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Van's Hosting Total Solar Eclipse on 8/21/17

The party will have to be at the approach end of 35... Zoom in and you'll see that Van's is actually just outside the path of totality (by 20 yards maybe) :)
 
Solar Eclipse

Actually you want to travel to the centerline. At Vans (Rwy 35) totality may last a second or so versus the maximum in that area (perhaps 2 minutes) at the centerline. This type event is certainly worth traveling to see.
 
ronlee said:
Actually you want to travel to the centerline. At Vans (Rwy 35) totality may last a second or so versus the maximum in that area (perhaps 2 minutes) at the centerline. This type event is certainly worth traveling to see.

To extend the totality time, wouldn't it make sense to fly along the path of totality in your plane? And if you did that, would you log it as day VFR or night VFR? :)
 
Healthy Diet and Exercise

Hey! That will be my 54th birthday! :)

And I mentioned this to the chief financial officer and she said we could fly the (kit not evan ordered yet) RV-9A up there to celebrate.

Does this mean I can order the kit now?
 
JimLogajan said:
To extend the totality time, wouldn't it make sense to fly along the path of totality in your plane? And if you did that, would you log it as day VFR or night VFR? :)
It was just an annular eclipse but I did something like that. The forecast was pretty good but it clouded up.

I took off in my Pacer with a solar filter and watched the eclipse from above the cloud deck. Had to get a clearance to get back in.
 
Eclipse coming my way.

I traced the eclipse path across the country and find that it will be coming in my direction. I flew my Phase 1 testing in that area between Knoxville and Chattanooga, Tennessee. I will be 70 and hope to still be flying my RV-9A on that day. I want to see the event from 9,500 feet to get a good view of the lunar shadow on the Earth below.

Jerry K. Thorne
East Ridge, TN
RV-9A N2PZ "Enterprise"
www.n2prise.org
 
Annular eclipse

Larry, if that was the 10 May 1994 event I drove to the Roswell NM area to photograph it. It was mostly cloudy with some rain but I did manage to get a few pictures during the annular phase.
 
ronlee said:
Larry, if that was the 10 May 1994 event I drove to the Roswell NM area to photograph it. It was mostly cloudy with some rain but I did manage to get a few pictures during the annular phase.
That was the one. I believe the center line was between Roswell and Artesia. I was able to fly east and get a good long look.

I ran on sort of an "alternative lifestyle family" at the airport that were looking for clear skies. They were in a VW Van, believe it or not. I invited up to three of them to ride with me, but they declined.
 
dan said:
Can I log those 2 minutes as "night" flight? :D j/k

I had the same question but I suspected the answer. Here's what the site "Answers to Almost Useless Knowledge Test" (http://gadoid.ices.cmu.edu/flying/answers.html) says:

"If you fly during a total solar eclipse...

1. Can you log it as night?

no, night is defined in terms of civil twilight for the purpose of logging night time.

2. Can you carry passangers during a total solar eclipse if you are not night current?

yes (see explaination above)

3. Are you required to use position lights?

no, the flight is not between sunset and sunrise (although such operation could possible be considered as "reckless and dangerous")."

A bit of useless info I learned from that site is where to report UFO sightings!
 
Total Eclipse in a Tiger Moth

On the 23rd of October 1976, my brother and I, took off in his Tiger Moth and climbed to 7000? into the path of a total solar eclipse over Melbourne, Australia.
The experience was beyond anything I had anticipated.
As the eclipse approach, the penumbra rushed over the horizon from the east and within seconds it was? night time? in the cockpit,
Below, the countryside was black with only the lights of towns and cars on the road being visible.
But the most awe inspiring sight was the cumulus clouds 30 miles north and south of us still lit by brilliant sunshine. Glancing back into the cockpit all was merely bathed, as if by moonlight and then a glance back outside revealed the astonishing contrast on the horizon.
It was difficult to take it all in, as the experience was foreign to anything that I had seen.
Then, within a couple of minutes, it was daytime, as if nothing had happened.
So on August 2 2017, fill up your RV, tell the boss you won?t be in tomorrow and get to Aurora.

If you can?t get to the Moon, then do not miss seeing a Total Solar Eclipse from the air,?.. before you die.

Pete.
 
The eclipse

I live a few minutes north of Columbia S.C. I'll probably see it there. Should have my wings done by then :D - but I'll drive if I have to.
 
Eclipse weather

One thing to check on before deciding where to observe an eclipse is weather prospects. If Oregon is typically cloudy that time of year/day then you should consider a place with better weather. Also note that partial phases require special protection to avoid eye damage (obtainable cheaply somewhere) whereas totality can be observed with the naked eye.
 
63scrounger said:
Hey! That will be my 54th birthday! :)

And I mentioned this to the chief financial officer and she said we could fly the (kit not evan ordered yet) RV-9A up there to celebrate.

Does this mean I can order the kit now?


YOU'D BETTER, SOUNDS LIKE A SERIOUS CATCH. Ten years is a long time to wait.;


EDIT: Real men fly 8's though (no A's allowed). :D
 
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Van's weather in August

OK, yes, you would have to stand on the southern part of Van's driveway to see totality according to the map. :rolleyes:

And yes, I plan to be a bit further south on that day to get a longer look at the totality event. The airport at Salem looks like a good spot to me. Not sure if I'm going to be in the air or on the ground for it. There are positievs and negatives to both options.

Actually the weather in August in that part of Oregon is usually clear and warm. Last August in Salem the average high was 82 degrees with 25 days of clear sky, 5 days of partly cloudy and only one day of cloudy sky with a trace of rain for the month. Winds tend to average 6 kts in August. Last year was pretty common weather for August. :)

Finally, I race sailplanes and have raced against Van twice at Montague, CA and Minden, NV. Beat him both times. I have about 2,700 hours in sailplanes in the past 40 years. Since all sailplanes are taildraggers so I don't want to hear "Real men fly 8's though (no A's allowed). " until you have over 2,700 hours in taildraggers! :p

Al Thomas
N880AT
RV-8A
Finishing kit
 
glider4 said:
...Since all sailplanes are taildraggers so I don't want to hear "Real men fly 8's though (no A's allowed). " until you have over 2,700 hours in taildraggers!...
Hmmm! All sailplanes are taildraggers huh?

I have had a few and they were split about 50/50, unless you have a special definition.

My 1-26 was a nosedragger. Maybe you consider that too low performance for a sailplane, but it is sufficient for 350 miles plus cross-country and all the diamond badge legs.

Then I had a Mini-Nimbus; well that one was a taildragger.

Now I have a PW-5; the world class glider. Yes, it is a nose dragger.

I got a world record notification today from the FAI. It was an altitude record of over 50,000 feet. Nose dragger DG505.
 
Gliders as taildraggers

Larry,
The vast majority of singleplace sailplanes manufactured since 1980 are true taildraggers in they have a main wheel and a tailwheel. All of the four single place sailplanes I have owned since 1980 have had only a main wheel and tailwheel.

There are a very few singleplace exceptions like your PW-5 which have a small wheel in front of the main. And yes, there are a number of modern two place sailplanes with small wheels in front of the main wheels. All of the PW-5's and two place sailplanes with a the small nose wheel that I have seen also have a tailwheel or tail skid.

The traditional landing technique for modern sailplanes is to land two-point (main and tailwheel touching down together) at the edge of stall. "Wheel landings" on the main are acceptable for gusty conditions or in strong crosswinds. In sailplanes with a small wheel in front of the main, standard practice is to keep that nose wheel off the ground until just before stopping unless needed for maintaining directional control in strong crosswinds.

The techniques taught by me and other glider instructors for flair and touchdown of sailplanes is very similar to those taught by my power instructors for landing the Bellanca Scout and Piper Super Cub. I was not taught to land the trigear C-150 or C-172 by touching the tail tiedown ring on the pavement at the same time the mains touched down. Trigear airplanes require a different set of landing techniques than do sailplanes.

As far as I am concerned, sailplanes should be landed like taildraggers, not like trigear airplanes. Take-offs in sailplanes with only a main wheel and tail wheel are also similar to take-offs in a taildragger airplane for obvious reasons.

Al Thomas
N880AT
RV-8A
Finishing kit
 
Bring your sun block....

ronlee said:
One thing to check on before deciding where to observe an eclipse is weather prospects. If Oregon is typically cloudy that time of year/day then you should consider a place with better weather. Also note that partial phases require special protection to avoid eye damage (obtainable cheaply somewhere) whereas totality can be observed with the naked eye.

After mid July, Oregon has some of the best and clearest weather in the world. In fact that time of year we will be in our yearly drought.

Kent
 
GO SEE IT!

Group,
Be it from the ground or from the air GO SEE THE TOTAL ECLIPSE! My Father and I traveled to Goldendale Wa. to see the last total to hit the continental US in '79. The event was close to indescribeable. We lucked out and the weather cleared 1/2 hour before the event! (it was February) The complete effect of a total eclipse is awe inspiring. The entire town was booked up and we slept in the car at the Goldendale airstrip! (We froze our behinds off.) A great adventure. This is by far the one event that did not disappoint, absolutely NOTHING compares. In the natural realm anyway. Beg barrow or steal a way to get there, I know I will if I can.
Bill Jepson
 
I flew up to see the '99 eclipse over the English Channel, and was one of the few people to get an uninterrupted view above the overcast at 8000'.
The French unhelpfully banned VFR flight for half an hour either side of the event.

It's a pretty special experience to see with your own eyes. Photos can't capture the light and colour of the sunlight refracting around the edge of the moon.

Interestingly, I didn't spot any other aircraft around until totality, when nav-lights could be seen all around.

A gaggle of Concordes flew a charter following the path of totality and managed to double their time in the eclipse. I reckoned that I might add 10 seconds by chasing it, but probably had a better view through the canopy.
 
Is this event going to coincide with the Homecoming? That would be cool. Rich and I saw a 3+ minute one on a cruise in the Carribe in 1998.

Roberta
 
Reviving a long-since dead thread...

Eclipse path:
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2017Aug21Tgoogle.html

This eclipse has really been my drop dead date for getting the RV finished and through Phase 1. Having the RV and being able to reposition as necessary to avoid bad weather in Aug 2017 would be a huge advantage over trying to view this with only a car for transportation.

I'm curious if someone has already done the work of building a list of every airport in the US INSIDE the path of totality, preferring locations with 2+ minutes of totality. I'm ignoring any location with just a partial eclipse. Luckily, the nearest spot along the path of totality is only about 45 minutes away in "RV time", but poor weather could require much longer flights to reach somewhere without clouds on the day of the eclipse. Having the airplane with you also allows one to view from above a cloud layer as was mentioned up thread.

Any airport in the CONUS is game for viewing this event! I'm going to experience totality! It's just a matter of where...
 
My thoughts are to go to Smiley Creek in Idaho. It's a great field with a smooth grass runway. High elevation but clear approaches and right in the path of totality.

I guess I won't be the only one with this idea so it may be best to get in early. A little hiking around the Sawtooth mountains wouldn't go amiss either.
 
Here's one list of airports close to the center of the path of totality. These are certainly not the only airports, just ones I picked at the edge of
each state. A flight plan with all of these airports roughly describes the path of the eclipse. This all according to the interactive map on this site:
http://eclipse2017.org/xavier_redirect.htm

I was thinking of booking a couple of hotels, one or two as backups. But the eclipse is around noon, plenty of time to get to airports with good
viewing in an RV from much of the country. At the very least, I think it would be easy on short notice (i.e., once the weather is known)
to find a room within 300 miles of the path, an easy flight to and from.

The center comes on shore at ~1717Z, and leaves the US at ~1846Z.

Flying during the eclipse would certainly be cool, but this would be my first total eclipse, and I don't want to be distracted by having to watch anything but the eclipse.

S12 S87 2U7 1U2 KJAC KCPR KTOR KAIA KGRI KFNB KSTJ KJEF K02 M30 KHVC M91 KMMI 1A5 KCEU KMKS

I was thinking Casper or Jefferson City.
It would be great if people could chime in on any airports that are recommended or to be avoided, and any local lodging options.

I guess the real question is, "Where are the good parties!"
 
2017 Indpenendence Fly-In and Solar Eclipse

Monday, August 21, 2017 will be at the end of the Independence Fly-In / Van's Homecoming hosted by EAA 292 at 7S5. We are a mile, or so north of the center-line of the path of totality for the eclipse. The Fly-In will go from Friday-Sunday but plan on staying that extra day to watch the eclipse. Mark your calendars - August 18-21, 2017. We're just down the road from Van's, so stop there on the way, or the way back. More information will be available as we get closer to 2017.
 
Solar Eclipse 2017: high density traffic problem?

I was thinking of renting and piloting a C-172 to take family members up to share the eclipse experience over western Oregon. What sort of airborne traffic problems do you think can be expected? I'm imagining a hundred or more airplanes all jockeying for position, and then all of them descending to land shortly thereafter! What altitude do you think would be best to 1) minimize maneuver-to-avoid problems, and 2) see the eclipse? Thanks,

- Steven
1000+ RV3 hours (another one yesterday!)
 
Three take off and landings to a full stop in the previous 90 days.......wait, does that apply to aviation twilight regs if there is no sunset or sunrise?
 
I was thinking of renting and piloting a C-172 to take family members up to share the eclipse experience over western Oregon. What sort of airborne traffic problems do you think can be expected? I'm imagining a hundred or more airplanes all jockeying for position, and then all of them descending to land shortly thereafter! What altitude do you think would be best to 1) minimize maneuver-to-avoid problems, and 2) see the eclipse? Thanks,

- Steven

Based on my experience of the '99 eclipse, I'd suggest it's best viewed from the ground. I doubt that the skies will be noticeably crowded, but you will be more able to observe through appropriate filters and won't be distracted by the flying and lookout etc.

Actual altitude won't make much difference so long as you're not sitting below a hazy inversion layer.

I wondered before if you could actually see the edge of the eclipse shadow approaching at 1000 mph, but there wasn't anything obvious at 6000' over the sea where we were watching.

In our case there was a layer of stratus spoiling the event for everyone on the ground, so we did have the best seats in the house at 6000' under blue (/black) skies.

And, yes, the question was raised then whether official night rules applied. But night and twilight are defined by the angle of the sun to the horizon, so no need to worry about that;).
 
Based on my experience of the '99 eclipse, I'd suggest it's best viewed from the ground...........

My experience of a total solar eclipse was 40 years ago, but still very much memorable.
The advantage of being on the ground, and preferably somewhere not too urbanised, is the non human silence during the eclipse.
All the birds stopped singing. You could imagine them suddenly totally confused by what was happening.
 
Fly-In Camp-Out Feeler

If a guy had 30 or so reserved tie down spots on a nice grass strip in the NorthWest under the total path during this event from Friday thru Monday would we like to have a fly-in?
 
Agreed

A group fly in sounds good! Hopefully the skies there will be clear in August?

I know the concern. Not only the chance of cloud cover, but smoke from wild fires even more. I may just let it go if there is little interest. I originally reserved this for my home airport pilot social club but they have a conflicting fly-out.
Either way I plan to go there...
Van's homecoming at Independence is a good choice if you have a place to stay.
My option, more East and in the hills, grass strip along a river, would be camping ⛺
Maybe I need to start a new thread?

UPDATE:
I have turned the reservation to my local chapter. I have the names of the couple of interested VAF parties. I will place you on the list for info updates as we get closer to the event.
Thanks!
 
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If a guy had 30 or so reserved tie down spots on a nice grass strip in the NorthWest under the total path during this event from Friday thru Monday would we like to have a fly-in?

I'd love to fly up from Ashland to spend the time there with you guys.
 
Eclipse

St. Joseph, MO is supposed to be in the area of maximum totality. I understand that the airport (KSTJ) will have camping and events. I work in St. Joe and we are preparing for large crowds.

John
 
Monday, August 21, 2017 will be at the end of the Independence Fly-In / Van's Homecoming hosted by EAA 292 at 7S5. We are a mile, or so north of the center-line of the path of totality for the eclipse. The Fly-In will go from Friday-Sunday but plan on staying that extra day to watch the eclipse. Mark your calendars - August 18-21, 2017. We're just down the road from Van's, so stop there on the way, or the way back. More information will be available as we get closer to 2017.

Hi Curt,

I see on "Willamette Flyers" your event is August 12-13. ???
 
Independence Fly-In...

and Van's Homecoming will be Friday, Saturday and Sunday August 18, 19, and 20, 2017 at 7S5. Most of the organized activities will be Saturday and Sunday. We are expecting a larger-than-normal attendance this year due to 7S5 being in the path of totality of the eclipse on Monday morning. Housing and camping will only be available to those that pre-register. Registration will be available through eaa292.org (not ready at this time but keep checking back). I will try and remember to post back here when registration becomes active.
Curt Anderson
EAA 292 Chapter Secretary
 
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