Buzz Barnstormer's Year in Review

I would have to say that 2012 was really an incredible year. When I first decided to write this post, I was not so sure about that. But when I started thinking about all the things that have been accomplished, and the people that I have met, I realized that this year was something of a standout.

I have had a blast creating the idea of establishing a "Grass Roots" family of RVers that fly together, start new friendships based on a common ground, and do things that are exciting and fun, and at the same time, give back to our community. RV Nation has been a blast to develop.

Since the idea was implemented, the following things have been accomplished:

   1) I have met some really fun and incredible people along the way, like Bill Englert and Sherryl Booth. I visited them at their airpark in Advance, NC and got a chance to see their beautiful RV4 and their very cool hangar which housed the window section of an airliner as the windows in Bill's office. Wow! I want one of those!

  2) I met Jim Booth from Hickory, NC, who donated a fuselage jig for my son's RV4, and a wing stand as well. He and I enjoyed a leisurely lunch at the Hickory Airport together and had a chance to talk some RV-talk, and then he showed me his newly built RV4. And so many others! It has been a pleasure to meet you all!

  3) 298 core people have joined RV Nation on Facebook, and contribute ideas and thoughts on a daily basis. It is great to see all the enthusiasm and to see their RV projects progress daily as they post pictures on the site.

  4) Our new website, RV-Nation, was built, and is growing quickly. I have found that it is difficult to build a website that people want to go see on a daily basis and contribute their ideas to it as well. Making the RV Nation the kind of site that all RVers will want to visit often continues to be my goal, and I think will take the thoughts and input of many rather than just me. And I am ok with that, because after all, the whole idea is to bring RVers together.

  5) One of the coolest things that is on the RV Nation site is the RVN Fighter and Bomber Groups. The idea was established after thinking about EAA Groups. I have been to many EAA group meetings and have been a member of a few EAA Chapters as well. A whole lot of talking and not much doing! Now, I know that this may not be the case for all EAA Chapters, but for the many that I have been to, it certainly was. Hardly any building happening, hardly any flying on a regular basis happening, and when the meeting was over, everyone went their separate ways, not to see each other again until the next month, when we did it all over again. Just wasn't my idea of fun. Then I talked with Mike Brewster out of Sacramento, CA. He told me of a group of people he was friends with that all had RVs and would all go out and fly to a designated restaurant every weekend. I thought, "How cool is that?" That sounds like a lot of fun. So, I began to think of some ways that I could implement something like that, and make it even more fun.

I began to look at Team Aerodynamix, formerly Team RV. Folks, they are having the times of their lives. They all dress the part, fly their planes, meet their fans, give back to their community, and are becoming celebrities in so doing. Then the idea came to me. Not everyone feels comfortable flying formation flying. But everyone loves to fly their RVs in a group. I came up with the idea of establishing Fighter Groups and Bomber Groups so that owners of RVs can establish them in their area, attract other  RVers, and begin to establish a camaraderie of RV friends. The Fighter Groups and the Bomber Groups are named after the actual Groups from WWII. I have attached the history of the group to the Group number on the RV Nation site.  So, at the same time we are flying our RVs around the country, we are honoring the people that were in the actual WWII Fighter or Bomber Group before us at the same time. We can take it as far as we'd like. Just like Team Aerodynamix has and a few other formation groups have done as well, the RV Nation Fighter Groups and Bomber Groups can be a recognizable entity of RVers that fly together, have established good friendships and are there for one another, and gives back to their community as well. All it takes is participation and enthusiasm.

  6) This year we held our first RV Nation fly-in at the Deerfield Resort in Tennessee. We had over 60 people in attendance. 18 RVs flew in for the event and enjoyed some very good BBQ and listened to some music provided by Shake Ragg. It was a gorgeous day to fly, and the weather was perfect. The RVs were beautiful, all shined up. Many thanks to all that came, it was a lot of fun seeing and meeting you all.

  7) My son decided that he wanted to build an RV4 this year. That was an extremely exciting day for me too as I have been building for a very long time. I built planes with my dad years ago, and it was some of the most memorable times being their with him. I know how the attention span is for a teenager, so I did not expect my son to stay as enthused as I am about building. So, I started talking about his interest in building a plane and showed some pictures of his plane going together to some members of my class at school, and found that their were many kids that were interested in that kind of thing as well. Most of the kids in my class are 12 through 14 years old, a little young for building planes. But not too young for developing interest in aviation. My wife and I decided to implement STEM camps this summer to introduce kids to building and testing projects. Through camps like this, kids will learn basic intrinsic mathematical skills to construct bottle rockets, mousetrap vehicles, elastic gliders and other fun things to compete with at the end of the day. Should be a blast for the kids as well as a stepping stone for those that want to take it to the next level and get into building actual airplanes.

  8) My Harmon Rocket progress continues. It has been a long and arduous build. I have someone building it for me at this time, but that is going to change soon. I miss the times building and creating my plane, and want to have it back so that I can continue the build to its completion. The fuel tanks are completed and the wings are being buttoned up. I am ready to start the fuselage here in North Carolina.

  9) This year saw the development and completion of something I have wanted to do for a very long time. I have never liked the looks of the old standard pitot tubes used on almost every plane out there. I think they are uglier than ugly. And since we build our planes with the utmost of care and custom design everything we can, I decided to finally design a new pitot tube that will be used on my Harmon Rocket and my son's RV4. I bought a B-1 Bomber pitot tube off the internet, took some measurements, and proceeded to build my pitot tube. After 3 iterations of designs, the final product was realized. And I have to say, it really looks good!

  10) I leave the best accomplishment for last. In a world where so many evil and horrific things happen, it is so very nice to be a part of a community of RVers that are all such incredible people. I have met many of you in person, and many more through chatting on Facebook. It is such a pleasure to call you all friends. I look forward to hearing all your stories and accomplishments, seeing the first flights, flying with you all, and most importantly, growing in RV friendship style as the new year approaches.

Yes, this year has been a good one, and I am eagerly looking forward to next year. Thank you all for being the best RV community in the world. With 2012 coming to a close, and 2013 almost here, my family and I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year! Let's make 2013 the best ever! All it takes is participation and enthusiasm. I'll see you all there!

--Buzz--

A Different Kind of Flight

Since my son and I are building our own planes, much time and thought go into figuring out how to build them correctly, or with style. If I am not actually out there smashing rivets, I am usually thinking of how I can do something better, or how I want certain parts to look. But lately I have been working with the kids from my school on a different kind of plane.

I am the coach of the Science Olympiad team at South Charlotte Middle School where I am also one of the 7th grade Pre-Algebra instructors. While many of the kids are entrenched in subject matters like Forestry, Crime-Busters,  and Mousetrap Vehicles, there is one group of boys who have been diligently working on trying to build and fly an elastic glider plane. It has been entertaining, to say the least, to watch them build their planes, and then expect wondrous things from it when they were finished. I only chuckled on the inside, as I know that aerodynamics is not an area where expertise can be taken lightly. The designs were not exactly.... well ..... airworthy. These gliders were better aptly called ... dive bombers.

But this was a learning opportunity for the boys, and a teaching moment for me. We talked about why their planes were not performing to their expectations and high standards. Finally, after much debate, the boys decided that there were just too many variables in their design that were incorrect, and their best option at this time would be to purchased a glider from the hobby shop.

The next day, their testing continued with their new glider plane. The boys removed the metal nose piece from the plane, and added clay to the front, to comply with the North Carolina Science Olympiad rules. When the plane was tossed into the air, the nose pitched up abruptly, the wing stalled, and it dove straight to the ground. I said to them, "Wow! That was unusual! What do you think just happened?" And their quick response was, "It crashed!"

"Why, yes, it did," I said with a chuckle. "But WHY did it crash?"

"It stopped flying and it crashed", was the response.

"Exactly!......Why did it stop flying?"

"Well.....It's quite simple, Mr. Brown. The plane flew up, stopped flying, then crashed!" was the final answer.

Hmmmmm, not exactly the answer I was looking for. After more probing for answers, the question I was asking of "why the plane stalled" was finally understood, and the stumped boys just looked at me with blank stares.

This was a perfect teaching moment, a chance for the boys to discover the characteristics of flight, the forces acting upon the plane, and how they might could make things work. We discussed the balance of the plane, and why the plane was pitching nose high. The boys were asked how they thought they could stop the nose from pitching up so high. I left the boys with this question and asked that they give it some thought for a while, and to come back to me with their ideas, once they had discussed some possible solutions between them.

After much discussion and thought, and some instruction on how weight and balance work, along with how to measure and determine the ARM and Moments of the plane, their understanding of why the plane performed a certain way under certain configurations was becoming increasingly more clear. A sudden "Aaaaaaahhhhhhh, we understand!!" And off they ran to get more clay for the nose of the plane.

After roughly 40 minutes of test flights along with adding and subtracting various amounts of clay to the nose of the glider, they finally tossed the plane up one last time. And with great excitement and smiles on their faces, they watched as their glider ever so lightly and effortlessly glided above the gym floor.

After the day was over and I was home working on my RV Nation website, it dawned on me that this was exactly the kind of thing that I wanted my business to accomplish....introducing aviation concepts to kids, tweaking their interests, and expanding their knowledge base so that they might be interested in learning more about aviation or aerospace in college, pursuing it as a career some day, or at least developing interest in becoming a recreational pilot one day. Seeing these kids tackle difficult aviation challenges with enthusiasm and resolve provides encouragement to me to continue the course of reaching more kids about aviation. This truly is an important part of the Grass Roots of Aviation.

--Buzz--
www.RV-Nation.com
http://www.facebook.com/groups/VansRVNation/

Experimental Aircraft Fly-in Event Raises Money for Student Scholarships

RV Nation, based in Sherrills Ford, NC, is an organization comprised of experimental aircraft owners, builders, and enthusiasts from all over the world. It was created by Scott Brown, a South Charlotte Middle School math teacher and Science Olympiad coach, to revive the grass roots of flying as well as to generate aviation interest in today’s youth so as to preserve the sport of experimental flight for generations to come.

In his endeavor to increase young people’s interest in flight, Brown has developed programs designed to attract and engage students with the fields of Aviation and Aerospace. One of these programs is the RV Nation Aviation Scholarship Fund that provides scholarships to outstanding high school students wanting to further their post-secondary education in the fields of Aviation or Aerospace.

RV Nation hosted their first fly-in the weekend of November 6th at the Deerfield Resort, a beautiful flying community located in the Cumberland Mountains of LaFollette,Tennessee, on Norris Lake.

Attendees enjoyed the many Van’s Aircraft RV experimental aircraft (from which RV Nation takes its name) that flew in for the event from throughout the southeast, including places in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, South Carolina, and North Carolina.

Everyone enjoyed an outstanding smoked BBQ lunch while listening to “Shake Ragg”, a local up-
and-coming southern-rock and country band. The day was filled with great entertainment, aviation fun, food, and fellowship, all the while raising money and interest for the RV Nation Scholarship Program. When the day had ended, over $500 had been raised for student scholarships.

“It was our first fly-in”, said Brown, “and for the first one, I think we were very successful. The money raised from this event will all go towards our Aviation Scholarship Program. Needless to say, I am very excited about that”.

Brown and his wife, Dr. Tracy Brown, a child psychologist and university professor, are also in the process of developing summer camps designed for kids entering into the 6th, 7th, and the 8th grades. These camps are designed to focus on designing, building, creating, and testing, similar to events competed in for the North Carolina Science Olympiad. “We are excited to hold our camps this coming summer,” said Brown. “The camps are aligned with STEM directives and activities (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), and will be high energy and a lot of fun for all the campers.
The kids are going to have a blast!”

For more information, please contact Scott Brown at rvnation.scott@gmail.com.

Shake Ragg

Article in the South Charlotte Weekly Newspaper

Flying High!

Posted by CarolinaWeekly on October 30, 2012 in Education | 0 Comment

Travis Brown and his dad, Scott Brown, a teacher at South Charlotte Middle School, are building their own airplane, inspiring Scott to help create interest in experimental aviation through his upcoming aviation magazine, “Plane Crazy.”

Scott Brown loves teaching math to his seventh-grade students at South Charlotte Middle School. It’s definitely a passion of his.
But being bound to a classroom wasn’t always his dream job. In fact, this is just his second year teaching middle school students – a much different perspective from the aerial view Brown had as a pilot for 16 years.

Now, Brown is combining his two professions to help encourage science, technology, engineering and math in the classroom while creating a larger interest in aviation worldwide.

Brown’s vision started with his son Travis, a 14 year old who lives in Catawba County, Brown’s home. With more than 30 years in the aviation industry and a love for experimental aviation – specifically designing and building planes – Brown was excited to find that his passion was rubbing off when Travis showed interest in experimental aviation himself, asking his dad for the opportunity to build a plane together.

“All of sudden, recently he said ‘Dad, I want to build an airplane.’ I was kind of floored,” Brown said. “I would never expect that from a 14-year-old boy.”

His son’s interest helped spark an idea to help bring back enthusiasm to experimental aviation, Brown said. That’s why he hopes to spread his passion through an aviation magazine called “Plane Crazy.” His idea comes after starting his blog, www.buzzbarnstormer.com, an avenue for Brown to share memorable stories through his aviation career. But after nearly 600,000 hits and interests from fellow experimental aviators, Brown saw a need for a different avenue.

“Most of the magazines out there right now when it comes to aviation all went corporate because that’s where all the money is at,” Brown said. “I understand that, but I’m not trying to make a lot of money from my magazine. I’m just doing it because I love doing it. I’m doing this just because I love flying and I really want to see kids get involved like what my son is doing.”

“Plane Crazy,” set to release in early 2013, is a grassroots magazine that will focus on the people who build experimental planes and will exist to promote interest in aviation to younger generations. Brown hopes the magazine will provide a platform for experimental enthusiasts to share ideas, strategies and tips about building. Brown says he has enough followers to produce 25,000 copies of the first quarterly magazine, to be distributed throughout the United States and Europe, plus select airports.

So far, Brown found his story ideas and topics by visiting fly-ins and airshows all over the East Coast, taking notes and pictures as he goes along.

“It’s really phenomenal stuff,” he said. “It seems aviation is kind of dying off.  I just want it to be fun again – get it back to grassroots aviation, like building and designing airplanes.

“I’ve got a bunch of friends all over the world that are wanting to contribute. I want the magazine to be about the people that are buying them. It doesn’t really mean too much until it’s about the people that are reading the thing.”

Brown and Travis are currently building a Van’s Aircraft RV-4, where Brown is teaching his son how to use the tools, read the plans and how to construct properly. So far, they’ve constructed the tail and are working to start the wings.

And since Travis was part of the inspiration, Brown says he’d like for his son to have a part in the magazine.

“I’ve sent articles about him building a plane,” Brown said, adding that most of the content has already been sent to local graphic designers. “When I told him he would be inside the magazine, he was really excited. I’d like for him to eventually have his own section. I think if I can get him to a place where he can write about building a plane in the magazine, he’ll be really excited because his words will be in print and he gets to work on his writing skills.”

In the meantime, Brown says he’s using the same principles that are involved in airplane building and design to help students at South Charlotte Middle. As the Science Olympiad coach, he says many of the building events for competition involve similar physics and mathematical concepts that are used in aviation, where he hopes to share his magazine with his
students.