EAA Chapter 25

by Pat Halligan, Chapter 25 President

from On Final March 2005

Some people might say this is a bad time to be in the aviation business with a gallon of aviation fuel at $2.50 a gallon, hangar fees rising and insurance continuing to climb. But then we see Steve Fossett fly around the world solo or White Knight launch Space Ship One into outer space and I think how cool it is that we are alive to witness these events. I have the funny feeling AirVenture is going to be one exciting place this summer. You should feel proud to count yourself among the group known as “aviators”.

A few days ago I had an email from Phil Schaffer about a meeting regarding the closing of the Grantsburg, WI airport and I also recall hearing some talk about closing the Buffalo, MN airport a while back. You might recall I wrote about the Crystal Airport meetings at the state capitol recently and how we needed to keep an eye on events that affect us general aviation folks. These are the kind of events I was referring to. It looks to me like there are people (developers, politicians, commissioners etc…) that would like to close an airport here and one there, for their own personal gain. They might say it is for noise or safety or whatever, but usually it is because there is something in it for them. MONEY? We need to become involved.

Last month I received a mailing from MN State Senator Mike Jungbauer on a couple of bills he has sponsored that are favorable to our general aviation cause. I was pleased when I picked up the February issue of the Midwest Flyer to see some good legislative articles that affect us both locally and nationally. A few days ago I was reading my copy of AOPA and I saw how they teamed up with Senator Jungbauer on a couple of his aviation bills and yesterday AOPA was in Minnesota testifying on our behalf.

What I’m hoping to get is a few chapter members that have the time to attend meetings and hearings and then keep us informed on the aviation issues that affect us. They could keep us informed via our newsletter, website or maybe bring a legislator to one of our monthly meetings. They could give us a heads-up on when or to whom we should send an email that could help our cause. If this sounds like something that would be of interest to you, please let me know as you would be doing a great service to your chapter. Our hangar is a fantastic asset and I would hate to see it disappear in ten years because we didn’t get involved and someone built a casino with a stadium for the Vikings and the world’s largest Wal-Mart right where we used to fly airplanes. (Don’t forget there used to be an airport on Cedar & Co. Rd. 42–Southport.)

By the time you read this our annual chili feed will be over for another year. The chili feed to me is like seeing the first robin of the year; it means spring is just around the corner. Don’t forget that when you come to these chapter events you can bring family, neighbors or friends. The more the merrier.

We are always looking for more of our members to become Young Eagle pilots. I can’t put into words how much fun it is to give a youngster a ride. I know some of you have thought about it, but you are not quite sure how it would go, so you haven’t tried it. Trust me, you’ll love it. Give it a shot.

Happy St. Paddy’s day from Patrick Ohhhh Halligan

by John Koser

from On Final March 2005

On Feb 19th, we flew 12 students from Peter Denny’s “Sonex Technicians” class at Washburn HS. Pilots were Don Eide, Gary Rosch, Pat Halligan, Dan Carroll, and Norm Tesmar. Jeff Coffey, Bill Brown, Mike Dolan and myself served as ground crew. Bill Brown demonstrated his Sonex by doing takeoffs, low passes, and by flying alongside Don Eide so the kids could see a Sonex in flight.

I took about a half dozen of the students to our hangar so they could see the finished Sonex airplanes built and owned by Jeff and myself. Several parents also went along. The students were most appreciative, as were their parents.

On Mar 5th, Pat Halligan flew 5 more young eagles in conjunction with the annual chili feed.

Our next young eagle events are planned for Mar 19th and Apr 16th, when a scout group is planned. If you would like to volunteer, please contact myself or Jeff Coffey.

Article and photos by Dan Carroll

from On Final March 2005

It all started about three years ago at Oshkosh when I met Matt and Jo McCaughan, who own and operate Flyinn Tours and Geordie Hill Station (a sheep and cattle farm) in Central Otago, New Zealand. I listened to their pitch about flying in the remote back country, and how seeing Mt. Cook, Milford Sound , the magnificent fiords, the rugged coastlines and the whole country from the air and ground, if you wanted, was unbeatable. They said they catered to pilots who wanted something different out of their travels and that they offered several different mountain and coastal itineraries flying their Cessna 172s or the leased Cessna 206 that are based at Geordie Hill Station.

I asked about getting a New Zealand pilots license and if it would be difficult. Matt assured me that it wouldn’t be an issue as long as my pilot certificate was current and I had a valid medical certificate. He would even handle the paperwork required by the New Zealand CAA. What a deal! It all sounded too good to be true, but I was sold on giving it a go if I could find a couple of friends to go along with me to bring the trip costs into the “affordable” category.

Finding a couple of pilots with similar interests did take some time, like two years. Finally, it all came together soon after the 2004 Oshkosh convention. David and Linda Hatfield from Minneapolis and fellow pilots at Anoka County Airport and Jim and Julie Regan, two non-pilot friends from San Diego agreed to make the trip to New Zealand in January 2005. I emailed Matt and Jo to confirm some dates and reserved the Cessna 172 and the 206 for a January 12th start from Queenstown in South Island.

I had no real sense of what I was in for, but I laid awake several months before the trip thinking about what it would be like to explore one of the southern most islands in the world from the air. My imagination ran wild, particularly given Peter Jackson’s (the Hollywood film director) hype over the filming of the “Lord of the Rings” Trilogy (a good deal of the scenery in the movies was filmed in the mountainous areas not far from Queenstown). Jackson said, “Tolkien’s world was one of deep hidden valleys, barren wastelands, remote majestic mountains and lush low valleys”. Based on what I’ve read and heard about New Zealand, it would be every bit as he described.

After several months of planning and talking about New Zealand, I left for Los Angeles on the 3rd of January with all the anticipation and excitement of a school boy. The flight from L.A. to Auckland on an Air New Zealand flight left at 7:30 P.M. the following day. I thought the 12 hour flight would be tolerable sitting in steerage and that I’d be able to get some shut-eye. Well, I kinda knew better because of past experiences, but I convinced myself that I could make it without getting too grumpy. After all, I was saving a bunch of money with the cheap airfare.

The night flight was uneventful and I arrived in Auckland none the worse for wear, tired but excited about the adventure that was just beginning. After finally clearing customs and immigration (the hounds used by the customs folks tagged my backpack as having contraband in it — seems like the dogs easily picked up the scent of the beef jerky and fruit that I snacked on during the long flight), I grabbed a cab and headed for the Sheraton in downtown Auckland.

Before leaving the states our group had exchanged itineraries. Jim and Julie were already in Auckland and we had prearranged to meet for dinner somewhere down by the wharf my first night in town. Linda and David were still in the states and were not expected to arrive until the 11th, so I had lots of time to kill and explore on my own.

I had only scheduled one night in Auckland and other than having dinner with the Regans, the rest of the day was mine to see some of the city . I spent the day doing the tourist thing and saw the local sights. I really wasn’t up for long walks or big crowds, so it was an easy decision to buy a ticket for one of the 2 hour harbor cruises. The air was crisp that day and the wind was blowing 30 to 40 knots on the open water. No wonder they call this part of the world the roaring 40s (a reference to the southern 40 degree latitudes). I was told the polar winds almost always bring a nice “stiff” ocean breeze to this part of the world, particularly the “northwesters” that come off the Tasman Sea. ( Little did I know that in a few days, I’d find out why flying in the back country would be one of my more challenging flying experiences. The combination of high winds and the short grass strips that we would be using would test my skills to new limits.)

The day in Auckland slipped away and by the time dinner came around, the long hours without sleep began taking its toll. I couldn’t miss dinner with the Regans though and pushed myself. I’m glad I did. We enjoyed a brief reunion and a terrific seafood dinner along with a great glass of New Zealand’s red wine at a swank restaurant on the wharf. All of us were tired and were looking forward to calling it an early night. I’d see Jim and Julie again in Queenstown in a day or so.

Auckland was an interesting port city for its size (1.2 million people, which by the way is one third of the country’s population) and is rich in its Maori history and of course, famous for its world class sailing (remember, Auckland hosted several past Americas Cup Races). I was struck by the relaxed lifestyle, its diversity and the good food, but was anxious to leave this North Island city and head for Queenstown in the morning.

The next morning’s departure was uneventful and the clear skies on takeoff from Auckland provided a great view of the coastline of North Island on our way down to Queenstown. The Qantas captain told us on departure that South Island was mostly overcast and that the Southern Alps would be obscured. The weather at Queenstown was reported broken to overcast with light rain and good visibility. I already knew that there was an NDB serving the Queenstown airport, no radar and that all approaches to land were under visual conditions because of the mountainous terrain and narrow valleys.

I wasn’t prepared for the unusual visual approach that the Qantas pilots made into Queenstown. This was the first time in my world travels that I thought I was being delivered to my destination by a couple of Alaskan bush pilots. The objective seemed to be, find that hole, get underneath the cloud cover, stay clear of clouds and mountains, land safely and don’t scare the passengers too much. These guys were good and believe me, they handled that 737 as if it was a fighter. Little did I know that I would be performing the same maneuvers in a few days in the 206 with my designated CAA pilot.

For a mid summer day in Queenstown the weather conditions on arrival were more like early Spring in Minnesota, wet and cold. Oh well, Matt wasn’t scheduled to meet the group for a few days, so I checked into the Heritage Resort at Queenstown and planned to do a little exploring by foot and by car for the next few days.

I read somewhere that Queenstown was said to be to New Zealand what Aspen was to Colorado in the 1970s, but I thought it was more like Lake Tahoe. The Remarkables mountain range frames this quaint little resort town and Lake Wakatipu. It has a reputation for great skiing in the winter and hiking in the summer and is known as the gateway to the fiordlands, and Milford Sound. The glacier lake waters are as pristine as any I’ve ever seen and frigid. The mountains were as majestic as any in North America except for perhaps Alaska. Matt was right. This place is heavenly.

You could ski, jetboat down the Shotover or Dart rivers, visit the boutique wineries long the river valleys, or visit the local formal gardens, lawn bowl (it’s a British thing), ride the old steam locomotive train from Kings River, or ride the Lake Wakatipu coal steamer to Walter’s Station for a sense of what it’s like to live and work on a sheep station, bungee jump, shop or do all those other tourist things. Queenstown is a great little place with some 10,000 inhabitants and has all the commercial trappings of a tourist town, but I had a low tolerance for such things. I was chomping at the bit to get up in the air and couldn’t wait for the time to pass and the real adventure to begin.

(Stay tuned for the next installment on “Discovering New Zealand” and some fantastic pictures of DeHavilland Moths at Mandeville, and the “rest of the story” as Paul Harvey would say.)

from On Final March 2005

Lou Martin (photo on right), from Apple Valley and a Chapter 25 member, was informed that his book, “Wings Over Persia” was designated the best aviation writing by a Minnesotan for the year 2004, by the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame. The letter, informing Mr. Martin that he was the recipient of the award stated, “Your book was exciting and personal, definitely the type of aviation writing the MAHOF wishes to honor and encourage with its annual award.”

Mr. Martin, following 22 years as an Air Force pilot, and 5 years as a captain for Japan Airlines, joined a small cadre of foreign pilots flying for an air charter company in Tehran, Iran. His military service included 10 years in overseas assignments, including flying combat cargo support missions during the Vietnam War. He retired from the Air Force in 1970 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

From 1970 to 1975, he flew as a captain for Japan Domestic Airlines where he commanded a Japanese aircraft, crewed by Japanese copilots and Japanese flight attendants. Many of Colonel Martin’s flights in Japan were unique, in that he flew with several senior Japanese pilots who had participated in the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. When in Japan he met, and later married, a senior Japanese flight attendant.

After his contract in Japan ended he relocated to Tehran, Iran where, from 1976 to 1979, he worked for an air charter company, flying throughout the Middle East transporting members of the late Shah’s family, high ranking Iranian military and government officials, and oil field roughnecks. He was in Iran during the troubling years of 1978 when Islamic fundamentalists rioted in the streets seeking the overthrow of the Shah. The tempo of the demonstrations rose to the point where thousands were killed, forcing the Shah to flee to Egypt.

When a personal friend was killed, Colonel Martin feared for his own safety and made a hurried exodus, abandoning unpaid salary, a Volkswagen, and personal property. The Shah’s abdication allowed the fire-brand Islamic leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, to assume the position as Iran’s despotic ruler, and form a ruthless Islamic theocracy government. Several of Mr. Martin’s Iranian pilot colleagues, and VIP passengers, were summarily executed by Islamic revolutionary guards after Khomeini’s takeover.

Lou Martin’s book, “Wings Over Persia,” is a true story of intrigue and adventure of an American pilot flying in Iran, during the revolution that overthrew the Shah. It provides a unique opportunity to share in the experience of flying in a troubling part of the world, along with a first hand insight into the inflexible attitude of Islamic Fundamentalists towards infidels.

Readers state that, “Wings Over Persia” has given them a much better understanding of the problems we face in the Middle East, while at the same time providing an interesting book that is difficult to put down. Congratulations Lou! “Wings Over Persia” may be reviewed on “Google” search web page, and Amazon.com. Lou Martin may be contacted at: [email protected], or Tel: 952-891-1250.