Gyro Demo at 2010 Valkaria Airfest

Does Roy have a 5 gallon smoke oil tank? :)

very nice, great job Roy!
 
Hi Scott (Essex)
It is a 3 and a half gallon saddle tank taken off my old Air Command.
I bought the smoke oil pump from you a few years ago at Bensen Days.
Roy
 
Roy, I thought you had bought a smoker from me, but not one that held that much oil! :)

Sure looks good, so is that a new gyro?
 
Got to appreciate them McCutchen Skywheels when doing some of those moves!
 
Gee...if you'd pulled up behind him, you could probably have prerotated using his propwash!

Nice flying, and nice exposure for the sport!
 

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Not a new gyro. I had to borrow Scott lewis Dominator because my 912 was out of service. Completed the smoke the previous day!
Today I put a deposit down on a 912 ULS I found on Barnstormers. I am going to enjoy the extra 20 HP. Should be ready in time for Sun n Fun.
 
Slightly off-topic, but supporters of Valkaria Airport finally drove a stake through the heart of a bizarre anti-airport NIMBY group yesterday. Congrats to all involved for creating a story which should be inspiring to anyone whose small airport is under attack!

I got this by e-mail from airport supporter Mike Whaley...

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March 23, 2010

Hell froze over today in Central Florida!

The Valkaria Airport (X59) community is thrilled to announce that after years of hard work on the part of the local aviation community, a gigantic step forward was accomplished on Tuesday, March 23, when the Brevard County Commission unanimously approved the acceptance of federal and state funding for critical safety improvements! This is the first time in the airport's history that FAA Airport Improvement Program (AIP) entitlement funds have been sought or accepted, which is highly unusual for any public-use airport in the nation.

The FAA funds will be combined with Florida DOT (FDOT) funds as well as a 1% local match, and total $315,000 to be disbursed in two parts. The money will be used for long-needed and high-priority safety improvements to the airport, including runway / taxiway re-marking; installation of an airport beacon, lighted windsock, Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI), Runway End Identifier Lighting (REIL), and a segmented circle; the drafting of a property map; engineering drawings for future apron resurfacing; and authorization for the commission chairman (i.e., Mary Bolin) to sign the paperwork on behalf of the commission as is consistent with these projects.

The only "string" attached by the commission was that should the language of the final FAA grant contract change "significantly" from the current "draft" version (as determined by the county attorney) then the changes must come back before the commission for review. This is standard procedure, and no such changes are anticipated.

Getting to this pivotal point has been a long and difficult process. Up until about 5 years ago, anti-airport activists controlled the affairs of the airport, and had been systematically destroying the facility throughout the two decades prior. Through the years, things got so bad that law enforcement got involved several times... neighbors were manipulated into a perpetual state of fear... the airport advisory board was full of people who despised aviation and aviators... airport management enforced policies designed to slowly eliminate X59 as an aviation facility through intentional neglect... and even the local EAA chapter was forced to remove their soda machine on the ridiculous charge that the $4 per month it brought in was a "prohibited commercial activity"!

When the political landscape changed and a new airport manager came in, however, local aviators seized the opportunity by banding together and going on the offensive. Since then, the fortunes of Valkaria Airport have completely reversed course. Airport supporters have won literally every battle against the anti-airporters in the last five years... and every single step WAS a battle!

Thus far, the airport has gained an excellent airport master plan (that "only" took 2 years and 15 public meetings!), established positive and effective airport management policies, created a yearly air fest that draws thousands of neighbors to the airport, and more. Critically, the cause of the airport has steadily gained rock-solid support throughout the community, county commission, FAA, FDOT, and many other places.

In a dramatic example of the current level of success (and one of the sharpest rebukes imaginable to the detractors), last week the Grant-Valkaria town council -- which just a few months ago engaged in a widely-publicized battle to illegally regulate the airport, earning a severe legal smacking from both the FAA and the state attorney general -- completely reversed their prior position and actually sent the County Commission a letter indicating their full SUPPORT of installing these airport safety improvements!!

One of the most urgent needs has been to bring the airport up to basic, modern safety standards for the operations that occur there. A major goal of the anti-airport crowd was to prevent that, at all costs... accomplished in large part by preventing the airport from ever receiving federal money. They had convinced prior county commissions (among others) that accepting FAA funding would somehow eliminate local control of the airport, force the establishment of large commercial operations, and create a vast array of onerous new obligations for the county. The facts, of course, are radically different. When the feds gave the airport to the county in 1958, the quit-claim deed PERPETUALLY obligated Brevard County to the SAME obligations as are found in those "dreaded" FAA grant assurances (which only apply for 20 years). Moreover, the last few years has seen the county actively working to "catch up" with meeting those obligations, which had been (illegally) ignored for so many years at the behest of the anti-airporters.

In the long war against Valkaria Airport's enemies, Tuesday's acceptance of FAA and FDOT money was the equivalent of the Normandy invasion, signaling that the anti-airporter's cause has been utterly and irreversibly lost. This watershed event signals that their malevolent little empire has finally crumbled away for good, and the few remaining agitators have been hung out to dry. They no longer have a single remaining shred of support, credibility, or influence in either the public or political arenas. Even the local media outlets have blacklisted them! Meanwhile, the aviation community is experience growing support and influence as they continue to stay involved in the community.

While the full story of X59 is quite long and convoluted (and often hard to believe), the moral is simple: active community engagement REALLY WORKS!

The main tools of anti-airport bullies -- dishonesty, fear, harassment, and intimidation -- are no match for the coordinated efforts of concerned pilots and their supporters who have armed themselves with hard facts, are driven by their innate passion for aviation, and who have the dedication to press home the attack for as long as it takes to set things right.

We hope the story of our ongoing success at Valkaria Airport, which was unimaginable only five years ago, will be encouraging to all aviation-minded people who find themselves having to fight against their local airport detractors. Dig in, get organized, and keep fighting the good fight! While it's not easy, and you will certainly get bruised and discouraged at points along the way, in the end it IS well worth the effort. You CAN and WILL win, once you decide you really want to!

Mike Whaley
 
Hey Paul, thanks for posting this good news. I too have been following this battle for years, having grown up nearby. It will be exciting to see the improvements take place.
I hope to operate my gyro from Valkaria in the future.
 
I was flying a lot there when the animosity was at its peak.
There were instances of tire's being vandalized, and personal attacks.
That didn't work, so the nimbys tried to shut it down claiming it a scrub jay habitat. They had a guy driving around with a recording of scrub jays mating calls I suppose, in order to try and get a DNR order to shut it down. I think they decided the jays are better off with it as an airport than a neighborhood.
It is a fun area to fly. I think the Airfest will help secure its place.
Good job Roy, and Scott for promoting our little niche.
 
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