EAA Chapter 84 Podcast

Cliff Brown tells us an amazing story of how a single event in his childhood led to a lifelong fascination with aviation which ended up compelling him to get his private pilot certificate along with the combination of using that certificate throughout his work life. Believe it or not, Cliff tells a great story about how his ability to fly an airplane saved the world from a meltdown disaster. We end the podcast with the latest chapter news and announcements. Happy New Year!

Captain of the Queen of the skies Rex Smith joins me this month to share his aviation life story. From his time in the Air Force, to his career as a Captain in a major airline and most recently a builder of an RV9, Rex Smith has earned the title of aviator. We conclude the podcast as I bring you the latest Chapter 84 news, including updates on meetings and events.

From humble beginnings to amazing adventures and along the way some unexpected luck, our guest this month is long time chapter member Tom Williams. Tom has some great memories to share, from early life on a ranch in Nebraska, where he had his first aviation encounter, to an unforgettable student pilot prank. Tom shares some great advice and sentiment along the way. His determination to complete a project is what experimental amateur built aviation is all about. You can find him in the chapter hangar these days working hard to finish his Starduster 2 project.

Our guest this month has been a member of the chapter for over 10 years and should be a familiar face to anyone who regularly attends the general meeting. Mark Morse talks with us about his unique path to finding his aviation passion. How that path led him to choose the airplane he is currently close to completing and some of the trials and tribulations along the way to where he is at now. We wrap up with some chapter announcements and big news from EAA HQ regarding a new flight testing program. Make sure you smash that LIKE button!

We are back this month with a fantastic podcast featuring a guest that has so many accomplishments it’s hard to talk about all of them in one episode. I think you will greatly enjoy the interview with retired colonel Eileen Bjorkman and coincidently the daughter of world record holder Arnold Ebneter. You are in for an incredible interview of what I think is one of the best hidden gems we have in the chapter. We once again we conclude the podcast as I bring you the latest Chapter 84 news, including updates on meetings and events.

This month as I bring you an interview with Chapter member Tracy Hach. As many of you know Tracy has been building a plans-scratch built aircraft that started off as a Banty ultralight but in true Tracy Hach fashion he has re-engineered many aspects of the aircraft into something that no longer meets the ultra-light category but instead is a much more capable experimental category aircraft. Tracy also lets the chapter in on a little secret about what has been going on in his personal life and why we haven’t seen much of him lately. I think you’ll find it very inspiring.

We have a great interview for you this month, long time chapter member Charlie O’Neil. Charlie shares with us his experience in building and test flying his Zenith 701. He tells us how his training and planning paid off early during an in-flight emergency. Charlie is a man of many nuances, his attention to detail and high standards are apparent throughout this interview. Finally some chapter news and my report on the Stihl National Air Races in Reno Nevada.

In this episode we talk to well known local pilot Rocky Kyle. Born and raised in the Puget Sound, Rocky has some history to share with us about aviation in the area. Today Rocky and his brother Sandy fly out of their personal airstrip in Snohomish Washington. Rocky shares with us how that private airstrip came to be and a very unique way to make the approach into the Kyle airstrip. From adventures in South America to start up businesses here in the Northwest, Rocky has an adventurous soul and he shares a lot of history with us (including some insight into the locally famous Harvey Field Shamrock Club). The podcast wraps up with Chapter news and events.

Richard Morrisson has been prominent and active member of Chapter 84 including roles as chapter vice president…president and now Young Eagle’s Coordinator. Richard shares with us some of his early childhood stories, including those that involve aviation. We get deep into Richard's engineering career, which included 3 different moves into and out of Boeing. We finish up the interview as Richard tells us about a design concept he has been working on for several years, how he came up with the design and who influenced it. The podcast wraps up as I bring you the latest Chapter 84 news and events.

In this month’s chapter podcast we bring you long time member Doug Medema. Doug has many stories to share with us including past chapter events and early memories of the chapter. Doug and I get a little sidetracked with some car talk but then we get right back to aviation discussing Doug’s early days at Dynon Avionics. We discuss Doug’s RV6 build and the flying adventures that the plane has allowed him to have. The podcast wraps up as I bring you the latest Chapter 84 news, including updates on meetings and events.

Jonathan and I start off talking about his recent visit to the Northwest Aviation Conference and then dive into Jonathan’s personal history including a very unique early childhood, his early aviation exploits around Fullerton airport, and how a family member was involved in Willows Run B-24 production during World War 2. We end with my personal thanks to all of my listeners and the latest chapter news.

In this episode we will be talking to Chapter 84’s new president Philip Rueker. Philip talks about his youth growing up in Austria, what aviation is like in Europe compared to the US and how he eventually was able to fulfill his aviation dreams of getting his private pilot’s license after moving to the US. Of course we eventually get to what future plans Philip has for the chapter, what things need to be done to keep the membership engaged and possibilities for chapter events.

In this episode we would take some time to look back at this years previous podcasts and air some interesting audio from pre-interview recordings or where our guest just had so much to talk about we couldn’t fit it all in. We Start off with Bob Macdonald, move on to Ken Krueger, next some youth with Ishitha Arekapudi, then Jim Davison and finally we finish up with a man who just recently went west Hank Schilling.

In this episode we get to hear from a man who a shining example of the never give up attitude. He has been someone who I have looked to for advice on several aircraft assembly topics. He was the technical advisor to me all during my plans built Sonex construction and in many ways a mentor. I’m very honored to bring you my interview with long time EAA Chapter 84 member Jim Davison. Not only does Jim share his early life with us but he is very candid about the mistakes he made which led up to the unfortunate off airport landing of his Rutan deigned Long EZ.

For this episode we talk to one of, if not the most colorful characters in the chapter, Monroe Norman. A long-time chapter member and an example of how anyone can afford to fly if they have the will, determination, and some scrounging skills. Monroe shares some of his exciting aviation stories flying mostly ultralights around the Puget sound area. Then we dive into some other aviation topics including what Monroe thinks the future of aviation will be. I think you will find his aviation stories and his enthusiasm for aviation incredibly interesting but most of all inspiring. We touch on some local chapter news, then some exciting news from our home airport Harvey Field.

We are back from our Oshkosh break with an exciting new episode featuring outgoing Chapter President Jim McGauhey. We take a deep dive into Jim's early years and then explore how as a Scuba Dive shop owner turns into an aviation lover. Jim shares several of his flying adventures, including a mid-air canopy break on his way back from Oshkosh. We touch on Jim's many years of chapter service including his last 4 as Chapter President. The podcast concludes with some great observations on what Jim sees for the future of aviation. Make sure you Like this podcast so we can continue to bring you more episodes!

In this episode we talk to aerospace engineer Ken Krueger. With his long history at Van's Aircraft, Boeing McDonnell Douglas Ken has some very interesting insights and stories about the development of such aircraft like the B-2 bomber, the F-22 and the RV series. Then in our conversation with Ken, we discuss what he is working on today through his new company Sky Designs. I will bring you the latest Chapter 84 news, an Oshkosh 2021 and the latest on the private space race that is heating up.

This month's podcast will be an interview with chapter member and former chapter secretary Bob MacDonald. Bob tells us about his interest in aviation as a youth while growing up with a family that was constantly on the move, and how he eventually ended up going to school at MIT for aeronautical engineering. Bob then shares with us how he eventually became part of a small group working on the development of the Lear Fan aircraft which now hangs from the ceiling at the Museum of Flight in downtown Seattle. We also get deep into the details of Bob's own designs, the S-10, S-20 and S-21. The S-20 now resides in the Port Townsend Aero Museum and is still flown today. Finally Bob wraps up the interview talking about his passion for designing safe aircraft and what he thinks can be done to promote safer aerodynamic aircraft designs.

In this episode we will sit down for a conversation with World Record holder Arnold Ebneter. Arnold gives us details on the E-1 airplane he designed, built and flew to set a world record for flight distance of an aircraft weighing less than 500kg. After we finish up with Arnold we talk to young 14 year old Ishitha Arekapudi who has been appointed Chapter 84’s Young Eagles Youth Ambassador. We close this episode with some chapter news and updates.

In this episode we talk with EAA Chapter 84 member Hank Schilling about such things as growing up in Ontario Canada, his early attempts at an aviation career in the CAF and then we get into 72 years of piloting such planes as the DC-6 and 727. We finish off the interview with some sound advice from Hank for future aviators. The podcast is capped of with the latest chapter news including our April speaker former NASA Flight Director Paul Dye.

In this episode we double the conversation with 35 year chapter member Dan Thomas and Jim Morgan who has been involved with the chapter for over 25 years. Dan tells us about how he fed his aviation dreams growing up in rural South Dakota and how his family, for good or bad, helped encourage his aviation dreams. Jim tells us about winning a school competition early in life and how that lead to private pilot lessons. Both members share their early memories of the chapter events and members all the way back to the early 80's. Finally, we wrap up the episode with some aviation and chapter news.

This is the first in a series of podcasts that will bring you some of the history, news and current events of EAA Chapter 84. For our first episode we brought in chapter elder Nick Gentry to share some of his 35 years of history with the chapter. We also touch on a little aviation news and give you an update on what the chapter will be doing with "in person" general meetings.