UPCOMING EVENTS 

January 12, 2002 -  MN Lite Flyers holiday party. 5pm. Peppermill Grill, 1510 7th St. NW, Faribault, MN 
January 12, 2002 -    Winstead Fly In, Chili feed, 11am - 2pm. Wheels and/or skis if snow 
Feb 9, 2002  -           MN Recreation Aviation Conference: Radisson South Hotel, Hwy 494 and 100, 8am to 4:30pm. 
March 3, 2002-         Wisconsin Ultralight Safety Seminar, Wisconsin Rapids, WI. 
March 23-24, 2002-  Ultralight Instructor ground school. Oshkosh, WI. 
 July23-29, 2002-      Airventure 2002, Oshkosh, WI. 

CHECK NOTAMS BEFORE YOU FLY 
Since Oct 11, 2001, FAA requires ultralight pilots to check for NOTAM's referencing TFR's (Temporary flight Restrictions) before each flight.(FAR part 103.20) To obtain NOTAM information, call 1-800-WXBRIEF, or check online at www.duats.com 

WINTERIZING YOUR ENGINE 
     The following was taken from Olenik Aviation's Oct. 2001 newsletter on his website: 
If you are not going to use your engine for any longer than a month, it's a very good  idea to do a few simple things to preserve it.   Improper or a lot of storage accounts for many premature failures. 
The first thing to do is to make sure the engine has a good coat of oil in it.  There are a couple good ways to do that.  The first way would be to manually open the oil injection lever to full open with the engine at idle for a minute or so just before putting it into storage.  Another way would be to squirt oil directly into the carb with the engine running with either an oil can or a primer until it floods out and quits.  Either way gets a good coating of 2-cycle oil throughout the engine.  I try to stay away from engine foggers because I have seen them have negative reactions and can cause serious problems with the engine. 
The next thing to do is to drain the fuel system.  Drop the float bowls and get rid of the fuel left in them, and make sure there is no fuel in the lines or the pump at a minimum.  It's not a bad idea to drain the tank as well, but as long as you can remember to do it before you fly again, you can leave the fuel in there.  If you have a metal fuel tank, you will want to leave it full, or risk condensation collecting in it and freezing which could make it crack.  Plastic tanks are not prone to this, and can be left empty. 
 The final thing that you may want to do it get some rubber stoppers at the hardware store.  The ones that have the thumb screw for making them expand work well. They are the same type that are commonly used for winterizing swimming pools.  Put one in each carb and another one in the end of the exhaust.  This will help keep moisture out of the engine, and reduce condensation inside the engine by preventing air flowing into the engine with suspended water vapor in it. Do all of that, and you will greatly reduce your chances of premature crank failures.  Although it's very hard to prove, I contend that improper or extended storage has more to do with crankshaft life than total operation time does 
 If you are planning on flying all year, be aware that in cooler weather your mixture will be getting leaner, and you may want to have some richer jets around.

WANTED: 
Stories, building reports, articles, ideas for articles for the newsletter. 

SPORT PILOT UPDATE: 
The new Sport Pilot rules are back from OMB, and the FAA is supposed to issue the NPRM for comments soon. (they've been saying that for about a month) After it is issued, people will have 90 days to comment on it to the FAA. 

WINTER? 
My calendar says winter is still here, but the thermometer hasn't agreed lately. I haven't had my plane up in a few months, but a few members have been flying. 

We had a good turnout for the club's holiday party at the Peppermill Grill on the 12th of January. About 20 members and their family members showed up and enjoyed each other's company, and good food. 

2002 Recreation Aviation Conference Schedule: 
There is a $30 registration fee for the conference. Lunch is provided. Free parking. 
8:00-8:15 
Welcome and Information session 
 8:15-9:15 
Airplanes  "Say Again?" Pilot-Controller Communications 
Ultralights Ballistic Recovery 
Sailplanes  Technology In Soaring 
9:30-10:30 
Ultralights Trike Flying 
Sailplanes  Cross Country Soaring 
10:45-11:45 
Sprot Pilot License, Sport Plane Proposal by Bob Warner, VP, EAA 
Introduction to Soaring 
12:00-1:15 
Lunch 
1:15-2:45 
The Small Aircraft Transportation System 
Peter McHugh, FAA Langly, Cleveland OH 
3:00-4:30 
Changes Since 9-11 
Jeff Hamiel, Executive Director, MAC

LAST MONTH'S MEETING 
We had a great turnout for last month's meeting. It was in Mark Bauer's hangar/ workshop. Mark's coming along great on his Sky Raider ultralight. He had it almost all covered, and looking good. If he keeps at it, we should see it fly this year! 
Scott Blixt also gave a short talk about the upcoming Sport Pilot NPRM. It was released Feb 5, and is open for comments till May 5, 2002. 

MN RECREATION AVIATION CONFERENCE 
The MN Recreation Aviation conference was held Saturday, Feb 9, at the Radisson South Hotel in Minneapolis, MN.  
Scott Blixt attended this year's conference, and sent me a summary of this year's event.....Here it is. 
This program is sponsered by the Minnesota DOT/aviation.  
It had been a yearly event in the past but they skipped a year this time around. It had programs for GA, ULs, Gliders, Balloons. Since I only attened the UL portion, I will comment on it. It started off with a presentation by BRS. Of course this is the Ballistic chute folks. If you have seen one presentation form these guys, youve seen them all. It never changes. This is not good or bad, just a fact. Only a small handfull of folks were there to watch. They did show off the unit they put in a GA plane. Its quite large. 
  Next up was a talk about Trikes! Eric Rasmussen and Don Lindeman were hosting this talk. They gave a good talk about triking in general. A video was supposed to be shown, but the person bringing it didnt show. So they had a good question and answer segment instead. Don also had a drawing for a free flight lesson. 
 The next talk was about Sport Pilot. This was hosted by Bob Warner from EAA I wont go over all of the details because I'm a very slow typer. Besides, we all know what's on the table. Some of the key things that stick out in my mind. Remember, if you comment via Email, your comments may be read by ANY BODY, including the MEDIA! He repeated this several times. The point being, think before pushing the send button. Medical. He also made a point of saying this a few times. SP does indeed have medical requirements. If you have any medical restrictions on your drivers lic., you would be bound by them when flying under SP. He didnt cover the maint part of it as much as I would've liked. I was able to ask the question of getting him to go more in depth, and if he could clarify who would need the 16 or 80 hour training. Im sorry to say he didnt really answer me on this, and since I was the last question before lunch, there was no more discussion. I left after lunch as the afternoon sessions delt with GA stuff. All in all, Im sorry to say I didnt really learn as much as I would've wanted to. The SP summary was just that, a summary. Pretty much as written on EAAs web site. The weather was supposed to be terrible with snow and winds. None of which happened. But I do think some folks stayed home all the same. Or maby it was the $30 admission?

April 7  Lite Flyer's meeting. Porkchop Ridge, Cannon City, MN 
April 7 - 13 Sun-N-Fun, Lakeland, FL 
April 9  Pilot Safety Seminar, Eden Prairie, MN, Flying Cloud Airport, Aviation Training Center.7-9 pm. 
June 16  Dodge Center, MN -  Fly in  breakfast 
June 29  Faribault, MN - Brat-N-Sweet corn cookout 
July 23 - 29 Oshkosh, WI - Airventure 2002 (50th anniversary convention) 
Aug. 25 Owatonna, MN - Fly In Breakfast 

LAST MONTH'S MEETING: 

We had a good turnout at last month's meeting.(About a dozen members showed up)  Mark's coming along good with his Sky Raider. It was all covered and painted, with the wings, tail, and landing gear installed. (cowl needed painting) Looks good, just a few more finishing touches, and it will be in the air. 

NEWS UPDATE: 

I received news that Mark's SkyRaider has flown! He sent me a short video clip of it in the air. Maybe we'll get good weather for the meeting so we can see it fly in person. 

MEMBERSHIP LIST: 

Last month, I sent out the current membership list with the mailed newsletters, but was unable to get the list to copy for sending by e-mail. I got it figured out how to export the file for e-mail, and am including the list with the e-mailed newsletters this month. I found out about some mistakes in the list (wrong area codes) and corrected the ones I found out about. If there are any more mistakes in the list, please let me know, and I'll get them corrected. 
 

May 5,  Lite Flyers meeting. Porkchop Ridge, Cannon City, MN 
June 16  Fly in breakfast, Dodge Center, MN 
June 29  Brat-n-Sweetcorn cookout, Faribault, MN 
July 14  Fly in breakfast, Blue Earth, MN...(Special invitation for ultralights) 
July 23-29 Airventure 2002, Oshkosh, WI 
Aug 25  Fly in breakfast, Owatonna, MN 

LAST MONTH'S MEETING: 

We had a good turnout for last month's meeting again, and nice weather, so the 
meeting was held outdoors. Mark flew his new Skyraider, and it looks like it flys 
great. Because of the wind though, he had to take off from the far end of the runway. 
It gets off the ground in a short time, but by the time he got to the end of the 
runway where we were watching, he was too high to see  [:)] 

FLY SAFE !!!! 

Now that nice weather is here some days, and going to stay around soon, people will 
be flying again. There have been several ultralight accidents reported on the 
ultralight e-mail lists already this spring. Lets not have any in our area! 
Make sure you preflight your plane before each flight, and check everything over 
really good before going up the first time for the season. A lot can happen over a 
few months storage over winter. (cracked fuel lines, cracked carb sockets, cracked 
primer bulbs, etc.) Also, if you still have fuel in the tank left over from last 
year, dump it out, flush the fuel system, and refill with fresh fuel before starting 
the engine.(especially if your plane uses fuel/oil mix instead of oil injection) 
I've read from several sources that fuel/oil mix looses some octane, just by mixing 
the oil, and can deteriorate and lower the octane enough to cause engine damage after 
a short time. (some say pre mix shouldn't be used after 2 weeks.)

June 2   Lite Flyers meeting. Porkchop Ridge, Cannon City,  MN 
June 16   Fly in breakfast, Dodge Center, MN 
June 29   Brat-N-Sweetcorn cookout, Faribault, MN 
July 14   Fly in breakfast, Blue Earth, MN  (Special invitation for ultralights) 
July 23 - 29  Airventure 2002, Oshkosh, WI  (50th anniversary convention) 
August 25  Fly in breakfast, Owatonna, MN 

LAST MONTH'S MEETING: 

We had another good turnout for the May meeting. Craig Skunburg even braved the wind, 
and flew his Mariner to the meeting. We had a show and tell of a laser prop pitch and 
tracking tool. 

SPORT PILOT UPDATE: 

The comment period for the sport pilot NPRM closed on May 6. There were over 2000 
comments given to the FAA about the proposal. After the FAA goes over the comments, 
they can either issue the Sport Pilot regulations, make minor changes from the 
original proposal, and issue the regulations, or make major changes, and issue 
another NPRM, or drop the Sport Pilot idea. I haven't seen any official timeline for 
how soon a decision will be made. 

MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY UPDATE: 

Anyone who has their own runway, and wouldn't mind members dropping in for a visit, 
send me the GPS coordinates of your strip, and I'll add it to the info on the 
membership list. Would be helpful for members who fly cross country to have someplace 
ultralight friendly to fly to. 

Mankato airfest: 

I saw in the Mankato Free Press a couple weeks ago that they're planning Airfest 2002 
for sometime in August. (10,11 if I remember right) Would there be interest in the 
club setting up a static display at the show? I don't know any particulars, as I 
haven't checked into it yet. They might charge for display space but I don't know. 
(they charge for commercial exhibits) If the club's interrested in possibly 
displaying, and people are willing to volunteer their time and showing their aircraft 
I can check into it and report back to the club. Would be a good way to promote the 
club and the sport. Around 10,000 people attended the last airshow. Due to heavy air 
traffic at the airport, I doubt if flying demonstrations would be allowed.

July 7   Lite Flyers membership meeting at Porkchop Ridge Farm, 2pm 
July 14   Fly in breakfast, Blue Earth, MN  (Special invitation for ultralights) 
July 21   Fly in breakfast, Sleepy Eye, MN 
July 23 - 29  Airventure 2002, Oshkosh, WI  (50th anniversary convention) 
August 18  Pancake breakfast, Mankato, MN 
August 25  Fly in breakfast, Owatonna, MN 
Sept. 8   Porkchop dinner, Maple Lake, MN 

LAST MONTH'S MEETING: 

We had a pretty good turnout, considering the weather. Was a cool, dreary day, with a 
passing rain shower during the meeting. After the rain cleared though, we were 
visited by a Titan Tornado Hopefully will have better weather for the July meeting, 
so we can have more fly in members and visitors. 

CONGRATULATIONS! 

We now have 2 more ultralight instructors in the club. Saturday, June 15, 2002, Scott 
Blixt, Dave Hermel,and his son Blake took their EAA UFI checkrides. They are now 
certified trike instructors! 

UFI DAY : (sent by Scott Blixt) 

Yesterday (June 15) Osceola Ultralights brought Grant Smith (AFI with EAA) into 
Minnesota and he put six of us through the testing process to become UFI's. Don 
Lindemann sponsored us and it was a great day. Got started early 6:30 am but finished 
up by 4pm. The air got a little bumpy by mid-day but those of us that got out early 
enjoyed a nice morning. Everybody did fine though and came through with flying 
colors. Here are the new Minnesota UFI's: Andrew Slack of Duluth, Scott Blixt of 
Montgomery, Dave Hermel and his son Blake of Mankato, Mike Hursh of Lindstrom, and 
John Glenn (a GT 400 guy)of Woodbury. We had fun spending the day together and odds 
are high we will do some more flying together. Any other Minnesota/Wisc trikers out 
there who want to fly with us? 
HOME STRIPS: 
Last month I suggested people with their own strips sending the GPS coordinates to be 
printed with the membership directory. I've only received a response from 1 person 
from the club so far. If you'd like the position of your strip known, send the 
coordinates to me soon. 
FLY SAFE: 
This year hasn't been a good one for ultralight pilots across the country. There's 
been a lot of crashes and deaths by ultralight pilots, mostly caused by low flying 
and hitting objects on the gound. (powerlines, antenna guy wires, and a cliff in a 
gorge) If you're unsure of the area you're in, DON'T FLY LOW! If you do fly low, keep 
your eyes open, and watch out for wires and towers. Cell phone towers are popping up 
all over, so just because the area was clear last weekend, doesn't mean it will be 
clear next weekend.

August 4, 2002  LITE FLYER'S MEETING, 2PM at Mark Baure's home, Cannon City, MN 
August 18  Pancake breakfast, Mankato, MN 
August 25  Fly in breakfast, Owatonna, MN 
August 25  End of Summer Fly In, Jewel Ness strip, Wannamingo, MN www.theflyin.com 
Sept 8   Porkchop dinner, Maple Lake, MN 

LAST MEETING: 

I didn't make it to the last meeting, but I heard the turn out was good. A couple 
members flew in. 

FLYING REPORTS: 

I've had reports that some members have been flying to many area fly in's around the 
area. Scott's been really busy with the flying from the reports I've received. He's 
had several flights over 100 miles. Jay Bauer flew along with Scott to the fly in at 
Blue Earth, MN. 

OSHKOSH: 

I just got home from Airventure 2002 in Oshkosh, WI. I arrived Monday around 5:30pm, 
and left at 9:30am Saturday. I had a good time there, and saw LOTS of planes, 
ultralights, engines, and related items. I saw several club members while I was 
there. Scott Blixt flew there in his trike, and Craig Skunberg flew there in his 
Mariner. We had good weather this year. There was ultralight flying every morning and 
evening, except Thursday night due to rain, and Saturday morning flying was called 
off after the powered parachutes landed because of wind conditions. (it may have 
improved after I left.) We had comfortable temps most of the time, with the highs in 
the mid 70's to mid 80's.

Sept. 1  LITE FLYERS MEETING  2pm at Porkchop Ridge Farm, Cannon City, MN 
Sept. 8  Porkchop dinner, Maple Lake, MN 
Sept. 21 EAA UL Ch. 92 Brat-n-sweetcorn feed/ Fly In. Glencoe airport. PIC free 
10am - 2pm. 

LAST MEETING: 

We had beautiful weather. About 8 members showed up (maybe the others were flying) We 
talked about experiences from Oshkosh. Several club members made the trip. John's 
Quicksilver and Mark's SkyRaider were pulled out and flown. Scott flew in with his 
trike. 

WEBSITE UPDATE: 

Del Voegele has been working on the club's website, and has done a good job at it. 
We'd like to have pics of all member's planes on the site. I sent Del pics I had, and 
he posted them. If you have pics of your planes, send them to me, and I'll get them 
to Del to be posted on the website. Digital pics are preferred, but if you have 
snapshots, I can scan them into my computer and send them to Del. The site is at 
http://www.1rl.com/liteflyers 

CHERRY GROVE FLYIN: 

The club was well represented at the 10th Annual Jewel Ness's Cherry Grove fly in 
this past Sunday afternoon. Several members flew their planes into the flyin, and I 
trailered my Weedhopper there. We had perfect flying weather, with almost no wind. We 
had a special treat, as a WWII B-24 Liberator bomber made 2 low altitude passes down 
the runway. We were served a very good meal of Bar b que sandwiches, potato salad, 
corn on the cob, brownies, and pop. It was a very enjoyable afternoon for everyone 
who attended. Thanks much for the flyin Jewel. Hopefully it will continue for many 
more years.

Oct 5 Park Rapids, MN Fall colors fish and french fry feed. 10 - 2 
Oct 6 Lite Flyers membership meeting. 2pm, Porkchop Ridge Farm, Cannon City, MN 

LAST MEETING: 

We had a good turnout for the last meeting, with warm temps, but windy. Craig 
Skunberg braved the wind and flew in in his Quicksilver. We talked about the 
wonderful time everyone had at Jewel's fly in. We also decided not to participate as 
a club at the Faribault balloon rally this year, but that anyone who wanted to was 
welcome to fly in. 

WANTED: 

Articles, flying stories, and ideas for stories to be published in the newsletter. 
Photos of your aircraft to be put on the club website. You can e-mail me digital 
images, or give me photos,and I'll scan them and return the pics to you. 
 

FOR SALE: 

For sale:  Teratorn T/A. Rotax 377  Excellent condition.$2,200. Linus Guggisberg 
507-354-2338. 

For Sale: Kolb Firestar. Rotax 377 Inflight adjustable, hydraulic Ivo prop. Dual EGT, 
CHT, ASI, tach, VSI. 
Linus Guggisberg, 507-354-2338. 
 
 

ROTAX GEARBOX INFO: 

The following information was sent to me by Scott Blixt. It was written by Tom 
Olenik, of Olenik Aviation, which is a well known Rotax service center. 

In mid 1984 Rotax developed a gearbox for their engines. This gearbox was the only 
one they made at the time and had no letter designation. When it was designed a 60" 
2-blade wooden propeller was about at big as most planes were using. As people 
started to turn larger propellers, this gearbox was not adequate enough to handle the 
stresses of the higher propeller inertia. Rotax decided to design another gearbox for 
these higher inertia  propellers, but needed to change the mounting configurations on 
the crankcases to accomplish this. This is when the A, B, C designations were born. 
The original gearbox, being the first, was designated the Type A. It is and has been 
since the beginning available in the ratios of 2:1, 2.24:1, 2.58:1,  and very rarely 
in 3:1. The type B was exactly the same as the type A except  it had the newer 
mounting configuration to match the configuration that was required for the heavier 
type C box. So it is very easy to confuse an A  for a B box unless you really know 
what you're looking at. The Type C box was introduced around 1990 or so and is 
available in ratios of 2.62:1, 3:1, 3.47:1, and 4:1. It uses a completely different 
means of absorbing the tensional stresses and is capable of handing propellers with 
twice the mass moment of inertia than the A or B box. In about 1993, Rotax modified 
the type C gearbox to accept an electric  start mounting as part of the gearbox which 
would then isolate the crankshaft  from the shock of the starter. Rather than just go 
with the next letter, the designated it the E for Electric Start. It is available in 
the same ratios as the type C and uses the same isolation system as the C. These 
gearboxes look similar to each other as well except for the starter motor attached 
to the E. With any of these gearboxes you can have electric start, but it would have 
to be mounted on the other end of the engine. To learn more about propeller mass 
moment of inertia and how to test your propeller, go to http://www.rotax-owners.com 
and look up service information SI-11-UL-91. Both the type C and type E gearboxes 
have had problems with the gear in them slipping on the propeller shaft and if you 
get a used box, it is important to check if necessary service information has been 
performed. The type B and type A gearboxes require periodical maintenance (every 
100hours by the book) to reset their preload. 
Tom Olenik 
Olenik Aviation 
 http://www.buyitsellitfixit.com> 

November 3, 2002 MN Lite Flyers membership meeting  2pm Porkchop Ridge Farm, Cannon 
City, MN 
 

LAST MEETING: 

About 10 members and 2 visitors made it to the last meeting. Too windy to fly though. 
Tom Logan is coming along good on his Challenger project, and it should be in the air 
soon. (I heard a couple weeks ago, that he has the wings on it now) Just a few more 
lessons and he'll be flying it. 

WANTED: 

Still looking for ideas, stories, building reports, etc to be published in this 
newsletter..This is your newsletter, so contributions to it are welcome, and 
encouraged. Also, we're still looking for more pics of members planes to be put in 
the club website. They can be e-mailed to me in digital format, or get photos to me, 
and I'll scan them and e-mail them to Del to be put on the website. 

FOR SALE: 

Terratorn TA. Rotax 377, Excellent condition. $2200 
Kolb Firestar. Rotax 377, Inflight adjustable, hydraulic IVO prop, Dual EGT, CHT. 
ASI, VSI, tach. 
For both planes, contact Linus Guggisburg  (507) 354-2338 

Dec. 1, 2002 Lite Flyer's membership meeting, 2pm. Porkchop Ridge Farm
Jan 18 ,2003 Winstead MN annual fly in, chili feed. Winstead Muni. Airport. 7am -
1pm.
Apr.2-8, 2003  Sun-N-Fun, Lakeland, FL
Jul. 29 - Aug 4  Airventure 2003, Oshkosh, WI

LAST MONTH'S MEETING:

We had about 10 members show up. We all examined Tom Logan's Challenger, and it's
coming along really well. Just needed gas and a carb bowl gasket before it was ready
to fly. There was some discussion about the upcoming Sport Pilot regulations. It's
expected to be released sometime in 2003.  I heard today, (Nov. 16) that Tom's
Challenger is flying over the Cannon City countryside now. Mark Bauer took it up the
first time for it's test flight. Tom then ran up and down the runway a few times, and
then took it up.

CHRISTMAS PARTY:

Come to the meeting, and help plan the upcoming club Christmas party. Need to plan on
time, and location.

FARIBAULT BALLOON RALLY:

Del Vogele (our website maker) has been asked to be the chairman for the upcoming
balloon rally. He told me that the rally committee wants our club to participate in
the balloon rally again. The next meeting for the rally is Dec. 12 at the Faribault
airport, 7pm. They'd like any ultralighter's that can make it to attend the meeting
and give their suggestions and help in planning the ultralighting activities.