PW_Plack
03-24-2005, 06:35 PM
PRA Chapter 73, The Great Northwest Sport Rotorcraft Association, would like to invite all rotorcraft enthusiasts to a very special event at our next meeting. We're planning a tribute to gyroplane pioneer Chuck Vanek, Saturday, April 9th, at the Scappoose, Oregon Industrial Airport (SPB).
Our day will start with a free 10am ground school class on gyroplane maintenance and safety, presented by Master CFI Dave Wiley. A very brief business meeting will follow our annual chicken barbecue at lunchtime. At about 1:30pm, we'll gather in the main hangar at Sport Copter, the company run by Chuck's son, Jim Vanek, for a multi-media presentation on Chuck's life and creations. Chuck himself will be there to help us narrate the program and, we hope, be available for some question-and-answer time afterward.
Weather permitting, we'd like to fill the Scappoose traffic pattern with gyroplanes at some point during the day, to honor this pioneer. We expect to be able to provide enclosed hangar space out of the weather for a limited number of visiting aircraft, should the weather turn nasty.
A contemporary of Dr. Igor Bensen, Chuck Vanek was a career policeman in Portland, Oregon. His early flying at Scappoose, about 1957, is the first memory most local enthusiasts have of seeing a small gyroplane fly. As Dr. Bensen moved on from his original water-pipe airframe to bolted aluminum tubing, Chuck worked in welded mild steel. Among his innovations were an early powered prerotator, and a machine featuring a ducted fan, then a tall tail, both built and flown in 1959. He also built and flew a Mac-powered hovercraft with counter-rotating props.
In the 1960s, when Bensen said available technology would not support a two-place machine, Chuck arrived at PRA events flying one, with his own 240 pounds in the pilot's seat, and his 120-pound wife as a passenger, using an 1835cc VW for power, and 27 foot blades with a 9-inch chord. At the time, the PRA was still primarily a Bensen owners group, and the chilly reception for a blasphemous outsider from the Pacific Northwest was a factor in Chuck's subsequent low profile in the sport. Sales of the Vancraft Rotor Lightning kit peaked at one per day before production was discontinued, and Jim Vanek's newer bolted aluminum airframe design replaced it in the 1990s.
Chuck, now 84, is in good spirits, but not in good health. We're honored that he's able and willing to join us for this event, and we'll do our best to preserve it in photos, video and audio, but it won't be the same as being there.
We realize this will be a conflict for some gyroplane enthusiasts planning to attend Bensen Days, but given the distance between the events, we hope many of you in the west have the date open. We will not be charging for the barbecue, but will be accepting donations to cover costs. Because we expect to buy extra food and rent chairs, we ask that you RSVP if you can come. E-mail me, paul@voiceswest.com, and just let us know if you're coming, how many in your party, and whether you're bringing a gyro. If you need hotel rooms or have other questions, we'll do our best to answer them.
We'll see you on Saturday the 9th!
Our day will start with a free 10am ground school class on gyroplane maintenance and safety, presented by Master CFI Dave Wiley. A very brief business meeting will follow our annual chicken barbecue at lunchtime. At about 1:30pm, we'll gather in the main hangar at Sport Copter, the company run by Chuck's son, Jim Vanek, for a multi-media presentation on Chuck's life and creations. Chuck himself will be there to help us narrate the program and, we hope, be available for some question-and-answer time afterward.
Weather permitting, we'd like to fill the Scappoose traffic pattern with gyroplanes at some point during the day, to honor this pioneer. We expect to be able to provide enclosed hangar space out of the weather for a limited number of visiting aircraft, should the weather turn nasty.
A contemporary of Dr. Igor Bensen, Chuck Vanek was a career policeman in Portland, Oregon. His early flying at Scappoose, about 1957, is the first memory most local enthusiasts have of seeing a small gyroplane fly. As Dr. Bensen moved on from his original water-pipe airframe to bolted aluminum tubing, Chuck worked in welded mild steel. Among his innovations were an early powered prerotator, and a machine featuring a ducted fan, then a tall tail, both built and flown in 1959. He also built and flew a Mac-powered hovercraft with counter-rotating props.
In the 1960s, when Bensen said available technology would not support a two-place machine, Chuck arrived at PRA events flying one, with his own 240 pounds in the pilot's seat, and his 120-pound wife as a passenger, using an 1835cc VW for power, and 27 foot blades with a 9-inch chord. At the time, the PRA was still primarily a Bensen owners group, and the chilly reception for a blasphemous outsider from the Pacific Northwest was a factor in Chuck's subsequent low profile in the sport. Sales of the Vancraft Rotor Lightning kit peaked at one per day before production was discontinued, and Jim Vanek's newer bolted aluminum airframe design replaced it in the 1990s.
Chuck, now 84, is in good spirits, but not in good health. We're honored that he's able and willing to join us for this event, and we'll do our best to preserve it in photos, video and audio, but it won't be the same as being there.
We realize this will be a conflict for some gyroplane enthusiasts planning to attend Bensen Days, but given the distance between the events, we hope many of you in the west have the date open. We will not be charging for the barbecue, but will be accepting donations to cover costs. Because we expect to buy extra food and rent chairs, we ask that you RSVP if you can come. E-mail me, paul@voiceswest.com, and just let us know if you're coming, how many in your party, and whether you're bringing a gyro. If you need hotel rooms or have other questions, we'll do our best to answer them.
We'll see you on Saturday the 9th!