NEWSLETTER FOR OUR MEMBERS

December 1, 2010
By: Gary Vacin, Publicity Director

The next monthly meeting of SLAC
Monday, DECEMBER 20, 2010

AT THE SUN LAKES COUNTRY CLUB - PHASE I

Programs

For information on Programs, contact Gary Vacin, Programs Director
Tel 480-802-2225 or email gvacin@hotmail.com

Mon Dec 20th	Cal Venable Flys the Hump with C46 - WWII
Business	Election of Board Members

Activities Schedule
For information on Activities, contact Earl Cuyler, Activities Director
Tel 480-478-3716 or email EarlSLAC@wbhsi.net

Since many members can only participate on Saturdays, we
have made most of the proposed activities on a Saturday

Generally the third Saturday of each month SLAC flies to select locations

Sat Dec 18th	Fly to Ryan Field breakfast. Meet at CHD Terminal 7:30 AM
Sat Jan 15th	Fly to Marana for breakfast. Meet at CHD Terminal 7:30 AM
Sat Feb 19th	Fly to Payson for breakfast. Meet at CHD Terminal 7:30 AM
Sat Mar 19th	Fly to Lake Havasu. Late breakfast and tour London Bridge. Meet at CHD Terminal 7:30 AM
Sat April 16th	Fly to Prescott. Breakfast and tour Embry Riddle Aeronautical Institute. Meet at CHD Terminal 7:30 AM

Field Trips
Generally the fourth Saturday of each month
SLAC Field trips to points of interest to all members and pilots

Date	Destination		Mileage
Sat Jan 22nd	Pima Air Museum & Bone Yard Fly or Drive. Arrangements to be announced.		82 NM Fly 102SM Drive
Feb 26th	Tentative. Visit Chandler tower. Arrangements to be announced.			Drive 9mi
March 26th	Breakfast at Gateway. Visit Cessna Service Center. Meet at flag pole 8:00AM			Drive or fly 22 statue
April 22^nd or 23rd		Tentative. Visit RotoWay Helicopter factory. Arrangements to be announced.			Drive 41 mi
May 21st		Breakfast at Eloy. Watch parachute jumping. Arrangements to be announced. Meet at flag pole 8:00AM

PUBLICITY
Contact Gary Vacin, Publicity Director
Tel 480-802-2225; or email Gvacin@hotmailcom

The following articles will appear in the December Splash

Aero Club members visit Williams  Gateway Airport in Mesa

Eight members of the Sun Lakes Aero Club participated in a field trip to Williams Gateway Airport in Mesa October 23.  Activities included breakfast at the Flight Deck Café and a guided tour of the Hawker-Beechcraft Maintenance Facility.    Making the trip were Monte Hoskins, Bob Walch,Jim Parrish, Gary Vacin, Jim Theobald, Dick Simmons, and Larry Miller.

Photo by Gar Vacin

Aero Club speaker to discuss flying the Hump during WWII.

          Sun Lakes resident Cal Venable, a veteran of more than 100 flights across the Hump during World War II, will describe his flying experiences during a presentation to the Sun Lakes Aero Club (SLAC) Monday, December 20 at the Sun Lakes Country Club Mirror Room.  The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. with refreshments and conversation, followed by Venable’s presentation at 7 p.m.

          Venable enlisted in the Army in 1941 and graduated from flight training in March, 1943.  He trained in the Curtis-Wright C-46 Commando aircraft, the largest twin-engine aircraft of its time.  He flew a brand new C-46 to India as a 20-year-old six months later.  During the next year, he flew104 flights across the Hump, airlifting supplies to China and allied troops. The dangerous 530-mile passage over the Himalayan Mountains took its toll, as nearly 1,000 men and 600 aircraft were lost during the campaign.  However, Venable flew 104 flights across the Hump without an engine failure or aborted mission. 

Following the war, he flew P-51fighter aircraft and later P-80 fighter jets during the Korean Conflict.  He later served in the Pentagon and retired from the military in 1963.

SLAC meets the third Monday of each month from October through May in the Sun Lakes Country Club Mirror Room. Additional information is available on the club’s web site, SunLakesAeroClub.org, or by calling Bob Walch at 895-8869 or

Sun Lakes Aero Club member wins EAA honors with homebuilt aircraft

By: Gary Vacin, Publicity Director

Sun Lakes Aero Club member Dan Lance earned high honors with his homebuilt Challenger Long Wing aircraft at two recent Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) events.

Lance’s Challenger was awarded Reserve Grand Champion Light Sport Aircraft at EAA’s annual International Fly-In Convention at Oshkosh, WI in July. The craft also was awarded Reserve Grand Champion of all aircraft judged and also 2^nd place in Tube and Fabric construction at EAA’s Copper State Fly-In at Casa Grande, Ariz. in October.

Lance started flying in 1982, “mostly in Cessnas and Piper Warriors,” he says. “I did most of my flying in the Midwest, then moved to Arizona in 2000 and got tired of renting planes in order to fly. So I started looking for a relatively inexpensive plane to build and discovered the Challenger. I got a demonstration ride and decided to proceed.”

Lance purchased a kit and started his homebuilt project in 2004, competing the tail section, landing gear legs, and wing ribs at his residence in Chandler. He moved the project to the Glendale airport where he installed the engine and wiring and fabric covering completing the project in November, 2009.

A Coast Guard veteran, he decided to paint his plane

in a Coast Guard theme. “I get a lot of gawkers and picture takers whenever I land somewhere,” he says. He now hangars his aircraft at the Coolidge Airport southeast of Sun Lakes.

Lance’s Challenger has floats, allowing him to land on the water. The floats also have conventional landing gear for landing at airports. The aircraft is powered by a 52-hp Rotax 503 engine.

Lance purchased an enclosed trailer and added modifications so he could transport his aircraft to Okshosh. “It’s about 1,700 miles from Chandler to Oshkosh,” he said. “We pulled it with our customized van, so we could pull off and rest when we wanted to. We made the trip in a long two days.”

He said it usually takes about four hours to take off the wings for transportation in the trailer and another four wings to attach the floats.

Lance has taken several videos of his flying experiences that are well worth viewing for aviation enthusiasts. They can be viewed on the internet as follows: Flight from Coolidge to Roosevelt Lake: http://vimeo.com/12248800; Wisconsin clips – EAA Air Show, etc.: http://vimeo.com/14339272; Pewaukee Lake landings and takeoffs: http://vimeo.com/14453366.

Dan Lance holds the Silver Lindy trophy he won at the
EAA’s International Fly-In Convention in Oshkosh, Wisc.
in July for his Challenger amphibian floatplane.

Aero Club enjoys presentation by B-26 pilot Phil Tener

Sun Lakes resident Phil Tener described his 65 missions in a twin-engine B-26 light bomber during World War II to

an enthusiastic crowd at a meeting of the Sun Lakes Aero Club (SLAC) October 18. “ Most of my missions before

D-Day were designed to attack bridges and German ammunition dumps,” he said. “After the invasion, we concen-

trated on disrupting the enemy’s retreat through France and back to Germany by bombing and strafing troops and

supplies. I was extremely lucky that I was never shot down by enemy fire, but I did lose an engine on two occasions, including once after taking off with a full bomb load. Fortunately, there was an airstrip nearby and we were able to make a successful landing.”

Tener (left) is pictured with SLAC president Bob Walch in the photo above.

Photo by Gary Vacin

SLAC Holds Fall Potluck

Twenty four SLAC members met at Fisk Park on November 24^th for a pot luck. Appetizers, main dishes and desserts were to be the responsibility of those with names from various sections of the alphabet. Unfortunately no one with a name in the main dish section came however there was an abundance of appetizers and desserts! A quick trip to KFC solved the main dish problem and all had a good time.

In Memory…..

It saddens us to advise member Sam Doria passed away on July 6th. Member Jim Freeman was killed in a tragic aircraft accident on August 4^th. They will be missed by all their friends.

Next Years Plans

Perhaps there is some special place you would like to go on a Fly In or a field trip that would be of interest to our group? Please submit your ideas to Activities director Earl Cuyler 478 3716 or email EarlSLAC@wbhsi.net

SLAC meets the third Monday of the month from October through May in the Sun Lakes Country Club Navajo Room beginning with refreshments and camaraderie at 6:30 p.m., followed by the meeting at 7 p.m. The public is invited to all meetings. Additional information is available at the club’s web site, www.SunLakesAeroClub.org or by calling Bob Walch at 895-8869 or Al Galvi at 802-0104.

Additional information on the Aero Club is available from Bob Walch (480-895-8869) or
Al Galvi (480-802-0104 or by visiting the club’s website, www.sunlakesaeroclub.org.