NEWSLETTER #50 - DECEMBER 31, 2004
Thanks to one of our members, DeeDee Lewis, we were able to get some art work done at her employee discount. When we first started dealing with DeeDee, we were going to offer hats, jackets, vests, etc. with your choice of logos. DeeDee is no longer with this firm so we feel it best that we let each member deal individually with Alaska Serigraphics. Below are the two forms of art work they can produce. Enclosed are a decal and a patch. We hope you like them! If you want additional items, such as hats, vests, jackets, etc., please contact the com pany directly: Alaska Serigraphics, 1711 Abbott Road., Anchorage , AK 99507 .

 

MEMBER CONTRIBUTION
Originally we had planned to do a write-up on Bob Foote, our most senior member (we think). Due to weather, we just couldn’t get together to get it done. Hal Gosling kindly contributed a great story about buying and owning his Varga. (Let’s hear from more of you!) Hal lives in Long Beach , CA and owns a ‘76 Varga 2150A. It is his first airplane.

“My first encounter with a Varga was many years ago when I was a USAF Reservist working as an advisor to the Civil Air Patrol (CAP). The CAP had a Varga and they were using it as a tow plane for their glider operation at Los Alamitos Armed Forces Reserve Center in Southern California’s Orange County . Didn’t pay much attention to it at that time but it did make an impression.

As time went by, I was finally in a position to fulfill a 30 year dream to own an airplane. Having spent most of my time in Cessnas, I scoured all the trade papers looking at various 172’s, etc. Somewhere, perhaps in Trade-A-Plane, I stumbled upon a Varga for sale. This triggered my interest and I searched on-line for additional information. Through the FAA registry, I located the name of a former acquaintance from the days working with the CAP glider program who owned a Varga.

I informed him that I was kind of interested in a Varga and asked if he could fill me in on his experience with the Varga and to see if I could get some hands-on time in his plane which was based at nearby Corona airport. As it turned out, he was considering selling the Varga and mov9ing up to a WACO . After six months of talking, com pletion of the Varga’s annual and after a couple of flights from both the aft and forward seat, we made a deal.

I was a com plete “Willie off the pickle boat” here. I did not do the pre-buy inspection as re com mended by AOPA and everybody else. The plane looked good, appeared to fly well and I was assured that it was well- maintained so I was happy. The logs were still at the Al’s awaiting sign off of the annual so I didn’t see the books. That really didn’t matter because I didn’t know anything abut log books anyway and I would not have known what I was reading. Following a one hour check out in the Varga, I headed for the Varga’s new home, the CAP flight line at Long Beach , 45 miles away.

I learned about airplane maintenance real fast. The old 70’s era digital Com lNav/ADF unit was blowing fuses every other flight and the digital VOR was inoperative. The alternator would trip and go off line every 20 minutes or so and my trim was maxed out full nose down to sustain level flight. Performance didn’t com e close to anything printed. This was November. In January, the Varga went in for a new King 155 Com /Nav with a new VOR that contained a glideslope receiver. Installed a new audio panel, new altimeter and had the radio stack enlarged to ac commodate a second radio. Even had a second antenna installed on the belly. After reading about electrical circuits, I replaced the Regulator and Over Voltage control. So now I had excellent communications and steady juice to the battery. Performance still suffered but I was flying and enjoying the Varga. One of the best things that happened was hooking up with Lee Beery through Tom Herr’s web site. Lee was a great deal of assistance with this new Varga owner.

The first annual was actually a lot of fun for me. I worked under my mechanic’s supervision and took things apart that I would not have ever thought about taking apart like the landing gear linkage where we found a homemade rod that was undersized from what should have been there. Other noteworthy items Included an exhaust leak that needed to be welded, engine mounts replaced, magnetos overhauled and a wing attach bolt missing a washer resulting in a bottomed out, under-torqued bolt. Finally, found corrosion in the left navigation light electrical line. After fixing and replacing all that needed to be done, I sent the prop into the factory for refurbishment. When all was put back together, my cruise went from 112 MPH indicted to 120 MPH. Impressive.

Now, after almost two years of ownership still tweeking things. I increased the SCAT tube size for the oil cooler in ;an attempt to reduce my high oil temperature readings, and am currently shimming the horizontal stabilizer in hope of eliminating the extreme nose down trim required to hold level flight.
In conclusion, my Varga is a delight and is not breaking the bank to own and fly. The plane is used primarily for recreation as my $100 dollar hamburger plane, but due to its’ economy, it only costs me $75 for the burger. I get a fair amount of inquiries about the plane wherever I go and the CAP Cadets love to fly in it. I look forward to many more years of ownership and meeting other Varga/Shinn/Morrisey owners.”

 

THANKS

We would like to thank Michael Zimniski for sending us information on wing repairs. We also had a request from Ron Stapleton to borrow our fuel gauge tester. Unfortunately, we loaned it out and it has not been returned. So if one of our members has this unit, please let us know ASAP.

CANOPY COVERS

Several months back we had a call from John Wade of Sedona AZ. He wanted to buy a canopy cover for his Varga. We told him of a firm that advertises in many aviation publications that sold covers for Vargas. A few days after John’s call, Lee soiled our canopy cover, brought it home, washed and dried it. Of course, it shrank so Lee placed an order with the same firm that we told John about. Days later Lee and John were on the phone together and we learned that John did not like his new cover. It was big and baggy, had bungees on the edges and overall did not fit. Lee called the firm to inquire and was told that John just didn’t know how to install it. Lee cancelled our order on the spot. He then went to one of ur local canvas shops that mostly make boat covers and was pleased to learn that they had on hand material used to cover hot rods and antique cars. The material is sort of a waffle weave, aluminum reflective, soft on the inside and very light weight. Best of all, the new cover fits perfectly and at $175 it was less than half the price of the cover we had ordered. If you are in need of a canopy cover, I would not hesitate to re com mend Reggy Jones, Bayshore Canvas, 707-277-7524.

VARGA OPERATIONS MANUAL

Last September, Tom Williams informed us that he had access to a box ofVG-21 Operations Manuals. There was not one for everyone so we planned to purchase the manuals and offer to tle membership for $10 each to cover purchase, mailing envelopes and postage. Any excess funds would go into the “cigar box”. Well, Tom would not accept any money for the manuals. Thank you, torn! We received more manuals than we expected. So, if you would like one of these very nice manuals (35 pages, illustrated, spiral bound, 5x9 inch book with eleven sections containing aircraft information in the form of schematics, tables V speeds, and weight & balance info, please let us know. Also, a few members have failed to send their donations for their manuals. Com e on, guys, the cigar box is waiting.

FOR SALE

2180 Varga $51,000 — Henry Freixas writes that he is not utilizing his 1981 Varga and would like to find it new home N5600C has approx. 800 TTSN. cvl head temp and egt equipped. avionics: King 165 nav/com/GS, King 153 Nav, King marker beacon, King 76A transponder + encoder, Garmin GPS with com (no map display) and a David Clark intercom. Interior 7, exterior 8, always hangared. It has a banner tow hook that has never been used. Call 310-454-4465

2150 Varga $42,000 —Jack Adams reports his 1976 Varga with 1575 TTSN was sold but ran into finance problems. It has 795 SMOH, recent prop ovhl, 180 hp oil cooler, oil filter, cyl head temp and egt equipped. Interior 8, exterior 7. Avionics: King 155 nay/corn, King transponder + encoder, Northstar MI Loran, radio cooling fan, Telex inter com and factory manuals. Call 508-540-9914.

REMINDERS

If you have asked a question, requested information or whatever and haven’t heard from us, please remind us. We aren’t ignoring you, but sometimes out lives get very busy (like during the holidays). So don’t be bashful — ask again!!!! E-Mail lpbeery@mchsi.com or 707-279-0259.

Lest you forget, the website for a great VG_21 website is www.ruth1esscars. com /vg21/html then click on VG21 Squadron.

We’re still have not firmed up what we’re going to do with the photo albums. Decisions, decisions!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!