|
IN THIS ISSUE |
Next meeting: Wednesday May
18, 2003, Venice City Hall 7:30 pm |
Dave’s Page Page 2 |
$100 Hamburger Page 3 |
|
THE V.A.S.I. Angle |
VNC |
Published by the Venice Aviation Society, Inc. (VASI) Venice, Florida May 2003
President’s Message
Dear Colleagues,
The May21st meeting marks the last meeting for the summer. Charlie Merlot of Zephyr engines will
discuss engine overhauls, engine, maintenance and of things of interest to those
of us who rely on an airplane engine.
Please bring questions.
Following Mr. Merlot’s talk, there will be a brief slide presentation on
the history of Sun-N-Fun.
While there are no scheduled VASI meetings this summer, there will
certainly be a lot of activity around the airport. Look to Nick Carlucci’s column for his listing of aviation
activities.
As you may have read, the City of Venice is looking into hiring an
airport manager. We at VASI would like
to participate in the selection process.
Also, we would like the members to consider suggestions for changer that
need to take place at the airport. If
you have any maintenance or upgrade suggestions, please write them down and drop it in hangar 96 VNC.
I look forward to seeing you at the May meeting and at the airport over
the summer.
Sincerely,
Joseph Rand, MD
________________________________________________________________________
Mission Control: The VASI “AIM”
1.
To Promote, support and
encourage the continued use of the Venice Municipal Airport as a general aviation facility.
2.
To educate concerned
citizens as to the airport’s importance tot eh public welfare.
3.
To provide a forum
whereby those concerned with utilization of the facility may voice their
concerns.
4.
To advise the appropriate
authorities regarding safety, security, utilization and other concerns at the
airport.
5.
To provide a forum for
the flying public regarding aviation matters.
6.
To support the city,
county, state and federal authorities in carrying out their duties regarding
aviation and the utilization of the Venice Municipal Airport in disaster,
welfare and other public service.
Venice Aviation Society, Inc. May
2003 Page 2
DAVE’S PAGE
I love engines.
For inanimate things, they
can provide you with the whole range of emotions from anguish to joy. I worked
at Pratt & Whitney in East Hartford for a while in the early 70’s. My
engineering group was primarily interested in the jet fuel control. It was,
however, long enough ago, that there was still some support for the older
radial engines. It was worth going to work on any day that I could walk across
the experimental assembly floor and see a recip coming apart or going together.
We take so much for granted with our engines. They are engineering marvels.
They are an aluminum case just full of physical problems that must be overcome.
Imagine for a moment some of those moving parts that are trying to fly apart
from centrifugal force. We have pistons that move from the bottom of the
cylinder. They accelerate to a high speed, and come to a complete stop in the
course of a five or six inch stroke. Then they reverse direction, and repeat
this about 2500 times a minute. All of this moving mass has to be balanced.
There are parts of many different metals. Parts of the engine operate at a wide
range of temperatures, and each metal has its own coefficient of expansion. The
intake valve sees a relatively cool mixture of fuel and air, while an inch
away, the exhaust valve is seeing a 1700-degree blast. The fire in the
cylinders comes from a controlled even burn, not from an explosion. When we get
explosions, we call that detonation, and that is a very bad thing. That
controlled burn has to start at a specific time, and conclude at a specific
time, and then start all over again. There are a lot of events that have to be
carefully timed, and there are a lot of gears and cams to provide that timing.
All of these moving parts
create friction. The engine has to have a lubricating system to deal with this
friction. In its spare time, we also expect that lubricating system to help out
with the cooling. All of these engineering problems and more have to be
assembled into a lightweight machine that will maximize output at a reasonable
fuel consumption. It has to be easily controlled, and it is expect to run
without failing with a ham-handed pilot at the controls. I fly behind some of
the best technology to come out of the 1930’s. My engine was designed to burn
80 octane gas that could hold up to that mild 6.5 compression. While there have
been few watershed technological leaps in piston engines for airplanes, a lot
of things are different. We are starting to see sophisticated computerized controls.
When I toured the Unison factory a few years back they were touting their FADEC
(FULL AUTHORITY DIGITAL ENGINE CONTROL). That is one power lever that will take
into account the output from a lot of sensors, and give you the best
combination for the power you want. It will control spark timing, mixture and
RPM, and anything else they want to throw in. All that is done today with a
microchip. Back at Pratt, the jet engines has a single power lever that went to
a hydro mechanical fuel control that weighed about 50 pounds. It was an
incredibly complex machine that had bellows, flyweights, three dimensional
cams, and dozens of linkages. If you wanted to change a characteristic, you had
to redesign a cam, and grind a new one. Today it is all done with software.
At the May VASI meeting, we have Charlie Melot of Zephyr Engines
as our guest speaker. He will tell us how to pamper our beloved engines. He
will tell us the best things that we can do for them, and the worst things we can
do. Charlie knows engines. If you fear it, he has seen it. Come and learn, come
and ask questions.
Dave
Venice Aviation Society, Inc. May
2003
Page 3
*NEW COLUMN*
$100.00 Hamburger
If you are looking for a new
place to fly to, maybe you haven’t heard about Jumboliar?
Jumbolair,
once home to three thousand crocodile, ninety eight elephants, three white
rhinos and a four hundred pound gorilla named Mickey is on its way towards
becoming the nation’s largest and most exclusive fly-in community. Jumbolair
was conceived and built to be the perfect home and business center by Terri
Jones and her former husband Arthur Jones, the avant-garde inventor of Nautilus
exercise equipment. Situated in Ocala, Florida, Jumbolair’s rolling hills and
sprawling oaks almost seem in direct contrast to its enormous 7,550-foot
runway. And if it’s colossal length seems a little excessive, its width is
almost confounding. The three Boeing 707’s that Terri and Arthur once parked on
the north end of the runway seemed dwarfed by the huge ten acre paved parking
pad. Jumbolair is rich in history. Although originally owned by the Muriel
Vanderbilt Adams, the legend of Jumbolair really began with the eccentricity of
Arthur Jones. Jumbolair has been featured on such programs as 20/20, Lifestyles
Of The Rich and Famous, The Tonight Show, Good Morning America and NBC Nightly
News.
The
first Sunday of every month Terri hosts a brunch at the Clubhouse
Ballroom. $25 per person includes tax,
tip and a wonderful brunch with everything from, made to order tableside
omelets, donuts, biscuits and gravy to Lasagna, shrimp and sliced ham, save
room fpr every desert you can imagine.
The
Airpark is just 8 miles northeast of Ocala, not hard to spot a 7550ft. runway.
|
Calendar Of Events (Cable TV) The one hour
2003 Sun 'n Fun Fly-In Television Special on the Sunshine Network - Monday, May 26 @ 8:30
p.m.Wednesday, May 28 @ 11 a.m. and 12 a.m. (Fly-In, Food) May 24, Sat., ( ISM ) Ranger Aviation at Gateway Airport. Discover Osceola Fly In, Kissimmee Gateway (ISM) Florida. May 24 (May 25 wx alt), 11 AM -3 PM. Free Fat Boy's BBQ, discounted self serve fuel, warbirds, give aways and informational displays. Discounts to Orlando area attractions and hotels available. (Sunday Brunch) June 1, First Sun., ( 17FL ) Greystone
Airport, Jumbolair Estates. 9:30 AM - 2:00 PM (see article) (Food) June 1, First Sun., ( FMY ) Page
Field, Ft. Myers,
EAA Chapter 66 has their
Pancake Breakfast the first Sunday of each and every month 8 am to 11 am at
the EAA building. Pancakes, sausage, eggs, OJ, coffee and nice folks. (Fly-In-Food)
June 7, First Sat., (May - Sep.) Triple Diamond Jet Center at Venice for FREE Barbeque and FREE
Sodas. For more dates check
www.floridapilot .com |
Venice Aviation Society, Inc. May 2003
Page 5
|
V.A.S.I Executive
Board President Joseph Rand,
MD * Vice President Nick Carlucci * Secretary Buck Settles * Treasurer Millar
Brainard * Directors Nick
Piscitelli Dave Welch * VASI Airport
Advisory Board Designee Bart
Bartanowica The VASI Angle P.O. Box 1153 Venice, FL
34284 airbuck@comcast.net |
Nick’s Notes:
--The May
meeting will be our last until September. Do plan to attend? Charlie Merlot of
Zephyr Engines is a true expert when it comes to engine overhauls. He has
worked for all the the major and well known shops, came to Florida and turned Zephyr
Engine into a superb , well respected shop. He has been highlighted in Aviation
Consumer and will provide us expert insight into engine overhauls and the
decisions/tradeoffs that need to be made at TBO time.
--Sometimes
the good things going on close to home get overlooked. Triple Diamond is doing
some neat things to help make VNC a great place to fly to. Did you know that the first Saturday of the
month, Triple Diamond offers free food (BBQ) and drinks as well as discounted
self-service fuel till noon. Help get the word out to pilots from other places
that VNC is a great place to visit. The Cockpit Cafe has new ownership with
some new menu items...try it out .
--This may
be old news but if you have not heard it, the city and the FAA have settled the
fund diversion issue and VNC can now apply and receive Airport Improvement
Funds; you may recall that Larry Heath (at our last meeting) told us he was
pushing for a full time airport manager, well the city is now in the process of
hiring a manager who among other things will work full time on getting the
funds needed to bring VNC up to speed.
--There are
many positive things happening airport related right now .The city is going out
for bids/proposals on the business park and marina; as well as the park in
place of the water treatment plant. Get all the info at our meeting. Remember
there is strength in numbers, get others to join VASI, together we make a statement,
our collective voice is loud, strong and steady.
--IF
ANYONE HAS AN IDEA,SUGESTION OR COMPLAINT ABOUT VNC SEND ME AN E-MAIL OR WRITE
IT UP AND SLIP INTO MY HANGER #96 (same hangar building as sheriff's
helicopter- north side across from Ray Hoey). Fly Safe see you at the meeting.
Nick Carlucci. e-mail joecessna72@cs.com. 941-408-7777
TREASURER’S REPORT
May 15th,
2003
Cash in
Bank $1971.20
-Millar
Venice Aviation
Society, Inc.
May 2003 Page 4
Pass This On to A
Friend
Venice
Aviation Fast File
Society Application for Membership
Inc.
Yearly Dues only $20.00 Please
remember to include your check with this application
Please Print Clearly
Name:
__________________________________________________________________
Last First Middle
Name as you want on your name
badge _______________________________________
Mailing Address:
_________________________________________________________
City, State, Zip:
__________________________________________________________
E-mail address:
__________________________________________________________
Phone (Home): ________________________ (Work): ___________________________
Occupation, present:
__________________________ Former, if retired: _____________
Pilot? _______ Yes
________ No Aircraft, if own,
what type? ____________________
My flying is __________ %
Pleasure ___________ % Business
Qualifications:
_____ SEL _____ SES _____ Multi _____
Multi-sea _____ Inst
_____ COMM _____ CFI _____
CFII _____ ATP
_____ Tail Wheel
Type Ratings ____________________________________________________________
Special Aviation Interests:
__________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Affirmation:
This application is made with
the full understanding that the applicant accepts total liability and
responsibility for his or her actions during VASI functions, and agrees to hold
VASI harmless from any liability arising therefrom.
Signature:
_______________________________________________________________
Date:
________________________
Send your application with
your check for $20.00 payable to VASI today!
VASI, c/o M. Brainard – 4432
Rum Bay Circle, Sarasota, FL 34233
V.A.S.I.
P.O. Box 1153
Venice, FL 34284
Venice Aviation
Society, Inc.
May 2003 Page 6
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Garmin GPS 95.
Complete with Antenna,
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