Fellow Argonauts,
Well done, everybody! Apparently this year's meeting was an unparalleled success. There was a good feeling in the air from the start, when two or three attendees introduced themselves and their aircraft, and then said simply "I'm glad to be here!" Lynn and Rodrigo flying up from Guatemala City was a nice touch, also. Maybe next year we should have an award for the furthest flung attendee (although if we have the fly in in Key West next year I don't think I'LL win...)
Three Skymasters and eleven attendees made it to the GAMI presentation, which turned out to be very informative. Tim Roehl showed us the T-34 wing spar AMC (Alternate Means of Compliance) fix he designed - a triangular re-inforcement plate whose bolt holes (and the spar bores) are cold-worked after emplacement to increase the bore diameters approx. .010 in., which has the effect of deflecting stress paths (and subsequent possible cracking) away from the bores themselves. Neat! We also saw the engine test cells, PRISM (GAMI's solution to the comming unleaded AvGas problem, at "less than $10,000 per engine..." Ouch!), and GAMI's turbocharging retro-fit. The engine management session itself was very informative, with George going over time about an hour to answer questions. It turns out running lean of peak decreases CO emmissions by about 80%, and increases NO2 emmissions (laughing gas). So if you suspect a CO leak from your heater exhaust muff, run lean, and it DOES become a laughing matter! No, seriously, there isn't enough NO2 to affect you, darn it.
Payton and Kevin, and Mary and I flew together eastwards after the GAMI presentation (good BBQ!), and overnighted at Ft. Smith, AK because of bad weather ahead. I should say we actually overnighted mainly at a beer garden featuring an 11-piece horn band playing for a Special Olympics benefit - excellent!
Payton called Monday morning to advise he and Kevin made it back safely after dodging some thunderstorms; Mary & I likewise stayed out of the T-storms, and made it back to Daytona Beach in time for the Inlet Harbor shrimp festival - TexMex, Italian, and Coconut shrimp with cold beer, island music, and sunset over the Intracoastal Waterway from the deck!
Congratulations, everybody, especially Larry and Jerry and Don - you guys did a great job of running the show.
Paul & Mary
N462DA
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