Q-talk 62 - Mar/Apr 1997 - index

MAR/APR 1997
ISSUE NUMBER 62

QUICKIE BUILDERS ASSOCIATION

SUN 'N FUN 1997 EDITION

by Jim Masal

 

"My tongue's hanging out to my knees ... sumbody gimme a break." That's what I was thinking about 3 weeks before Sun 'N Fun. The winter doldrums were killin' me 'n I don't even live in a snowbound state! Those weeks just wouldn't pass soon enough so I even cheated by leaving one day earlier than usual, Friday at 6 a.m. and in the rain.

And so it was with a great feeling of salvation that I arrived at a primo camping spot on Lakeland's Linder Field during a cool but brilliantly sunny afternoon. As I set up my tent I was treated to the billowy smoke of a space shuttle shot out of Canaveral far to the east. What an inspiring kickoff for the week's activities. I met my adjacent campers and we walked 50 yards in front of our tents to the fence line that protects the arrival runway. Critiquing the antics of a stream of arriving aircraft is even better than general hangar flying. That evening I met my Dragonfly pal, Spud, in Tampa, where we ate then got him set up at the camp site.

Saturday morning we toured the flightline. The show officially starts Sunday, but most arrivals are in place by Saturday and the vendors are finishing their setup. This was not to be a good showing for Dragonflyers - zero on the line. But for the Quickers, we had these:

 

NAME
STATE
TYPE
N#
T.T.
Dwyer FL Q-200 N3QP 870
Fisher IL Q-200 N17PF 700+
Koutz GA Q-200 N39LK 100+
Pratt FL Q-200 N2192D 60
Doyle IL TQ C85 N56DW 620
Brablec FL TQ-200 N1201D 64
Crouch IA QUICKIE N14TC 270

 

These are mostly repeaters, but that is very important because some are really racking up the flight hours with no major complaints. In fact, Dwyer claimed at our forum that his plane is probably built closer to the plans than Gene Sheehan's prototype. Dwyer has some 870 hours on it and a good chunk of that time is over water on numerous trips to the Bahamas from the Tampa/St. Pete area. If ever there was a recommendation for sticking to the plans and not dreaming up solutions to mythological problems, this was it. The two Tri-Q's were running Warp props and both were very pleased with them.

 

QBA FORUMS - As usual we started out at 9 a.m. for a two-hour gabfest. As UNusual many wives were unable to remind their husbands that daylight savings time went into effect the midnight before. So we had about 50 folks. I remember Larry Koutz explaining some of the mods to his Q-200 and his continuing frustration at getting it to come up to typical Q-200 speeds. We talked about canard/wing incidences and the difficulty of setting them if you don't plan for a permanent level line reference during building. One builder said he marked the line with a thick black marker and that even after painting it could be visualized if a trouble light was put close to the fuselage wall. Jim Doyle talked about his Warp drive prop, how good they were to deal with and explained the installation of a remote Corvair oil cooler to bring his temps down.

We had a one-hour forum on Tuesday at 9 a.m. which drew a size 20 but talkative crowd.

 

After several years of pestering, I have finally produced another QBA T-shirt that I had available at Lakeland. It is white with a Q-200 emblem on the left chest.

$10 each + $2.00 mailing.

Sizes M, L & XL.

 

OTHER SUN 'N FUN MEMORIES - It seemed to me there was a slightly smaller airplane and people crowd and that by Tuesday a goodly evacuation had occurred. It's a bit off that the show opens on Sunday because most of the planes and people are in position Saturday. That's a planning note for you in case you're headed that way next year.

Weather was good except for a light rain on Monday afternoon. I came back with my brown bean tan.

Out of the flightline the RV's are challenging the EZ's for space except that each year another company with an EZ clone shows up (this time it was the SQ2000 which will challenge the Swing's Velocity XL for cabin width [48" - 49"] and cruise speeds in the 210-230 mph range).

And then there were the two trampled grass award winners. First, an EZ flown from Caracas, Venezuela with two auto engines mounted close to the centerline and driving a single shaft with two 3-bladed propellers! There were few times the crowd parted enough to take a photo. And second was the new Thunder Mustang P-51 clone. This was a very nicely turned out piece turned out by the Kitfox designer ... and the fly-bys were just as nice.

Lotsa Russian Yaks are moving into the Warbird area and the Mini 500 is starting to multiply like gnats over in the helicopter pen. I counted 10 just on static display. There was a sale on. You could buy all the kits you wanted at $26,000.

Florida is an ultralight friendly state and the action was hot over there. I cruzed over there to store up some info for the day when I have a scar down the midline of my chest. Remember the jet ultralight that showed at OSH? He must have gone into hiding 'cause none of that action was apparent at SNF.

I don't pay much attention to the afternoon airshows these days, but I did note the opening parachutist act where two of them linked legs and came barreling down in some unusual gyrations that captivated the crowd. And then the Blue Beech 18 doing an aerobatic routine is something fun to watch. The unusual engine screech of a rare F-104 on a fast pass caught my attention too (as well as a couple of B-2 passes just after lunch one day).

Something for everyone and if you missed it ... guess what? They'll be doin' it again next year.

 

 

OSHKOSH IS COMING UP

July 30 - August 5

Remember that Oshkosh starts on a Wednesday this year.

 

OTTAWA 1997

Labor Day Weekend

August 29 - 31

This starts on Friday afternoon/evening and finishes up Sunday morning.

Plans are underway for a Biannual Flight Review (BFR) clinic immediately preceding this summers Ottawa fly-in. The Friday before the fly-in several flight instructors, who are also Q2 pilots, will conduct a one-hour ground school and fly with each pilot, in your own plane, one hour. Upon completing the ground and flight instructions your logbook will be signed off from a qualified flight instructor. Our hopes are to keep the cost near $25.00 per pilot. We would like all Q2 pilots who are CFI's and are interested in helping with this clinic to please contact Spud/Tom. If you plan to take advantage of this opportunity, please let Spud/Tom know so we can adequately plan for this event.

Plans are also underway for a performance evaluation flight during this summers Ottawa Fly-In. There is no fee for this flight and no awards. The purpose of this event is to have a good time and get some numbers on how our planes are performing. The course will consist of 125nm triangular route starting and finishing at Ottawa. The plane that is anticipated to be the fastest will depart first followed by the slower planes in one-minute intervals. The flight will take place first thing Saturday morning - weather permitting. Each pilot will be asked to record key data throughout the flight. This data will be compiled and reported here in the newsletter. Alternate weather day will be Sunday morning.

Other Articles In This Issue

LETTERS - by Tom Moore
QUICK PIX!- by Tom Moore
CLASSIFIEDS - by Tom Moore

 


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