Today's Message Index:
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1. 08:53 AM - April LIghtning Newsletter and new newsletter index (N1BZRich@aol.com)
2. 09:04 PM - New Lightning World Record Today (N1BZRich@aol.com)
Message 1
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| Subject: | April LIghtning Newsletter and new newsletter index |
All,
The latest issue of the Lightning Newsletter is now posted on the
three websites that carry our newsletters. Also recently posted on the three
sites is a brand new index of past Lightning newsletters that should greatly
aid in finding past articles or topics that have been covered in the past.
We owe a great Thank You to one of our readers, Denis B. from Iowa for
this index. Denis spent lots of time and effort to develop the index and I
certainly appreciate his efforts.
_http://www.flylightning.net/_ (http://www.flylightning.net/)
_http://www.greenlandings.com/_ (http://www.greenlandings.com/)
_http://www.jimslightning.com/_ (http://www.jimslightning.com/)
Featured in this issue is Dave Stanley's Lightning of the Month which also
happens to be the 50th Lightning to fly. Also, a new handheld GPS, the
iFly 700, which I got to fly with and evaluate for a month, is covered. I
think it is a great new GPS and is amazingly affordable for a GPS with a
7-inch screen. And guess what, it uses actual FAA Sectionals for the maps.
This issue also has a new engine clinic article by Pete Krotje. I learn
something important about the Jabiru engine every time I read one of Pete's
articles. This month's safety article is by Linda Mathias, and covers some
great comments (by an FAA check pilot) about big patterns. Also look for
an exciting Lightning Skunk Works announcement.
Please let me have some feedback on the newsletter. It depends on you for
content and on your comments for improvement.
Blue Skies,
Buz
Message 2
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| Subject: | New Lightning World Record Today |
Today will be another big day for the Lightning
Not too long ago I was in an Officer=99s Club bar in NC talking wit
h a group
of active duty senior officers from various Air Force commands and a few
=9C
other special government agents=9D. We were having a few
=9Cbrewskis=9D and
the talk eventually turned to flying and airplanes. Being a big fan of th
e
Arion Lightning, I just had to tell them what a beautiful and great flyin
g
airplane it is. I also had to tell them that actually the Lightning was
a
world record holder, having set a speed record from Savannah to San Diego
.
I went on to tell a shortened version of how Earl Ferguson had built his
Lightning from a kit, and then went through the steps of planning and the
n,
after several aborted attempts, actually setting a new world=99s re
cord.
For those of you that are new to the =9CLightning Club=9D and
maybe don=99t
know Earl, let me provide a short recap about Earl and the world record
he
accomplished in his Lightning, N17EF. Earl=99s story is impressi
ve =93 one of
initiative, strength of character, and dedication to =9Cthe mission
=9D. At
age 70+, most pilots are willing to just play golf, tennis or bridge for
excitement. Earl Ferguson is a little different. He is definitely a
=9Cget =98
er done=9D kind of guy as well as being a double cancer survivor.
Taking off from Savannah on August 6, he made stops in Quitman, MS;
Athens, Midland, and EI Paso, TX; Tempe, AZ (where he spent the night sin
ce he
was flying as a sport pilot and could not fly at night), and, finally lan
ding
in San Diego, CA on August 7, 2007.
The NAA approved Earl=99s flight as a national record and forwarded
the
record to the FAI, who then awarded a world record to Earl for landplanes
weighing less than 1000 kg. As a retired Navy aviator and Sport Aviati
on
pilot, Earl=99s story is an inspiration to all of us. =9CSie
rra Hotel=9D, Earl.
Now back to that O Club bar conversation. Basically I recounted Earl
=99s
story to the assembled group of Air Force aviators and they were all very
impressed =93 just the reaction that I was looking for. But what
happened next
completely surprised me. When I mentioned that Earl was a retired Navy
pilot the group of distinguished Air Force pilots immediately got pretty
=9C
offended=9D that a retired Navy pilot had a world record in the Lig
htning =93
they insisted that a retired Air Force pilot should have that honor. At
that
point their questions to me were fast and furious as to how they could hel
p
re-capture that record so that it could be rightfully owned by an Air
Force type. Soon the group had come up with an ingenious plan that woul
d not
only beat Earl=99s record, but completely shatter it. Because thei
r plan
might have some =9Creally high level=9D approval problems, the
y all swore
complete secrecy as to how we were going to set the new world record. Th
e top
secret operational plan they came up with was code named =9CBEWORN
=9D, which
stands for Beat Earl=99s World Record Now. Operation BEWORN was put
into
immediate action.
A donor Lightning aircraft was soon acquired and the required
modifications to the airframe were quickly completed and operational test
and
evaluation flights were planned and successfully flown. I really had a
great time
flying the modified Lightning and honing some skills that I had not used
since my last flights in the F-4 Phantom II.
However, as you all know, keeping things secret is sometimes difficult,
especially something as large as secret aircraft operations. Well, to ma
ke a
long story at little shorter, during a recent operational test flight of
the new modified Lightning, an escorting aircraft with a hired photograph
er
in the back seat, took several photos of the test Lightning and at least
one was =9Caccidentally=9D leaked to the local media. I say
accidentally
because I believe that maybe the hired photographer that leaked the photo
might
have had some connection to the Navy many years ago. That was unfortunat
e,
and explaining it to some of the =9Chigher USAF brass=9D has
delayed Operation
=9CBEWORN=9D from being put into action until today. We fina
lly have
approval to fly the non-stop coast to coast =9COperation BEWORN
=9D flight today, 1
April 2010.
That =9Caccidentally leaked=9D photo is shown below.
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