just
to be able to see the race planes. All of the racers
show up elsewhere and although, unfortunately, there
is nothing quite like the Reno Air Races, it's not
worth the grief one gets from the people that run it.
RARA doesn't seem to realize that without the race
pilots, their planes, and the huge, paying audience,
there would be no races. RARA doesn't own air racing,
but they sure act like they do.
Last year we stopped by the Marysville Golden West
event after having taken our dose of abuse from RARA
at the Pylon Seminar Training or Rookie school, where
racers that have not raced before, have raced more
than 2 years earlier, or are changing race classes,
must attend. Supposedly the public is supposed to be
able to watch the pilots practice - free. But RARA is
so awful about where people can stand to watch, and
they're so terrified that someone is going to get a
still photo or a video good enough to sell, that you
have to stand so far away from the action that you
need a cannon sized ( not Canon - no pun intended)
telephoto lens to get a decent shot.
Most of the folks that go to this fairly unknown
training event, if not participating in the training,
are pilots or student pilots and know how to act
around an airport and around planes. Geez.
Anyway, the contrast between a RARA event and an EAA
event are day and night.
--- Dan Hall <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> EOC Region 7 Golden State Ercoupers - update;
>
> Special notes;
> * Please e-mail if you are planning to fly out to
> the EOC Nationals in Minden, NE June 9th through the
> 12th.
>
> * Thanks to Mr. Jim Garnish for his help with the
> group photos taken at the EAA Golden West Fly In @
> Marysville.
>
> * New email address for Steven & Pat Stewart;
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>
> REPORTS
> NorCal;
> 1) The 48th annual Merced Antique Fly-In was this
> past weekend on June 3rd & 4th. The event was very
> nice and enjoyable as is always the case. The
> weather was basically perfect Friday evening (warm
> evening) and Saturday, as is normally the case. The
> food was good with tri-tip and chicken, as the main
> courses. The live music was enjoyable & well done,
> and the now traditional impromptu sunset antique
> aircraft fly-by's were spectacular, with flights of
> from 2 to 7 planes flying low over the control tower
> for some fantastic & rare photo opportunities. The
> sound of round engines turning at low cruise power
> reverberated and lingered in the warm evening air.
> Even the FAA guys in the temporary tower were very
> friendly and accommodating. The guys in the tower
> were as happy to have the pilots flying in as the
> people on the ground in Merced were! It's fair to
> say that the people on the ground at Merced really
> make an extra effort to make the experience a good
> one for the Pilots who fly in for this event. We
> really enjoyed this event and Merced will be on our
> calendar for 2006.
>
> Unfortunately for the people at Merced, the
> attendance by Fly-In Aircraft & pilots was down
> substantially over past years despite the
> outstanding ongoing effort and support of the local
> community. Most of the decline appeared to be due
> to the EAA scheduling it's Golden West event on the
> same weekend that Merced has been held for the past
> 48 years. Many pilots at Merced and the EAA event
> expressed frustration and were very unhappy with the
> EAA for this avoidable scheduling conflict. Many
> like myself & Ted will attend and support the
> smaller and more pilot friendly Merced event, and
> skip the larger but not nearly as friendly or
> accommodating EAA event if there are any future
> scheduling conflicts. However from the ear full
> that EAA reportedly received about this from
> multiple sources, we all HOPE there are no such
> conflicts in the future so that both events can
> continue to be enjoyed & supported by the California
> aviation community.
>
> Those Ercoupers in attendance at Merced on Friday
> night & Saturday morning;
> Mike Clancy '46 415C N2756H
> Compton, CA
> Dan Hall '47 415D N3968H
> Chino, CA
> Ted Reusch '66 Alon N5698F
> Bracket Field, Pomona, CA
>
> Other Ercoupers may have arrived Saturday after our
> 9:30 AM departure, if so we're sorry we missed you!
>
>
> 2) The Annual EAA Golden West Fly-In at Marysville
> - Yuba County was also this past weekend on June
> 3rd, 4th & 5th. The turnout appeared to be quite
> good, and probably near capacity, despite the
> mentioned conflict with Merced. It appeared that
> virtually all of the various Sport Pilot Aircraft
> manufacturers had their aircraft on display, with
> numerous related seminars. There was an F/A-18
> Super Hornet Flight demonstration. I don't think
> I've seen a military aircraft flown quite so
> aggressively at such low levels. It was a very
> impressive display of aircraft and flying skills,and
> both the flying & non-flying crowd appreciated it!
>
>
> More importantly for the Ercoupers, our own Buzz
> Dolim ('Fastest 415 in the West' ?) did his usual
> GREAT job of hosting the Golden State Ercoupers who
> flew in for the event. Buzz opened up his hangar
> (shade!), provided a display area in front of his
> hangar for Ercoupers, provided cold drinks (it was
> HOT!), provided chairs, arranged for several Coupers
> to stay overnight at his home, and provided rides in
> his big comfy Lincoln as needed. Buzz also did his
> best to keep the EAA guys humble however I think
> we'll have to call that one a draw, not for lack of
> effort or humor on Buzz's part. :-) Thanks VERY
> much to Buzz !!!!!
>
> Those in attendance at Marysville on Saturday &
> Sunday;
> Buzz Dolim '46 415D N99597
> Marysville, CA
> Ralph Finch '65 Alon N6359V
> University Davis, CA
> Ted Lechner '46 415C N2654H
> Sacramento, CA
> Ward Marsh '46 415C NC93404
> Nut Tree Airport, Vacaville, CA
> Ted Reusch '66 Alon N5698F
> Bracket Field, Pomona, CA
> John Scheiber '46 415D? N?????
> Marysville, CA
> Maynard Smith '46 415C N99843
> Auburn, CA
> Dan Hall & '47 415D N3968H
> Chino, CA
> Bill & Irene Hall Drive in from
> Cotati, CA
> Georgia Trehey Drive in (we missed
> you at the hangar!)
>
> In the group photo left to right are;
> Dan Hall, Ted Reusch, Maynard Smith, Buzz Dolim, and
> Ted Lechner.
>
> Others may have arrived on Sunday, if so we're sorry
> we missed you!
>
>
> UPCOMING EVENTS REMINDERS;
> EOC Nationals
> 1) The Ercoupe Owners Club National Convention is in
> Minden Nebraska this week, from June 9th until June
> 12th. Please send me an email if anyone from CA
> will be attending (Skip & Carolyn, I'm sorry that I
> am unable to attend this year however; thank you
> very much for your recognition.).
>
>
> REMINDERS;
> Here is the "Official" EOC region 7 2005 calendar of
> events.
>
> EOC Region 7 2005 Calendar of Events -
> Please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] if you have questions
>
> * EOC Nationals, NE June 9-12
> > Please contact me if you plan to go to the
> EOC Nationals!
> * Cable Air Fair July 9 & 10
> (SoCal)
> >>> http://www.cableairport.com/airfair/
> >>> http://www.airnav.com/airport/CCB
> (Temporary tower)
> * Columbia July 16 (EOC)
> >>> http://www.airnav.com/airport/O22
> * Frazier Lake August 6th (NorCal
> EOC, grass strip!)
> >>> http://www.airnav.com/airport/1C9
> >>> http://www.frazierlake.com/
> * Santa Paula Air Fair August 6 & 7 (Ron,
> SoCal) ?????
> >>> http://www.airnav.com/airport/KSZP
> >>> http://www.amszp.org/history.html
> ***** The Runway at Santa Paula has been
> washed out!!!****
> ***** Oxnard has been suggested as a
> possible alternative. ***
> * Auburn, Thunder in the Sky August 21 (NorCal)
> >>> http://www.thunderinthesky.org/
> (Temporary Tower!)
> >>>
>
http://www.thunderinthesky.org/schedule_of_events.htm
> * McMinnville, OR Antique Fly In August 19, 20 &
> 21
> > Please contact me if you plan to go to OR!
> (Buzz, Ralph & Dan)
> >>> http://www.nwaac.com/flyininfo.htm
> * Oceano September 17 & 18
> (EOC)
> > San Luis Obispo if Oceano is foggy!
> >>> http://www.airnav.com/airport/L52
> * Copper State Fly-In October 6, 7, 8, & 9
> >>> http://www.copperstate.org/ (Temporary
> tower!)
> * Jean NV Oct 29 (Region 8
> event)
> >>> http://www.airnav.com/airport/0l7
> >>> Be sure to check with Max @ EOC Region 8
> !
> * Livermore Nov 6 (NorCal EOC)
> >>> http://www.airnav.com/airport/LVK
> * Lake Havasu Nov. 12 & 13 (SoCal
> EOC)
> >>> http://www.airnav.com/airport/KHII
> * French Valley Dec 3 or 10 (SoCal
> EOC)
>
=== message truncated ===
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
==========================================================================
====
To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm
Search the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers/
<<attachment: winmail.dat>>
