Flying trip to the Bahamas!!! The Philadelphia Chapter is organizing a trip to the Bahamas, more specifically to the beautiful, secluded island of Andros. Anyone interested should contact Kevin Waterford for details. We would like to take as many planes as possible. We will be leaving on Saturday April 8th and returning on Thursday April 13th. If you enjoy white beaches, tropical drinks, and need a few days to relax and unwind then this is the trip for you. The more the merrier. Join us for a trip you’ll never forget. This is a pilot’s dream. Fly a plane to the Bahamas and then have more fun basking in the sun, and then flying back! Come join us and have ……….A GOOD TIME!!!! TOP
DRAPER CHAPTER GOES TO SCHOOL By Doug Tolbert Members of Roscoe Draper Chapter were invited  to speak at the Young  Scholars Charter School on December 13th, 2005.  The school is located at Broad and Jefferson Streets in Philadelphia,  contains grades 6 thru 8 and has a predominantly African American population.   One of the school administrators is Jeffrey Williams who, along with  his son, was given a plane ride during the summer. Jeff was so impressed  that he extended the invitation to make a presentation at his school.    It was arranged that we would be speaking to the 6th grade students  which were divided into two groups.  The class had already studied the heroic feats of the Tuskegee Airmen and were familiar with African  American Aviators, the Draper Chapter presentation was a culminating  experience for the unit of study.  The eager and attentive students were  impressed by our chapter President, Derek Grier, Vincent Mallory, and Doug Tolbert; however the students broke into spontaneous applause upon  learning that the quiet gentleman in the corner was Roscoe "Coach"  Draper.  You should have seen it, they were genuinely in awe. Many asked  for his autograph; remember they had just finished studying about the  Tuskegee Airman.  The questions were plentiful and showed they had been  paying attention, especially one student who asked a question that Vince  Mallory didn't want to answer; what a bright kid he was.       The students were entered into raffle and the winners given AOPA  "Junior Pilot" wings which were provided by AOPA when Derek Grier  explained our school visits during a trip to AOPA headquarters and requested some type of handout for students.  Students that asked  noteworthy questions were also given gifts provided by Vince.  Vince Mallory invited the students out to the airport for a tour at a later date, and Jeffrey Williams said he would try to work out the details for such a trip. After the presentation we met the schools' administrative staff who expressed their gratitude for our visit.       All in all it was a great day the students of Young Scholars Charter School as well as the Roscoe Draper Chapter.  Our goal is to do  more speaking engagements to introduce minority children to the many opportunities in the field of aviation and aviation support services.   TOP

Niagara Falls: The Ultimate Trip

By Derek Grier/Roscoe Draper Chapter

The trip was fantastic.  We took off at 7:30 in the morning trying to beat the thermals so that the ride would be a smooth ride for the family.  This was a concern since my son has been terrified of flying for over a year now, when the last trip we took together was very bumpy. He tried his best not to get in the plane.  He even said he would sit in the truck and wait until we got back.  But after we took off he was A-O-K.  Destynee, my oldest daughter, sat right seats both ways.  I taught her how to read a Sectional chart and how to point out different references to the ground.  I also taught her emergency procedures and basic handling of the airplane via GEORGE.  I told her things like what channel to tune to for emergency, and even how to set the transponder and the loran.  On the way back home she did the navigation practically by her self, well at least the portions in between each nap.

Niagara Falls was a very nice destination to visit.  My wife wanted to spend a couple of days there, but due to our time constraints we did not have that luxury.  We did the American National Park tour, which was very nice and a load of fun.  It was really incredible to see the falls.  I would say that we looked at it from every angle.  We were even in it, from underneath.

Afterwards we walked over to Canada.  It was my first visit.  The kids were really excited to straddle the line between USA and Canada.   Since we were on foot we did not go far. Quite frankly there was no need to.  Right at the border there was a tourist attraction part but we only scratched the surface.  We went to about five events in their tourist spot.  We saw the Wax museum, 4D Ride, Ghost Shooting ride, and the Sky ride to see the falls from above.  There was just so much to do.  We ate dinner at Ruby Tuesdays and then headed back across to USA to get back to the airport.

After paying my very expensive gas bill and doing a preflight we were ready to take the short trip home.  I love flying at night because it is so smooth and not nearly as busy.  Besides, the other airplanes are much easier to spot with the navigation lights on.  I proceeded to let Destynee back track our course, and pointed out some things on the Sectional to navigate by at night.   I showed her how to locate an airport by looking for the beacon.  The winds were in our favor both coming and going.  We did 148kn coming and 144kn going back home.  Night flying is fun, but when we got over the part of the land that had no lights I began wondering if I should climb some more so that if anything happened I could at least glide further.  But we were getting such a great ground speed I decided not to.  I was so used to going to Wings and then into PNE that the controller asked me why not go direct.  He cleared me through to Bravo at 7500 and I had to start a rather rapid descent.  I then found out that PNE is uncontrolled after 11:00pm.  They did not even have the wind conditions broadcasting on ATIS just a message saying they were closed for the night.  ATC told me there was no other traffic around.  I asked for the wind conditions and he only had PHL wind as 200/4.  So since I was already lined up I decided to take runway 15 and just started announcing my intentions on 126.90.   Runway 24 might have been a better choice but the winds were calm and I was tired.  Then to top the whole day off, I made a perfect turn to line up for the hanger.  This is exciting for me considering some of my previous attempts to get lined up.  It made it a lot easier to put the airplane up practically by myself. I highly recommend this trip for a future BPA Fly-In.  Perhaps even take 2 full days so that you are not rushed.  However, I know some of you don’t like night flying but it would do some of you some good.  TOP

Operation Skyhook 2005 From A Youth Perspective

By Ricardo Astillero/Roscoe Draper Chapter

At four forty five a.m. on Thursday, May 25 2005 I Ricardo Astillero woke up to attend operation Skyhook. I arrived at PNE at seven where my dad and I met up with Vine Mallory, and Roscoe Coach Draper. We filed for our flight and were off the ground by eight oclock. We landed in Shelbyville, TN for fuel and then to my amazement Coach asked me to do the flight planning and preflight for the next leg. When I was done they told me to sit in the Left Seat. I flew the Cherokee Six from Shelbyville to Pine Bluff, Arkansas. When we arrived to skyhook we were greeted by the BPA national president along with other black pilots from some of the other chapters.

The next day the fun started. The first competition was the flower bomb drop. I got the chance to drop the bombs out of the back of a Cardinal. It was a load of fun. That night we had an all you can eat catfish night. At that dinner I met a bunch of students from Colorado. Also I heard a few funny jokes about people that work for the FAA. After the dinner there was a play about some of the women of aviation. That is a must see play.

The next day we had the pylon race. But before the race a few of us had to go to Wal-Mart to buy some radios. When we came out of the store we found the tire was now flat. So I had to change the tire in the Wal-Mart parking lot. I was not able to participate in the pylon event but it was fun just watching the planes race around the field. That day a C-130 came in. The flight crew let us go on and take a look at the plane. I got to sit in the pilot seat of the plane. Also Fushia Davis flew in a Comander. She let me see the inside of that plane too. That night there was a party in the hospitality room where we danced, sang, and did James Brown impressions.

On Sunday we had the balloon burst and spot landing contest. In this competition I got to fly in a Cessna 210. We didnt hit any balloons but the plane ride was awesome. After the competitions some of the guys from the BPA gave kids a ride around the pattern. I got to ride in Roland Scotts Bonanza. It was awesome. That night BPA had their awards ceremony. The California Red Tails, Texas Bronzes Eagles, and Saint Louis Raptors racked up most of the awards. But Philly got a few also.

On Monday we left and came home to find out that my grandmother had a cook out without us. The trip was a blast. I had a lot of fun. When I got back home I was ready to turn back around and do it all again. In two years Philly is going to be taking all the awards home because then I will be competing. I will defiantly keep coming back, and I hope that I see all of you there plus more in the years to come. Thank you all for all you have done for me. TOP