Slipstream October 2016

Chairman’s Message

By Anele Brooks
 
First, our condolences to Elizabeth Dinan on the loss of her husband, Don. Adjusting to the loss of your “partner for life” is no easy task. I hope that Elizabeth will consider us “family” and that if she needs anything she doesn't hesitate to call any one of us.
Second, Airport Day will be October 15 [see schedule at the bottom], if you haven't signed up to help, please find Kathy Dannecker's e-mail request and volunteer. Airport Day is the only time the public has access to any part of the airport outside the terminal and if we want General Aviation to continue we need to expose as many people as possible to the joys of flying. It is lots of fun and it is absolutely amazing to see just how many people want to tour the Tower!
September is National Air Race Week in Reno [see their home page]. This year I was thrilled to be able to take some of my grandchildren and expose them to as many different airplanes as possible. The weather was perfect for air racing and aerobatics and there were plenty of planes on the ramp and in the air.
For those of us who have been attending for years the Unlimited Class was a little disappointing, most of the “heavy iron” didn't race. Rare Bear (F8F-2 Bearcat), Strega (P-51 Mustang), Precious Metal (P-51 with Griffon Engine and counter rotating props) caught fire during a run-up last year and isn't together yet, so it was a foregone conclusion that Voodoo (P-51 Mustang) would easily beat Czech Mate (Yak-11) and the Sea Furies who rounded out the entrants. Sadly some of the planes are grounded due to a divorce. Voodoo is flown by Steven Hinton, Jr., the son of Steve Hinton and Karen Maloney Hinton. I watched Steven Hinton's father, Steve, win the Unlimited Gold Race in 1978, so it is nice to see his son soaring around the pylons at Stead Field in Reno. The Hintons and the Maloneys are aviation families (think Chino & Planes of Fame) and it is nice to see the love of aviation shared by the younger generation. For people new to air racing the boring Unlimited Race wasn't a big deal. The other classes had great races. Starting at 8:00 a.m every morning for four days there were planes buzzing around the pylons at Stead Field until 4:30 in the afternoon.
Obviously not all of us are raising Air Race Pilots (and probably don't want to), but for those of us who do have children and grandchildren we need to expose them to aviation – Airport Day is a great place to start, Paso Robles Airfest on October 1, should also be a great venue. They have several events planned that all sound like fun!
One of the things I noticed (besides the airplanes) in Reno was that the spectators were mostly my age and older – we need to bring more youth into aviation – and the best way to do that is to let children up close to aircraft. Both my little ones are excited about aviation now, they sat on a T-6 wing and Tony Higa was nice enough to let each of them sit in his racing bi-plane. Reno was a wonderful experience for both of them and the are looking forward to next year's Air Races and learning how to fly!
Future and Aurora Mendoza with Tony Higa and Tango Tango, Race 31

Minutes of General Meeting

By Grace Crittenden

We started the meeting [September 7, 2016] signing a condolence card for Elizabeth Dinan whose husband died last week. We were all saddened with the news.
Cheryl Cooney was unanimously voted to be our chapter delegate to the Southwest Section meeting at the end of September. Grace Crittenden, Liz Ruth and Elizabeth Dinan will also be attending the meeting in Palmdale.
The discussion then turned to possible fly-out destinations. A shorter flight might be fun. The status of the New Cuyama (L88) runway is unknown at this time and may no longer be active. Santa Maria (SMX) has two good restaurants, and we are waiting to hear when the Paso Robles (PRB) airport has a new place to eat on the field [Joe’s One-Niner Diner].
Anele Brooks is planning to attend the safety meeting in Santa Maria later this month [9/21, the speaker couldn’t make it, so two safety movies were shown and discussed].
The last topic of the meeting was Airport Day, coming up Saturday, October 15. Kathy Dannecker will be at the next meeting with all the details.

Thank you letter from Elizabeth

A Thank You Note to All My 99 Friends
 
I would like to thank all of my 99 friends who sent the lovely and caring cards on my loss of Don and all who attended his service. Thank you to Maureen and her husband for offering their home for the reception after the services and to Liz Ruth, Camille and Louise who so graciously helped Maureen.
I could not have done this and it was wonderful to have family and friends together to help me through a very difficult and sad time. Thank you.
 
Love you all.
Elizabeth 

Letter from the SBP Air Traffic Manager


To the SBP flying community,
 
The use of Runway 11 can be a challenge as it's just not utilized that much. Add into this the fact that the tower has an almost entirely new staff as compared to just a year ago which can only make things more difficult. We as controllers make it a point to pay extra attention in the rare instances Runway 11 is in use, be it the early morning when the weather is bad or those odd days where the wind is out of the east. That being said, it IS a much greater challenge for us than Runway 29 ops, and the non-visual run up area, along Taxiway Alpha and adjacent to Taxiway Bravo, presents the greatest of those challenges.
Recently, there have been several incidents of aircraft entering the non-visual run up area, then pulling back out onto Taxiway Alpha, without first contacting the tower, resulting in a conflict with another aircraft being taxied on Alpha. We as controllers issue instructions with expectation those instructions are followed. When things are different than what we expect, that can lead to accidents. Since I have been here, control instructions have been given to practically all aircraft going to Runway 11 for a full length taxi. This means bypassing the non-visual run up area, continuing to the end of the taxiway and performing your run up there.
I am asking all aircraft operators that use our airport to please pay closer attention to instructions issued when Runway 11 is in use. If there are questions, please ask, don't assume. If you have any questions, comments or concerns for me, feel free to contact me at john.hanf@serco-na.com or 805-781-8753 and I'd be happy to discuss it with you. Thank you for your time.
 
John Hanf
Air Traffic Manager, San Luis Obispo Tower

Dates and Schedules 

Comments, corrections, and suggestions are welcome. Fly-outs: any dates are flexible and we will confirm plans and set times at the chapter meeting before the scheduled fly-out. Seats will be available for non-pilots, students, and pilots without wings. We want every seat to be filled, so let us know if you want to come along.
October 5
Chapter Meeting at the Spirit of San Luis at 6 pm, social gathering starts at 5:30 pm.