Of Wood and Wires

A Recap of Our March Gathering

The Chapter’s March Gathering took place at the EAA 1414 chapter hangar at Poplar Grove Airport. Their member, Steve McGreevy, served as our guide to the chapter’s Curtiss Jenny project and gave us a tour of their workshops and meeting facilities.

Steve pointed out that the goal of the Jenny project is to promote the nearby Vintage Wings and Wheels Museum. The EAA chapter has 10 to 12 members actively working on the project, with several working on it full time. While trying to stay true to Curtiss’s original drawings, they made minor changes for practicality and efficiency. Where original drawings were lacking, they researched other Jennys and created CAD plans for some assemblies. For anyone truly “fluent in Jenny,” Steve stressed that the aim is to build a near-perfect flying Curtiss Jenny, as opposed to a museum-quality, static replica.

With the support from the museum, work began in April 2017. They plan to cover and paint the airplane during next winter, intending to have the Jenny complete and flying in Spring of 2020. That’s an incredible timetable, considering that everything, except the engine and small hardware, is being completely built in-house!

Steve related that the greatest expenses have been the engine, radiator and the many small turnbuckles that you can spot in some of the accompanying photos. Over 200 of them have been needed at a cost of about $30 per unit!

The 1915 engine, recovered from an actual Jenny, is a liquid-cooled V-8 power plant that produces just 90 horsepower. It is being rebuilt in-house.

The greatest challenge to date has been the engine’s radiator which must be fabricated of 5,000 short copper tubes. Each round tube is approximately 3” long and requires that each end be expanded and squared to have 4 flat sides before being horizontally stacked and soldered together. Ultimately, air will pass through the tubes, cooling the water that will flow over and between them to cool the engine.

So far, the Jenny project has required hand carving and other woodworking skills, metal forming and welding abilities, CNC routing, water jet cutting, gluing, soldering, varnishing and a boatload of patience! Add the research time and detective skills needed to solve occasional surprises that crop up during the building process and you have some remarkable teamwork.

Steve acknowledged the phenomenal resources that the chapter has on-site, along with members who possesses skills, tooling and time necessary to complete a project in such a short period. Besides the museum, Poplar Grove Airport is home to 400 aircraft, many with vintage pedigrees, and an adjacent fly-in community, all of which add up to be assets to the chapter’s work.

When our visit ended, many of us made the short drive over to the Hydeout Bar and Grill for a pleasant lunch and genial banter before heading home.

Our thanks to EAA 1414’s Steve McGreevy for presenting a super project update and tour, and for his patience and humor in answering all of our questions. Great job, Steve!

EAA Chapter 932 approved for the 2019 Ray Aviation Scholarship!

The Ray Aviation Scholarship is a $10K (max) flight training scholarship awarded to a local chapter for the purpose of helping a local student pilot obtain an initial private pilot certificate. Out of the approximately 900 chapters nationwide, more than 230 chapters applied to be one of the 100 approved chapters for the Ray Aviation Scholarship. Our 932 Chapter is one of the approved chapters!

EAA’s main goal is to support a former Young Eagle between the ages of 16 and 19 in the pursuit of their private pilot certificate. As a chapter, we are tasked with bringing forth a passionate, hard-working would-be pilot and supporting him/her during the learning process though completion. There are commitments required by the student and the chapter to make this happen. In partnership with JB Aviation, our chapter’s goal is to show the EAA what our community can do.

An ideal candidate for a Ray Scholarship nomination is easy to spot. He/she is that young person who has been an eager young eagle, is at the airport often and is self-motivated, seeking out any experience related to planes/flight, and participates in airport activities and events. The Ray Aviation Scholarship is not limited to those with a financial need. Funding is dependent upon the completion of progress reports and meeting training milestones in a timely manner. The main focus is to find a young person who demonstrates a real passion and commitment for aviation. To apply for the scholarship, the aspiring pilot must be nominated by the chapter.

Ray Scholarship Nominee, Jeff Boyack

Because this is the first year for this particular scholarship, the chapter application-to-approval process took a bit longer than expected. Our chapter was fortunate to have been approved. The time from our chapter approval to the deadline for the first round of applications was tight. With good weather ahead of us and the flying season back in swing, the Scholarship Committee nominated Jeff Boyack, a student pilot currently enrolled at JB Aviation.

Jeff is a 17-year-old former Young Eagle who experienced his first flight as a young boy here at Galt. He was motivated to graduate from high school a semester early for the sole purpose of seeking a job a Galt Airport and making time for flight training. He was accepted into Lewis University’s aviation program for the Fall 2019 and is working 14 hours a day to pay for his training. Completely committed, Jeff comes in an hour before work to study everyday. His parents are 100% behind his flight training! He has not soloed yet, so that makes him a candidate for the full scholarship.

Now that Jeff has been nominated, he will submit an application to the EAA. Once approved he must obtain his pilot certificate within one year of fund disbursement. (We think he will do it by the end of June 2019). When Jeff successfully completes his flight training, the EAA will earmark another scholarship for us for next year. Also, if scholarship funds remain, Jeff will be able to keep $1500 in his flight training account. All other remaining funds may be made available for another candidate nominated during this same calendar year.

Ed Moricoli Annual Scholarship

We will continue with the Ed Moricoli Memorial Scholarship. However, we will be skipping this year to build the fund. Our plan is to award this scholarship by March 1, 2020.

EAA932 has a Donation button on the website and on the Facebook page for those who would like to donate to the scholarship fund outside of our normal fundraising events.

Once 2020 scholarship funds are secured, we will follow a more formal process by opening scholarship applications for both the Ray Aviation Scholarship and the Ed Moricoli Memorial Scholarship. Expect to see the applications by October 2019.

Please watch Galt Traffic Newsletters and check out https://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/eaa-chapters/eaa-chapter-resources/chapter-programs-and-activities/ray-aviation-scholarship-fund for more information.

It is with great pride and a complete lack of decorum that Galt Traffic once again presents…

Planes on Posts

Today’s offering comes to us by way of our friends at Cottonwood Airport in far away Rockford, IL where they seem to have speared a low flying BD5 with their sign. I’d call it a keeper.

Keep the photos coming! Send your submissions to editor@eaa932.org