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Q-talk 70 - Jul/Aug 1998 - index

JUL/AUG 1998
ISSUE NUMBER 70

QUICKIE BUILDERS ASSOCIATION

OSHKOSH 1998

by Tom Moore

Well there is nothing like flying your Q plane into Oshkosh for the first time. I had been dreaming of this occasion every year that I have been going to Oshkosh. The trip up took a little extra time. Bob Malechek and I had to fly out of our way and fight through some low weather in Kansas. We were reading license plates for about sixty miles just north of Wichita. From there it was blue skies and nice white puffy clouds. The temps had cooled off considerably and it was a nice change from what we had been seeing in the Dallas area. A three-hour layover in Augusta, Kansas to wait out some weather put us behind some and we didn't get into Oshkosh until about 7:45 Monday evening. It's nice having a plane that cruises at 170 mph to help you get in before it gets dark. The traffic was at a minimum and just what I was hoping for. The controllers were pretty casual and I opted to take runway 36 while Bob went for 27. Everything was going smoothly until the tower alerted me to a possible emergency situation "your nose gear is not down". After I landed, he let me know that he had been informed that I was a Quickie. He must have taken some ribbing for that one.

I was grinning from ear to ear as I rolled out. I had finally flown into the Big One. All of the work over the years had been worth it. It's the same feeling I got after the first flight, first taxi session, first engine start - another part of the dream coming true. The smile does eventually wear off.

I taxied over to our designated area to find two Q2's from Canada already tied down. Steve Kulczycky and Michel Moreau had flown their Q2's for two days to get to Oshkosh. Steve came in from British Columbia and had to tackle some mountains coming east. He had sent his wife Janet ahead and then picked her up after a successful trek through the mountains. Michel is from Quebec and joined up with Steve and Janet for the trip into Oshkosh.

Parking for the Q-birds this year was a little better than last year. They tried to put us all together, but a couple of guys still got stuck out of the way. Terry Crouch took advantage of his parking privileges and parked in the area set aside for past Grand Champions. Terry's plane drew a lot of attention, but he had it well protected from the masses.

Larry Koutz, Paul Fisher and Sam Hoskins rounded out the list. This was Paul Fisher's seventh time at Oshkosh and Sam Hoskins went into the double digits when he landed at Oshkosh for the tenth time in his Q-200.

This year's weather turned out to be one of the best ever. The temps were very mild and there was no rain for the first five or six days. I did hear that there was a heck of a rainstorm on Tuesday.

We had a QBA/Dragonfly forum on Thursday that had a fair turnout. Once everything got rolling we broke up into three groups. The Q-1 guys grabbed one corner with Q-2 guys at another. There are several guys starting or on the verge of taxi testing their planes so we can see that progress is still being made. We should see some first flights by the end of this year or the first part of next year.

During the forum Nathan Peck discussed his forced landing on his way to Oshkosh. Nathan was flying his Q-1 when he had an engine failure and had to land on a four-lane highway in Kansas. It was a totally successful forced landing with zero damage to the plane. Nathan made all of the local papers and TV news. The Highway Patrol's comments on the TV news about the good job Nathan did said it all "Nice landing".

The QBA/Dragonfly Oshkosh banquet was held at our normal spot, the downtown Hilton. Things got going early at the cash bar and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. New and familiar faces keep showing up every year. It looked like we had about eighty people show up. One of the nice things about the banquet is the relaxed atmosphere. There is plenty of time to talk to all of the people you haven't seen since last year and you can catch up on all that has gone on. Now it's time to look forward to next year.

 

PILOT STATE N# ACFT ENG E.WT TT
Terry Couch IA 14TC Q-1 ONAN 340 340
Paul Fisher IA 17PF Q-200 O-200 730 680
Sam Hoskins IL 202SH Q-200 O-200 640 917
Larry Koutz GA 39LK Q-200 O-200 690 375
Steve Kulczycky CAN GMBK Q-2 REV 65 600 ???
Bob Malechek TX 870BM Q-200 O-200 659 950
Tom Moore TX 321TM Q-200 O-200 695 106
Michel Moreau CAN GQTU Q-2 REV 64 590 ???

 

OTTAWA 1998

Labor Day weekend Sept. 4 - 6

Ottawa is going to be here in a few days. Any of you guys who haven't made up your minds about going need to pack your bags and head to OTTAWA. This is going to be a totally MAX'd out weekend of Q-1's, Q-2's, TRI-Q-2's, Q-200's and TRI-Q-200's.

There are some good forums setup. Bob Nuckols from the AeroElectric Connection will be presenting his excellent forum on aircraft electrics and there are several engine forums that look good.

Jon Finley is organizing a Performance Evaluation (RACE) again this year. There was a great turnout of fifteen planes last year and I think it will be even bigger this year. Bob Malechek is planning on defending his first place finish and should be improving his speeds from last year with a few modifications he's done.

The banquet this year is planned at the Country Club and if you were there two years ago, you know what a nice place it is.

So, if you are looking to get a full injection of Q-Birds, this will be the place to be. It's still not too late to sign up. Get your tail in gear, contact Don Stewart at the numbers on the flyer and join us at Ottawa.

See you there!!!

 

 

Other Articles In This Issue

OSHKOSH PIX - by Tom Moore
LETTERS, ETC. - by Tom Moore
CLASSIFIEDS - by Tom Moore

 


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