Three students will defend their championship at IAC competition

Three Aviation Technologies students, Caleb Robinson, Nick Reinhardt and Tom Rybarczyk, prepare to defend their championship in the Intercollegiate Division of the International Aerobatic Club (IAC) competition. Should they succeed, they will have won a third national title in consecutive years, giving AvTech permanent possession of the large, alabaster traveling trophy awarded by the Experimental Aircraft Association. Last year's competitors were Matt Boehm, who took individual honors as top national intercollegiate aerobatic pilot, Sean Roarty and Caleb Robinson. AvTech students and members of the Rotor and Wing Association of America (RWAA), an SIUC Registered Student Organization (RSO), first competed in 2001, the inaugural year for the IAC's Intercollegiate Aerobatic Competition. That year's team consisted Roarty, Boehm, and Ty Englehardt. The latter two are currently employed by Klein Tools as corporate pilots and mechanics. Sean Roarty is working as a technician and continues to fly in aerobatic competitions.

From right to left, Sean Roarty, Matt Boehm and Cayleb Robinson receive team and individual honors from EAA president, Tom Poberezny.

Last year's flyers were honored January 11th at an award ceremony in Springfield, Illinois, during the Certified Flight Instructors Seminar sponsored by the Illinois Department of Transportation, Division of Aeronautics. Later in the month, the SIUC students were presented the official IAC trophy and individual awards during a ceremony at Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) headquarters in Oshkosh, WI. These awards were presented by EAA president, Tom Poberezny, American Champion Aircraft Corporation president Jerry Melhoff, and representatives from Klein Tool.

John Prather completes the first AvTech/Midcoast Co-op

Representatives of SIUC and the Department of Aviation Technologies signed a cooperative agreement (Co-op) early last Spring with Midcoast Aviation. Providing full-service aircraft maintenance and modification in the St. Louis area for more than 30 years, Midcoast currently employs 800 technicians and staff, provides 400,000 square feet of aircraft support facilities and generates sales of over $130 million. The Co-op provides AvTech students with a paid educational experience, for which academic credit is granted, and the opportunity to engage in a variety of maintenance operations performed on BizJets that include those manufactured by Bombardier, Dassault Falcon Jet, Raytheon, Embraer, Sabreliner and Astra/Westwind/Galaxy. The agreement was reached largely through the auspices of Midcoast employees, Jack Dunn, Morris Smith, and Brian Oestrike. The latter two are themselves graduates of SIUC's Aviation Technologies program.

John Prather, who was the first student to participate in the Co-op, has returned to AvTech to complete his bachelors degree. As an Eagle Scout and member of the Rotor and Wing Association of America, an RSO dedicated to the promotion of aviation, John has devoted numerous hours in service to the University and the community. His interest in mechanics and technology is apparent in his capacity as Controls Captain of the SIUC Society of Automotive Engineers Race Car Team, an RSO sponsored by the College of Engineering. His dedication to aviation is evident in his educational experiences (e.g., major in Aviation Technologies and private pilot license). John hopes to return to Midcoast upon graduation to pursue a career in corporate/business aviation.

John Prather inside the "Hell Hole" with the Auxiliary Power Unit he has just installed.

AvTechers at Oshkosh

The "Plastic Explosive," Sam Hoskins' Quickie Q-200.

Several AvTechers, faculty and alumi, alike, attended or participated in the EAA's 2003 AirVenture held July 27 through August 2 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. At times referred to as "the greatest airshow on earth," this year's event established several records: Estimated attendance was 770,000, up from about 750,000 a year ago. Aircraft on the ground, both at Oshkosh and surrounding airports, numbered approximately 11,000. That included a record 2,960 registered showplanes, 200 more than the previous record. Attending AvTechers included faculty, John Cotter, Charley Rodriguez and Bob Kolkmeyer and alumni Sam Hoskins, Tom Hoffman, Art Miehle, and Dave Gallagher, currently a test cell manager working for GE in Cincinnati and AvTech Advisory Committee member, among others. Dr. Charley Rodriguez presented topics on Aerospace History. He was scheduled to speak between the presentation of Apollo 17 astronaut, Gene Cernon (last man to walk on the moon) and that of General Chuck Yeager (first to break the sound barrier).


Sam Hoskins flew his heavily modified Quickie Q-200, Plastic Explosive, to fourth place in the AirVenture Cup, competing in the Sprint Class. Sam hand-crafted his Q-200 from plans in 1985, and has since accumulated over 1300 hours of flight time in the aircraft. He spent the winter and spring of 2003, enhancing engine performance, and plans to complete extensive airframe modifications in time for next year's race. His efforts were rewarded with average speeds of 170.65 mph (into a strong headwind) on the first day of the race and 194.41 on the second. His average speed for both legs, flying from Kitty Hawk to Oshkosh was 182.53 mph. Not bad for an O-200!!

Aerobatic Competition Results

AvTeckers Caleb Robinson, Nick Reinhardt and Tom Rybarczyk competed in IAC Primary and Sportsman categories recently at Salem, Illinois. Flying against professional pilots, Rybarczyk placed second in the Primary category and received the Grass Roots Award, while Reinhardt and Robinson also placed in the top five in primary and sportsman, respectively. As of this writing, the three were competing at Aurora Illinois, and competition results were not yet available. The results from these two events will be combined with those scores obtained in subsequent competitions to determine Intercollegiate Division standings. We're hoping these results will ultimately provide the team with the Three-peat!

RWAAer's and aerobatic competitors from left to right: Caleb Robinson, Tom Rybarczyk, Nick Reinhardt, Dr. Rodriguez, and Sean Roarty, emeritus member.

Southern Illinois Wings of Charity Flight Academy

Aviation Technologies hosted the first Southern Illinois Wings of Charity Flight Academy from July 14th through the 18th. Twenty-three area high school students participated in the event. Activities included career orientation, aerodynamics and related physics, flight planning, aviation weather, and rocketry. The week-long course culminated in a dual cross country, with students piloting the aircraft. Eleven students additionally received aerobatic flights courtesy of Captain Al Englehardt, senior United Airlines Boeing 777 pilot and FAA flight examiner. Courses were taught by airline captains Bill Norwood, Dave Harris, Calvin Allen and Vernon Dury, as well as AvTech faculty member Dr. Charley Rodriguez. The program was created and financed by Carbondale, IL contractor Ken Robinson and provided to students without charge. This was a tremendous experience for all involved and a great way to introduce these youngsters to potential careers in aviation.

RWAA Airshows

August 9th and 10th, AvTech's RWAA assisted Mount Vernon Airport with Air Odyssey '03, their third annual airshow. Members were charged with operation of two "hot ramps" from which they launched and recovered aircraft in accordance with stringent and detailed FAA mandates. Students handled all aeronautical aspects of the show, "air-bossing"operations, performing maintenance to correct faults that "cropped-up" on performing aircraft and cleaning and polishing airplanes flying in the event. The organization received very positive comments from the airshow performers and airport staff who greatly appreciated their efforts. Airshow performers included Dave Dacy flying a Stearman PT-17 and his wing-walker, Tony Kazian; Jim LeRoy piloting a highly-modified Pitts Special; Scott Shockley in his 1951 Chevrolet Jet Truck (which reached speeds in excess of 320 mph); Roger Buis flying the Otto helicopter; Clyde Zellers in a Navy SNJ-5; and Sue Dacy, an AvTech alumus and American Airlines Captain, performing aerobatics in her Stearman PT-17. A number of vintage WWII aircraft also flew in the event. The Mount Vernon show was superb. The next event in which RWAA will take part is the Southern Illinois Airshow scheduled for September 20th and 21st at the Williamson County Regional Airport (AKA the Marion Airport). We hope you're able to attend.

Mount Vernon Airshow volunteers. From left to right, seated, front row: Jennifer Pinta and Christine Miner; Standing: Steve Jaknbowski, Dr. Charley Rodriquez, RSO Advisor, Doug Knorr, Tom Rybarczyk, Gary "Diesel" Rowton, Matt Fullen, Josh Smrt and Jon Martinson, RWAA President.

AvTech Faculty Presentations and Scholarly Activities

• Michael Burgener recently presented a paper, Aircraft Mechanic Certification: Performance Measures of Eligibility Criteria at Concordia University's Aviation Management Education and Research Conference in Montreal, Canada.



• Michael Most, Charley Rodriguez and Michael Burgener have co-authored an article, Reconsidering the Inclusion of Environmental Justice Issues in the EIS Process: A GIS-based Analysis of Lambert-St. Louis Airport. This article is currently in press and scheduled to be published in October in the Collegiate Aviation Review, a peer-reviewed journal published by the University Aviation Association.



• Mike Burgener is scheduled to deliver a presentation on airport environmental issues at the University Aviation Association Conference in Dayton, Ohio, on October 23rd.



• Charley Rodriguez made the following presentations:

  "Whiz Wings and Things" at the Women In Aviation International Conference, March 20, 2003, Cincinnati, OH.

  "Aviation Science Education Activities and Charley's Gizmos" at the 2003 National Congress on Aviation and Space Education, April 3, 2003, Cincinnati, OH.

  "Classroom Fun with Aviation Science" at Sun 'N Fun Fly-In, April 5, 2003, Lakeland, FL.

  "What Every Pilot and Owner Needs to Know About Maintenance" at the Aviation Safety-Education Seminar at Carbondale, IL, April 29, 2003.

  "Where the Wrights Went Right" at KidVenture during AirVenture, Oshkosh, WI, July 31, 2003.

  "Aviation Science Education Activities and Charley's Gizmos" at AirVenture, Oshkosh, WI, August 2, 1003.

Donations

• Helicopters Incorporated of Cahokia, Illinois donated Bell Long Ranger components valued at more than $32,600 to support training in the AvTech Helicopter Facility. We appreciate the efforts of alumni Jason Clasquin and Eric Chandler, and particularly those of Steve Lieber, owner of Helicopters Incorporated, without which this donation would not have been possible.



• Boeing, through the auspices of Rudy Bess and AvTech Alumnus, Harry Fanning, is donating several composite F-18 components to AvTech and SIUC's College of Engineering. These components will be used to provide instruction on the techniques of testing and repair of aerospace composites to students enrolled in engineering and AvTech courses.



• Matrix Broadband Technologies donated $1,000 to the AvTech Development fund. AvTech also received a digital pitot-static tester, manufactured by Barfield and valued at several thousand dollars.

Obituaries

• Tom Mahler, AvTech Alumni and long-time supporter of the program, succumbed to cancer on June 8th, 2003.



• Larry Head, on tenure-track in the Department of Aviation Technologies passed away last June following a long bout with cancer. Larry was AvTech's Teacher of the year in 2001-02.
  

New Member of the Aviation Technologies 100% Club

Scott Childs scored 100 percent on the FAA Powerplant written exam, earning a steak dinner at Lone Star Steakhouse courtesy of AvTech.

Alumni Visits

The following alumni recently returned to Carbondale to visit the Department of Aviation Technologies:

• Mike Stahl, Manager, Parts Administration, Raytheon Aircraft Services.
• Terry Menees, Supervisor, Airbus Maintenance Programs.
• Randy Miller, Regional Manager of Line Maintenance, Southern Region, Delta Airlines
  

Recently Hired AvTech Graduates

• Mike Salazar will be able to apply the knowledge gained as a student in the helicopter specialization to the maintenance of rotorcraft while working for the Enstrom Dealership in Marion, Ohio.
• Greg Thorson, a 2003 graduate, was recently hired as an American Airlines employee.
• Sule Suleman, also a 2003 AvTech graduate, has obtained employment in product support, working for Boeing Vertol in Philadelphia.