Gateway Area Ultralight Association Holds Carburetor Clinic

By Carmelo Turdo

The Gateway Area Ultralight Association (GAUA) held a carburetor clinic today at St. Louis Downtown Airport.  About 20 attendees, many of whom were also members of EAA Chapter 64 and the Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum, were on hand for a thorough tutorial on the operation and care of Bing and Mikuni carburetors commonly used on Rotax 2-stroke engines.  The presenter, Mr. Keith Smith, an experienced ultralight pilot, former instructor and owner of Gateway Airpark near Highland, Illinois, began with carburetor basics and progressed through the operation and maintenance of typical ultralight carburetors.  He passed along lessons learned from his years of experience, and emphasized essential operating practices, such as "don't mix oils of different types/brands" and "don't tune your mixture without an exhaust gas temperature gauge."  The session was organized by Bill Rohland, with assistance from Bob Fisch and others from GAUA.  If you missed the clinic and would like some of the study materials, please contact The Aero Experience and we will assist you.  Here are some scenes from the clinic.

Keith Smith (left) and Bill Rohland

Attendees gather at the conference room

...there's one in every crowd...

A very dirty Bing carburetor needing some TLC

Another view of the carburetor during disassembly

A new carburetor right out of the box

A Mikuni carburetor complete with rotted fuel line

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2012: VAQ-129 EA-6B Prowler

By Fred Harl

Finding a Prowler at an aviation event is always a treat, since there were less than 200 manufactured from 1966-1991 and the recently deployed EA-18 Growler is taking over the electronic warfare mission in operational squadrons.  Almost any aircraft could be found at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2012, and this Prowler from VAQ-129, the "Vikings" from NAS Whidbey Island, Washington was on display in Phillips 66 Plaza.   This particular Prowler, b/n 163404/906, is an ICAP III standard (since 2005) bird serving valiantly until the Growlers take over in the near future.  Here are some walk-around shots from midweek:

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2012: The Immortal DC-3

By Fred Harl

Every aviation event needs a DC-3, and it is no surprise that there were several in plain sight at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2012.  The Flabob Express, a C-47B fitted for tourist flights from Flabob Airport in Riverside, CA was on hand.  A beautiful red and white DC-3C owned by KW Plastics in Troy, Alabama featured the classic Douglas Aircraft logo.  An early DC-3A from Griffin, GA sported blue stripes over aluminum with ALA markings.  A Local DC-3 from Good Aviation in Oshkosh sported yellow on white, and Duggy was unmistakable.  Here are some views of the DC-3s mentioned here:

       

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2012: Sikorsky S-97 Raider

By Fred Harl

Sikorsky brought their S-97 Raider mockup, a follow-on to the X2  technology demonstrator, to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2012.  The demonstrator, recently retired after flying over 250 knots and winning the Collier Trophy for aeronautic excellence, will be succeeded by the S-97 Raider Armed Aerial Scout contender.  The new design will allow room for 6 troops or additional weapons loads while delivering exceptional flight performance in high-temperature environments.  The aircraft will be featured on the Military Channel "Combat Tech" series this winter.  Of course, cutting-edge aircraft like the S-97 Raider are seen publicly at AirVenture every year. 

Here are some shots of the Raider under the tent: