President: John Murphy 783-1515 Ted Yon 783-7966

Vice President: Eric Kennard 631-3264 John Murphy 783-1515

Secretary/Treasurer: John Soukup 783-7128 Young Eagle Coordinator

Newsletter Editor: Fred Mahan 452-5797 Tony Yacono 459-0080

Flight Advisor

Tom Hennessy 452-4021

The next meeting will be the second Wednesday of March

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EAA Chapter 724

P. O. Box 320923

Cocoa Beach, FL 32931

May 11-12 ‘96 Shell Air & Sea Show, 954-527-5600, ext 88

May 19-25 Vero Beach, 12th Annual Great Southern Air Race, 1-800-247-1006

June 29-30 Gainesville, GA, Chapter 611 Annual Cracker Fly-In, 770-531-0291.

Every Saturday, Cannon Creek Airpark, Lake City

Every Second Saturday, Charlotte County Airport, Punta Gorda, 813-575-6360

Every Third Saturday, Dunn Airpark, at the parachute center, 407-269-3660

Every Third Saturday, Sebring Airport, Chapter 803 pancake breakfast

Every First Sunday, Ft. Myers Airport, Chapter 66 pancake breakfast, 941-947-1430

Every Second Sunday, Naples Airport, 941-775-1661

Every Third Sunday, Kissimmee Municipal Airport, west side of the field, 9 am on.

Every Fourth Sunday, Bob Lee Airport, De Land, Fly-In Lunch, bring your own, 904-985-5373

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The April meeting was out annual Chapter Banquet, held at the Cocoa Beach Holiday Inn. The Holiday Inn proved a good choice, with good meals, good service, and a reasonable price.

Our speaker was Roscoe Morton, "The Voice of Oshkosh" and "The Voice of Sun ‘n Fun." You have no doubt heard his commentaries over the PA system if you have attended either of these events. He recounted some of his aviation experiences for the Chapter members and their guests. Johnny Murphy was kind enough to fly over to Lakeland to pick Roscoe up, and even took him back after dinner the same evening.

After the speaker had finished, tickets were drawn for door prizes. Topping even his take last year, Steve Pangborn emerged the big winner. Next year, he will probably be bringing a wheelbarrow to the banquet, and chapter members are advised to buy tickets with numbers on either side of, or interspersed with, Steve’s. Alternatively, the chapter may acquire special tickets without numbers for sale to Steve. Seriously, congratulations to Steve and all other prize winners.

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Bob Gluie, who recently purchased Merritt Island Air Service from Irv and Alice Bubeck, has graciously offered a room in the Merritt Island Air Service hangar for out EAA chapter meetings. It is on the second floor, on the southeast corner of the building. The room is large and carpeted. Some of our chapter members cleaned it up last week, and it should be a great place for our meetings. Please thank Bob for his support of Chapter 724.

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In case some of you haven’t yet heard, chapter member Frank Caldeiro, builder and pilot of Merritt Island’s infamous yellow Long-EZ, was selected for the next Astronaut class. Frank and Donna will be moving to Houston in late August, when Frank will begin his year-long Astronaut Candidate training. Be sure to congratulate Frank at our next chapter meeting.

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Tony Yacono wants to remind chapter members that June 8 is National Young Eagles Day. Tony will need help in order to reach as many kids as possible with the experience of flying. He says between 150 and 200 children are expected to attend at Merritt Island Airport, and as many as 15 airplanes will be required for rides. Volunteers for ground crew activities will also be needed. For details, call Tony at home at 453-5388, and leave a message.

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Dick Scott, former Chapter member, A&P, CFI, and all-around good guy, is now President of EAA Chapter 941 in Decatur, AL. They’re having their 8th Annual Fly-In over Memorial Day weekend, on May 25 and 26, at Pryor Field (DCU), Decatur. They will have aircraft judging, kitplane manufacturer displays, a fly market, and biplane and helicopter rides. Dick invites us to fly up for the festivities. For more information, call Dick at 205-971-4060.

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From the Aeroelectric Connection

Q: My Kitfox does not have (nor recommend) any form of overvoltage protection. Should I install it? What kind do you recommend?

A: The alternators on the small engines are capable of 12-20 amps. If your battery is in good shape, a failed regulator won’t drive the voltage to fire breathing levels like a 40-60 amp alternator will. If you have a means for timely OV warning installed, you can probably rely on your own reactions to shut down an offending system. I would recommend both over and under voltage lights mounted on a prominent place on the panel. You can install true OV protection using a crowbar OV module (ed. note, see the February, 1996, chapter newsletter) and an inexpensive relay for a total outlay of less than $50; pretty cheap insurance! An OVLV warning light ... can be purchased from B&C Specialty products, 316-283-8000.

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Have you always wanted to build your own twin, but the Cricket was too small and the Defiant looked too weird? Zenair is working on a new airplane for you. They have just announced flight testing of a new two-seat twin, called the CH-620 Gemini, based on their popular CH-601 Zodiac. The Gemini is a taildragger with retractable mains, powered by two Jabiru 2200 80-hp engines. The Australian build air-cooled Jabirus, which you may have seen at Sun ‘n Fun, are mounted in the conventional manner on each wing. Zenair is currently getting 450-ft takeoff and landing rolls, and the cruise speed is presently 145 mph, with each engine sipping 3 3/4 gallons per hour. Zenair is planning to produce a complete kit for the aircraft.

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If a twin isn’t exotic enough for you, Advanced hybrid Aircraft is gearing up to produce a single-seat non-rigid airship kit. It is 50 feet long, with a 4,300 cubic foot volume, and has two 24-hp engines. Max airspeed is 51 knots. Information is in the chapter library in Ted Yon’s hangar.

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The May, 1996, issue of Light Plane Maintenance has an interesting short piece on engine shock cooling. The author of the piece, John Likakis, says:

"While there is no hard data to back up most of the claims about shock cooling, as far as I’m concerned, shock cooling is an old pilot’s tale -- pure myth. Consider the following:

1. If your cylinders were truly prone to cracking due to shock cooling, you’d need a top overhaul every time you flew into rain.

2. When you drop an ice cube into a glass of hot tea, the ice cube cracks, not the glass -- this is due to shock heating of the ice cube, not cooling.

3. Head cracking was not the problem 30 years ago that it is today. This is due to the age of cylinders on most aircraft. Many cylinders have been recycled God knows how many times. There’s only so much you can do with metal before it gives up.

4. The exotic and extreme throttle regimens many pilots indulge in to save their cylinders are harmless but time-consuming rituals."

Likakis continues:

"My advice is to avoid recycled cylinders. All too often, we wind up buying cylinders that have been through the process an unknown number of times. A head that is on its third or fourth run is almost guaranteed to crack. And which cylinder shops can hand you a piece of paper with your ‘pre-owned’ cylinder stating definitively how many hours the thing has accumulated in its life. Essentially, you end up buying a gamble -- if the cylinder lasts through your next run, you win. If it blows its head off, you lose, perhaps more than you thought you were gambling for if it results in a crash.

The moral of the story is to buy new cylinders. Yes, it’s expensive, and I know that flying is already a pricey game. But you’re indulging in false economy."

Words to ponder next time you major your engine.