I traditionally devote the first post-EAA AirVenture Oshkosh article to
the convention, and this year we all have a lot to feel good about.
Considering the state of the economy and September 11, we were all
concerned about how the convention would turn out. However, we had a
really good show. The show attracted approximately 750,000 attendees with
more than 10,000 aircraft and about 2,500 showplanes. Of these, we had 401
warbird aircraft (compared to 413 in 2001 and 386 in 2000). We had no
fatalities or major accidents either at Oshkosh or en route. An informal
poll of the volunteers and other warbird members indicated that the level
of satisfaction was high.
I would like to thank the Warbirds board for re-electing me for a
second two-year term and to thank the members and volunteers for their
support. I am anxious to move our organization forward. Several of our
board members that have devoted literally decades of hard work have moved
on to senior director (non-voting) status. This will provide us with the
opportunity to bring in some new board members, perhaps more
representative of the membership and hopefully with fresh ideas.
I will have the good fortune to be working with Bill Fischer, our new
executive director. He "hit the ground running" as he started
working with us three weeks before the convention started, but he did a
great job, and I am looking forward to working with him for the next two
years. His assistant, Midge Fischer, really did a great job of keeping our
office going while we were in between executive directors, and she also
did a great job at EAA AirVenture. Those of us that called headquarters
during this last year with various problems really appreciated her hard
work.
Members of our government affairs committee met with the FAA on several
occasions during EAA AirVenture. One session was devoted to the NPRM
(notice of proposed rulemaking) for the L-39 Advisory Circular. We made
great progress in resolving some of the regulatory problems such as
"engine life time limitations" and formed an L-39 Owners
Association (LOA). Membership in this group will be restricted to L-39
owners. It will be a nonpolitical, nonpartisan group that will represent
the L-39 owners and work with the FAA to resolve a number of issues
related to "hot seat" maintenance, engine TBOs (time between
overhauls), and more. Organizational issues will be managed by the North
American Trainer Association (NATA), which will also print the LOA
newsletter. You can get more information by contacting John Harrison at
916/392-8545 or coglead@pacbell.net.
Ongoing discussions with the FAA were continued about the T-34 spar
inspection. On July 30, the FAA sent out a special airworthiness bulletin
indicating an official approval of the Nogle and Black Aviation Alternate
Means of Compliance (AMOC) with a new spar installation and 500-hour
repetitive inspections. They also approved a second AMOC provided by
Aviadesign that uses a steel spar strap and repetitive Raytheon
inspections every 2,400 hours. Also approved was a rear spar fluorescent
inspection program for the rear spar wing attachment. With 20 hours of
time in service after August 1, 2002, or after the 80 hours have been
flown, the rear spar inspection must be done, and this must be repeated
after another 100 hours. The entire AMOC must be performed within 24
months or 200 hours TIS (time in service) after the initial inspection.
Owners flying on the time extension after the rear spar inspection must
have a letter proving that they are on the waiting list to have the full
AMOC complied with. See the EAA website for more details.
Nick Sabatini (assistant FAA administrator) attended one of these
meetings and raised the issue of the terrorist threat that warbird
aircraft might pose, and the public perception of that risk. While
security and airport access has been tightened up a lot in some of the
major metropolitan areas, many of the smaller airports in less densely
populated areas have not taken any significant steps to enhance aircraft
security. This has particular relevance to Eastern Bloc jet aircraft to
which some terrorists might have had access for training. We as a group
need to take some pre-emptive action before this becomes an issue for the
Transportation Security Administration (TSA). For those aircraft that do
not have door or ignition locks, we need to come up with some form of
security arrangement. This could be a prop chain (available at Sporty’s
for about $150) for piston aircraft or a hidden switch that would prevent
the aircraft from starting. More hangar security, alarms, and other
measures would also help. One terrorist incident involving a warbird could
easily result in the TSA shutting down all warbird flying.
We tend to see EAA AirVenture and Sun ’n Fun as the most obvious
aspects of our organization’s activities. However, I believe that our
work with the FAA is one of the most important benefits that Warbirds of
America provides to our members. We currently have an excellent
relationship with the FAA, and we will continue to work with them to
provide the expertise and experience that our members have and at the same
time protect our right to fly.
As most of us clearly understand, this year’s successful EAA
AirVenture was the product of a lot of time and hard work on the part of
our volunteers. Our next month’s issue of the magazine will be devoted
to the convention and the volunteers that made it happen.
We are starting to plan for the National Warbird Operators Conference,
which will be in Mesa, Arizona, February 28-March 2, 2003. We would
welcome any suggestions for topics and especially for speakers that might
be interested in participating. We also would welcome comments and
suggestions about how we might make EAA AirVenture a better experience for
our members. Contact me at warbirdpres@aol.com
or Bill Fischer at bfischer@eaa.org.
Mike Schloss
President
Warbirdpres@aol.com
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