JANUARY 2011 OFFICIAL MAGAZINE ofof thethe INTERNATIONALINTERN AEROBATIC CLUB Jimmy Franklin The IAC’s 2010 Hall of Fame Inductee Crankcase Evacuation Choosing a Flight Helmet Vol. 40 No.1 January 2011 A PUBLICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB CONTENTS At age 12, he snuck out and soloed himself while home alone. FEatURES 04 Immelmann THE COVER Whose turn is it? R.E. Van Patten, Ph.D. Jimmy Franklin in his air show heyday. 06 Jimmy Franklin IAC’s 2010 Hall of Fame Inductee Kyle Franklin 12 Crankcase Evacuation Marshal Murray 20 Flight Helmets and Risk Management Rick Volker 26 Inside the Hangar Technical Tips COLUMNS 02 / President’s Page Doug Bartlett 32 / Ask Allen Allen Silver DEPARTMENTS 27 / Advertiser’s Index 31 / FlyMart and Classifieds PHOTOGRAPHY BY DEKEVIN THORNTON DOUG BARTLETT COMMENTARY / PRESIDENT’S PAGE PUBLISHER: Doug Bartlett IAC MANAGER: Trish Deimer EDITOR: Reggie Paulk SENIOR ART DIRECTOR: Phil Norton DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS: Mary Jones COPY EDITOR: Colleen Walsh CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS: Doug Bartlett R.E. Van Patten Kyle Franklin Allen Silver Marshall Murray Rick Volker Reggie Paulk Enclosed is a Q&A I had IAC CORRESPONDENCE with Ryan Birr of the International Aerobatic Club, P.O. Box 3086 Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086 Tel: 920.426.6574 • Fax: 920.426.6579 Northwest Insurance Group, E-mail: [email protected] our aerobatic insurance PUBLICATION ADVERTISING maNAGER, DOMESTIC: partners. Sue Anderson Tel: 920-426-6127 Fax: 920-426-4828 Doug: I have a series of ques- to find homes for members that maNAGER, EUROPEAN/ASIAN: tions for Northwest Insurance Group won’t have Berkley as an option on Willi Tacke Tel: +498841/487515 (NWIG) that may help our members renewal. Since we have the entire Fax: +498841/496012 understand what is taking place with aviation market (except AVEMCO) E-mail: [email protected] our IAC / NWIG insurance agree- to work with, we have been rela- ment. The end of our three-year tively successful finding IAC mem- COORDINATOR, CLASSIFIED: Alicia Canziani agreement comes up for renewal on bers an insurance product to meet E-mail: [email protected] April 1, 2011. I understand Berkley their needs at a competitive price. MAILING: Change of address, lost or will not provide aerobatic insurance The coverage forms are vastly differ- damaged magazines, back issues. policies after December 1, 2010. Is ent from one company to the next, EAA-IAC Membership Services that correct? so our job has really been to make Tel: 800.843.3612 Fax: 920.426.6761 E-mail: [email protected] sure coverages are in place for the Ryan: That is correct. type of flying that each insured is The International Aerobatic Club is a division of the EAA. involved in. We are more than happy Doug: Were they required to pro- to continue to provide our brokerage vide us insurance policies until the services and insurance counsel to IAC end of our agreement? members. We’ll have to look at the WWW.IAC.ORG WWW.EAA.ORG services contract to determine the EAA® and SPORT AVIATION®, the EAA Logo® and Aeronautica™ are registered trademarks and Ryan: No, the agreement for ser- best way to move forward, since we service marks of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. The use of these trademarks and service marks without the permission of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. is strictly vices was directly with NWIG and won’t have an exclusive product from prohibited. Copyright © 2010 by the International Aerobatic Club, Inc. All rights reserved. not with Berkley, they are under no 12/01 forward, which our contract The International Aerobatic Club, Inc. is a division of EAA and of the NAA. A STATEMENT OF POLICY The International Aerobatic Club, Inc. cannot assume obligation to provide the product. with IAC requires. responsibility for the accuracy of the material presented by the authors of the articles in the magazine. The pages of Sport Aerobatics are offered as a clearing house of information They did, however, agree to carry the and a forum for the exchange of opinions and ideas. The individual reader must evaluate this material for himself and use it as he sees fit. Every effort is made to present materials of program through December 1, 2010, Doug: Why did Vicki Cruse wide interest that will be of help to the majority. Likewise we cannot guarantee nor endorse any product offered through our advertising. We invite constructive criticism and welcome as a courtesy to us and the IAC. approach NWIG to establish an any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken. Sport Aerobatics (USPS 953-560) is owned by the International insurance program? Aerobatic Club, Inc., and is published monthly at EAA Aviation Center, Editorial Department, P.O. Box 3086, 3000 Poberezny Rd., Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Periodical Postage is paid at Doug: Will NWIG be able to pro- Oshkosh Post Office, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 and other post offices. Membership rate for the International Aerobatic Club, Inc., is $45.00 per 12-month period of which $18.00 is for vide IAC members with competitive Ryan: Vicki approached us to bid the subscription to Sport Aerobatics. Manuscripts submitted for publication become the property of the International Aerobatic Club, Inc. Photographs will be returned upon request aerobatic policies? on the then-expiring contract with of the author. High-resolution images are requested to assure the best quality reproduction. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Sport Aerobatics, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI the previous program provider. She 54903-3086. PM 40063731 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to Pitney Bowes IMS, Station A, P.O. Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5. Ryan: We have been working hard conducted a member survey that 2 Sport Aerobatics January 2011 Please submit news, comments, articles, or suggestions to: [email protected] showed 1) the members were unhap- lots of coverages, and significant finan- no program pricing is available. py with the service from the broker- cial support. The key here was that age and 2) that the product wasn’t it was a “true program” with pooled Doug: Is there any reason the IAC doing everything that the IAC wanted underwriting; if claims expense was should work directly with insurance from its insurance program. She was high then premiums would increase. agencies to provide insurance options looking for a program that would be If they were low, premiums would for its members? nondiscriminatory towards the vari- decrease. The program would take all ous aircraft that were involved in IAC IAC aircraft, nearly Ryan: That competition, which would provide a all pilots, in all con- depends on whether host of additional coverages in addi- ditions, and cover Since the or not you can con- tion to basic hull and liability (member them anywhere in vince an insurance benefits), which would also provide the world. “program” is brokerage to pay roy- coverage when aircraft went to foreign alties and extensive countries for competition, and, finally, Doug: Why was now concluded, advertising costs. If would provide a reasonable revenue there a large swing in we have a dedicated stream back to IAC. She was also look- the cost of insurance we are forced program or we oth- ing for an exceptional level of service policies over the last erwise just market to the membership from the provider. three years? into market the accounts, we still provide a substantial Doug: Why did Berkley pull out Ryan: Claims and pricing. service to the IAC of providing the IAC with aerobatic program expenses members regarding insurance policies? exceeded initial esti- coverages for their mates. We did not activities, whether Ryan: I can only speculate on the get the participation that Vicki origi- it’s for practice, for competition, for real reason but 1) the cost of the nally thought we would, and the claims sightseeing, or dual instruction, or program (losses versus premium) was grew to unacceptable proportions. The for air shows. But we can do that clearly too high. The participation in pricing simply followed claims experi- independent of the IAC contract, in the program by the IAC membership ence. Premiums went up three sepa- which case the IAC loses all its revenue was lukewarm considering our 3 years rate times due to claims experience for our services. IAC needs to decide of involvement with the Club and the in the program. Additionally during how much it is willing to promote this massive amount of promotion we did. the past year, as members started to service (we or others provide) as a So, the combination of low premi- leave for lower pricing, then the pro- member benefit in order to generate um volume and policy count com- gram’s profitability quickly eroded, revenue for the Club. We do know that bined with high claims expense in the creating a spiral effect. This is not an we have given a substantial amount of end necessarily warranted Berkley’s unusual phenomenon with insurance financial support to the IAC as part of exit simply on an economic basis. programs though; some programs do this contract during the past 3 years. Insurance companies work for a profit survive if participation is garnered I can’t imagine why the IAC wouldn’t and we had three years to deliver soon enough in the program’s infancy. want a brokerage involved in some profits to Berkley…it didn’t work out capacity in order to continue receiving so well. Doug: Can we receive a similar financial benefits from such a service, product from other insurance provid- even if it’s not NWIG. Doug: Did Berkley provide IAC ers at a competitive price? members with a superior product at If anybody has any questions or a fair price? Ryan: Since the “program” is now would like to discuss this issue fur- concluded, we are forced into market ther, I can be reached by email at doug.