Author: Eileen Bjorkman

June 11 Meeting Recap

Our June speaker was Tim Talen from the Oregon Aviation Historical Society. Tim talked about one of the museum’s stars, Wimpy, which has a remarkable place in the history of experimental aircraft. The Wimpy design was modified several times to create an entire lineage of early homebuilt aircraft and inspired Pete Bowers, a local Seattle designer, to create his popular Fly Baby design. You can read more about Wimpy and other historical aircraft at https://oregonaviation.org/

Please also join us if you can at 5:30 pm for a burger burn and social hour at the chapter hangar (at the end of the row of hangars past Skydive Snohomish). $5 donation suggested.

MAY 14 MEETING RECAP

Our May general membership meeting took place at Skydive Snohomish at Harvey Airfield on Tuesday, May 14th, starting at 7:00 PM. The weather was great, and we had a fun burger burn before the meeting.

Our May speaker was Bill Quistorf, chief pilot for the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Helicopter Team, along with one of his volunteer pilots. They gave a fascinating look at what’s involved in search & rescue, particularly in the mountains and around high-rise buildings. They also gave a good pitch on the type of survival equipment they carry to encourage private pilots to develop a similar set of gear. The recommended using a fishing vest to stash critical gear, and sometimes things attached to your person are the only things you get out of a crash with! Here’s their suggested list:

April 9 Meeting Recap

Our April speaker was Lawrence Doan, owner and designer of Whistle Pig Toys. Lawrence is a UW grad in Aeronautical Engineering with years of experience in aviation and competitive glider competition. Lawrence, along with his daughter, decided to start a boutique toy company selling balsa gliders that he has designed. Wrapped up in all of this fun is a great learning experience for both youth and adults including construction techniques, weight and balance and trimming for flight characteristics. Lawrence gave a very interesting talk about the details of the engineering process involved in the design of his gliders. Currently Whistle Pig Toys has almost a dozen different designs available for purchase and more coming. Go to whistlepigtoys.com to check them out.