EAA Chapter 430 Newsletter, November 2023

CHAPTER 430 NOVEMBER 2023 In This Issue  From the Left Seat (Ray)  November Flyout – Forks (Barry Halsted)  Celebrating Master Mechanic Rick Vaux – (with a reprint from February 2020 Getting to Know You: courtesy of Skip Brown)  The Pilots Air Traffic Controllers Love – Shared via link to General Aviation News, May 2023 (with special thanks to Ray for providing the article)  Minutes (Richard Howell)  Board Member Contact Info Upcoming Events November November 25 – EAA monthly general meeting at 10 a.m., William R. Fairchild Airport Terminal December December 9 – Holiday party at 5:30 p.m., the Cedars at Dungeness December 13 – VMC/IMC at 7 p.m., the Mariner Café

FROM THE LEFT SEAT –RAY BALLANTYNE I love watching the seasons change on the peaks of the beautiful Olympic Mountains. Today they are adorned with white highlights from recent snows which means we are headed into the winter season. It was a great summer flying season with long stretches of fair skies and little airborne smoke. It also was a time when our chapter did our best work as we hosted a Flying Start event, a light aircraft breakfast, three Young Eagle rallies, and established our first build and fly program for youth. I’m thankful for all those who helped in those events. Several of the people reached at these events are joining us now for aviation ground school, on their way to learning how to aviate! We also enjoyed and encouraged each other with the monthly flyouts. It’s a joy to get together and fly together to enjoy a meal. We also got to learn how to play poker with the summer poker run! And it was a great joy to see two new airplanes get certified and begin their life in the sky. As we close out November, I’m very thankful for the fun, friendship, and accomplishment of our chapter. We have some amazing and talented people who give freely of their time and resources. I hope to see you at the Holiday Party on December 9th! Ray

NOVEMBER FLYOUT - FORKS: BARRY HALSTED We had a great flyout to Forks for our November flyout today. The weather included some clouds between Port Angeles and Forks, just enough to make the trip interesting. Some flew in beneath the clouds from the Sequim area, and some flew on top. The clouds disappeared north of Forks, so the airport was beneath clear skies. Tim Alentiev had no clouds at all on his flight which began south of Seattle. By Wednesday afternoon 7 people had advised they planned on coming. By the time I phoned the restaurant Thursday morning that number had increased. When I told the restaurant that 14-15 of us were going to descend on them the response was “Holy S***”! The final count was 18: Ray and Lisa Ballantyne, Richard and Mary Ann Howell, Ken Brown, Dave Woodcock and Jay Pearlman, Dave Gardner, Ernie Hansen, Jeff Smith, Tim Alentiev (from Kent), Mike and Laura Friend (Bremerton chapter 406), Joel Mapes and Mark Donahue (also from 406), and I (Barry) brought a friend from our airstrip. Gunner Rogers (who lives in Forks) joined us. Airplanes making the trip included two Cubs, a Stinson, a Glastar, several RVs (6A, 8, 8A, 9, 9A) a Sling, and Saffire. Most of these aircraft arrived within a few moments of each other; I can’t imagine the airport there was ever busier! I believe all of us had good meals at Blakeslee’s Bar and Grill; I had their signature hamburger and won’t need dinner tonight. We were seated at three tables in a room to ourselves, I think. By the noise we generated I’m sure there was plenty of socializing going on. We all left the airport the way we arrived, and how fun is that! Good weather, good food, good people. Altogether a really cool flyout. Barry The Forks Flyout Group, November 2023

The Forks Gang by a First Class Hangar Richard (and Mary Ann) at Forks in their Sling Ken Brown and Richard Howell by Ken’s RV-9A

CONGRATS TO OUR MASTER MECHANIC WITH AN HONORARY REPRINT FROM FEBRUARY 2020 GETTING TO KNOW YOU.GETTING TO KN W YOU RICK VAUX “When I was four years old, my dad took me to the Renton airport where we watched through the fence the airplanes landing and taking off.” This is the first memory Rick has of his beginning fascination with airplanes. “My uncle gave me my first flight in a Piper Tri -Pacer and he let me fly the plane.” All through school in Seattle WA, Rick built model airplanes. The aviation bug had bit. After high school graduation, he talked to a Marine recruiter and was promised that if he signed up for four years as an active Marine, he would receive an aviation guarantee. His first duty station was at the Marine Corps Air Station in El Toro, California as a helicopter mechanic. Since there were no helicopters at El Toro, he was assigned to a Douglas A-4 Skyhawk Squadron, where he served as a plane captain. Six months later he was reas- signed to a Helicopter Squadron at MCAF Santa Ana where he served as a C-46 Crew

Chief until leaving active duty. He subsequently got his A&P license at Seattle Community College. Next stop was Everett Boeing, working on the 747 for nine months, until being laid off, along with hundreds of other employees in 1970, with no aviation jobs available in the area. He was offered a job in Amarillo, Texas, working for Bell Helicopter. He worked in sheet metal and teardown of helicopters arriving from Vietnam, a job he enjoyed for two years. In 1972, Scottsdale Aviation offered him a job as a mechanic, and he and his wife, Cathy, moved to Mesa, AZ. He spent nine months working on contract for four fire-fighting helicopters. He spent time in Cobb, California, before returning to Arizona. In early 1973, Rick changed jobs when he went to work for Aviation Specialties in Mesa, Arizona. The com- pany converted Sikorsky H-19 helicopters to turbine power. After a three-month US Forest Service fire contract in Salt Lake City, Utah, he went looking for a more stable job. Hughes Air West in Phoenix, AZ hired him to work on the DC-9 and F-27. He also worked at the Orange County Airport (John Wayne Airport) for Hughes. In 1980, his next adventure took him to Air California which was later bought out by American Airlines. At this time he wanted to try out Management and became a Line Supervisor for Air California for five years. Deciding it was not a fit, he decided to go back to his career as a mechanic. His desire to get out of Southern California in 1989 brought him to San Jose, which resulted in his commuting back to Santa Anna when he was unable to sell his house. He returned to Southern California to an inspection job at LAX as a radiographer and instructor for the next fifteen years, after which he and Cathy moved to Reno, Nevada, for two and one-half years until he retired in 2005 after 25 years with American Airlines. While living in Southern California, Rick was a member of EAA Chapter 7 where he served as a tech advisor and wrote a monthly column for the newsletter. He is also a tech advisor for EAA 430. As a life-long athlete, he participated in many sports, including rowing and playing soccer and baseball. Having been an A&P since 1965, he is a master mechanic. He has a commercial license and ratings in the following: multi-engine, IA and glider. He was working on his instrument rating until he ran out of money. He owned an Aeronca 7AC Champ and has flown the following aircraft: Bonanza, Beechcraft Musketeer, Piper PA-28 Cherokee, Citabria, J3 Cub, Clipped Wing Cub, C-150, 172, 182, 190, 310 and Gliders. (continued on next page) Since childhood Rick has had a passion for music. When he was nine years old, he sang soloes in his church. In 1964, he sang in Japan with his high school chorus. He sang in the Boeing Choir and was a member of the Peninsula Singers. He plays the guitar, banjo and ukulele. When asked if he has had any harrowing experiences in his career, he tells about working on the 737 during the

nightshift in Reno, a below-zero winter night, when he needed to check the engine on the plane. He was on a creeper, under the plane. Finishing up his inspection, he realized the creeper had frozen to the ground, making him unable to move from underneath the plane. Since he was the only one on the airfield, he yelled until someone finally heard him and came to his rescue. It took three men to break enough ice to free the creeper and he was able to move out from under the plane. Another harrowing story was the day he was driving a fuel truck with helicopter fire-fighting equipment in a Montana forest fire. A fuel truck carrying 6000 gallons of AV gas also needed to reach the fire fighters. The only way to reach the fire fighters was to drive 1.5 miles on a dirt road through the fire. He suggested to the driver of the fuel truck that he follow behind him (just in case) and they both drove as fast as they could to get through to the other side. After his retirement, he worked as a docent/researcher at the Seattle Boeing Museum of Flight for ten years. He and Cathy moved to Sequim in 2017 and purchased a home in Happy Valley where they remodeled their basement, adding Rick’s “man cave.” They built a hangar on their five acres where Rick is restoring two ultralights with plans to finish constructing a grass strip on the property. He and Cathy are the parents of two sons and grandparents of six grandkids. Now that they are retired, they enjoy traveling. After a lifetime focused on aviation safety, Rick’s advice to EAA members is “Always get a second pair of eyes.”

THE PILOTS AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLERS LOVE (CLICK THE LINK ABOVE TO READ THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE ABOVE, THEN SEE IF YOU CAN MATCH THE CLUES TO THE TITLES) Clue: “hey there centennial tower, 4AM coming in hot from the northwest, looking for some touch and goes before i fly back home” Clue: contacting ATC might sound like this, “hey there centennial tower, 4AM coming in hot from the northwest, looking for some touch and goes before i fly back home” Clue: makes calls with brevity and are concise with their read-backs Clue: spending time around them is a ‘drag’ PILOT TYPES: Do you have any other quotes or insights on these characterizations? Send your funny stories to newsletter editor Elisa Petersen, and we will include them in our next edition. Which of these do you want to be, and which one do you think fits you best today? Sloppy Professional Grumpy Happy Know-it-all Curious

GATHERING MINUTES: Date: Oct 28, 2023 ● Meeting social and sign-in 0930 ● Chapter President Ray Ballantyne called the Membership Gathering to order at 1009 at Wm. R. Fairchild Airport, terminal conference room ● Ray led The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag with 37 members and 4 guests attending ● Guest(s): Cathay Vaux, Gunner Rogers, George Needham, Dana Terrill ● Ray Ballantyne shared some background details and then presented the FAA - Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award to our own Richard D. (Rick) Vaux, for his accomplishment of 50 plus years of unblemished experience as a senior aviation mechanic. ● Correspondence: EAA HQ - Tracy Halsted submitted our 51st chapter renewal. o EAA Chapter 430 received notification, on behalf of the late Frances J. Lyon, that she designated a bequest of $100,000 from her estate to be given to our chapter to support Young Eagles Aviation. ● September Gathering Minutes were approved as written. ● Old Business o Vice President Rick Vaux reported on our chapter Build and Fly program that the kids are flying the plane they built and that one has successfully completed a solo flight. o Ray reported the treasury has total funds of $14,295, including $8,793 for scholarship and $704 in the building fund. o Membership director Erik Petersen reported paid chapter membership now stands at 102. o Fly Out Director Barry Halsted reported that the October flyout to Port Townsend Aero Museum (PTAM) (0S9) was attended by 46 folks, including many from EAA Chapter 406. November flyout is anticipated to be to Forks Airport (S18). ● New Business: o Ray read off the list of Class I and II directors positions. Election of Class I Board of Directors positions (President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary) are currently uncontested and may therefore be confirmed by a show of hands by those attending the November 25th gathering. If you would like to serve in any of the Class I elected positions, please make your intentions known before then, to any board member. o Logo Apparel - Lisa Ballantyne has graciously offered to collect apparel items from chapter members and take them to Copy Cat Graphics, in PA, to have them embroidered. If you would like to participate, please contact Lisa. o Flying Start - Our ground school course group is meeting today, after the gathering, in the conference room. o Holiday Party - Saturday, December 9th, Cedars at Dungeness. No-host bar from 5:30pm, followed by dinner. Invitations with dinner purchase options will be distributed electronically.

▪ We can look forward to entertainment from our own Bud Davies [and friends]. ▪ Once again we’ll be supporting Toys for Tots, so expect a visit from Santa Clause. Please consider bringing an unwrapped toy for donation. ● Project Reports o Harry Cook - Sonex Waiex B, continuing work on the aft fuselage. Harry thanked Erik Petersen and Sid Vandiver for their assistance with 3D printing of some parts. o Richard Howell - Sling 2, received his FAA Repairman Certificate. o Dave Moffitt - RV-12, has now flown in his plane! o Erik Petersen - Cozy Mark IV, working to resolve a few newly discovered squawks before he takes flight. o Kevin Widdowson (one of our international chapter members, reported via Richard Howell) has taken delivery of his Bristell Classic quickbuild kit, having personally trucked it from Czech Republic to his home in Yorkshire, England. ● The business portion of the gathering was adjourned. ● “The Daves” - Dave Woodcock and Dave Miller made a polished presentation about their partnership and adventures as they decided upon and then followed through to have a brand new Legend Cub aircraft built and delivered. ● Thanks to Kevin and Charlie Tracy, Bud Davies and others for organizing our coffee, treats and pizza lunch! ● November Gathering - Sat Nov 25th, 10:00am - Respectfully submitted, Richard Howell, EAA 430 Secretary

BOARD AND DIRECTORS 2023 Chapter Phone Toll free 877-EAA-0430 (877-322-0430) Position Name Phone Ext Email Address President Ray Ballantyne 1 president@eaa430.org Vice-President Rick Vaux 2 vicepresident@eaa430.org Secretary Richard Howell 3 secretary@eaa430.org Treasurer Tracy Halsted 4 treasurer@eaa430.org Class II Directors Programs No Candidate 5 programs@eaa430.org Membership Erik Petersen 6 membership@eaa430.org Newsletter Elisa Petersen 7 newsletter@eaa430.org Scholarship David Miller 8 s cholarship@eaa430.org Young Eagles Bud Davies 9 youngeagles@eaa430.org VMC/IMC Harry Cook vmc@eaa430.org Tool Crib Rick Stoffel toolcrib@eaa430.org Web Editor Andy Sallee webeditor@eaa430.org Build-n-Fly Need Project leader build-n-fly@eaa430.org Communications Scott Fitzgerald communications@eaa430.org Fly-Out Barry Halsted Tech Advisor Harry Cook techhc@eaa430.org Tech Advisor Barry Halstead techbh@eaa430.org Tech Advisor Ernie Hansen techeh@eaa430.org Tech Advisor Rick Vaux techrv@eaa430.org