Propwash October 2026

propwash October 2026 © Photographer Name Photo courtesy of Wolfgang Vrede DEDICATED TO AVIATION, SAFETY, FRIENDSHIP, COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT AND EDUCATION SINCE 1984 2026 Aviation Career Day Volunteers Needed for Career Day The Auburn Aviation Association 100% Award Redbird Simulator Rates AAA 100% Reward ARTICLES President's Message Update from the Manager's Desk of KAUN As the Prop Turns Distant Biplane Memories: A Barrel Roll AAA Events Photos Wreaths Across America Endowment Fund Corporate Sponsors Member List 2026 Board Members Support AAA Endowment Join Us! INFO of INTEREST MISC. In This Issue PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE NEBIL ALMAKDESHI, AAA PRESIDENT Hello all,   Through circumstance, divine intervention, or whatever your prescribed thing is, you are here, at the Auburn Aviation Association.  I walk around, talk to some of the young people that traverse this community, and are apart of it, and something fascinating shows up. They have grown up in aviation together. Something is very different here, than at other airports, it’s not just a commuter airport.  To see many of you young guns get started together, ascend together, and sure different routes may take form in where you want to be, but it almost feels like a campus environment. That’s something that might not hit you now, but as you get some years under your belt, you’ll start to appreciate that moment in time. KAUN to KGOO and KLHM.   Time moves linear with no rewind. That’s the deal. With all the mentors we have here, to guide, ask questions, listen to us and them, aviation seems like its 2nd to the people. Planes are just objects, but the people, young and old, man and woman, make aviation magical.  Fly safe.  Nebil Almakdeshi President Auburn Aviation Association © Photographer Name General membership meeting Join us for our monthly membership meeting and catered dinner: October 7th, 2026. Guests and non-members are welcome! This month's speaker will be Donna Miller, a retired American Airlines pilot who will highlight her journey flying cargo planes and charter flights before finally achieving her dream. EVENTS © Photographer Name Aviation Career Day Saturday, October 17, 2026 Save the date! upcoming Metro Fire Sacramento - Retired Pilot 2026 AVIATION CAREER DAY saturday, october 17th Emmie Smith - Cirrus Aircraft Major and Regional Airline Pilots 12:30 pm start 1:00 pm presentation GUEST speakers "Blancolirio" - Airline Pilot and Youtuber Major Anthony "Judge" Tisdale - Air National Guard FLYERS HANGAR WEST OF MACH 5 AUBURN MUNICIPAL AIRPORT Stephen K. Robinson Ph.D. - Former Astronaut Discover more about the many exciting career opportunities in all areas of the aviation industry. Meet educators and mentors from numerous aviation career fields. Free snacks and raffle prizes! Registration is required and seating is limited, scan the QR code to reserve your place. William Jessup University Aviation Program Sac City College A&P Mechanic Program ABOUT TYGHE RICHARDSON, AIRPORT MANAGER Master Plan City Council took up the Auburn Municipal Airport Master Plan at the Monday September 14th meeting. This item was reviewed and presented to the Council. The study itself ran long on purpose. A Study Advisory Group worked it the whole way — City, County, the Airport, EAA Chapter 526, the 5AC, AAA, hangar builders, mechanics, flight schools, and airport management. Many things were reviewed in Monday's presentation for instance; 5,000-foot runway was studied and ultimately not supported. The plan adds helicopter parking and a fire, EMS, and law-enforcement base location, and it reserves hangar and aeronautical areas on the north and south sides of the field, so the airport is not boxed in later. After the presentation the council found the plan complete to the level required for FAA submittal and authorized transmittal of the Master Plan and the Airport Layout Plan drawings to the FAA. This action was not an adoption of the plan and it is not an approval to build anything on the new drawings. Next comes the FAA review. After the FAA reviews and approves the package, the City can start on the CEQA review for the Master Plan. CEQA is the step that opens another comment window and allows changes if the environmental work turns something up. When CEQA is finished, Council can start the formal adoption process. Until that new plan is adopted, KAUN keeps operating and programming work off the current Master Plan and Airport Layout Plan. Chapters and drawings are on the City site at auburn.ca.gov/711/Master-Plan-Update  New Grants Funded On the current ALP, the Airport will start and finish a wildlife hazard site visit and the design for Taxiway A rehabilitation. Both of these grants were funded by the FAA and Caltrans in September. A wildlife hazard site visit puts a qualified airport wildlife biologist on the field to look at habitat, attractants, drainage, and strike history, then tell the Airport what is drawing birds and other wildlife and whether a fuller wildlife hazard assessment is needed. It is the paperwork and field work that lets us manage wildlife risk to a federal standard instead of guessing. Taxiway A rehab design is the set of plans that lets the Airport compete for a construction grant in the next grant cycle. The build, when funded, is the unglamorous work that keeps a parallel taxiway usable for years: repairing cracks, milling and refinishing worn pavement, correcting nonstandard geometry where required, and restriping so pilots get a clean, standard surface. That design-now, build-next-cycle sequence is a real milestone for bringing KAUN pavement up to industry standard. Auburn Airport Apparel T-shirts, hats, sweatshirts, and more are available for order just in time for the holidays! Visit the online store here: Auburn Airport Store   Safe flying! Tyghe Richardson C.M. Your Airport Manager Auburn Airport City of Auburn, CA (530) 888-8174   UPDATE FROM THE AIRPORT MANAGER'S DESK OF KAUN AS THE PROP TURNS Career Day is coming up rapidly; October 17th at the Flyer’s hangar on the ramp. This is the big event of the year for the Auburn Aviation Association. With over two hundred attendees along with several vendors, a lot of work needs to be done at the last minute. Many volunteers are needed and welcome to help put this event together. Contact Publicity Director, Danielle Colburn, for more information. You can also just show up that Friday afternoon and Saturday morning and help where you can. Any help will be greatly appreciated. I look forward to seeing you there.  The following students have continued their training and have reached a milestone: Stephen Calabretta soloed on Tuesday September 8th, at the Auburn Airport in a Cessna 152 with Sofia Goodwin as his instructor. Sofia, however was not through. She also soloed Aiden Cains on the 20th of September in the same airplane. Malia Guilbert was able to get her tailwheel endorsement from Vinh Truong as her instructor. This will be Vinh’s first tailwheel endorsement to a student. She flew my Citabria; Old Yeller. Congratulations Malia! You now have joined an exclusive number of pilots out there. Shaea Payne also was able to reach a different milestone in her endeavors. She achieved a 100% on her Flight Instructor Airplane knowledge test. Her name is now added on the awards plaque for those achieving a 100% on any of their knowledge tests. (Don, I bet you did not think so many students would fill up your plaque so quickly!) Congratulations to all on a job well done.  Well, the fall equinox is upon us. As of the twenty-second of September, when the amount of daylight is equal to the amount of darkness. We are on the back side of the year and that means it will be getting darker earlier and light later. Now is the time we should think about getting night current. A little ground time to refresh yourself on the issues with flying at night. Then and about an hour to get comfortable with your night navigation and the mandatory three take off and landing after nightfall. According to the FAA, your lights need to be turned on at the end of civil twilight (about 30 mins after sunset). You can then log night flight one hour after official sunset (or 6 degrees below the horizon for those living in the northern part of the earth).  For those folks who travel on to the airport by way of Rickenbacker Way, you need to take notice of the Flyer’s hangar. The main doors have been painted black and currently the outline of a mural is starting to be painted. According to the artist, it will be a picture of a Lockheed Super Constellation. The wingspan will be the length of the black doors plus about ten feet on either side and the height will be to the top of the doors; almost full size. The artist's name is Jona Davidson. It will be fun to watch the progress of this project over the next month to six weeks. Slow down when driving on the Rickenbacker Way and admire the artwork! The Prop Turner, Michael Duncan   MIKE DUNCAN, SUNSHINE FLYERS BEN MARSH, EHGF BOARD DIRECTOR Over the subsequent months of summer and fall, I flew the Jelly Belly Stearman frequently enough in practice and with assigned purpose to begin to feel competent in Boeing’s bi-winger again. I recognized its tendencies and flew it in accordance with those requirements. Bernie had me do a few VIP flights, pony rides for adults, so my passengers (victims) could experience the wonders of an open cockpit biplane for the first time, or to revisit the experience a half-century on. It was a pleasure to spend an hour or so with these folk, to understand a little about their lives and to share a bit of the past in the present. Each rider brought something to the airport, hopefully leaving with a little more. My favorite Jelly Belly Stearman passenger was the World War Two veterans who wanted to do a “barrel roll.” I was happy to accommodate the ride and his request, just as I was insistent we both wear parachutes, given the necessity of exceeding both 30° of pitch and 60° in bank for the maneuver. The biggest challenge of the mission was getting Bill into the front cockpit, which requires a dexterity that left him years earlier. It took Bernie and me 20 minutes of boosting, easing and maneuvering his stiff legs and torso to get Bill into the seat, secure the parachute around him, then to strap him to the airplane. It was a real workout, but it was all smiles as Bill waved to his family and friends, looking every bit like a vintage aviator in a flying helmet and goggles. From here, the mission was easy: take-off and climb-out, do a little air work, fly back to the airport, land the Stearman, then figure out how to extract Bill from the airplane. From on high, we did a clearing turn, followed by a couple lazy-eights as warm up maneuvers. I checked in with Bill through the passenger mirror on the trailing edge of the upper wing, but our eyes never met. He was in the moment with the airplane, taking it all in, as a ribbon ripples through the sky. We did a loop, using the energy from the downline for an aileron roll. Levelling off, we eased into a gentle turn back toward the airport. I saw Bill looking directly at me in the mirror. “What about the barrel roll?” he asked over the intercom. I was a little surprised, because I’d understood Bill wasn’t a flyer, a veteran but not a pilot. I figured what we did would suffice, though technically, we didn’t do a barrel roll. No matter, we have plenty of altitude and there is no traffic in our vicinity, so I put my nose down to build speed. Diving for a target airspeed with a fixed pitch propeller is a bit of a trick, often requiring a throttle reduction to keep the engine from over speeding. It is a little counter intuitive, in that the faster we dive, the more the relative wind pushes against the fixed pitch propeller, driving engine RPM faster. I hawk-eye the airspeed indicator to 145 miles per hour with the tachometer just below 2,200 RPM. Easing our nose to the horizon, we pitch-up firmly with coordinated left aileron and rudder inputs and full throttle for our up line. The Stearman noses well above the horizon with our roll through pure vertical, 90° to the world. As we continue the roll inverted, our nose pointing 45° from our original heading, I ease the back pressure on the stick, unloading the Stearman to a weightless Zero-G, our roll continuing over the top as the nose brakes through the horizon. I throttle back once again to keep from over-speeding the engine on the down side of the maneuver, pulling positive pitch and G-load with coordinated aileron and rudder inputs back to our original heading and altitude, vois là. Stearman on the vertical. Photo by Marsh. Feeling pretty good about myself, I quipped over the intercom, “How’d you like them apples?” His reply was swift and cocksure, “That wasn’t a barrel roll. You gotta go all the way over.” The hell you say, I thought, but did not say. Technically, he was right. At the inverted halfway point, wings level and Zero-G, the nose should be 90° to the original heading. only went 45°, standard for gentlemen airbatics, but not getting to the marrow of the barrel roll maneuver. Fair enough, I had a purist on board. “Okay,” I said, “we’ll go all the way over.” I nose the Stearman down for airspeed, adding another five miles per hour to accommodate the extra pitch we’d need to get over the top 90° from our initial heading. We roll inverted, wings level to the horizon at zero-G, recovering to straight and level on heading and close enough to altitude to call it a 25-point bullseye. I said nothing over the intercom, figuring Bill might, but he didn’t. We join the right downwind leg for runway two-zero and throttle back abeam the numbers to set-up our descent with a sweeping turn through base leg to final. Midway through the turn, we roll wings level to check the extended final for an unannounced airplane on a straight in approach. We get one last look at the runway before it disappears in front of our nose. We glide lower, carrying a little power until our proximity to the runway reveals its edges in our peripheral view. In aviation, there are good landings and great landings, with touchdown so smooth and easy the wheels seem to simply spool-up to speed, without the slightest chirp of rubber against concrete. This was one of my finest three-point landings, the mains and tail wheel connecting with the runway at the same time, on the numbers, perfectly straight, down the centerline. As we slow, I add a little power hastening our departure from the runway at the first taxiway. My charge is speechless, or so I thought, until we shut down. In contrast to his stiff-legged ascent into the front cockpit, Bill bounded out of the airplane, gazelle-like, with the least bit of assistance. Back on the ground, surrounded by his wife and daughter, son-in-law and another friend, I shook Bill’s hand, asking if he had a good time. “I sure did,” he said. “Thanks for the ride.” I smiled, certain that my performance was on measure, until he said, “…but, I sure wish you did a barrel roll for me.” “Man,” I said, “I’d tell you we did two of them.” He looked me in the eye, shook his head, NO, and continued on with his posse. I stood there in wonder, still wondering years later what he wanted and what I didn’t give him that day. What is important was that this man had fun. Well into his 80s, Bill enjoyed a bit of the Stearman’s magic in flight; and, I got a little time with a man who served his country in war, a service I deeply appreciate.    DISTANT BIPLANE MEMORIES: A BARREL ROLL Stearman Two-Three-Three on the vertical over Rogers Creek Fault. Sear Point Raceway on the mid-horizon. Marsh photo, 1993. Stearman Two-Three-Three on the vertical over Rogers Creek Fault. Sear Point Raceway on the mid-horizon. Marsh photo, 1993. Click here to see how your membership and donations impact young aviators. JOIN US! General membership meetings take place on the first Wednesday of each month. Guests are welcome, but membership is reasonable and your support helps us to give scholarships to young people getting started in realizing their dreams. There are several membership options. A subscription to our monthly Propwash newsletter comes with membership. Gold $2500 Silver $1500 Bronze $750 We thank our lifetime members for their donations to the AAA Endowment LIFETIME MEMBERS Thank You to our Endowment Fund Corporate Sponsors HONORARY LIFETIME MEMBERS Clarence "Bud" Anderson Noah & Raneta Mackenroth GOLD LIFETIME MEMBERS Jason Bell Jerry Severson & Nancy Benjamin Shawn & Juliette Bickford Adam & Fran Brodel Don & Deborah St. Clair Matt Dicicco Bob & Allison Dobransky Peggy Dwelle Tom Dwelle Doug & Yvonne Fee Ken & Cate Horwitz Clay Lacy Randy & Lisa Leys Casey Long Mike Long Christian & Michelle Madsen Ben Marsh Patricia & Neil Munro Aaron Murray Tom Murray Tim Nilsen Tim Pinkney Mike Shoemaker Ash Vidal Dale Head & Winnifred Ward Don & Lori Wolfe Andy Anderson Mike Duncan Steven Hogge David & Stephanie Holloway Keenan Kokoul & Leah Kokoul Jay Selby SILVER LIFETIME MEMBERS Doug McDougal Richard Anderson Joe & Ann Bittaker Wayne Colburn Mario & Molly Dinucci Peter Hastert Chris & David Haven Doug & Nancy Van Howd Kyle Kokoul Paula Celick & Larry LaVerne Chris Luvara Joanie & Wayne Mooneyham Gary & Darlene Mourning Mark Pilkington Mark Pilkington Ken Ristuben Rosemarie La Rocca Cleve & Ida Spring Mike Sullivan Cameron & Gina Thompson Scott & Sharon Woodland BRONZE LIFETIME MEMBERS Aaron & Shasta Adam Gavin Alder Nebil Almakdeshi Andy Anderson Don & Mona Anderson Thomas, Colton Arbogast Jacob & Natalie Armtrout Mark & Sharon Bateson Frank Bell Jack Bell Jordan Benedict Elina Bergstrom Brett Bickerstaff Claude & Diana Biddle Cristian Bivens Douglas & Shelli Bolsover Adrian Boyer Elen Brandt Noah Brandt Fran and Adam Brodel Brandon Brown Michael Brown Brooklyn Brown Kelly Bruno Aaron & Heather Burns John & Hilary Burns Julia Carey Matthew Carlson Kenzie Carpenter Kristina Caroll Kyden Carpio Corbin Cartzdafner Kevin Cartzdafner Andrew Chubatenko Bill & Diann Cola Randy Crockett Pat Dallam Amanda D'Amour Collin Davis Rick Davis Sara Davis Claire Delaney Brandon Dever Helen Dobeck Micah Doe Eric & Kera Dolan John & Kathy Donlevy Will Dougherty Oscar Drahos Jessi Dreschler Rick & Linda Duste Ken & Judy Dwelle Shayden Eagleheart Kent English Athena Eriksson Jeff & Katie Erkel Michele White Family Jim and Marilyn Feller Dan & Susanne Flom Dan & Karen Foster Elmer & Mary Ann Frank Darcy Brewer & Greg Gappert Sydney Greene Akash Guha Luke Givens Christopher Hale Breaunna Herrera Doug & Nancy Van Howd Andrew, Susan Hufford Kadie Jacobs James Jacobson Jake Jensen Jaian Jiminez Kenneth Ferreira Jr. Lyle & Jane Kelsey Marleen Wekell & Steve Kendall Steve Kendall Clinton Keyte Chuck & Maggie Kluenker Erik & Diksha Knierim Christine Koenigsecker Luke LaHue Carey Laine Cade Lawley Steven Lease Kyle Lehr Rogelio Leon Casey Long Dion Louthan Bob & Carol Lund Ray & Linda Lux B M Brayden Maaske Renata Mackenroth Patrick Marquina Jeanie Marshall Frank & Debralyn Martinez Charlie Marzo Shane McAlister Mia McKnight Tammy Meredith Rob & Teri Miller Nick Moore Christopher Morales Chase & Natalie Morgan Samuel Muntean Karsten Murphy Michael Murphy Paul & Kendall Mutz Nathaniel Olchefske Derek & Kerri de Oliveira Derek De Oliveira Rory Ondracek Tenley Ong Adriel Palaia Elizabeth Paval Vladimir Petrovich Holly Polito Bonnie Potter Parker Pugno Bill & Nanci Radakovitz Austin Rich Alex Richardson Tyghe Richardson Bethany Robarts Andy Robinson Dave Rohlfes Steve Roselle David M. Dwelle & Jeffrey Roth Benjamin Rubash Bart Rudd Ben Samp John & Beverly Samp David Sanborn Mark Sandoval Mikaela Sawaya Amanda Schroeder Jay Schroeder Troy Sheldon Joel Shelton Bob & Stephanie Snyder Tedd & Diana Stiles Shem Suleiman Randy Winn & Nicole Sunseri Sydney Sunseri-Robertson Ann Sweeney Caleb Switzer Brianna Tennis Connor Townsend Camile Tricomo Larry Uzelac Philip Vardara Gary & Clytie Vogt Andrew Van Wagner Christian Watt Pete Hnat & Susan Webb Stewart & Roxana Wells Vaclav Vyvoda & Ingrid Westin Jeff & Melanie White Michelle, Paul, & Owen White Zuri Whitfield Walt & Bonnie Wilson Randy Winn Scholarship Winners/Lifetime Members GENERAL MEMBERS OFFICERS President - Nebil Almakdeshi - president@auburnaviationassociation.org Vice President - Doug Bolsover - vp@auburnaviationassociation.org Secretary - Doug Fee - secretary@auburnaviationassociation.org Treasurer - Deborah Sandbank - treasurer@auburnaviationassociation.org BOARD MEMBERS Past President Chris Haven pastpres@auburnaviationassociation.org Scholarship Director Don Wolfe flyfund@auburnaviationassociation.org Assistant Scholarship James Jacobson skyfund1539@gmail.com Membership Director Vacant membership@auburnaviationassociation.org Publicity Director Danielle Colburn publicity@auburnaviationassociation.org 5AC Chair Ken Dwelle 5ac@auburnaviationassociation.org Board Member at Large Joanie Mooneyham joaniemoon05@gmail.com Donations Coordinator Nancy Benjamin don_benj@pacbell.net 2026 AAA Board