Newsletter Volume 30, Number 5

Calendar

Jan; Martin $15, Hernandez $10, Garza $5
Feb; Bohmann Fun Places to Fly, Whitmer new FAR's
Mar; Hernandez $20, Bohmann $5, Fane $1
April; Bohmann $40.00!!

Skip Forster on the 7^th
Mamhoud Shahram on the 20^th

Aces who attend the Watsonville Antique Fly-in should save their admission tickets to turn in with their Aces bill and receive full credit. If you want to meet up with other Aces at the show gather at the lobby of the terminal building at noon and then watch the show together.

Financial officer, John Martin, has completed the audit of the Manager's 1998 financial statement. Copies are available on request.

The Flying Aces were well represented at the Squadron II Fly-In at Castle AFB. The weather was perfect for spending time outdoors. The Aces participated in every contest: Flour Bomb, Spot Landing, and Ribbon Cutting.
For Flour Bomb, each pilot was given a plastic cup of flour which had to be dropped onto a target while flying past at 200 feet altitude. The Aces entered two planes, three pilots and at least two back seat bombardiers. After the flying was done, Aces' backseat bombardier Kevin Shawhan had taken third place, hitting within about 80 feet of the mark.
For Spot Landing, the goal was to land as closely as possible to a large stripe painted on the runway without landing short of the target. Unfortunately, the target was located near the middle of the 11,800 foot runway, and was not visible when flying low over the threshold. The Aces' own Doug Groom, flying a Cessna 172, set a standard by touching down within 50 feet of the mark. Another Ace, John Nogatch, made a clean approach and landed within two feet of the target, but his wheels touched down behind it. Eventually, the Aces were no match for the Squadron 2 pilots in a Piper Cub and Cessna 152 who tied within 35 feet of the target. The Cessna 152 won a succeeding fly-off.
We had some surprise events on Saturday, beginning with the simulated Refugee March, where two dozen tired and hungry people had to find the chow hall and the dormitories after walking a half mile past empty parking lots, abandoned buildings, and through the Air Force desert survival course. Then there was the Closed Border Crossing event, where we had to find our way back to the planes after the local authorities locked the airfield fence. Dinner was superb. The baked chicken, prime rib, and chocolate fudge cake hit the spot after such a long day. To show our appreciation, Doug Groom led the Aces in three cheers for our Squadron II hosts.
On Sunday, willing participants gathered to use the Aviation Challenge computer jet fighter simulators. We filled enough seats to have two red teams compete against two blue teams, but we weren't able to coordinate an all-out contest between Squadron II and the Aces, so it was just for fun. In that respect, everybody won.
Later on Sunday, the remaining pilots participated in the Ribbon Cutting contest. The goal was to unfurl a roll of toilet paper at 4,000 feet altitude, then to do whatever it took to cut through the streamer as many times as possible before reaching 1,500 feet, using less than 30 degrees of pitch or 60 degrees of roll for any maneuver. The biggest problem was spotting a tiny ribbon of paper against background haze. The contest should have been renamed "Ribbon Spotting" to see if anyone could find their own ribbon before it reached 1,500 feet!
It was a great weekend. Thanks to those who participated, and to those who supported the Fly-In in other ways. Hope to see you again at the next big event. By Kevin Shawhan.