ICS at Oshkosh

[Dave Fitzgerald]

PRESS RELEASE

World Race Gold Medalist honors 50th Anniversary of Comanches

Among the many Comanches scheduled to participate in the Comanche Mass Arrival at Oshkosh, is a Twin Comanche that is the only U.S. airplane to have raced around the world, twice. Over 65 Comanches, with all varients produced represented, will depart from Watertown, Wisconsin destined for EAA AirVenture 2008, “the world’s greatest aviation celebration”, on Sunday, July 27 at 11 AM. The public is welcome to watch the departure. This Piper Twin Comanche will be flown by owner and FAI (Fedaration Aeronautique Internationale) Gold Medalist Patricia Jayne (Pat) Keefer. Keefer won the Gold Medal for the longest race in history, 24 days around the world, with her mother, world record holder, Hall of Famer and Aviation Hero for the First Century of Flight, Marion Jayne (1926-1996). Also arriving in the group will be twelve 1958 model year Comanche 180’s and 250’s to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the start of production of the type.

Keefer will honor the exciting Twin Comanche by speaking about her gold medal world race adventures at the International Comanche Society tent located in the main display area at AirVenture at 1 PM on Monday, July 28. Piper Aircraft company first started building Comanches in 1958, and today there are thousands of single and twin engine Comanches flying their owners and passengers to business meetings, family functions and vacations all over the world. Thanks to CFF and ICS, intelligent owners, general aviation mechanics, and aviation industry manufacturers, the Comanche fleet is a vibrant and viable aviation platform over 50 years after it was first brought to market. Sturdy and built to last, the Comanche is known, in particular, for its fuel economy, useful load and stable flight characteristics in difficult weather conditions.

More than 65 Comanche owners and operators will be camping with their planes in rows 83-90 in the Vintage Aircraft Camping area at AirVenture. In addition to Keefer's "Racing for Gold: 24 Days Around the World" presentation, the CFF/ICS tent will also host Kristin Winter speaking on Aviation Insurance at 10 am on Tuesday. She will also do a presentation on Comanche Pre-buy tips on Thursday at 10 am. Kristin is a Twin Comanche owner, aviation attorney, CFI, A&P and IA. Dr. William Tarver, NASA Flight Surgeon, will speak on how to physically qualify to be an astronaut, or at least keep your medical, at 1 pm on Tuesday. Matt Kurke, owner of Comanche Gear will be giving two talks on Comanche maintenance, one in the tent on Monday morning at 10am, and weather permitting, we will have a hands on clinic in the Comanche parking area on Wednesday afternoon at 1pm. Presentations will be offered at 10am and 1pm every day, Monday through Friday on various subjects including Comanche specific, as well as general interest subjects. For the most up to date information, stop by the CFF/ICS Tent any time during Oshkosh. To find our tent, turn left as soon as you come in the main gate and we are located about 200’ down the first isle in lot #39. If you have a fold up chair you might want to bring it along to be used in the tent.

Additional Information on all planned activities is available from:

Zach Grant, Mass Arrival Organizer and ICS NC Tribe Chief at 317.201.4293
Dave Fitzgerald, ICS President 330.936.7979
www.ComancheFlyer.com

PS ICS members, please remember to wear your ICS nametag.

[Zach Grant L1011jock]

Saturday July 26th
0800-? Arrival Watertown w/ Mass Arrival Practice available (all day)
1700-? Wisconsin Feast hangar party at Wisconsin Aviation Hangar

Sunday July 27th
0900-1030 Mass Arrival Briefing
1100-1200 Mass Arrival
1200-? Parking and camping setup
?-? Pre Oshkosh Happy Hour and ritual “Sliming”… Arrival “Bozo” Awards and other fun things.

Monday July 28th
0900-1700 ICS/CFF Tent Open for business
1000-1130 Matt Kurke Presents: Landing Gear, a firm understanding.
1300-1430 Pat Keefer Presents: Racing for Gold: 24 Days Around the World.

Tuesday July 29th
0900-1700 ICS/CFF Tent Open for Business
1000-1130 Kristin Winter Presents: Aircraft Insurance and You
1300-1430 Dr. William Tarver, NASA Flight Surgeon Presents: Picking the Perfect Astronaut/Flight Physiology.
1800-? Annual Meeting of “Liars and Scallywags”, where the first liar doesn’t have a chance…
(Comancheland) Presented by anyone who brought more than they can drink themselves!

Wednesday July 30th
0900-1700 ICS/CFF Tent Open for Business
1000-1130 Zach Grant Presents: Efficiency, A Sensible Approach to Drag Reduction and Operating Techniques.
1300-1430 Matt Kurke Presents: Let’s Talk Tails
(Special Hands-On Program in Comancheland. Meet at Row 83)

Thursday July 31st
0900-1700 ICS/CFF Tent Open for Business
1000-1130 Kristin Winter Presents: Comanche Prebuy Tips
1300-1430 Various Comanche “Experts” Present: Operational and Technical Q&A
1800-2100 Annual Green Lake Off-Site Dinner (Limited Space. Sign up at ICS/CFF Tent)

Friday August 1st
0900-1700 ICS/CFF Tent Open for Business
1000-1130 Harley McGatha Presents: CFF and Current Comanche Projects
1300-1430 TBA

Saturday August 2nd
0900-1700 ICS/CFF Tent Open for Business

Sunday August 3rd
0900-1700 ICS CFF Tent Open for Business

[jeffrey aryan]

Try Santa Maria, Ca for a fun time Saturday September 20, 2008 around 10:00 am.

You never know who might show up.

Jeff Aryan

[N3322G]

Let me bring this thread back to the intended focus which is all of the efforts the ICS and CFF volunteers have made to make this another stellar year at Oshkosh. I posted this on the Delphi Forum and now I believe it needs to be repeated here.

I used to go to OSH all the time because we lived in Chicago and made it a day trip. I've been the last two years because of the National Air Race by U.S. Air Race, Inc. sponsorships I arranged that had us ending at Stevens Point to coincide with the Piper Owner Society event "Gateway to Oshkosh - GTO" which I named because I got tired of writing Piper Convention and Fly-in. As the President of that all- volunteer air race company for over a decade, I have tremendous empathy for all those who donate their time to ICS. I hadn't planned on going to OSH this year because it is sandwiched in between husband's wilderness backpacking trip on the Continental Divide and going to live in Ohio while the plane gets painted by DESAPI and has its annual done.

The one and only reason I am going this year is to support Zach Grant. His contributions to the continued success of our collective brand of aircraft is nothing short of astonishing. The training is absolutely critical to maintain a safe fleet. In addition he has gone above and beyond the training contribution and organized the best mass arrival and presence at OSH I have ever seen for Comanches. Now he has not done this entirely alone however, he is the clear leader and has earned our unqualified and collective support. (Special thanks to CFF for the funding help to NC Tribe and ICS).

As the daughter in the former mother-daughter Comanche OSH experience, I'm especially excited to see the father-son post in another thread. This is a great event to share the excitement of flying with your family. It is a G-rated movie that will generate hangar flying stories for years to come. I still remember the quiet thrill of knowing that Mom had trusted me to fuel the plane - in fact, she had essentially trusted me with her life - it was a whole new level of the parent-child relationship.

Based on my experience of running 20+ similar events, let me close with a couple of ways we can all support Zach as he herds 65 Comanche owners, their passengers and planes to Watertown and OSH.
1. Remember your tie-downs.
2. If something happens and you can't make Watertwon. Call and let Zach know. If you don't have his phone number, call and leave a message at the FBO with your N number.
3. Do your best to respect his schedule. Show up on time and be prepared to take notes on the Watertown-OSH briefing. Here is the tough one - since we don't see each other that often, we need to honor the sterile cockpit rule. He talks and we listen until it is time for questions.
4. I'm sure the FBO will do their darnedest to provide great service but with the volume of planes, we may need to be patient.
5. Don't touch someone else's plane unless invited. Best example for me is that many folks are able to pull their planes by their props, mine are placarded, "Do Not Push or Pull".
5. Something will happen - don't know what - just remember, the worst day at an airport is still better than the best day at work. Do your best to smile and say thank you to whoever it is that is trying to help you.

I hope that everyone will take this is the supportive manner it is intended. I'm just trying to support the guy that is working so hard to make my life with my Comache easier.

Pat Keefer ICS 08899

Zach responded so he could recognize the folks that have helped of which I was not aware.

Pat and all,

Thanks so much for the kudos, and while I am very happy with the response, a bit of fear and trepidation is present as next week approaches. PLEASE, EVERYONE BE EXTRA CAREFUL!!!! This is an exciting event, and a big deal, but please keep your eye on the ball and always fly the plane first, then think about the other stuff second.

With that said, I would certainly be remiss if I took the credit bestowed on me without pointing out the fact that Harley got the contact started with EAA for the dedicated exhibit site and allowed for CFF to entertain sponsoring the tent, Dave F. has singlehandedly made sure that our facilities (tent) were procured and that the tent was furnished. Dennis Carew set up the hangar party as well as reserved the Thursday night dinner space. Joe and Susan Judge arranged for Wisconsin Aviation to be our host FBO, and a special thanks to Wisconsin Aviation for fielding all the phone calls and pointing people in the correct direction for accomodations in Watertown. Thanks to ALL the presentors who have volunteered their time and expenses. Thank you Pat for some late in the 4th quarter much needed encouragement. There are others, but like an Oscar speech, I could go on and on and I hear the music getting louder. A simple thank you to all who have helped in big ways and small. Certainly thanks to all who are planning to participate because after all, I would be very unhappy if we did all this work to sit on a stump alone. The Comanche is seeing a renaisance, and it starts now!

It is very gratifying that we are able to put something on of this magnitude together without paid support, or breaking the bank. ICS and CFF are volunteer organizations, and the best of what that means has been shown in helpng to make this a great event for all of us to enjoy. I hope we can get the same support for next years NC Tribe sponsored ICS Convention in Dayton, OH.

Everyone stay safe out there, and I look forward to sharing all the sights and sounds that OSH can throw at us.

Zach Grant

ICS NC Tribe Chief

[jeffrey aryan]

[N3322G]

[N3322G]

[Kristin Winter]

Pat,

Thanks for the presentation on your round the world race victory in 1994. I would love to have heard more.

It has been a great experience being here at OSH with all the Comanches. I have already marked my calendar so that I can make a maximum effort to protect the dates for next year. I hope that we can obtain an even better location, perhaps near Piper, and expand the seminars and the participation.

[N3322G]

Kristen,

That's a great idea to get closer to Piper for next year. There is always something to learn - although this year was incredibly well done.

Appreciate the compliment on the world race and asking for more. Ken would tell you 'be careful what you ask for' He says I'm good for 12-24 hours non-stop on the subject of air racing or Mom. Wish she were here to tell her pieces of the story. Cancer does not discriminate but Mom gave it heck before it won - her golf handicap the summer before she died in December was 20ish. Our last flight together was 2 weeks before the cancer discovery surgery and we won the proficiency part of the Nebraska Make A Wish Race. I should have known something was wrong when she had me fly left seat in a spot landing, time and fuel estimate event.

Since you helped make my OSH much more enjoyable and educational, I've popped a VHS video I made of the world race excerpts of our flight. It is choppy but you get a lot more than I was able to present ... and you get Mom. The memory of her flying expertise keeps me pointed at learning more on each flight.

My only regret for the OSH gathering was not being able to spend more time with each Comanche owner. We all have something to learn from each other. My new personal favorite guy is 88AP, he's 78 and just overhauled the Twin's engines and did a bunch of other investment in the Twin - plays tennis 4 times a week. He is a great example of use it or lose it - he flies often.

Pat Keefer ICS 08899

[Alan Cheak]

I.C.S.

[15384]

Pat:
88AP is Al Powers. I'm John Rabourn and I had the pleasure of riding out with him from Seattle to OSH and then back again. Al has been flying for 50+ years. Has owned his 64 PA30 since 66 (or 65). To sit and watch him fly and operate his plane for the trip out and back was like watching a master violinist. The moves have been done thousands of times. He tweeks a little here and little there to fine tune to perfection to get maximum performance out of his engines. He always flies over square except at higher altitudes where he can't get it. Always runs 55% for cruise at 2100 RPM. Now that I have witnessed this and felt the performance I can't wait to do the same with my PA30. He is always checking and re-checking engine performance charts verses altitude while flying. If he didn't like the performance we were getting due to head winds we climbed or desended to fine the most favorable. If he thought we could get a few more knots of tail winds which we had coming out he again climbed or descended until he found what he wanted. We at one point had 30 knot tail winds coming out due to his persistence of finding the right altitude. He has told me stories of times in the past of having more but he still gets a thrill out of looking at the GPS and marveling at the speed. He did research before coming out and back to find the best deals on fuel. Beach N.D. was $4.00 per gallon. But we also went out of our way to buy fuel at Twin Harbors WI. because Al remembered that last year he bought fuel there and the owner of the FBO was a nice guy and he wanted to do business with him again. His radio work was clear and direct. He utilized ATC at every chance with professionalism. He studied weather charts and Duats before ever launching. Confidence is not enough to describe what dominates him in the cockpit. He is fearless yet safety is always his first priority.

I'm not sure all that I learned from watching him on the way out and back has sunk in yet and I hope the memories of our trip will never fade. But I do realize I was privileged to have been in his company for this time.

John

[WNflyer]

Here's my OSH camping pic.

Randy

[Zach Grant L1011jock]

Yes, as we can see, Randy brought his own hangar to keep his plane in for the week.... Good to finally meet all these great folks, and what a week it was!
-Zach

[WNflyer]

Zach,

I can't get a hanger at SGU so I thought that I'd at least have one at OSH. I wish I had a pic of last years tent. Our 2007 camping area was referred to as "Brokeback Comanche"

Thanks for all of your hard work.

Randy

[Kristin Winter]

Pat,

Dave F. promised that he would find out if there was space next to Piper's new location for next year. Jackie Carlon, one of Piper's top marketing people, said that she thought that there was space available across the way, and was very up for having some legacy Piper's nearby. If Dave will find out how much space is available, and how much, I will see if I can help gather the resources necessary to make it happen.