Home Style Brisket
This year weather kept the Flaming Brisket grounded, but the food was great anyway! With an overcast in the picture the destination switched from Agua Dulce to the east Ts grass area at the east end. Chairs and tables were quickly borrowed from the Western Museum of Flying, cornhole and horseshoes were set up, and presto we had a picnic! At least forty DAFers and friends showed up to feast on Mitch's brisket and the great assortment of sides brought by the Flyers. Good conversation followed, and some who couldn't have flown were able to joint in.
Over the windmills to Tehachapi we go
On Saturday May 18th 24 DAFERS in 11 airplanes made it to the Tehachapi Airport and made the short walk over to the Red House BBQ. With the weather we had earlier in the week it was questionable if the winds and rain were going to take a break, but the skies cleared and predicted winds were supposed to arrive late afternoon. Briefing and departure were extra busy at KTOA with the preparations for Armed Forces Day, but we got a front row preview of the aircraft, military and police that were staging for parade later in the day. So those on the fly in were treated to a wonderful trip to Tehachapi, and even better was the BBQ at Red House BBQ. Red House BBQ is a popular place with locals and draws a pretty good crowd from all over, we were rewarded by great BBQ and weather was nice enough to sit outside. They had many choices on the menu which made it hard to decide, but we all managed somehow.
On the way home a couple of people took an aerial view of the Tehachapi loop. We all beat the predicted winds and weather coming home. All in all it was a great time and the weather cooperated.
Early Bird Jenny makes her debut!
Our May 15 dinner program featured DAF speaker Rhon Williams, who presented details of his epic 13 year, very fulfilling, incredibly complex journey building a 2/3 scale Early Bird Jenny biplane from scratch. When Rhon began this project in 2002 at Compton Airport, it was a group project, but as time went on it basically became his solo project. It was completed in 2015.Rhon has spent 6,200 hours of his time on the project so far. Rhon was constantly challenged figuring out what parts to use and how to find them. In many cases, he made his own parts.
The Jenny's 3 cylinder engine is adapted from a Geo Metro car.
Rhon learned to create prototypes of structures, get them right, and then build tools from these prototypes to build the airworthy parts installed in the aircraft. Rhon had to develop skills in woodworking, sheet metal, welding, fabric covering, painting, and all other skills required to scratch build from plans. He took weekend classes through EAA to gain some of the skills needed. His EAA friends helped with everything. Rhon noted that this kind of project makes you lucky.
Rhon's perseverance paid off on December 30, 2015 at Chino Airport when he flew Jenny for the first time, 100 years after the 1st Jenny flight!
The Early Bird Jenny cruises at 65 mph, rotates at 50 mph, and stalls at 45 mph. Not much difference between those speeds! The Jenny currently is based at Compton Airport and can fly without restrictions. Kudos to Rhon's wife Vickie who was an enthusiastic supporter of his endeavor over the years.
A special thank you to Rhon for sharing with us the details of his extraordinary accomplishment in a well documented presentation which allowed us DAFers to understand so much of his journey.
Animals, mountains now planes. DAF go to KSBA
On Saturday April 13 Del Amo Flyers landed at Santa Barbara Airport for a wonderful lunch at the High Sierra Restaurant, soon to be Flightline Restaurant. The sky was blue, and the weather could not have been more perfect. There were 35 people and about 10 airplanes for the lunch fly in. The High Sierra Restaurant was tastefully decorated with aviation memorabilia. The restaurant was smart and had the DAFers separated from the main dining area. To our advantage, this allowed the DAFers to socialize with all who attended. Signature FBO was very welcoming to all the planes. They had a few combinations of discounts for the FBO landing fees with receipts from High Sierra and fuel. And, the fuel price was reasonable to start with.
Thank you to Linda Howard who made this a great lunch fly in.