The Businessmen's Flying Club held its monthly meeting on Tuesday, April 4, 2000 at the Naper Aero clubhouse. Flying members Bryan Barus, Tom Braid, Mark Clements, Nick Davis, Hubert Elsen, Lonnie Horn, Andrea Hoyt, John Jurek, Ray Kvietkus, Mike Leavy, Jack Lindquist, Mike Pastore, Don Patterson, Saeed Razfar, Chris Sims, Ed Vogler, Joe Weston, Jim Williams and Reza Zarafshar attended the meeting. Guest Tom Mooncotch attended the meeting and was inducted into the membership.

The meeting was called to order by President Mark Clements at 7:30 PM. Joe Weston e-mailed me after he received the March newsletter to let me know that he was present at the March meeting. Then, Saeed Razfar called to update his medical and BFR listings and mentioned that he had attended the February meeting and was not listed. I ran into Jack Lindquist while he was filling the 172 at the pumps and he mentioned that he had attended the February meeting as well. My apologies to Joe and Saeed and Jack! A motion to accept Newsletter of previous meeting as minutes of previous meeting was made by Mike Leavy and seconded by Jack Lindquist.

Ray will be changing bank accounts to reduce fees.

Total expenses were $12,075.58 for March. The reserve surplus at the end of the month was $10,349.58.

The details of the Treasurer’s Report for March may be found at the end of this newsletter.

SMOH -- engine time since major overhaul

TBO -- engine time between overhauls

TMOH -- engine time to major overhaul

150: The gas cap retention chain was repaired by Hubert Elsen. Please use a total of 5 quarts when putting in new oil after a change. Oil is to be changed every 35 hours. This airplane does not have an oil filter, and therefore, is changed by the club membership every time.

The C-172 and C-182 oil changes are scheduled per the oil change sheet in the airplane. Every other oil change must be completed by Lumanair. These airplanes have oil filters, hence the need for an A and P mechanic to change the oil in order to cut open the filters and inspect for particulate debris.

172: The landing light is still out. In fact, the filament was lying in pieces at the bottom of the headlight assembly. It will be fixed shortly. Both Radios have been recently checked by Nick Davis and Mark Clements and have been found to be within IFR tolerances.

182: The right seat is still in need of repair. The landing light has been replaced. Main gear tires have bald spots but no cord yet showing. The left side vent is fixed. The avionics master switch will be replaced. DME is intermittent, and will be looked at by JA. The StrikeFinder does not have ON/OFF switch. JA will install a switch.

There is now a "preflight bag" in the C-182. This bag contains everything extra you generally will need for a trip. If you use up a supply, REPLACE IT. If you are travelling, take the interior heat reflectors at the north end of the hanger. These fit inside the plane, and reflect heat back out. They are expensive, so treat them gently. Remember, the brakes are sensitive, so treat them with respect. Full stall landings are required, followed by continued aft back pressure. This presents considerable wing surface in the direction of travel and will slow the plane quickly.

General Operations Notes:

We are into bug season. After every flight, every pilot has the responsibility to:

1. Close all vents
2. Put on Pitot Cover
3. Clean all bugs off all leading edges (except vertical stabilizer), off the front windscreen, off wing and wheel struts and especially the flaps. Use water and soft scratch pads or rags on painted surfaces. Use water and ONLY soft rags on the windows. Windows may also be cleaned with Turtle Wax, Plexiglas cleaner, or Anti Static stuff. Do NOT use paper towels on windows. The paper is a wood product and will scratch the window. DO NOT use ammonium products on Plexiglas . (Note: I cleaned the bugs off the 182 on Saturday afternoon and it took over an hour. The better aerodynamics of this plane now mean that you find blood and guts two feet back on top of the wings and all over the front cowling extending back three feet. I think the job would have been easier if the first two people who flew that day would have been a little more conscientious about cleaning the painted surfaces. On a warm day, bug guts turn into cement after a couple of hours. )

If the cable is jammed when you start, someone rolled it up too far. All you have to do is unplug the motor for safety and push cooling fins in the motor housing clockwise with your pocket knife. The cable will slowly loosen enough so that you can disengage the spool.

The APU is now operating as expected. The APU will either charge the battery, or run the plane’s electrical system, not both. The switch on the plug of the APU will make the determination. Choose APU to run the electrical system, turn on the master switch, turn on the avionics master switch, and turn on all the radios you choose. BUT, check the voltmeter! If the voltmeter is showing 24.5 or less, you are using the battery. If the voltage reads approximately 28, then the APU is running the systems.

Be aware of the weight and balance of the Skylane. The forward and aft limits are closer together than the old C-182, so do a calculation for each new combination that you try. Ray Kvietkus has a spreadsheet program that uses formulas derived by Bert Toppel that will help do this quickly. Contact him for more information, and he will e-mail you a copy.

Fuel the Cessna 182 only to the bottom of the tab. This allows legal landing weight immediately after takeoff. The fuel gauges are very accurate. They can be used as a good guide when fueling the airplane.

Are you landing?? Then use the grass!! This saves wear and tire on the tires.

Reservations Guidelines

A reservation cancels if the pilot with that reservation does not arrive at LL10 within 30 minutes of his start time. Obviously, our reservations system does not know this, but anybody is free to take that airplane for the remainder of the reserved time. If a person is planning to take a "no-show" aircraft, a phone call to the person who has not arrived should be considered but is not necessary.

Anybody can change a reservation at the last minute to allow for a later arrival at LL10. The late pilot may have delayed his/her reservation by one hour, so a pilot wishing to take advantage of a "no-show" reservation, might have just 30 minutes of "no-show" reservation remaining. Before you take an airplane with a "no-show" reservation, you are REQUIRED to call the reservations service to confirm the status of the plane in question.

Ken Best presented the following motion at the February meeting:

The membership authorizes the Board of Directors to sell N66188, reassign N739TU to the primary trainer role, purchase, and secure financing of a suitable intermediate performance IFR aircraft. The purchase price and related cost shall not exceed $140,000."

This motion was amended to include the following language:

1. The club treasurer shall prepare and distribute a financial statement to the membership so as to compare our current status with the pro forma estimates. Execution of this motion shall proceed only after this financial review.
2. The C-150 shall be sold but only with appropriate consideration given to the training status of the current student pilots using the C-150.

Moved: Mark Clements

Seconded: Nick Davis

This motion allows us to clean house by completing the strategic plan as originally proposed. The board hopes to find a newer C-172 and sell the C-150 sometime in summer, but as past history has shown this process could take much longer.

Rates for the aircraft (assuming fuel prices do not increase substantially,) are expected to be as follows:

C-172 N739TU $40/hour

C-172 N???? $50/hour

C-182 N415RC $65/hour

A new DTN Aviation Center System has been installed in the Naper Aero clubhouse to give real time weather information to all pilots. Basic operating instructions enclosed with this newsletter.

Nick Davis (Captain Harlan Davis), is now an official 727 Captain for United Airlines. His very first flight in the airplane was with passengers, from ORD to DFW. The Flight Attendants told the nearly full flight that "Captain Davis had not yet ever landed this airplane, and that they were to give a rating to Capt. Davis at the gate" (if indeed the plane got that far!). Apparently, the landing was better than most, and as a result, Capt. Davis received a loud round of applause, as he taxied the plane to the gate.

Bob Betyoumaran has been keeping secrets! Never in the years that I have been writing this column have I observed a member go so far up so fast. I was making calls to the membership to update BFR’s and Medical expiration dates when Bob gave me the stunning news that I needed to put him on the refreshment list seven times!

Here is a summary of Bob’s achievements:

1. Commercial Multiengine Checkride
2. CFI Written Exam I
3. CFI Written Exam II
4. CFII Written Exam
5. CFI Checkride
6. CFII Checkride
7. MEI (Multiengine Instructor) Checkride

"Why did you do it?" I asked. "Well I’d like to retire from the City in the fairly near future and work as an Instructor in retirement. I love to teach and this also gives me the motivation to fly more."

"What kind of planes did you fly for your multiengine ratings?" "A Duchess and a TravelAir" Bob answered. "Both are really nice airplanes - fast and stable." "So Bob, What is your next ambition?" I asked. "I’m anxious to get checked out in the new 182!" He replied.

Please welcome the BFC’s newest instructor and longest serving member of the refreshment list!

I also caught up with Dick Kilburn and found out that the spent his summer vacation undergoing an unplanned angioplasty on August 3^rd. He was in South Haven, Michigan at the time and had to go to the Cardiac Center at St. Joseph for the procedure. He is working with his AME to get a new medical certificate to be able to fly once more. "I’m feeling fine" Dick assured me. "My flying is mainly utilitarian, just to get from place to place" Dick commented. We all hope you’re flying again soon, Dick!

When e-mail from Dave Young kept bouncing back, I called his apartment to see if he had changed jobs. Just as I suspected, Dave had left Molex and is now working in aviation at AAR Corporation – the former Allen Aircraft of the 1950’s. The firm sells and leases remanufactured jet engines and is a leader in the aviation after market.

Nick Davis sent me the following e-mail that may be of interest to anyone taking a commercial airline trip on United in the near future.

Subj: 15% off

Date: 4/5/00 8:16:28 PM Central Daylight Time

From: nnooker@ameritech.net (Harlan Davis)

To: JDWKalmus@aol.com

Jim,

I have 6 15% off coupons good on United Airlines or United Express. They will expire soon, so would you be so kind as to put an item in the Newsletter advertising these things. They are available to any body for any reason, free of charge.

These coupons are good for any Economy round trip ticket booked in classes M, H, Q, V or W.

Tickets must be issued by May 1, 2000.

Travel complete by May 15, 2000.

Anybody who wants these should call me right away. I will mail them, or the person can pick them up from me.

Nick

Mark Clements 1

Nick Davis 1

Hubert Elsen 1

Lonnie Horn 1

Andrea Hoyt 1

Mike Leavy 1

Mike Pastore 1

Don Patterson 1

Chris Sims 1

Ed Vogler 1

Joe Weston 1

The BFC refreshment list was created as another way of recognizing special achievements. Criteria for membership vary with the length of the list. The person scheduled for refreshments should bring beverages and desert to the club meeting. If unable to attend, he or she should arrange to trade meeting dates with Bob Betyoumaran.

Nick Davis March, 2000

Hubert Elsen April, 2000

Hubert Elsen May, 2000

Nick Davis June, 2000

Andrea Hoyt August, 2000

Nick Davis September, 2000

Bob Betyoumaran October, 2000

Bob Betyoumaran November, 2000

Bob Betyoumaran January, 2001

Bob Betyoumaran February, 2001

Bob Betyoumaran March, 2001

Bob Betyoumaran April, 2001

Bob Betyoumaran May, 2001

Tom Mooncotch was present at the meeting. Tom recently moved into a house at Naper Aero, and although not a pilot, has been developing an interest in the hobby. Tom obtained a check ride with Mark Clements, but has not yet received a medical. A motion to accept Tom as a Class (Level) 2 member, conditioned upon obtaining a Medical Certificate, was

Moved: Mike Pastore

Seconded: Bryan Barus

Tom replaces Jan Jakubiak

No other waiting list members were present. Most of the present waiting list has been eliminated, but several persons either have completed check rides or will complete check rides during April. The club expects all members wishing to resign or go inactive, to be processed within 3 months. Pending resignations include:

Russ Haack

John Maggio (to Inactive)

Ken Best

Membership waiting list:

Anthony Marchechi

Potential members are reminded that they must be present at one meeting out of the previous three when an opening is announced and be prepared to purchase the class of membership they prefer. Nominations may be made by proxy along with a check for payment in full if a prospective member cannot be present. Memberships may be upgraded at any time without penalty at prevailing rates.

No safety topics were presented at the meeting, however, Mike Pastore was kind enough to send in the article on condensation found at the end of the newsletter.

The Businessmen's Flying Club will hold its next business meeting and work night and cookout on Tuesday, May 2, 2000. The work night activities will start at 4:30 (or as soon as anyone can get there.) The business meeting will start at 7:30 PM at the Naper Aero clubhouse.

March Treasurer’s Report

Receipts

Equity $9,162.00

Dues and Flying $4,618.00

Interest

Harris $29.30

MBNA $129.36

Total $13,938.66

Credits to Members

Fuel Away $117.33

C182 Foggles $23.50

Copy Costs $84.48

Postage $25.08

Cleaning Supplies $142.41

Total $392.80
 
 

Payments

Ameritech

Answering System -$14.38

Resignation

Rolfs -$360.51

C182 Manuals $283.38

Lumanair

C182 Battery -$301.43

C182 Taxi Light -$92.05

C172 Landing Light -$144.50

IRS Taxes -$287.00

Fuel at LL10 -$856.82

Naper Aero

Hanger & Tie Down -$469.00

JA Air Center

Strike Finder & DME -$9266.51

Harris Bank

C182 Loan -$20,095.00

Total -$32,170.58

Balances

Cash

MBNA $29,037.04

Harris $19,743.49

Total $48,780.53

Reserves

C150 Engine -$14,797.7

C172 Engine -$1,518.30

C182 Engine -$2,877.00

Insurance -$7,500.00

Annuals -$1,000.00

Ll10 Dues -$1,602.00

Inactive -$4,136.00

Loan Reserve -$5,000.00

Total -$38,431.00

Reserve Surplus $10,349.58

C182 Loan Balance Remaining $59,000.00
 
 

Water Contamination

By Mike Pastore
 
 

A bunch of us were out at Naper the other night, doing one of my personal favorite things in life – hangar flying. The topics included a number of interesting subjects that don’t seem to have any answers, just opinions (and, you know what they say opinions are like). Anyway, we were chopping away at some perfect hangar flying fodder. Stuff that pilots have been talking about since Wilbur first burst into the bike shop yelling "Orville, I have a great idea!" (My guess is that that was the first documented hangar flying session.)

However, one topic came up that does have a verifiable answer. And that is: How much water do you get in the fuel tanks as the result of water vapor condensation? This kind of problem is closely related to the kind of work I do for a living (read: to earn flying money) so I thought I’d take a closer look at it.

Without getting into all the boring details, the essence of it is this…water (or any vapor for that matter) saturates into air at a rate proportional to temperature and pressure. The warmer the mix - and/or the lower the pressure - the greater the vapor holding potential. You engineers out there may recall the Ideal Gas Laws and stuff about the ratio of partial pressures.

Let’s look at the 172 for example. The tanks hold 43 gallons of fuel, which is equivalent to a volume of 5.75 cubic feet. Worst case is this: it’s hot and humid out - say 90 degrees F, 100% relative humidity. The tanks are 25% full which means there’s 4.3 cubic feet of space in the tanks. In that 4.3 cubic foot void, there is 0.2 lbs. of air, 0.5 lbs. of fuel vapor, and 0.005 lbs. of water vapor. Because the fuel is more volatile than water (plus it has a higher molecular weight) there’s more of it in the vapor phase than water vapor.

That night, it cools to an incredible 33 degrees F (that’s some cold front!). The same 4.3 cubic feet now holds 0.3 lbs. of air, 0.19 lbs. of fuel vapor, and 0.0014 lbs. of water vapor. 0.0036 lbs. of water vapor has gone somewhere (0.005 lbs. – 0.0014 lbs.), and that is right there still in the tanks. But now, it’s in the liquid phase. 0.0036 lbs. of liquid phase water is equivalent to 0.06 ounces.

Is that enough to cause the engine to shut down? I don’t know, but would guess not. The problem is more likely to be fuel line freeze up. There’s no doubt in my mind that 0.06 ounces of ice in the fuel lines sure can bugger things up.

So what’s the lesson here? Not a lot of water should be in the tanks as a result of condensation. It you find a bunch of it, it’s more likely because of contamination (as in cruddy fuel) so beware! Other possibilities include water pouring into the tanks while the plane is being washed, or after a heavy rain – assuming of course that someone leaves the fuel caps loose or off.

Next month, we’ll discuss the vapor pressure of beer and its effects on your stomach tanks.