February 2019 Bloomsburg Municipal Airport BJ Teichman, Airport Coordinator - TOB Dave Ruckle, Pilot [email protected] [email protected] Bloomsburg Flying Club Memberships available! www.flybloomsburg.com Contact: [email protected] Bring a friend who is interested in joining the club! Next Meetings: Sunday 17 February 6:30 PM – N13 Conference Room Sunday 17 March – 6:30 PM – N13 Conference Room Sunday 28 April – 6:30 PM - N13 Conference Room Flight Instructors: ▪ Phil Polstra – CFII (Parlor City Flying Club Member / Bloomsburg Flying Club) [email protected] (Independent) 563-552-7670 ▪ Rob Staib – CFII (Independent) [email protected] 570-850-5274 ▪ Hans Lawrence – CFII / MEI / RI (Independent) [email protected] 570-898-8868 ▪ Eric Cipcic, CFI (Independent) ▪ Kody Eyer, CFI (Independent) [email protected] 570-854-5325 N13 Fuel Prices: Currently $4.85/ Gallon, subject to change. Hangar News N13: All hangars are full. – If you wish to be placed on the waiting list, contact [email protected]. 2 Bloomsburg Municipal Airport NEWSLETTER February 2019 Accomplishments: Nate solos on Feb. 3- Congratulations!!! Above, Bloomsburg Flying Club member, Nate, with Skyhawk N819CF following his first solo. Well done! ******************************************************************* Ground School Update: CFII – Phil Polstra’s Pro-Bono Ground school beginning 22 Feb. -Registration has closed – class is full -Standby list has been created for future class. Please contact [email protected] if you wish to be placed on the waiting list. Aviation Explorer Post: -Next meeting 21nd February -Conference Room – Airport Terminal Building -6:00 PM 3 Bloomsburg Municipal Airport NEWSLETTER February 2019 Fly IN to N13. Airport Coordinator will transport you the 3 short miles to the Brewer's Weekend Experience at the Turkey Hill Brewing Company. Two-night beer-centric hands-on experience complete with tastings, pairings, and working with the Head Brew Master. Truly a unique experience! See brochure attached or open the link. Visit: www.innatturkeyhill.com Open the link below for dates and details! On Left & Below Photos of Restaurant & Brewery. https://bloomsburgpa.org/wp-content/uploads/BrewersWeekend-InnatTurkeyHill.pdf Brewer’s Weekend Dates: • Feb. 22nd and 23rd • Mar. 8th and 9th Don’t miss a romantic getaway and a fun filled weekend working with the brew master! 4 Bloomsburg Municipal Airport NEWSLETTER February 2019 This Month in Aviation History February 1, 1911….Burgess and Curtiss become the United States’ first licensed aircraft manufacturer. February 4, 1902….Charles Augustus Lindbergh (1920-1974), one of the most famous aviators in history, is born in Detroit, Michigan. February 5, 1949….An Eastern Air Lines Lockheed “Constellation” lands at LaGuardia, New York, at the end of a flight of 6 hours 18 minutes from Los Angeles, a coast-to-coast record for transport aircraft. February 8, 1988….The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) retires an aircraft registration number for the first time; that of Amelia Earhart’s airplane, which disappeared over the Pacific in July 1937. February 10, 1908…First Army airplane contract signed with Wright Brothers. February 19, 1937…Howard Hughes establishes a new transcontinental speed record of 7 hour 28 minutes 25 seconds from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey. February 20, 1968…A standard Learjet 25 sets a new “time-to-climb” record by climbing to 40,000 feet in 6 minutes 29 seconds. February 24, 1983…The youngest pilot known to have made a solo flight in a powered, heavier- than-air, flying machines takes to the air for the first time at age 9 years 316 days. The flight takes place near Mexicali, Mexico and the aircraft the boy pilots is a Cessna 150. 5 Bloomsburg Municipal Airport NEWSLETTER February 2019 February 28, 1918…Regulations of the airways begins as United States President Woodrow Wilson issues an order requiring licenses for civilian and owner. Over 800 licenses are issued. Submitted by: Dave Ruckle Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976 Investor, engineer, film director, and philanthropist: these are just a few of the many careers that describe one of the most influential figures in the history of aviation. “I want to be remembered for only one thing,” stated Howard Hughes, “my contributions to aviation.” What an impact he had too. So much, that numerous book and movies have been written and made telling the stories of his many flying accomplishments. In 1932 he formed the Hughes Aircraft Company, hiring numerous aircraft designers and engineers where he spent the next 20 years setting multiple airspeed records and building airplanes. It was during this time he built the H-1 Racer and the H-4 Hercules more popularly known as the “Spruce Goose”. He also acquired and expanded Trans World Airlines (TWA) and Air West, renaming it Hughes Airwest. 6 Bloomsburg Municipal Airport NEWSLETTER February 2019 On January 19, 1937, flying the H-1 Racer, Hughes set a new transcontinental airspeed record, flying non-stop from Los Angeles California to Newark, New Jersey in seven hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds with an average ground speed of 322 mph. Then on July 14, 1938, flying a Lockheed 14 Super Electra, he established another record by completing a flight around the world in 91 hours or three days, 19 hours and 17 minutes. And, as if that wasn’t enough, Hughes won the Harmon Trophy in both 1936 and 1938, also the Collier Trophy in 1938, and was awarded the Bibesco Cup in 1938, the Congressional Gold Medal in 1939 for his achievements in aviation, and the Octave Chanute Award in 1940. He was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1973 and posthumously into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame in 1987. He was ranked 25th in Flying Magazine’s list of the 51 Heroes of Aviation. During an interview about his many accomplishments in aviation, Hughes was quoted saying, “Passion will make you crazy, but is there any other way to live?” Hughes was the survivor of four airplane accidents, including a near-fatal crash in an XF-11 on July 7 1946 while test flying the prototype of the U.S. Army Air Force’s reconnaissance aircraft. His injuries included a crushed collar bone, multiple cracked ribs, crushed chest, and collapsed left lung. The impact was so significant that it shifted his heart to the right side of his chest cavity and he suffered severe third-degree burns. “If I have made a mistake in the design,” Hughes once said, “then I’m the one who should pay for it. I certainly would not ask somebody else to fly a plane if I were afraid to do it myself.” Perhaps, Hughes is remembered most for the construction and one flight of the H-4 Hercules, better remembered as the Spruce Goose (Above). Originally referred to as the HK-1 Hercules flying boat, Hughes renamed it when his partner Henry Kaiser withdrew from the War Production Board project to 7 Bloomsburg Municipal Airport NEWSLETTER February 2019 build the gigantic troop transport plane during World War II. The aircraft, however, was not completed until after the end of the war. Not only was if the largest flying boat, it was the largest aircraft made from wood. In fact, it was largely made from birch wood not spruce. And it is no longer the longest or heaviest aircraft ever built. The Antonov An-225 now holds both titles. The Spruce Goose only flew once for a distance of one mile and an altitude of 70 feet with Howard Hughes at the controls on November 2, 1947. It had been on display for some time at the harbor of Long Beach California but was moved to McMinnville, Oregon, where it is now part of the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum. And what became of the Hughes H-1 Racer? It was donated to the Smithsonian Institute. By the way, do you remember the Lockheed Constellation airliner (Below) or “Connie” as it is affectionately called? Yes, Hughes is credited with being the driving force behind the design and development of that too. There is so much to know about this man; far more than can be told here in the Bloomsburg airport newsletter. He acquired a tremendous amount of real estate, resorts and hotels especially in and around Nevada and California. It was the principal asset in the Hughes Empire. He owned RKO Pictures RKO Studios, RKO Radio Network and the RKO Theaters. In his younger years, as a two-handicapper, he 8 Bloomsburg Municipal Airport NEWSLETTER February 2019 played golf with the game’s top players like Gene Sarazen at courses like Bel-Air Country Club, Lakeside and Wilshire. Sadly, late in life, Hughes became known for his eccentric behavior and reclusive lifestyle. Perhaps this brief introduction to one of the most intriguing men in aviation will make you want to learn more. If that’s the case then check out the following books and movies about the man who once said, “I intend to be the greatest golfer in the world, the finest film producer in Hollywood, the greatest pilot in the world, and richest man in the world.” Books about the aviation life of Howard Hughes “Hughes after Howard: The Story of Hughes Aircraft Company” • By Ken Richardson “Howard Hughes and his Flying Boat” • By Charles Barton “Howard Hughes Airlines” • By Robert J. Serling “Howard’s Whirlybird: Hughes’ Amazing Pioneering Helicopter Exploits” • By Donald J. Porter And just a few of the Movies “The Aviator” “Howard Hughes: The Great Aviator” “The Passions of Howard Hughes” Submitted by: Dave Ruckle 9 Bloomsburg Municipal Airport NEWSLETTER February 2019 2019 – COMING EVENTS: Community Welcome Safety Community National Night Out – Sponsored by Seminars Welcome Bloom Police Dept.