Pacific Perspective - July 2003

Once upon a time....

	Happy couple unload their Ryan ST at Evergreen 1975
	Other strange planes at Evergreen in '75
	Tony tells of a flight in a Waco similar to this at the NWAAC Fly-in.
	Frank Ghalen's spectacular Harvard tail slide, circa 1973?
	Tony & Mary discover 'Some old fighter' in a shed.
	Western Warbird Fly-in at Nelson's fine airport in July '92
	Bruce Underhill's beautiful rebuilt Taylorcraft at Delta this June.
	COPA Flight 5 celebrate one year of operations. Flight Captain Al fielder at the head of the table eats birthday cake with fellow members. Boundary Bay Fly Club President Don Brown is at front left. Photos courtesy Tony Swain Archives

About 30 years ago The Mary and I were just getting into our stride as airplane nuts, and gas being cheap those days, we were Fly-in Fools.
So in May of 1975 we headed off for the highly popular North West Antique Aircraft Association do at Evergreen WA, near Portland OR in the US of A.
It's a real scenic flight down there along the shores of Puget Sound, but entails skirting around Seattle's scary monster whatchama-call-it zone that defends SeaTac International.
We pass some really neat airports, Arlington, Snohomish, Puyallup, and Kelso, where we pick up the mighty Columbia River, and avoid pretty skookum mountains on route, Ranier and St. Helens.
If we'd known Helens was going to blow as it did, we'd have planned a far wider berth! ..."Oh look! What a lovely crater!" ...BOOM!!!
Around Evergreen, somewhere south of Battle Ground, we'd been warned of a confusion of little airports, and to be sure to land at the right one. So we were paranoid of landing by mistake at Portland International, only 3 miles across the river!
You'd think they'd locate busy places like that further away from where we're going?
Anyway, we arrived OK and were fussed over by the locals, thrilled that we'd turned up in a "Six," all the way from Canada... "Those crazy Canucks!"
We were assigned the clubhouse shack for the night, available after the evening's celebrations for us and other sundries to rest up for the morrow.
But what a fantastic conglomeration of old planes! The one of a kind Standard bipe, the huge pre-Stearman Stearman Mail Plane, common or garden Stearman, Stagger Beech, Bobcat, Meyers OTW, Travelair, a Brace of WACO's, and many other strange machines. Even a really nice Harvard owned by a bloke named Neil Rose, who made us very welcome.

CARNIVAL ATMOSPHERE...
In the hangar, on top of the office, I found a Harvard Heater Tailpipe, not needed in The States they said.
As I had one that worked, I didn't grab it. I should have... 30 years down the road I had to find another, and the Evergreen parts heap was long gone. Sheesh. I can still see it sitting there, beseeching me to take it home. ...Sigh.
There was a carnival atmosphere, and so long as we stayed under and away from the dreaded Portland Zone, we could pretty well do what we want, so there was lots of flying around.
Airport Owner Wally Olson pulled out his scruffy old UPF-7 Waco and Barnstormed for time over the trees to liven things up. We miss his kind for sure these days. They understood the romance and excitement of just flyin' about, something modern machinery and modern consciousness have pretty well lost.
An enthusiastic older guy we'll call Happy Harry took a ride in Bessy, which he enjoyed so much he offered a ride in his classic WACO Straightwing Biplane.
Way to go! ...Like riding in a flying cathedral... All the wires and struts and all. Felt a bit lonely in the wide two place bench front seat. Sat in the middle, the lap belt stretches off to the far corners of the seat. No intercom, and away we went. What a great experience. Floating majestically along to the throaty roar of the big radial up front.
Happy Harry, as we'll call him, drifted the old bird around this way and that, flashing a big grin whenever I glanced back. It was great.

BUCKLE UP...
He shook the stick for my attention, and made a circling motion with his fingers. How about a roll?
Hey... No sweat! I nodded enthusiastically. This could be fun.
Last time I rolled a WACO, the controls jammed, but that had been years ago.
Happy stuck the nose down for enough speed, then hauled back the stick, and ponderously rolled her over to the left... With all the struts and wires strumming away, it was like a tall ship capsizing in a gale. Stick forward some when inverted, and SNAP! ...The seat buckle let go!
My arms and legs shot out like greased lightening, hooking under coamings and panel like rigid steel rods... My reaction time is pretty quick under pressure!
Slowly we turned, my eyeballs on stalks. Once upright, I frantically tried to grab the buckle ends, and snap them back in place.
The stick shook! Big grin from Happy Harry. "Another one?”
Believe me, without intercom, to look over one's shoulder to convey that a seat belt is broke and shake one's head in a convincing "NO!” manner whilst attempting to refasten a previously snug lap belt, is impossible.
So over we went again.
Fortunately, there are plenty of things to grab a hold of in a 1920's type airplane, and I managed to stay aboard. I gestured downward frantically, and thankfully, my intrepid pilot got my drift. He thought I was ill, and didn't want to mess up his plane.
Once down, I babbled my concerns. "Oh!" says he "It does that."
I staggered away trying to act casual. At the time, no-one thought it any big deal. "You can't fall out anyway, that big wing up there holds you in!" they said.
Was this some kind of initiation? I'll never know.
So CHECK your seat belts thoroughly. I've had seatbelts fail me in an Harvard, Fleet Canuck, Pitts Special, and now an old WACO, so I'm fastidious.

SHOW BIZ WIZZ...
At the Barbecue that night, we sat next to Frank Ghelen, who was THE Harvard Show Performer of the era.
He did vertical rolls, tailslides and Lomcevacs in his Mark 4. ...This was impossible of course, so no one else had a prayer of being a hero Harvard show pilot with him cracking about.
He just had to be a retired USAF test pilot, so I asked him. Not at all! ...Taught himself, said he.
The Air Force banned tail slides because the cable runs were too long to the elevator, allowing play, and thus impossible to hold central as speed built up backwards in what they termed, a vertical reverse. The danger was that the elevator would deflect at speed, and snatch the stick out of your grasp, bang the elevator, or rudder against the stops, and tear the controls right off!
Being in Show Business, Frank's answer was to over tighten the cable runs and eliminate the play. This was hard on the pulleys, which needed frequent checking. As for the Lomcevacs it's difficult to push in sufficient force to trip snap the aircraft, so he simply bent the control column back and to the right about four inches to give him more leverage!
That old Six took a lot of stress over the years, which says a lot for it's integrity!

SOME OLD FIGHTER...
Later, M & I poked about the various sheds and all, and a sneak peek into a locked T- Hangar revealed the bones of some old fighter, waiting for the Blue Fairy to come and wave her wand.
Bust my brain trying to get a decent picture in the gloom with no flash. It's reproduced here due to the marvels of modern scanner technology!
And so we returned to Delta after a wonderful weekend.

GOGI RETIRES...
Those days, a really active group ran the EAA Chapter 85 at Delta, and their president was Gogi Goguillot. Gogi was an extremely personable and active fun airplane guy.
He was a homebuilder deluxe, group leader par excellence, and worked energetically at Airplane Supply Co. with Ed Zeleski. Everybody knew Goge.
He'd built a number of custom planes, a Termite... the butt of much hilarity, a Druine Turbi, which the now RAAC Chapter still use as a club plane, under his wing, the club also operated a Piper J-5.
He and Dan McGowan dreamed up and built three or four prototypes of the popular WW1 Replica SE5a Biplane fighter, and still offer plans.
There are squadrons of these homebuilt dream play fighters flying all over the world. He also rebuilt a Flybaby, and half built a GeeBee Sports Replica.
For a number of years in the 70's Gogi was EAA of Canada President, and he and his Western directors worked very hard on everyone's behalf. But the logistics of running a national group from The West proved too difficult to sustain, as all federal politicos understand.
He and Ed Stacey formed the very successful Demel Aviation parts supply. But as with all things, they wanted to move on, and eventually, this was sold.

GOGI'S ALLADIN'S CAVE...
Gogi then took on the job of General Manager of the reformed Canadian Museum of Flight at Langley Airport BC.
Under his leadership, the museum has thrived, has a number of flying classics, and the collection hangar is an Alladin's Cave of aviation wonder.
The Museum is proud to have the only WW 2 Hampden on full display, a magnificent Lysander, with see-thru mylar cover, a flying WACO Cabin, open WACO, Tiger Moth, Finch, Replica SE5a, and a Harvard MK 2.
During Gogi's administration, the museum has been connected with four COPA Awards, Gogi himself receiving COPA's highest national honour, the AOPA Silver Tray for 1996.
Gogi was a great encouragement to me when I started sport flying, and showed me where the fun was. ...So it was a great honour that I was asked to be Master of Ceremonies at his Retirement Banquet, recently held in Langley's Alpen Helicopter's magnificent new hangar.
The place was packed, and a fabulous 18 piece band, The Moonlighters provided appropriate Tommy Dorsey, Glen Miller nostalgia music for the evening. It was great to see a great gathering of old friends, including Barry Kingston, Frank Stevens, of EAAC days, George Spence, George Worden, and WW 2 pilot Franz Steigler.
At the head tables were Gogi's wife Jean, his brother Gogi, and sister Gogi, his son and daughter, also named Gogi. ...Easy to introduce!
He enjoyed the company, the cake, and the gifts. One particular, a superbly accurate model of an SE5a in a glass case.
Gogi says he'll take it easier now, but will still be down to the museum to help with various restoration work in progress.
Way to go Goge. Thanks for your years of friendly enthusiasm. See you around.

WITHER NELSON AIRPORT?...
I received an alarming email in May to say that Nelson council were considering their options with their airport facing runway repairs estimated at $450K in the near future, and that the airport may be closed, rather than fixed.
Who came up with this figure, and why it needed the work is unclear, but is a heads up as to how things happen in today’s local government airport administration world.
Not enough communities or councils recognize the value or the fragility of their airport.
Politics can dismay us at very short notice. Few of us know what goes on down at city Hall until after the vote is made, and it is fait accompli.
Maybe Meigs Field has made us more aware, and that is a good thing. A number of us wrote or emailed the mayor to voice our dismay that such an action could even be contemplated.
It behooves us to PAY ATTENTION to what goes on at City Hall, and keep the councillors aware of our concern for the local airport.
Many letters were written, and council is thinking again

AIRPORT SECURITY...
Had a call from a concerned COPA member about the difficulties caused by the security policies imposed by the airport administration in recent months since some serious vandalism occurred at the field.
Some restrictions worked against and inconvenienced legitimate aviation folk by the way they were applied. It's a difficult problem.
It seems that at times, airplane owners were intercepted because they were moving their aircraft for fuel, or to the wash area, whilst unknown persons strolling among the tie downs were left be.
I can see how this might occur, security personnel being told to check out anyone interfering with an aircraft, and that's what owners do. It's a difficult problem.
Pilots and owners must take it upon themselves to question strangers poking around, and must not prop open gates for temporary convenience. It will take a while for us all to find a new level of conduct around the various airports, but we must avoid procedures that make using one's aircraft an unpleasant experience.
At the members field, an airport security committee has been set up with representatives of ALL users of the airfield, and given a little time and understanding, hopefully these new concerns will be sorted out.

DELTA AND EVERYTHING...
Everybody is thrilled to see Bruce Underhill's T-Craft back in the air after an 18 month restoration in Dave Sproule's shop. Bruce flew his 'T-Cart' out from Ontario a few years ago, and he just loves it.
After some fabric damage he decided to recover the fuselage, but one thing led to another, as all fabric covered aircraft owners know, and a recover turned it a whole lot more. Lots of gluing was needed in the wings et al... But now she's a gem... Flies hands off and everything, well, almost. Congratulations Bruce, looks real nice.