February 2005

Newsletter

CORONA PILOTS ASSOCIATION
President Shawnie Quemer
V. President Yolanda Anselen
Secretary Sandi Henry
Treasurer Susan Brunner
Editor John Elwell

NEXT MEETING:
The next meeting will be held Sunday February 13th at 5:00 PM on the terrace at Corona Aero Partners. This will be the first
meeting since the big flood. There will be a brief business meeting followed by a discussion about the effects of the flood, what was
good about the cleanup, what was bad and what could have been done differently. Remember what we want to accomplish is to be
helpful and to see what can be learned from our experiences so that if it ever happens again we will be better equipped to meet the
challenge. This is not intended to be a gripe session but a positive effort to make things better. After our meeting we will share our
food and have an evening of fellowship. Don't forget to leave something in the drink kitty if you take liquid from the refrigerator.
As of the preparation of this newsletter there still is no electricity to the meeting room. It is fully anticipated that there will be service
by Sunday but in the remote possibility that we do not have it then a meeting location will be posted on the gate to the terrace.
Don't forget that Sunday is also the show date for our antique aircraft. Let's make this one a good one as part of the joy of being open
again.

LAST MEETING:
The last meeting was a wet one. In spite of the nasty weather we had about 22 people at the meeting. The food was great and there
was plenty of it. David Quemer and Woody Anselen led a discussion about ground operations showing a number of wrong things to
do on the ground. The most important thing to remember is to listen to and understand the ground control and to know your airport
so that you can follow instructions.

Our open house was held but there were not many lookers. Most of the owners displaying aircraft huddled around the CAV office
or Bob's drinking coffee and telling war stories. Better luck at the next showing.
After the meeting several of us looked at the rising water and thought is was from the wash and went home. Little did we know
then what we were in for before the night was over.

FROM THE PREZ
By Shawnie Querner

There is little doubt what the major issue has been for CPA for the last three weeks and that has been water and mud. As we left our
last meeting it was raining hard and by Monday morning the water behind Prado Dam was rising about one foot per hour. The entire
aviation community was very busy Monday and Tuesday trying to get as much out of our hangers as we could. Many flew their
planes to other locations such as Chino, Riverside and Flabob. Dorin Machin was busy with his helicopter ferrying pilots back to
AJO from Chino and Riverside, others were busy trying to get planes moved to higher locations and even out into the street. The
assistance and leadership given by the businesses of the airport must be recognized. Without this effort many planes and even more
equipment would have been lost. Keep in mind that many of these business people were moving and helping to save airplanes and
leaving much of their tools and equipment in the hangers because there was not time to do both tasks. Because of the substantial
damage to so many business a relief fund has been set up through CPA to provide At least some aid to those who have suffered so
much. Please see the information later on how you can help. Try to come to the next meeting to help us determine how our
organization can be prepared to help in the future


MERCHANDISE CORNER
CPA has a variety of Merchandise on hand and others that can be ordered. Items such as caps, shirts, and jackets for info contact
Yolanda Anselen at (651 )279-6520


CORONA MUNICIPAL AIRPORT
By Rich Brodeur Airport Manager

Rich was just too loaded with airport work to prepare a note for this issue but we are saving his space anyway so we can hear from
him in the next issue. He does wish to express his appreciation for the support he and the airport received during the flood. He did
comet to the editor that he was very impressed how this adversity brought the airport community together and that it demonstrated
to him that people do really car5e about the airport

He will be back next month with his own comments on the issue so stay tuned.


PILOT PROFILE
By Susan Bruner

The pilot profile this month is one of the real fixtures at the Corona Airport and is none other than Barney Starr. Barney began his
aviation empire in 1946 when he purchased a Stearman and started his lessons. He soloed in eight hours on October 2, and passed
his license in February 1947. In recalling his lessons Barney remembers the day they took all of his instruments away (what
instruments) and made him fly the airplane only by the feel of the stick. His solo cross country was from Rochester Indiana to
Culver City California and he made it without mishap.

Barney has had a fascinating career including 14 years at sea mostly in the engine room and then thirty five years prospecting. In
1995 Barney bought his current 175 and in July 2000 he fulfilled his lifetime dream with the purchase of his present Stearman.
Barney is also an active crew member of The Lane Victory and his Stearman often is used to make a fly by when the Lane Victory
is on a Sunday outing.
In addition to his present airplanes Barney has owned a BT 13 and a T-6 and has flown many man planes including Ryans and
Wacos. His favorite airplane was his BT-13.
We are all grateful to Barney for just being here and for his contributions to the fun that can be had at Corona airport


TRAVELING CPA
By Nick Nicolary

Well, obviously the "chatter" for the past three weeks has been the "Great Corona Airport Flood of 05!" Hopefully everyone has been
able to shovel out, sort through, rescue parts, maintain their sense of humor, and (oh yeah) save their AIRPLANE!! There are so
many individuals that need to be thanked for their selfless efforts and time invested in helping others save property, aircraft, and help
get the Airport up and running once again. Most of us know who they are and will take the time to let them know how thankful we
are that they stood up when it really counted.
By the time you read this the Airport should (hopefully) be open once again. In that light we look forward to continuing the CPA
monthly fly-in"s. On Saturday, Feb. 19th we will start by taking a modest hop over to Brackett Field (POC) for brunch at Norms
Cafe. Take off at 10:OO AM, see you there!

Feb l9 ... Brackett
Mar 19 ... Chiriaco Summit
Apr 16 ... Hawthorne
May 21 ... Oceanside
Jun l8 ... Tehachipi ... Sandy BBQ
July 6 ... Columbia ... (2-day wkend)
Aug 20 ... Camarillo
Sep l7 ... Agua Dulce ...
Oct l5 ... Porterville
Nov l9 ... Gillespie
Dec 17 ... French Valley
Plan ahead

SWAP CORNER:

This is a feature for our members, if you have an item to sell or to swap or if you are in need of an item you think another member
might be willing to part with notify the editor and we will include it in the newsletter. Judy Porterfield is looking to share her Hanger,
she has an Aeronca Sedan if anyone is interested contact her at cumberiandHB@aol.com.


NEWS YOU REALLY NEED

This newsletter is late and prepared with some haste. The contributors have been busy trying to get the airport open and simply did
not have time to prepare their usual information. By the same token Sol has been the one who has prepared the web site for the e-
mail distribution. His great info memos have done much to keep us informed on airport progress. In fact his information was by far
the most complete and timely nut he simply did not have time to fix my newsletter so it will be sent directly to you this month.
Please send donations to help the Corona Airport people. In large part, these funds mil help our businesses (Airport Community)
survive. All the businesses lost tools, equipment, and fixtures. They were busy saving our airplanes from the rising water, rather
than moving their own stuff. Please make a Large Donation — make your check payable to "Corona Pilots Association". These
specific funds are being tallied by the Treasurer of CPA. Mail to:

Corona Pilots Association - PO Box 1212, Corona, CA 92878.

At the beginning of the clean up Civil Air Patrol brought out brooms shovels and squeegees for our use, these were not donated they
were loaned. If you know where any of these items are please help them get back to the Airport Managers office

Have you considered receiving your newsletter by e-mail? E-mail is fast and is a slightly different version. By using the web site we
have more flexibility to use color and to use more pictures and the e-mail saves the CPA about 70 cents for each newsletter. We
presently have 65 members receiving the newsletter by e-mail and you can join them by sending an e-mail to the editor LJEJWE(a),
dslextreme.com and simply say you would like to receive your letter by e-mail, or you can phone him at the number in the header.

CPA would like to improve communications with our members, especially in times of crisis like the past three weeks. During the
last storm and flood Sol Olinger prepared daily memos and maintained a personal web site to provide information concerning what
was going on at the airport. Our only source to issue these bulletins was the address book for our E-mail newsletter and that only
covered about one third of our membership. In order to be able to reach more members we will build a second address book for our
members those members who wish to continue to receive their newsletter by regular mail may continue to do so but we will have a
second group for e-mailing notices. Please send your editor an e- mail saying you would like to be included in the second book and it
will be done. Don't forget to include CPA when you change your E-mail address.

If your aircraft is 35 years old or older and if you show the aircraft publicly twelve times each year then you may be exempt from
the personal property tax on the plane. You have to file for the exemption each year before February 15th at your County Assessors
office. The CPA sponsors twelve open house Sundays each year.

If you have received the exemption form for 2005 you must fill out the form and list where you displayed the aircraft during 2004.
Then you need to attach the certificates signed by the event coordinator for each event where you displayed during the year. Save
the blank form you received to present during 2005. If you have questions call the editor, he will be at the February meeting and will
be available to review your forms prior to submittal.

The editor attended a meeting February 4th which was held by the U S Army Corps of Engineers concerning the recent flooding and
the present construction to raise the height of the Prado dam. This meeting was very informative about the future and as such may
be of interest to our members and might shed some light on the recent storm.

Stream flow is measured in Cubic Feet Per Second or CFS and the water level behind the dam is measured as MSL The airport
Runway is 514 ft. MSL at the west end and 533 at the east end.

The Corps maintains a basic pool behind the dam of 498 ft for orange county Water District ground water replenishment. Prior to
the storm they claim they lowered the level to about 494ft. They also claim that they are unable to do rapid release below 490 ft.
As the storm began they released waster at 5500CFS which the highest rate they released up to this time. As the storm progressed
the release was gradually increased to about 10,000 CFS which is the absolute maximum at the present outlet structure. The inflow
into the pond was unfortunately nearly 35,OOOCFS, which clearly spells out flooding. The water crested at 528.6ft which covered
the runway up to and including the center fueling station.

This storm was the most serious we have had for several years and was classed as a 60 year flood . More water was released than
at our last major flood but the pond crested at about the same level as in 1983.

The dam is currently under construction and in order to make a new outlet structure, a cofferdam was constructed to keep water
away from the construction of the outlet. This cofferdam was at the 525ft level and the Corps worked very hard to keep the level
below that 525ft. They were unable to keep the water level below 525 and the cofferdam overflowed. That overflow probably
extended the construction project by at least six months. When the cofferdam overflowed seepage occurred and caused some
concern to the City and to downstream residences but all was later declared safe after a major drawdown of the pond. The Corps
then released water at the maximum rate of 10,000 CFS until the level was lower to what they considered a safe level. This action
caused the water to recede from the airport at a much higher rate and our recovery was began several days sooner than it would
have had the 5500CFS rate been maintained.

The present construction project will raise the dam and raise the spillway about 20 feet . The project is also constructing a new
outflow which when completed in the summer of 2006 will allow a release rate of over 30,000 CFS. This rate will significantly
reduce future flooding by future storms of the magnitude of the one we just experienced.

This has been a very condensed version of what of the flood events but it will hopefully provide a basis for discussion about the
flood events. If your are interested you can access the corps website at any time and find The pond level at any time.
http://www.spl.usace.army.mil/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/zinger/proj rpt.cgi?prdo.

If you can't make that work try the home page.
http://www.spl.usace.army.mil/resreg/.

If that don't work bring it up at a member meeting.