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The flight line included

A brief discussion with Chad Wille:

Chad is officially the Airshow's A&P mechanic. I asked him about the status of the Curtiss D Pusher which is now in the shop, minus the engine. First, he confirmed my understanding that the plane had not flown at all this season, 2004.   The Hall-Scott engine, he stated, has considerable metal fatigue throughout and will be replaced with an OX-5.  Chad expects it will be ready to perform at the beginning of the 2005 show season.  He wasn't certain about the elapsed time since the Hall-Scott's last rebuild.

Ramblings from the Tower

The young woman who narrates the airshows was introduced by Paul (Richards?) as Francesca and is a radio personality, but she wasn't available to talk with after the show.  She still drones for twenty minutes prior to the beginning of the airshow and this tends to lose the crowds attention from the outset. Many children were observed playing in groups rather than watching the show.  It isn't until the last few minutes of her preamble that planes begin warming up.  Notably, she has improved by not having to follow a script for the entire show. Francesca narrated most of the show with Paul occasionally commenting.  Once started, the show had an improved flow compared to prior shows of the season.  This significantly eliminated moments of complete silence from the narrator.

Lorraine the Mechanic's Apprentice

Has returned to college but is supposed to return next summer.

From the Board

Dean Ryder

Was a no show as usual, but it was commented he is currently suffering poor health due to a heart condition.

Terry McClinch

Was a no show.

Jim Kick

Was a no show

Paul Richards

His face is still unknown.

Stan Segalla

Flew his Piper as usual but didn't work the crowd with his ground hog.

Pyrotechnics

Still remained the same as all season - shotguns

Homeland Security

No one could give me a good explanation of what the Homeland Security Plan at ORA was all about. What was said, is the facility is locked down after every show and no one can enter without permission, including the crew.  No comment was offered when asked the reason for the lock down, but it isn't believed to be a cause associated with terrorism.  As to whether or not a full time security guard is present after hours could not be confirmed. One thought was that occasionally a law enforcement person was on duty. As for the on duty officer at the gate during open hours, this time it was a different face and he wasn't as intimidating in his manner as his predecessor.

The PR Machine

When asked the questions about why correspondences are not being answered and why past donations haven't been acknowledged the responses were, "No comment."

A New Pilot?

A new name was spoken from the tower today, Mike Lawrence, as he piloted one of the Great Lakes during the balloon popping competition. Perhaps he has been present during the season but, I hadn't heard of him before today.

Miscellaneous

The Curtiss/Wright Junior is in the Dawn Patrol hangar with its engine on a cart.

The Aeronca C-3 is in the Golden Age hangar on static display.

The Nieuport is in the hangar by the duck pond.

With the exception of the runway hop of the Caudron, no rotary powered planes flew today.

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