Godspeed, John & Sheri Horn

[Jay Honeck]

We just returned from attending the wake for John & Sheri Horn, of
Cedar Falls, Iowa, on our way home from a few days in Wisconsin. Of
course we forgot to pack "funeral clothes" in the rush to get out, so
a stop at K-Mart was required before we could use the airport courtesy
car to drive to the funeral home.

Sheri would have gotten a kick out of that...

Sheri was the current head of the Iowa 99s, of which Mary is a
member. As the spouse of a 99, I am a "49 and 1/2", as was John,
Sheri's husband. John and I spent many an hour shooting the breeze
(while the women did the meeting work) in the company of all the other
"49.5"s.

I think every guy pilot feels a bit weird at these 99 meetings, given
the unusual female dominance of the gathering. John and I (and the
other guys) would be a part of the affair, right up to the point where
the REAL meeting would start -- and then us guys would be shooed away
like flies from a fresh-baked pie.

Often we wouldn't know where to go or what to do, so we'd find
someplace nearby with comfy chairs and start chewing the fat. This
was easy when they held their meetings at our hotel, the Alexis Park
Inn & Suites -- heck, I know ALL the good places to hide -- but not so
easy when they would meet in little podunk towns, or at restaurants.
I mean, where the heck can we GO when the meeting is at a restaurant?

Still, we'd rise to the occasion, and find a place to hang out. John
was good people, and Sheri was a real spark plug, and together they
owned an absolutely cherry North American Navion, painted in military
livery.

They flew the pants off that plane. As a husband-wife pilot team,
they rivaled Mary and me for flying all over the country. And, sans
children, they could get away year 'round, not just in the summer.

Well, last week they wanted to attend the Navion Fly-In back east, and
the weather in Iowa just didn't want to cooperate. They were two days
late in departing, due to crappy local weather, when "Get-there-itis"
struck, and they headed out even though Illinois was socked in with
fog.

No one knows what they were thinking, but I'll bet they figured they
could simply get on top of the fog, and zip through to the clear air
over Indiana. I saw the weather the morning they died, because we
had three Ercoupe pilots who were waiting it out at the inn -- and I
know that the weather over Illinois was pea-soup fog where they
augered in.

They were apparently on top for a while -- perhaps a good long while
-- and maybe a cloud layer above started to converge with the fog?
It's easy to see it happening, and once you're in it, you're on the
gauges. Did they turn on the autopilot? Did they have a vacuum pump
failure that aggravated the situation?

We may never know. All we know is that reports from the scene
indicate a high-speed, near vertical descent, and a 10-foot hole in
the ground. Witnesses heard the airplane's engine, and said it
sounded like a World War II movie, when the dive bombers were coming
in.

Sheri and John were the best kind of GA pilots, flying a great,
classic plane. They died together, quickly -- a blessing in itself --
but they will be sadly missed. I hope you'll all join me in a silent
toast to their lives this evening.

This makes three local pilots gone in the span of just six months.
Please be careful out there, guys and gals. This GA that we all know
and love can obviously bite us, quickly and mercilessly.

Read more of the story here:

http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2007/06/26/news/top_story/doc467ffc26cc987433221545.txt
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Montblack]

("Jay Honeck" wrote)
> We just returned from attending the wake for John & Sheri Horn, of
> Cedar Falls, Iowa, on our way home from a few days in Wisconsin. Of
> course we forgot to pack "funeral clothes" in the rush to get out, so
> a stop at K-Mart was required before we could use the airport courtesy
> car to drive to the funeral home.
>
> Sheri would have gotten a kick out of that...


CO poisoning? Oddly, I always hope it's that, rather than someone getting
flummoxed in the soup.

You and Mary are good friends.

I'm sorry for your loss.


Paul-Mont

[Dan Luke[_2_]]

"Jay Honeck" wrote:

> We just returned from attending the wake for John & Sheri Horn, of
> Cedar Falls, Iowa, on our way home from a few days in Wisconsin.

Very sad. My condolences to you and all who knew them.

>
> Well, last week they wanted to attend the Navion Fly-In back east, and
> the weather in Iowa just didn't want to cooperate. They were two days
> late in departing, due to crappy local weather, when "Get-there-itis"
> struck, and they headed out even though Illinois was socked in with
> fog.
>
> No one knows what they were thinking, but I'll bet they figured they
> could simply get on top of the fog, and zip through to the clear air
> over Indiana. I saw the weather the morning they died, because we
> had three Ercoupe pilots who were waiting it out at the inn -- and I
> know that the weather over Illinois was pea-soup fog where they
> augered in.
>
> They were apparently on top for a while -- perhaps a good long while
> -- and maybe a cloud layer above started to converge with the fog?
> It's easy to see it happening, and once you're in it, you're on the
> gauges. Did they turn on the autopilot? Did they have a vacuum pump
> failure that aggravated the situation?

Strange. Were either or both i-rated?

--
Dan
T-182T at BFM

[Peter R.]

On 7/6/2007 12:24:28 AM, Jay Honeck wrote:

> Sheri and John were the best kind of GA pilots, flying a great,
> classic plane. They died together, quickly -- a blessing in itself --
> but they will be sadly missed. I hope you'll all join me in a silent
> toast to their lives this evening.

I am truly sorry for your loss. My thoughts go out to you and their families.

--
Peter

[Peter R.]

On 7/6/2007 7:43:32 AM, "Dan Luke" wrote:

> Strange. Were either or both i-rated?

FAA database doesn't list an instrument rating for either pilot.

--
Peter

[john smith[_2_]]

Jay Honeck > wrote:

> Sheri and John were the best kind of GA pilots, flying a great,
> classic plane. They died together, quickly -- a blessing in itself --
> but they will be sadly missed. I hope you'll all join me in a silent
> toast to their lives this evening.

Sorry for your loss, Jay.

> This makes three local pilots gone in the span of just six months.
> Please be careful out there, guys and gals. This GA that we all know
> and love can obviously bite us, quickly and mercilessly.

AirVenture is 16 days away. Don't nobody push the weather, personal or
mechanical problems.

[Dylan Smith]

On 2007-07-06, john smith > wrote:
> AirVenture is 16 days away. Don't nobody push the weather, personal or
> mechanical problems.

These sort of things, especially when it happens to those who are
experienced, is a good reminder not to feel invulnerable because of
experience. Just a few weeks ago, I was first on the scene after an
extremely experienced (and current) test pilot stall/spun into the
ground in an 'easy to fly' sport plane. Fortunately he (and the
aircraft's owner, in the back seat) survived, although after breaking
just about every bone in his body and wearing the engine on his lap.

What makes a highly experienced test pilot fail to recognise the onset
of a stall, and then spin it in? What makes a highly experienced pilot
forget that a significant wind over even a fairly small hill causes
significant rotor and downdrafts? I don't know - I just know that he
made those mistakes, and therefore, despite my own experience, I need to
stay forever vigilant and check myself whenever I'm feeling
invulnerable.

--
Yes, the Reply-To email address is valid.
Oolite-Linux: an Elite tribute: http://oolite-linux.berlios.de

[Ron Natalie]

My condolences Jay. I didn't know the Horns, but I got
word from one of the ANS board members early Monday that
one of the flock had perished on the way in.

[Ron Natalie]

Dylan Smith wrote:

> These sort of things, especially when it happens to those who are
> experienced, is a good reminder not to feel invulnerable because of
> experience.

Ever since I had my engine failure a few years back I've been much
more conservative. Margy and I don't scud run like we used to.
Notwithstanding that, we've never been in a rush to get to or from
the ANS conventions or Oshkosh. As far as we were concerned as soon
as we were packed we were on vacation. If that meant we were at
home or at some odd airport in West Virginia, we were "enroute".

I can tell you, however, that while it still has limitations,
the instrument rating has greatly improved safety. Many times
we have filed and flew at altitude when me might have been
tempted to scud run or procede ahead in questionable VFR
conditions "to see how far we would get".

[Jay Honeck]

> My condolences Jay. I didn't know the Horns, but I got
> word from one of the ANS board members early Monday that
> one of the flock had perished on the way in.

Yep. Since you guys live so far away, I was always able to get my
"Navion Fix" when John & Sheri came to town. Their bird wasn't quite
as gorgeously restored/updated as your phenomenal plane, but it was
still very cool.

On a side note, one of the planes on the ramp in Waterloo (ALO) for
the wake was a Rangemaster -- a cabin-class Navion. It was parked
next to a "regular" Navion, so we were able to compare them side by
side, and they are quite different aircraft.

Were they able to build the Rangemaster under the same type
certificate?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jay Honeck]

> Strange. Were either or both i-rated?

I don't think so. Both of them were very experienced, and their plane
was well equipped, but it appears that they flew into some stuff that
was simply beyond their capability to handle?

Unfortunately, we may never know what happened.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Longworth[_1_]]

Jay,
I am very sorry to hear about the accident, my deepest sympathy to
you, Mary and all the friends and relatives of the pilots. The
accident touched me deeply because John and Sheri sounded just like
us, another couple who share the love of flying.
We may never know the cause of the accident whether it was
something mechanical or weather related. Since the Horns were
experienced pilots, I had no doubt that they had prepared well for the
flight but something unexpected had happened.
The anticipated 'unexpected events' happened to us in our flight
last Wednesday from NY to MI. We monitored the weather continuously
before the trip. All the TAFs had predicted good VFR weather at our
destinations. In anticipating unpredictable weather, we planned for
three different routes, printed out approach charts for dozen or so
airports along the way, and picked out several alternate airports for
each stop. The front appeared to move out East much faster than
predicted. We were in solid IMC with light to moderate rains and
light turbulence for most of the trip. The headwinds were also much
stronger than forecasted with the ground speeds dropped to 75/80kts
over Canada. We got off ATC frequencies several times to check the
weather ahead. Each time the weather briefer asked us to confirm that
we were flying IFR.
Approaching our final destination, we learned that the ceiling in
Muskegon was down to 300' but Grand Rapids area was improving with
ceiling lifting from overcast at 1000' to scattered at 1400' and
overcast at 2300'. Although we love shooting ILS approaches and had
done few down to minimum (with instructors onboard), doing the KMKG
ILS 24 approach with 300' ceiling would require more efforts than I
was willing to try after bouncing around in IMC for 3.5hrs! It was
an easy decision to head to Y70 near KGRR instead of KMKG. The
scattered layer lifted up to 1700' for an easy radar-vectored VOR A
approach. We cancelled IFR while on RWY 27 final.
My weariness evaporated instantly the moment the wheels softly
kissed the paved runway. It was a challenged flight but I felt elated
in accomplishing the mission. John and Sheri must have felt the same
way many times before. It is tragic that they did not complete their
last mission. We, their flying brethrens and sisters can only take
comfort in the fact that they spent the last moment of their lives
together doing something that they both loved.

Hai Longworth

[Dan Luke[_2_]]

"Longworth" wrote:

> The scattered layer lifted up to 1700' for an easy radar-vectored VOR A
> approach. We cancelled IFR while on RWY 27 final.

> My weariness evaporated instantly the moment the wheels softly
> kissed the paved runway. It was a challenged flight but I felt elated
> in accomplishing the mission.


Yet some people say that IFR takes the fun out of flying. I don't get it.
There's more than one kind of fun.


--
Dan
T-182T at BFM

[Peter R.]

On 7/6/2007 3:31:49 PM, "Dan Luke" wrote:

> Yet some people say that IFR takes the fun out of flying. I don't get it.
> There's more than one kind of fun.

I agree. It is the age-old character flaw that makes some people believe "if
you aren't doing what I deem as fun, then what you are doing cannot be fun."
It ultimately boils down to a failure to accept others' differences.

--
Peter

[Hilton]

"john smith" > wrote in message
...
> AirVenture is 16 days away. Don't nobody push the weather, personal or
> mechanical problems.

Quick FYI: If you have a Pocket PC (e.g. Palm 700wx) or Smartphone (e.g.
Motorola Q), you can install WingX and get DUATS weather briefings and file
flight plans. It will be free during the Oshkosh period (July/August).

I don't mean to spam the group, but we wanted to provide this free service
during the Oshkosh timeframe when the FSS wait times might be even longer
than they are now. No need to signup, etc. We're in Beta now, so please
send me an email and I'll get the software out to you:
hilton[at]hiltonsoftware[dot]com. Let me now which device you have.

Here are some Smartphone screenshots: http://www.hiltonsoftware.com/sp

My condolenses to the family. Jay, please keep us posted as more
information comes out about the crash.

Thanks,

Hilton

[Matt Barrow[_4_]]

"Peter R." > wrote in message
...
> On 7/6/2007 3:31:49 PM, "Dan Luke" wrote:
>
>> Yet some people say that IFR takes the fun out of flying. I don't get it.
>> There's more than one kind of fun.
>
> I agree. It is the age-old character flaw that makes some people believe
> "if
> you aren't doing what I deem as fun, then what you are doing cannot be
> fun."
> It ultimately boils down to a failure to accept others' differences.
>
Quite.

For some of us, breaking out on top, or below, is AWESOME.

[Ron Natalie]

Jay Honeck wrote:

>
> Were they able to build the Rangemaster under the same type
> certificate?

It's the same type certificate, just a different model much
like the 172's over the years.

The first is the Navion, followed by the A, B, (there was
really no C model, a single prototype was bulit for a military
contract the eventually became the Beech T-34), D, E, F.
These are all canopy models. The latter three are really
reworks of the B model (flush riveting, tip tanks) and very
few exist. The G and H models are the Rangemasters. All
attempts to compete against the Bonanza nemesis.

[Margy Natalie]

Dan Luke wrote:
> "Longworth" wrote:
>
>
>>The scattered layer lifted up to 1700' for an easy radar-vectored VOR A
>>approach. We cancelled IFR while on RWY 27 final.
>
>
>>My weariness evaporated instantly the moment the wheels softly
>>kissed the paved runway. It was a challenged flight but I felt elated
>>in accomplishing the mission.
>
>
>
> Yet some people say that IFR takes the fun out of flying. I don't get it.
> There's more than one kind of fun.
>
>
No, it takes the fun out of flying. On our return from the same ANS
convention I was flying and the weather was fair at best. In earlier
times I would have stuck it out VFR, but I decided this was NO FUN and
landed. Ron filed and flew home. I didn't get to fly anymore that day.
HE had fun, I sat in the right seat.

Of course even with the rating the day after Memorial Day I woke up in
my bed in Herndon, VA, my car was in Culpeper and my plane was in
Richmond. Oh well, we got home, in the rental car...

Margy

[Dan Luke[_2_]]

"Margy Natalie" wrote:


> HE had fun, I sat in the right seat.

Well, need I tell you the remedy for that?

--
Dan
T-182T at BFM

[john smith]

Margy Natalie wrote:
> Of course even with the rating the day after Memorial Day I woke up in
> my bed in Herndon, VA, my car was in Culpeper and my plane was in
> Richmond. Oh well, we got home, in the rental car...

Now that, is a true tale about instrument flying!
You can get close enough that a rental car will have you home an hour or
two, pick up your own car the next day and pick up your airplane the
following week.

[Ron Natalie]

john smith wrote:
> Margy Natalie wrote:
>> Of course even with the rating the day after Memorial Day I woke up in
>> my bed in Herndon, VA, my car was in Culpeper and my plane was in
>> Richmond. Oh well, we got home, in the rental car...
>
> Now that, is a true tale about instrument flying!
> You can get close enough that a rental car will have you home an hour or
> two, pick up your own car the next day and pick up your airplane the
> following week.

Actually, up until the time we bailed out at RIC, we were in severe
CAVU. Unfortunately there was a line of thunderstorms sitting on
the route of flight into our home airport. We stopped off at RIC
to let them pass by, but by the time it our home field (CJR) was
beginning to go below minimums. One major reason we bailed at RIC
was that it would be a convenient place to get a rental. Actually,
the drive from RIC to home, is about the same amount of time as
flying from RIC to CJR and then driving home (faster if you don't
count putting the plane away, etc...).

I just drove down the next evening and by the time I was off it
was dark. VFR but dark. Now I fly extensively around the DC
area at night and it's pretty bright, but in the summer haze
staring at rural Virginia and the Applachians in the background
I was glad to have my IFR skills.

[Stella Starr]

Wow, hadn't heard of this till now, and I'm deeply saddened. I'd been a
member of both Iowa and Minnesota 99s, painted a compass rose with these
wonderful women and attended some of the meetings. Sheri's emails about
summer meetings are still in my Inbox. She was a smart and delightful
woman, and her loss leaves a big sad space.

Stella


Jay Honeck wrote:
use the airport courtesy
> car to drive to the funeral home.
>
> Sheri would have gotten a kick out of that...
>
> Sheri was the current head of the Iowa 99s,