EAA Chapter 84

January 2025 Membership Meeting

Happy New Year! Our January Membership Meeting will be held on January 14 starting at 6:30 PM at Hangar 15 at Harvey Airfield. Please note the new starting time! Social hour will still begin around 6:00 PM. Many thanks to David Weber for bringing our refreshments!

The University of Washington team for the Design Build and Fly Competition will be our speakers for January. We will also collect donations for the team to help in their 2025 competition efforts. The Chapter 84 Board has approved a matching donation up to $300 total of member donations.

Chief Engineer Ryan Fidelis, Project Manager Alejandro Santana and other team members will tell us about their entry in the 2024 Design Build and Fly (DBF) competition. The Design Build and Fly Team at the UW dedicates itself to excellence in both educating its members from across the University and in its performance at the AIAA’s International Design Build Fly competition every April. Among the team’s annual activities, students of any discipline, engineering or not, and of any degree of experience have the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution. Aircraft design is a multi-disciplinary art and a student competition is a vital education opportunity for upper- and lowe-classmen alike.

The UW’s DBF team reached unprecendented heights in 2024, securing an impressive 3rd pace finish at the 2024 AIAA DBF Competition in Wichita, Kansas, with their aircraft “Orca.” This remarkable achievement marks the team’s best performance to date and serves as a testament to their dedication, innovative thinking, and collaborative spirit.

November 12 Membership Meeting Recap

Our November membership meeting was held on November 12 starting at 7:00 PM at Harvey Field’s Hangar 15. Many thanks to Gerry Bartosh for bringing the snacks!

Our November speaker was Jeff Schans, Director of Business Development at Tempest Aero Group. Tempest Aero Group is a leading general aviation company supporting a portfolio of independent brands including Tempest®, Alcor®, Marvel-Schebler®, Precision Airmotive®, Consolidated Fuel Systems™ and Stratus Tool Technologies™. Jeff gave a very interesting presentation about the theory, operation, and maintenance of aircraft engine spark plugs.

June 11 Meeting Recap

Our June speaker was Tim Talen from the Oregon Aviation Historical Society. Tim talked about one of the museum’s stars, Wimpy, which has a remarkable place in the history of experimental aircraft. The Wimpy design was modified several times to create an entire lineage of early homebuilt aircraft and inspired Pete Bowers, a local Seattle designer, to create his popular Fly Baby design. You can read more about Wimpy and other historical aircraft at https://oregonaviation.org/

Please also join us if you can at 5:30 pm for a burger burn and social hour at the chapter hangar (at the end of the row of hangars past Skydive Snohomish). $5 donation suggested.

April 9 Meeting Recap

Our April speaker was Lawrence Doan, owner and designer of Whistle Pig Toys. Lawrence is a UW grad in Aeronautical Engineering with years of experience in aviation and competitive glider competition. Lawrence, along with his daughter, decided to start a boutique toy company selling balsa gliders that he has designed. Wrapped up in all of this fun is a great learning experience for both youth and adults including construction techniques, weight and balance and trimming for flight characteristics. Lawrence gave a very interesting talk about the details of the engineering process involved in the design of his gliders. Currently Whistle Pig Toys has almost a dozen different designs available for purchase and more coming. Go to whistlepigtoys.com to check them out.