(L/R) Scott Wicks with EAA President Rod Hightower.
by Jim Bildilli
Of all the seasons, fall usually provides the best flying weather with cool, crisp mornings and short sleeve shirt afternoons. Saturday October 9, 2010, was no exception when Wicks Aircraft Supply held its “First Annual” Wicks Forum.
Held at the Wicks Aircraft Supply store and warehouse, and adjacent organ factory in Highland, Illinois, the forum provided a perfect mix of education and entertainment. Mark Wick treated the early birds to a tour of the famous Wicks Pipe Organ Company that has been crafting fine pipe organs since the early 1900s. Started by brothers John, Lewis and Adolph Wicks, they combined their talents as a watchmaker, cabinetmaker and jeweler to form the company, which continues today as a family business. In addition to a brief history of the company, Barbara Wicks (aka mom) demonstrated the wide-ranging capabilities of a well-constructed instrument in the adjacent studio. A tour of the factory revealed not only the extent of the craftsmanship and quality of the raw materials, but the central reason why Wicks entered the aircraft supply business.
In 1973, Richard Haase, who was a supervisor at the organ company, constructed a “Bowers Fly Baby” using the same spruce as was used to construct organs. A fellow employee, Mel Smith, assisted with the project, but found that acquiring the necessary parts and pieces to be more difficult and time consuming than constructing the aircraft. Together, they approached company president, Martin Wicks, and vice president, George Gibbon, about starting an aircraft supply business. Since Martin was an aviation enthusiast and private pilot and George was the company’s pilot, the idea became a reality. In 1975, Wicks Aircraft Supply was formed and moved from a 1,500 square foot room in the organ factory to its own 30,000 square foot building across the street.
In 2003, after 18 years at the Wicks Pipe Organ Company, Scott Wicks was named vice president of Wicks Aircraft Supply and now serves as president where he draws upon his flight experience of more than 20 years and his enthusiasm for aviation.
The first to speak at the forum was Dave Gustafson. Gustafson holds a PhD in Theatrics and previously worked in the communications department at the Experimental Aircraft Association, beginning at EAA’s Hales Corners, Wisconsin offices. He now owns his own public relations firm in Bellingham, Washington, and Wicks Aircraft Supply is one of his clients.
Gustafson is no stranger to the homebuilt arena having constructed three aircraft of his own. He set the tone for the forum by relating some stories about the progress that Wicks has made from its beginnings and to also introduce a former teammate from EAA headquarters in Oshkosh, Wis., Ron Wagner.
Wagner is the manager of EAA’s field relations who oversees such events as Sun ‘n Fun and Arlington and oversaw the development of the Light Sport Aircraft Mall at EAA AirVenture. Wagner’s talk centered on the essential elements required to have a successful EAA chapter:
1) Establish regular meeting dates and times and hold the meeting in a public arena such as at the airport terminal, FBO meeting room or even the local library. Make the meetings “inviting” to outsiders, and if you have to hold them in a private residence, ensure that everyone receives a warm and sincere welcome.
2) Have something planned for the meetings and prepare ahead. Get the membership involved in setting common goals, which could be a fund-raising event, a visit to another chapter or other organized event. Use members with valuable strengths and be creative in involving those members in your activities.
3) Ensure that the programs are interesting. A survey of the membership can help determine what they would like to see. Prepare a variety of programs that include guest speakers, project visits, hands-on demonstrations and even movie nights. He also suggested utilizing EAA’s Speaker Bureau.
4) Participate in the “EAA Young Eagles” program. EAA Young Eagles has been one of the most popular chapter activities and increases community awareness of the airport. Sharing your passion for aviation with youth can be very rewarding for both.
5) Develop a chapter newsletter or website. These keep the members informed and more involved. It is a good platform to introduce new members and showcase their talents. Most of all, keep the website updated. There’s nothing worse than to look at a web page and discover that the last activity listed was nearly two years old.
6) Create committees for all your activities and events. This not only spreads out the work, but also takes advantage of those special talents that members can bring to the chapter.
7) Prepare a “membership plan.” Set recruiting and retention goals, take advantage of EAA’s six-month trial memberships, remove any barriers to becoming a member and actively recruit new members by inviting other “friends” that may have an interest in aviation, but didn’t know how to become involved. Some members belong just because it is fun and interesting.
8) Perform community outreach programs. This could start with cultivating a good working relationship with airport management or by inviting the local media to your events, especially when the chapter is doing a community service-type project…like EAA Young Eagles. Get the local police and fire departments involved with fund-raising activities. Invite a local car club to participate in an open house. Besides cultivating the relationships, the “other” groups will bring their friends and followers to your event as well.
9) Elect good officers. Officers are the glue that binds the chapter together. Elect those with good leadership skills and potential and capitalize on their individual strengths and aptitudes.
10) Most of all, don’t forget to have fun. A successful chapter needs three essential elements: social, aviation and educational activities.
After a short break, Roy Beisswenger discussed the finer aspects of flying “With the wind in your hair and a smile on your face.” Of course, if you know Roy Beisswenger, you are aware of the reason he usually downplays the “hair” portion of the phrase and settles for the “smile” aspects. Beisswenger is the first check-pilot for powered parachutes and the first Gold Seal Light Sport Aircraft instructor. His theory about why people fly can be reduced to four (4) reasons: independence, challenge, transportation and sightseeing, and that there are several aircraft that can satisfy those reasons. From there, he talked about those various types starting with the “powered parachute” that provides independence, a challenge and sightseeing opportunities, but is not designed for transportation…at least between points A and B. They are safe because they are always under a canopy, they fly low and slow, they cost less than $10,000, no license is needed, and you can pack it away in a large closet at home.
Beisswenger then proceeded to the next group that included the “powered paraglider,” which he describes as a powered parachute with the addition of wheels, seats and a more dependable engine. Of course with this step up, a license is required. He described one of the most common aircraft called the “Trike,” which grew out of the hang-gliders of yesteryear. There are both slow and fast Trikes of which the latter can reach speeds between 100 -115 mph. They can be dissembled and “trailered” home, require between 100 – 700 feet for takeoff, can fly in the rain and have a crosswind capability nearing 25 mph. This category can satisfy all four reasons for flying; but again, point-to-point transportation is not its strongest point.
“Light Sport Aircraft” (LSA) were next in Beisswenger’s hierarchy. These would include ultralights. Although ultralights have been around for several years, the aircraft in the LSA category are somewhat faster and have a greater number of creature comforts. If you are looking to fulfill all four reasons simultaneously, the LSA probably does it the best.
Finally, Beisswenger includes the “gyro plane” as a way of fulfilling the requirements. They are the third most popular aircraft in Europe, and with the new designs, their safety record has improved tremendously.
Winding up the morning session was EAA’s new president, Rod Hightower. Hightower started the meeting by answering the most frequently posed question: “How in the world did you become EAA’s new president?” His short answer was that he applied for the job! Hightower stated that the interview process began in January 2010 and culminated when he took over the reins of EAA on September 7, 2010.
Hightower could be considered a “local boy” since he has spent a considerable amount of time across the Mississippi in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Born in Mesquite, Texas, he is 50 years old and has been married for 22 years. He has four daughters and one son, who incidentally, is fascinated with aviation…go figure! Although he flew to the meeting in a North American T-6, he flies his own restored World War II vintage Stearman.
Hightower credits his early interest in aviation to two events: The first by living near Naval Air Station Dallas where sonic booms were quite commonplace. The second when he experienced a helicopter ride around Mt. Rushmore. At 16, he took his first flight lesson from a “very old guy” named Jerry Short who was 41 at the time and has not stopped since.
Hightower’s priorities with EAA are to spend more time with the chapters and working in the field, rather than in Washington, DC. He thinks that he will be busy because there are 980 chapters with 163,000 members.
A recent poll of the membership indicated that its top four priorities for EAA were: #1 AirVenture, #2 The Magazine, #3 Advocacy, and #4 Youth Education and Outreach. Those priorities will be incorporated into any new or revised initiatives.
One of the first initiatives will be a new direction for the EAA Young Eagles program, which could include a follow-on type program. If there’s such a thing as a “bucket list,” Rod has a couple items that he would like to see accomplished during his tenure. One is a turf runway at Oshkosh, and the second would be a Jimmy Buffett concert at AirVenture.
After a nice box lunch provided by Wicks, Dave Gustafson gave a presentation on the “Electric Flight Prize.” Four sponsors including Wicks Aircraft Supply have established several performance prizes for electric powered aircraft. Patterned somewhat after the “X” prize, monetary awards are being set aside for aircraft that can qualify in three (3) categories that include endurance, time-to-climb to a specified altitude, and maximum speed achieved. The competition will take place and be awarded at EAA AirVenture 2011. There will be a $10,000 reward to the winner within each category, and an additional $20,000 to the aircraft that tallies the most points overall. Currently, there are fifteen (15) electric aircraft projects underway in the United States.
Marc Cook, editor-in-chief of Kit Plane magazine, and former staff writer for AOPA Pilot magazine, held the audience’s attention with a presentation on options for replacing 100LL aviation fuel. Cook stated that neither the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), nor the FAA, can agree on who has the authority to “eliminate” lead in aviation fuels. However, he and many in the industry believe that 100LL will disappear due to pure economics.
Currently, there is only one producer of tetra ethyl lead in the world and 100LL represents only 0.4% of all fuels being used. Older engines that were designed to run on 80-87 octane fuel will still run okay on 94-octane fuel, and currently operate well on auto gas, but without ethanol. The removal of ethanol is not a technical problem, but rather political, since many states have mandated its inclusion into petroleum based fuels. It is the newer high compression and turbo-charged piston engines that will be most impacted.
The critical octane number appears to be “101” before premature “detonation” occurs. Several tests are underway to determine whether lowering compression and retarding timing might be a solution. However, preliminary findings are that neither provides a solution.
Cook suggests that the solution appears to be with the creation of two new fuels named “Swift” and “GAMI.” Both still require further testing. Swift is made from biomass and is reported to cost approximately $0.91/gallon. However, realistically it will probably never be sold at that price. GAMI is petroleum based for which Toluene and Xylene are the major components, which give it a “paint thinner” smell. The FAA is now considering it for certification. One characteristic noted by the testers is that it burns slower, which raises the exhaust temperature, but also results in lower cylinder head temperatures.
Cook also talked a little about diesels, rotary and turbine engines as providing partial solutions. Unfortunately, each engine has its own set of problems that range from vibration to high fuel consumption.
Dr. Paul Lupton, founder and retired director of West Bend, Wisconsin EAA Chapter’s Summer Aviation Academy presented a program entitled “The Rewards and Nettles of Teaching Aviation to 11 to 14-year–olds.” Somewhat reminiscent of watching the old TV show “Mr. Wizard,” Dr. Lupton thrilled the crowd with several of his “home-spun” props that teach the basic principals found in science and aviation. By creating clouds in 2-liter bottles and spinning bicycle wheels to teach gyroscopic principals, his demonstrations were designed to show that everyday items can be used to explain scientific principles to youth and how they relate to flight. Dr. Lupton provided the audience with brochures about the program and remained available after the forum for anyone with questions or with an interest in starting their own version of Air Camp.
Wrapping up the presentations, Robert Hamilton, director of marketing for Dynon Avionics, brought everyone up to speed with his talk on “glass cockpits for Experimentals…and how to get the most out of them.” Dynon Avionics is based near Seattle, Washington and has approximately 50 employees of whom 50% are engineers and nearly 30% hold pilot certificates. Dynon was created to fill a void with economical modern instrumentation for the Experimental and the Light Sport Aircraft market. Dynon instruments are modular in design to provide specific requirements, or you can purchase the flight director package where one unit does everything.
Dynon is a lower cost alternative to the Garmin G-1000. Both use the same technologies, but they differ in how they are employed. Where Garmin utilizes GPS inputs first with pitot backup, Dynon uses pitot information first with GPS backup. Both are highly reliable, but the real difference is in the cost.
Dynon introduced its EFIS system in 2003 at a cost of $1995. Today, the same system is $1600. Moving map displays were introduced in December 2009 and real-time weather interface will soon be available. Although most installations are in Experimental category, Dynon instrumentation was aboard Space Ship One on its maiden journey.
For those who arrived too late to take the early bird tours, Wicks personnel provided tours of both Wicks Aircraft Supply and Wicks Pipe Organ Company at the conclusion of the forum. Scott Wicks stated that future forums would be dependent upon the feedback received from the attendees. Based on the number of positive comments expressed at the forum, it would probably be a good bet that there will be a second annual Wicks forum.
Thanks to the presenters and Wicks Aircraft Supply for a very enjoyable and informative day (www.WicksAircraft.com).
