An attempt to conduct the first gyrocopter flight around the world has been put on hold because of anticipated extreme weather in the Bering Sea and North Atlantic, a spokesman for the project announced.

"The prospects of (conducting) these sectors of the flight during the autumn and winter periods in an open cockpit gyrocopter are considered to be technically very challenging," he said. "As a result of this, the pilot, Norman Surplus, has decided to suspend his ongoing FAI World Record attempt until the spring of 2011."

The expected arrival of the gyrocopter in these far northern latitudes later in the year than first planned came about due to unforeseen delays earlier in the trip. The "first half" of the gyrocopter's flight has seen it fly almost 10,800 miles across mountains, desert, forest fires, sandstorms and open sea.

Surplus has also flown into the record books during 2010 achieving the longest distance ever flown across the globe by a gyrocopter.

The Northern Ireland pilot was midway through his effort to be the first person to fly around the world in an autogyro.

Flying a two-seat tandem MT-03 Gyrox with a 115 hp turbo 914 Rotax engine built by Autogyro GMBH in Germany, the UK's RotorSport worked in conjunction with the pilot and retrofitted it for Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) approval.

The reasons for the 47-year-old owner of a wind energy company called B9 Energy to take on this perilous adventure are numerous, a spokesman said. Married with two children (a boy and a girl), he has even more motivation than most.

"Besides loving a challenge of a record attempt circumnavigation of the globe he beat a serious bout of cancer in recent years," the spokesman said. "As a result of this he has embraced life even more intensely than before and the circumnavigation of the globe in the autogyro is an illustration of this."

In addition Surplus intends to raise funds for cancer research as a result of this trip through a link with Bowel Cancer UK.

"Another motivation is to be an inspiration, in a sense, to provide hope and encouragement especially for newly diagnosed cancer sufferers. As Norman learned how to fly, consolidate that training over a few years and then be able to fly around the world then that could give others inspiration and hope," the spokesman said.

"This all took place in the post cancer diagnosis and treatment phase of his life - a similar challenge many others suddenly find themselves facing. Also Norman feels that people diagnosed with cancer should not just give up hope of survival at the outset of diagnosis when everything may appear very bleak."

Surplus left Ireland on March 22 and in the first phase of his endeavor faced extreme heat and cold, fuel shortages, exceptional high altitude and traversed forest fires, desert and wide seas. As of Aug. 16, he had flown 8,000 miles through Europe, the Middle East and much of Asia.

The next phase of his adventure was expected to take approximately 50 days and it will be crossing SE Asia, North America and the North Atlantic, stopping in Malaysia, the Philippines, Japan, Taiwan, the Russian Far East, North America, Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Scotland and home to N. Ireland. This will cover a distance of approximately 19,000 miles.

Surplus stopped in Thailand and this was complicated and lengthened by bureaucratic, administrative, procedural and logistical delays, all of which contributed to turn a two week technical aircraft repair into a three month wait.

The machine itself has been carefully constructed to take the stress of the long distance flight. All structural components of the machine are metal - the airframe and ancillaries are made from high-grade stainless steel and the rotor system from carefully controlled aluminum extrusion.

This combination of materials makes the MT-03 highly durable with a long life expectancy, the spokesman said. The tail unit, nacelle, propeller and the main landing gear are manufactured from high quality composite materials.

The MT-03 is powered by the reliable industry-standard Rotax 914 UL aircraft engine, which provides "sparkling performance." The MT-03 is the first factory built gyroplane ever to achieve a UK Permit to Fly, approved to British Civil Air Regulations (BCAR) Section T - the toughest gyroplane approval standard in the world.

It also complies with strict German noise regulations making the MT-03 relatively quiet in operation.

At the time of this writing, he was in the Philippines. No arrival date has been set. "because of expected unspecifiable delays in getting in to Japan and Russian Far East," the spokesman said. You can contact the team at gyroxgoesglobal@gmail.com.

The Commemorative Air Force B-29 “FiFi” took off at approximately 9:00 a.m. CST August 5, the first time in more than four years she’d been airborne.

The CAF immediately announced a tour with Platinum country recording artist Aaron Tippin with their first appearance to be at the Colorado Sport International Air Show on Sunday, August 28 at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport.

So you know what happened next. A distributor malfunction in one of her engines resulted in pre-ignition, damaging some of the cylinders so the Denver appearance was cancelled.

FiFi was replaced by the CAF B-24 “Ol’ 927,” based at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum (CFM) in Addison, Texas where they operate a flight experience program.

The “Commemorative Air Force Red, White & Loud Tour” was only going to make the single appearance in Denver  as no opther stops were planned until next year, the CAF said.

“Although we were excited about FiFi returning to flight, we are equally excited about the B-24 kicking off the ... tour,” said CAF President and CEO, Stephan Brown. “Ol’ 927 is one of only two B-24’s flying in the world and she is an impressive heavy bomber.

“We anticipate the crowd at the Colorado Sport International Air Show will enjoy seeing her as the backdrop in Aaron Tippin’s patriotic performance.”

Tippin said serving as CAF Spokesman and taking to the skies with Ol’ 927 and, soon, FIFI, is a dream come true.

“While this is history in the making, for me, this is an opportunity of a lifetime to bring aviators and country fans together,” Tippin said. “My kind of country music is patriotic and all-American, so my involvement with CAF and the Red, White & Loud Tour is on target to generate excitement with both aviation and country music enthusiasts.”

The CAF anticipates FIFI will be repaired in time to appear at the 2010 CAF Air Show at Midland International Airport between Midland and Odessa, Texas in early October. In 2011, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress will rejoin the tour.

As we said in our October 2007 story:  “Country music star Aaron Tippin defines the word super-patriot.

“His guitar is painted in the stars and stripes, his songs remind his listeners of the glory that is America and he makes yearly Thanksgiving visits to Iraq and Afghanistan to entertain the troops. Heck, he even lives in a town called Liberty, Tenn.

“He also happens to be a private, commercial, instrument and multi-engine rated pilot who manages to work in a couple of B-25s named ÔPanchito’ and ÔSpecial Delivery’ when he performs, as he frequently does, for Disabled American Veterans.”

Tippin holds commercial, multi-engine and instrument-ratings and is also helicopter-qualified. A certified A&P, he owns a 1941 Stearman, a 1946 J3 Cub and 1959 Helio Courie r- all in flying condition.

Sharon Sandberg, wife of the late John Sandberg who died in the crash of an experimental air racer called “Tsunami” on Sept. 25, 1991 in Pierre, S.D., is still trying to get the airplane back in the air.

She has announced the project called “Dream It, Believe It, Do It!” which kicked off in November of 2009, has teamed up with a non-profit organization called “Flight Expo, Inc.,” a 501c3 organization that was behind the building of the Minnesota Wright Flyer in the early 2000’s for the 100 year anniversary of flight.

“We have gathered a strong, loyal volunteer group that with the direction of Duane Kruse of Kruse Aviation Inc., have slowly been pulling skins off and starting to rebuild the tail section of the aircraft,” Sandberg said.

“Tsunami made her debut when she took to the skies on August 17, 1986 and proved to the race circuit that you can build an unlimited aircraft that is worthy to compete in the Unlimited Gold races,” she noted. “Tsunami qualified with an average speed of 453.29 mph over her six years of competition.”

Over the last 18 years, Tsunami, her jigging, plans and other items have been shuffled from one location to another, she said. In December of 2002 her last journey was to her current location in Princeton, Minn.

“Tsunami was able to make her first debut since September of 1991 at the 2010 AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisc. Numerous people visited the booth, remembering, applauding, and full of excitement about the rebuild of Tsunami.”

She said the plane will be taken to the 2010 Reno Air Races this month.

“She has not been to Reno in 19 years,” Sandberg said. “We plan to trailer her out like we did to Oshkosh for people to see the aircraft is still alive.

“Her appearance is not to her liking, but she wants people to know that underneath she still has the ÔReno Spirit.’”

And the point is, she said, she needs the public’s help to “arrive in style” at the races.

“Funding for any 501c3 organization is tight, but with your extra $5, $10, or maybe $20, she will arrive in style to the 2010 Reno Air Races,” Sandberg said.

Checks or money orders can be mailed to Flight Expo, Inc., P.O. Box 155, Zimmerman, MN 55398 Or visit their web site at: www.rebuildtsunami.org and click on the “Donate” button.

Our man jack Watson returned to one of his favorite haunts last month, the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in New York.

There, he captured this  Fokker DVII (N70814), a reproduction powered by an original in-line 200 hp Mercedes D.III engine. Built by Cole Palen and Ken Cassens from original blueprints, it flew for the first time in the spring of 1993.

It is owned by the Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum and was showing signs of aging before it was restored by Bill Gordon, ORA’s chief mechanic and flew in May, ahead of the June 15 opening of the 2010 season.

Al Loncto applied the “Sieben Schwaben” (seven Swabian) from the Grimm Brothers story tale-marking to the airplane. This is the most accurate renditions of the markings applied to the Fokker DVII flown by Gefreiter (Corporal) Wilhem Scheutzel of Jasta 65, at the end of WW I.

The pictures were taken at Old Rhinebeck from the Museum’s New Standard D-25 flown by Bill Gordon while the Fokker was flown by Ron Anderson, ORA’s new airshow director.

Pilot And Child Rebuild Great Lakes

By Robert Croll

My daughter Bronwyn took her first flight at six months old in my '46 J3 Cub. I would have started her earlier but my wife had issues. Despite her late start she was a natural and quickly built an impressive resume of flying exploits.

At our local airport (where she has spent a fair share of her short life) everyone has a Bronwyn story, some anecdote about her helping out here or there doing this or that. In other words she's pretty well known around here and comfortable, she can talk planes with all the airport bums.

She has fun comparing log books with the line guys, most of whom want to be pilots. She's got more flight time then all of them put together, but she doesn't brag or boast.

She is patient and shares her knowledge "You have to go flying, you silly" is one of her favorite sayings. She's now five years old; I can hardly wait till the teen years.

My favorite Bronwyn flight story is about the time we took the Cub to the Cottage Grove, Ore. fly-in when she was three. We got there fairly early and were marshaled to a spot right up front.

We both got out and she announced to the gathering crowd, "I Love Flying." Talk about making an entrance at a fly-in.

THE SEARCH

About that time I was looking for an airplane, preferably a Stearman without much luck. It had become clear the only thing I could afford was going to be a project aircraft.

That was fine by me, I like a challenge and it appealed to my nostalgic roots. The problem was sorting through all the available projects to find a suitable candidate. Most of the projects were of the "90% there only missing all the hardware, engine, wings, prop, tail feathers etc. etc. ... " You get the picture.

When you start pricing things out you far exceed the going price of a decent flying model. So I'd done a lot of searching, tracking down rumors, stories and everything in between.

I went and looked at a bunch of planes (read as - boxes of parts with vague labels stored in multiple locations, plus there was always at least one part that fell into the , "I'm pretty sure it's out at the house" category.)

One day I came across an ad in Trade-A-Plane for a Great Lakes 2T-1A-2 project. I'd seen them before but didn't know much about the beast. A little research later and I'm talking to Harvey Swack the Great Lakes Guru.

He proved to be a wealth of info ready and willing, plus a link to all kinds of other Great Lakes biplane fanatics and support. All that coupled with an owner who was open to questions (many) and who really had gathered most of the necessary parts was my undoing.

We haggled over a price and both walked away happy. We talked frequently during the build process as he was also finishing a Great Lakes. Every part I needed was there somewhere and in some cases he sent me extra or better parts after he finished different phases of his rebuild.

I say somewhere because you don't realize how much space and boxes a disassembled aircraft takes up and if you didn't do the disassembly yourself it's easy to be overwhelmed. He was one of the first people I called after the first flight. Thank you Dennis.

THE BUILD

Disclaimer: No child labor laws were knowingly broken during construction, plus little hands come in handy. The key in a project like this is in finding a good mechanic; Bronwyn had all the qualifications - a Whammer Hammer, wiggle wrench, the right attitude and willing to work for pop tarts.

Her contributions to the project was enormous, she kept me going many times and provided a healthy dose of reality other times. One of her happiest days was when I had the first couple of coats of pink poly spray on the fuselage.

She thought Daddy had answered all her prayers and was going to paint the plane pink. She called it her big pink marshmallow.

There was a big learning curve on my part but with infinite patience and compassion she guided me through the long process. For instance when a three year old rearranges all your AN hardware take a deep breath, there's a method to her madness.

I still haven't totally figured out her system of categorizing PK screws with cotter pins and AN tube fittings but it takes up less space. And of course it only makes sense to put ALL the washers on the bolts first, since that's where there going to go eventually.

It's called pre-assemble and it really, really, speeds things up.

And when in doubt walk away, come back another day with fresh eyes. Failing that, apply liberal amounts of money; this is aviation after all.

This was my first total restoration. If I had it to do all over I certainly would/could do it better/different but I wouldn't change my hired help; she works for cookies.

Thanks to everyone else who helped, couldn't have done it without all of you. Brian & Steve at Steve's Aircraft, the Milani skunk works and my wife.

Now that summer is here, it's time for my copilot to teach me a few things about aerobatics you silly.

Story and Photos
By Jack Watson

For the aviation enthusiast, the annual 1941 Historical Aircraft Group (HAG)  airshow in Geneseo, N.Y. is a fixture.

For the warbird enthusiast more specifically, it’s a bold mark on the most prominent wall calendar in the house. This year’s theme of “A warbird gathering” being very vague, opened the door to all the possibilities, and checking the association web site prior to the show promised some real rarities.

However, dealing with old airplanes, there always is a difference between what is announced and what makes it to the airfield. Friday, July 9, was arrival day, and, if everything had gone according to plan, airplanes should have been trickling in from various directions until sundown.

The weather decided, yet again, to throw a curve ball.  In the afternoon, a nasty front had the bad idea to go through upstate New York, a region that had not seen rain for weeks.

The timing could not be worse, and the airplanes on their way had to divert for an overnight stay, waiting for a clearing. Looking at the bright side, the bad weather did not interfere with the show itself, and the airplanes poured in early Saturday morning.

The newly restored Canadian Warplane Heritage (CWH) Westland Lysander dropped in just before the show on unsuspecting spectators, followed shortly by the equally pristine CWH Fairey Firefly.

This duo was reason enough to make it to Geneseo, as they were there for the first time.

Gerry Yeagen decided to bring a real treat out of his awesome collection: his De Havilland Dragon Rapide, the only flyable example of the breed in the North-American continent. Painted in a bright red and blue scheme, the Geneseo grass was the perfect setting for the vintage airliner.

Might I be so bold as to suggest next year’s venue to Mr. Yeagen ? Could you please, bring the Polikarpov Po-2, or, at least a Polikarpov I-16, or, even the I-15Bis?

Most awaited was the return of the Minnesota Wing of the Commemorative Air Force “Red Tail” P-51C after its extensive restoration process. In the hands of Doug Rozendaal, the airplane - between its displays during the show, VIP and Tuskegee rides and photo shoots - flew more hours than an airliner.

The weather, however, precluded a high antique and classic participation, as they do not have the same capabilities as more complex airplanes. One classic stood out from the pack: Elaine Huf’s Stinson 10A, especially authentic in its Civil Air Patrol markings.

Hard to miss, it will be the center of an upcoming feature in the pages of your favorite paper.

Saturday delivered on the promise of a gorgeous day, with a seven hour - yes, seven hour - show encompassing every type of machine that can grace the air, including gliders. On that day, Manfred Radius gave his most perfect aerobatic sailplane demonstration.

In the near-still air, his smoke lingered over the field, underlining the flawless execution of his display. Even he was happy with his performance, which says a lot, knowing his perfectionism.

Sunday followed pretty much the same scenario, with a slight increase in temperature and humidity. As an added bonus, some nice puffies rolled in in the afternoon, giving more depth to the blue skies.

Once more, Geneseo delivered the goods for the general public and the more informed amateurs alike. Everybody had a field day, and are awaiting impatiently the 2011 edition of the 1941 HAG airshow.

The Nature of Existence
A film by Roger Nygard

It’s not in our mission statement to ever approach the subject of God, existence, faith, beliefs or anything to do with religion.

Nevertheless, the producers of this documentary sent us a promotional DVD of a new film made by Roger Nygard, whose previous work was about that subculture who adore everything to do with the TV series/movies of “Star Trek,” called “Trekkies.” How could he top that one? we wondered. After all, to most people, religion is a very serious business.

If you don’t think so, wait until your engine quits on you at 13,000 feet, as it did to us once (forgot to switch tanks). Suddenly, you get very religious. And is there an aviator alive who has not been astounded by some of the wonders seen from two miles up and not been the least bit curious as to how it all got here and what’s the meaning of it all?

That was Nygard’s quest, not to promulgate a particular belief system - he never mentions his own background - but to travel around the country, then the world, and speak to common people, priests, rabbis, ministers, psychologists, psychics, astrophysicists (one of whom proved we don’t exist at all), Druids, fakirs and gurus of every known and dozens of unknown religions. Looking and sounding vaguely like a young Billy Crystal and with that same impertinent sense of humor, Nygard manages to elicit from just about everyone the true reason for their faith, explain its tenets; some, to an American - definitely weird.

Did we mention it was also very funny? Here are some of the questions he put to these folks: Is there a God? Is there a soul and if so, where did it come from and where does it go after death? Why is God so smitten with sex? Is it okay to masturbate? What’s the difference between faith and spirituality? What is the point of it all?

One of the most eloquent interviewees, who’d obviously given the matter a lot of thought, was a perky, blonde seventh grade girl named Chloe Slattery, daughter of aviation photographer Chad Slattery. Keep your eye on her, she’ll be President or Pope someday, even though she’s an atheist. (The Pope was willing to talk to Nygard for 20 minutes, but the price would be $20,000. He passed.)

The producers called the film a “humorous and uplifting junket” and it is. You’ll find yourself laughing out loud on occasion. It also reveals there are almost as as many beliefs as there are believers.But, except for a few notable exceptions, most everyone is in general agreement on the best way to behave.

From there, however, humans take off on wild tangents of metaphysical thought and actions, all the while being sanguine about what happens next. In short, it was the most entertaining, illuminating and humorous 94 minutes I’ve enjoyed in years. Since, maybe, “Trekkies.”

The film opened in LA on July 2 at the Sunset 5 Theater.

Check their website at www.theNatureOfExistance.com to learn more.

- Wayman Dunlap

Built for the military in 1944 as a Dominie Mk.1 s/n NR683, this de Havilland D.H. 89A Mk.4 Dragon Rapide later saw service as part of the British European Airways making flights between England and Ireland.

It continued its commercial career with Fairey Air Surveys and G.R.M. Airwork (Precise Surveys Limited). The Rapide was shipped to Newark, N.J., reassembled and flown to San Jose, Calif.  in 1971 by its new owners, registered as N683DH as a play on the military serial number.

It only flew for a few years after that, eventually ending up with the Experimental Aircraft Association in Oshkosh, Wisc.

In 1992 the late William “Bud” Field of Hayward, Calif. purchased the plane and in partnership with John Reed of Sonoma, Calif. hired Russ Harmuth to bring the Rapide to California’s Calaveras Airport to do a full restoration on it. Over the years Harmuth worked on the plane until the project came to a standstill for three years at the turn of the century, while they were waiting for the 200 horsepower Gypsy Queen engines to be rebuilt in England.

Medical issues stopped Harmuth from finishing the plane and Andrew Turpen and Steve Cook finished it up, installing the wings and rigging the plane. Unfortunately before he could see the plane fly, Bud Field passed away on Feb. 10th and didn’t get to see it’s first flight on May 18th.

It now has 10 hours on it and “is one of the smoothest flying planes” that current caretaker Jimmy Rollison at Yolo, Calif. Airport says he’s ever flown.

Photo plane flown by Jerry Anderson and Mike DeCastro. Info and photos by Roger Cain

The builder of the new flying car, Terrafugia, unveiled the latest version of its “roadable aircraft” at EAA’s Oshkosh convention.

The new design includes several structural changes aimed at improving the roadable aircraft’s safety and flying characteristics, a spokesman said.

Terrafugia said it expects to fly the new version to next year’s convention in Oshkosh. The new design includes several performance improvements according to the company.

The new design loses the small canard wing at the front and sports a revised wing. And area between the fuselage and the tail is now open, allowing for a larger propeller.

Powered by a 100-horsepower, four-cylinder aircraft engine, the new Transition design is a rear-wheel drive car that will meet all of the federal highway safety regulations for a sport utility vehicle, the company said.

Terrafugia says it will have a flying cruise speed of 105 mph and a range of nearly 500 miles before needing to land and drive to a gas station.

Our Cover Story

Story and Photos
By Jack Watson

Sometimes the best ideas are born underneath an airplane’s wing .

Just ask Mark Holliday, owner of the Mullicoupe, the second example of the type built by Jim Younkin at his Springdale, Ark. shop.

A legend in the field, Younkin is known mostly for his re-creations of racers of the Golden Age, starting with the Travel Air Mystery ship, Mr. Mulligan, and a few other creations, such as the “Goliath” super Stearman, the Mystery Pacer, and a Beech Staggerwing production line that cranked out four of them, all better than new examples of the fabled machine.

Younkin traced the genesis of the Mullicoupe:

“Bud Dake and I were sitting under Mr. Mulligan’s wing at Blakesburg in 1982,” Younkin said. “We were thinking how neat it would be to have an airplane like that sized for the R-985 for personal transportation, rather than the R-1340 Mr Mulligan had.”

The concept matured and became a cross-breed between Mr Mulligan and a Monocoupe 110 Special. For a number of years, the Mullicoupe was a fill-in project at Younkin’s shop.

Three were built for Jim Younkin, Bud Dake and Red Lerille. After Bud’s passing, number two was sold to Mark Holliday of Lake Elmo, Minn., who keeps the plane at Platte Valley Airport, northeast of Denver and Lake Elmo Minn.

“I grew up in general aviation,” Holliday explained. “My dad had an FBO in Lake Elmo, Minn. I soloed on my 16th birthday, obtained my private on my 17th, commercial at 18, Airframe and Powerplant mechanic shortly after.

“In the beginning, I mostly flew deliveries and charter flights. In 1984 I started with Piedmont Airlines, then USAirways and retired in 2005.”

He got involved with the Vintage Aero Flying Museum (VAFM) of Fort Lupton, Colo. about 10 years ago,” he said.

“My first airplane was a Culver Cadet, and I have owned - and still own - quite a few Swifts. I have flown all of the airplanes in the VAFM collection, including the Fokker D-VII, D-VIII, DR 1 Triplane, SE.5As, Sopwith Pup, and a BT-13.”

The Mullicoupe is definitely not for the Sunday pilot, as is apparent by Mark’s evaluation of the airplane:

“Preflight is a regular walk-around, with some close attention to the engine-prop combination. To get in the airplane, if you are tall enough, you back up to the door, one hand on the strut, the other on the seat, and you push yourself up into the cabin.

“Otherwise, there is a small ladder that hooks up to the door frame and allows you to climb in.  Once you’re in, it is a pretty standard airplane.

“Starting is pretty much regular R985 procedure: boost pump on, a few quick shots of primer, hit the starter button, and the engine roars to life. It has a non-steerable tailwheel, so you maneuver with differential braking. Sitting on the left side, you can see ahead pretty well through a cutout on top of the instrument panel, but are pretty much blind on the right side.”

Once aligned at the end on the runway, lock the tailwheel, and advance the throttle to 36 inches manifold pressure ... the acceleration is awesome. It takes only a couple seconds for the tail to come up, and you are up and climbing.

With a reasonable load, about half tanks, the airplane rolls for 500 to 600 ft.

I like to climb at about 160 indicated airspeed, which, depending on the load, gives a 1,500 to 2,000 fpm rate of climb. I have seen around 4,000 fpm in a max climb, but forward visibility is pretty poor with the nose so high.

“I like to cruise between 11 and 14,000 ft, with 23" of manifold pressure, about 1,800 rpm, and about 225 mph true airspeed,” Holliday said.

MORE DETAILS IN THE JULY ISSUE OF PACIFIC FLYER