Presidents Corner
by Darrel Cook

Coastal Fliers held the annual election at the last general meeting and the membership elected the new board for the 2002/2003 year. The newly elected board members are:

Darrel Cook, Terry Paik, Bob Finnin, David Cooksy, Chris Jensen, Steve Dari and Jake Wilkerson

I would like to thank Donn and Barbara Larson for their service on the board. They did a wonderful job creating our website and publishing this newsletter. Steve and Meg Dari have agreed to take over the newsletter while Donn and Barbara will continue to maintain our website. I would also like to thank Richard Bartlett-May for stepping in as Safety Officer in the middle of the year. Our new Safety Officer will be Jake Wilkerson. He has been in the club for a long time and recently received his CFI at Emery Riddle Flight Academy.

This quarter's plane wash went well. We washed and waxed 3 planes in a very short amount of time thanks to the help of many members. Once again the planes look great and we can all be proud of them.

Fourth of July!

We're going to try and duplicate (surpass, actually!) the wonderful time we had last year on the Fourth of July. The racetrack will have fireworks at about 9:00pm, but we'd like to start gathering on the Royal Jet ramp about 3:00pm for some good food, drinks, flying stories, a spot landing contest, and of course - fireworks. Bring your hats, lawnchairs and favorite dish to share with the group. Please contact David Cooksy or Steve Dari about coordinating food and beverages. A barbecue will be provided for any anyone who would like to cook something and at the President's request, there will be brats for everyone! Come, have a great time and rest assured that no one will be asked to wax any airplanes!

From The Old Timer
by Harry McCoy

A LOVE OF MY LIFE
Part 26--1953

After I made Aircraft Commander, I got some pretty crappy flights, but I knew why. I was low man on the totem pole and some of the officers were very resentful of an enlisted man being in charge of the flight. But I got one flight that didn't quite make up for it, but I enjoyed it!

I landed in South Korea to get some fuel, and then headed up the east coast to a field near the DMZ where the Admiral was supposed to have some conferences with field commanders. I had computed it should take me an hour and 10 minutes and the only radio we had was an NDB. This was before the VOR's had been installed and their NDB's were tired and weak. This field had one right on the base, so I felt confident I was on track. I was quite impressed though, that the needle was homing perfectly with my computed heading. After 1 hour and 15 minutes it was still homing perfectly, but we appeared to be no closer to the field than before. There had been no identifier on frequency, but that wasn't too uncommon with Korean NDBs. Now I was concerned, so I started calling any radar in the area, (of which there were very few) but I did get an answer and he informed me that I was 50 miles north of the field!! He gave me vectors to return to the field and advised that the NDB in Vladavostok (Russia), about 800 miles north, was only 1 Kilocycle different than the Korean NDB and very powerful - and no identifier!

We arrived at the field in about 15 minutes and it was a sight to behold. There must have been 7 P-51 Mustangs cracked up on the east end of the runway. It turns out the U.S. trained the Koreans in SNJ's and then Korea stuffed them into a high performance P-51s. In those days there were no two place P-51 trainers. And it was more than the inexperienced Korean pilots could handle. They would lose control of the plane either on take off or landing and cream it.

The field was in a valley and there was no exit to the west, so you landed to the west and took off to the east whether you wanted to or not.

The Admiral disembarked and thanked me for the ride. They off loaded his gear, but unfortunately I had a brand new bag without any identification on it and it got offloaded too. I didn't miss it until that night back at Atsugi. I had a brand new camera that I had won in bingo in it plus some clean skivvies and a toothbrush. I didn't see that bag for three months while it traveled around the Pacific with the Admiral. I finally got it back, and not a thing was missing, but later I wished somebody would have stolen the camera-it was no damn good anyway!

To be continued...

Be Prepared
By Jean "Smoke" Garrow

Smoke Hood Update - For those of you who were unable to make the meeting, I just wanted to let you know of the minor change in plans for ordering the emergency smoke hoods. The previous company I had made arrangements with (EvacU8) for smoke hoods, really disappointed me. They took my order, my payment, promised delivery, then five hours later called me and said I had to pay quite a bit more for each hood and get them from a distributor rather than direct from the manufacturer.

Needless to say, I was more than a little angry and cancelled the order all together. Through the Internet I was able to locate a different manufacturer that offers a hood that, in my opinion, is even better than the original hood I had ordered.

This new device called Smoke-Mask, not only filters smoke but converts carbon monoxide as well. It can be deployed in less than 10 seconds and provides 20+ minutes of emergency smoke and carbon monoxide protection for the user. The Smoke-Mask also seems to have a better designed hood and the filter cartridge is replaceable, so you don't dispose of the unit after one use. Another added feature is that this hood does not require the device to be held in your teeth and use a nose clip, so you can speak and communicate easily. It even fits over an aviation headset. Smoke-Mask passes airline screening and is in a completely clear package with no metal parts.

If you are interested in learning more about this item, feel free to call me or go to their web site www.smoke-mask.com for details.

Thanks to my connection with Royal Jet, I am able to get them wholesale for $46.00 each, which includes shipping. If you told me you wanted to order previously, you're still covered. If anyone else would like to order let me know and I'll do my best to accommodate; this company does have minimum orders.

(If you're interested in this excellent and potentially lifesaving product, please help Jean out with her gracious offer to CFI members and get her advance payment with your order so she doesn't have to front this herself... ed.)

Safety Corner
By Jake Wilkerson

As many of you may have noticed, the Department of Transportation recently sent out two advisory circulars (AC 91-73 and AC 120-74) dealing with the ongoing problem of runway safety. Advisory circulars such as these are produced and distributed by the Department of Transportation to keep pilots up to date on current aviation information. Advisory circulars in general are non-regulatory, and are designed to provide information and procedures considered to be "good operating practices." The Department of Transportation maintains a large collection of these circulars. Advisory circulars in the collection cover a number of different topics and follow a numbering system similar to that of 14 CFR.

Advisory circulars can be obtained from a number of different sources in addition to the occasional mass mailing. They can be obtained (possibly for a fee) from the U.S. Government Printing Office. An easier and quicker source may be to visit the FAA website at www.FAA.gov. The FAA maintains a current online database of all active advisory circulars which can be downloaded and/or printed for easier reading. Other organizations, such as the AOPA, also maintain online databases which are accessible from their websites. A good start when hunting for advisory circulars is to obtain the advisory circular checklist (AC 00-2.13), which provides further information regarding pricing and ordering. The key to aviation safety is to become as proficient a pilot as possible and reading advisory circulars is just another way we can attain that proficiency.

Operations Report
by Bob Finnin

8788E: 88E is working well with no major problems this month. As you may notice, the repainted front wheel pant and right wing tip have been installed. The wing tip will be restriped during the repainting this fall. Bids on the reupholstery of the cabin interior are also being gathered at this time with expectations of having this done during the repainting process. The right wing strobe is not working at this time. It will be repaired as soon as time permits. The wiring has been disconnected at the sender unit to assure that no possibility of sparks exist within the wing. Tracing this problem has required more time than was expected. Southern Cal is on the problem.

46404: This aircraft continues to provide great service. A few items that have required service during the past month were the throttle linkage, check of the magneto timing and the turn coordinator bearing noise. All items have been taken care of at this time and the aircraft is in good shape. A backfire problem has been noted and is being taken care of as I write this article and the aircraft will be back on line by 6/25/02.

3015U: Other than the replacement of the electric boost pump, 15U has been flying with the greatest of ease. I flew it to the Bay area last week and all systems worked well and all who accompanied me had a great time.

2904K: The only problem was the charging system. This has been repaired and the alternator was serviced with new brushes and bearings and all are in top-notch shape now.

Please remember to remove all of your gear and any trash from the aircraft after each flight. Buckle seat beats, lock controls and doors and be sure it's tied down and covered for the next pilot who will be using it.

Always remember to treat these planes as if they were your very own, because of course, they are!

Thanks for the help in keeping our fleet in the great shape we are accustomed to! It's nice to walk out to our planes on the line at any airport and have one the best looking birds there.

Fly safe!

From the Board of Directors
By Chris Jensen

The June 6th Board meeting included a discussion of club finances, operations and maintenance. The Board also discussed several other noteworthy issues, including:

Corrections to 2 May 2002 minutes are that (1) fuel from Royal Jet is increasing $.20 instead of $.22, and; (2) a correction in how the loan for 04K will be paid: Coastal Fliers will pay the loan directly (not pay Terry Paik and have Terry pay the bank).

Operations: Bob Finnin reports 88E's wing tip awaiting a stripe to be painted and the strobe to be fixed. The strobe mount doesn't fit the glass and the right strobe is intermittent. The reflective position light indicator is missing. A mark on top of the right wing tip indicates a (minor) collision of some kind has occurred.

American Aircraft Reupholsters (AAR) estimates $4578.43 to reupholster the entire interior of 88E. It costs approximately $200 to reupholster each seat. Back seats account for $1875 and carpet $875. New foam fill is also needed. The job will take one week. We will also get other competitive bids. In addition, Richard will get a quote from one of his venders for Class A fire retardant material and get a cost to have a standard reupholstery shop do the work. Another option is to just get seat covers and new padding since most of the wear is on the passenger seat from the pilot sliding across the seat. Darrel noted previous seats were done in Wickenburg along with the paint and fell apart within a week.

46404: The throttle linkage was repaired since the muffler shroud shifted and blocked the throttle arm. 1.2 missing hours has been traced to a math error. A tuned exhaust for 404 is approximately $3000 for performance similar to 160hp. Loss of horsepower can also be attributed to erosion on the leading edge of the propellers.

2904K: No problems this month leading to that great cash flow mentioned above.

Board Calendar: Election, General Meeting. An audit committee must be called.

A motion was made to create an after flight check list to recommend how members should tidy up the aircraft after their flights.

Treasure's Report
by Terry Paik

As of June 1, we had $18,006 in the bank. May P&L net was -$359, however, we paid the annual taxes on two of our a/c ($1,738) and an annual on 04K; YTD was $14,473. We flew 131 hours and current A/R balance is $10,707.

We refinanced the loan on 04K and got a great interest rate at 6.49%. This will lower our monthly loan payments by more than $450(!), and should help the club's financial picture tremendously. However, our reserve account is still in the hole by approximately $20,000. The reserve account is the amount we should have allocated for scheduled major service - overhauls and paint - and is updated monthly. So, we're still a bit behind the eight ball, but we're making great progress.

O4K has been flying an average of just over 19 hrs. per month in 2002, up from last year's dismal 16 hrs. At this rate, and as long as she continues to fly (as well as the other a/c), we should be able to lower the Dakota's hourly rate in the very near future.

Remember, the more we fly, the cheaper we fly!

The Tail End...

As Darrel mentioned on the cover page, my wife Meg and I have taken over the newsletter from the wonderful job the Larson's have been doing the last few years. Last month was our first issue and I'd like to thank "Doc" Mann and Jim Tulumello for the great articles they wrote about their cross-country adventures. I hope all of you will share your flying experiences with us. Please don't be shy about contributing your stories! If you have an idea for an article or feature, or need some assistance or collaboration with a story project please contact me at (619) 589-8315 or stevedari@msn.com. I'm dedicated to making this newsletter as entertaining and informative as I possibly can, but I need your help!

The active summer flying season is here! Take pictures, write about your flights and get your families involved. (A non-pilot perspective is always interesting!) Tell us what you enjoyed and perhaps even experiences that you'd never like to repeat again!

This newsletter is a wonderful forum for all the issues that affect us as general aviation pilots. I'd like this publication to include local news items from the County of San Diego and the Gillespie Pilots' Association as well as national issues from the AOPA and FAA to help keep all of you informed. If an item of interest comes to your attention, please bring it to my mine.

This is also a great place to share discoveries of new websites that offer instant and timely information for pilots. There are improved weather products popping up on the web almost daily as well as references for TFRs and special security bulletins for pilots. If you find an especially helpful aviation website, we can list it here as well as on our website so CFI members can access those helpful resources with a single click.

In our rapidly changing world of aviation products, I really look forward to review articles by the membership. Whether it's a new portable GPS, panel mount avionics, headset or survival gear, your impression of these new gadgets would be welcome reading by all of us.

Finally, I've got to say a few words about the basic infrastructure items of our organization: our aircraft. I'm perpetually amazed by how good they look, how well they work and how reliably they're on the flight line, day in and day out. Many thanks have to go to Bob Finnin, who monitors and schedules maintenance and repairs for our aircraft. I don't think a day goes by when Bob doesn't know exactly what the status of each aircraft is. Equally important is the considerate treatment of our aircraft by our membership. They wouldn't look so good if they were treated carelessly. And instead of showing more wear and tear as the months progress, they actually look better as time goes on! Much of this is attributable to the quarterly plane washes that seem to leave our aircraft more polished and sparkling with each succeeding session. If you haven't been out to the plane washes, I urge you to do so. Not only is it a fun opportunity to meet your fellow CFI members, I can tell you from experience that there's a real sense of accomplishment when those planes are shining on the line!

Thanks for making CFI a great organization and this newsletter so much fun to read! Meg and I look forward to all your submissions, ideas and comments.

Most sincerely,
Steve & Meg Dari