Bob retired from Tacoma City Light after 17 years as an electrical inspector. He worked as an educator in the electrical industry and belonged to the National Fire Protection Association, and the International Association of Electrical Inspectors. At the time of his death he was an educator, consultant, and internationally recognized expert in wiring in explosive environments.
Bob was a loving, devoted, committed husband and father, and a warm and welcome father-in-law. He was the confidant of many, and talked to anyone about anything due to his wide knowledge base and ability to listen. He was happiest when working on airplanes, including completely rebuilding a 1940 Fairchild 24, which he and Tamara later flew to Oshkosh. He served on the boards of the Washington Pilots Association and Washington Seaplane Pilots Association, taught for the Coast Guard Auxiliary, and often flew to breakfast with the Fosdick Flyers. He was a voracious reader his entire life on a limited variety of topics and genres, including cooking, which he enjoyed doing for a group of 2 or 200.
Bob is survived by his wife of 37 years, Tamara, children Kevin (Cindy), Corey (Christine), and Jennifer Smith (Norman); and grandchildren Christopher, Caitlin, Grace, and Kyle; and many other family members. He was preceded in death by his infant triplets.
WSPA plans to make a donation to the Open Waters Trust in Bob's name. Please contact Don Schwabel to contribute.
Therefore, special provisions have been made to help pilots transition the area with a minimum of effort. Arriving pilots are asked to contact Renton Tower well before entering the northern boundaries of the Safeco Field TFR. Pilots are to first remind Renton controllers that the Safeco Field TFR is in effect, and then specifically request authorization to operate within the TFR over the West Channel at (you fill in the blank) altitude. Workload permitting, the Renton controllers will contact Boeing Tower via phone lines and request authorization on behalf of the pilot. Assuming all is well, the Renton controllers will inform the pilots that they are authorized to enter the TFR over the West Channel. Pilots can then pass through the TFR and land speaking only with Renton controllers. This procedure is to be followed for every arrival.
Departures will work the same way; pilots simply request the authorization from Renton tower prior to takeoff.
Of course, pilots always have the option of circumnavigating the TFR and using the East Channel if they choose.
May you always find VFR and tailwinds.
More great news! With a little help from our friends at Northwest Seaplanes, we, at long, long last have a building for the U.S. Customs. Temporary as it may seem, it is a safe, secure dry spot for the much-needed service. Agents, for years, have had only their cars, and no restrooms, as they awaited arriving aircraft. We applaud their efforts and patience and welcome them back to Renton.
Every second Tuesday there is a commission meeting at 4 pm. Every fourth Tuesday there is a commission meeting at 10 am, followed by a study sessionto inform citizens about Port activities, and allow Commissioners and management staff to discuss Port issues.
Permission to operate in a TFR may be granted by making a request at least 24 hours in advance. Depending on operations being conducted at the time, you may, or may not, receive permission. Call 360/315-5123, or fax 360/315-5305. This does not apply to the Safeco TFR. For information on that, see "West Channel Float Operations" above.
In the process of crafting the House and Senate versions of the Wild Sky Wilderness Act of 2002 introduced in both houses of Congress on May 23rd, exclusion of Lake Isabel from the expanded wilderness area in and around Mt. Index ended up on the butchers floor. Certain members of our state's delegation have thrown seaplaners a proverbial bone in the form of "report language". A report usually accompanies each bill. In this case, the report will likely indicate that seaplane use of Lake Isabel is "prior and historic," the suggestion being it is therefore entitled to a kind of "grandfather" protection. The problem is that report language does not bind the courts, nor does it provide reasonable assurance for pilots who might be concerned that overly zealous representatives of the Forest Service could meet their aircraft with mischief on their minds. The presumption of law based on inclusion of Lake Isabel in the wilderness area is that motorized vehicles, including seaplanes, cannot operate. A senior official of the Forest Service already has written to the responsible Congressional subcommittee seeking clarification and advocating that the conflictbetween report language and the clear implication of the legislative proposals be reconciled.
Senator Murray and Representative Larsen are primary sponsors of the bills and seem to support their current forms. Representative Dunn, whose clout in the House is considerable, has joined as a sponsor, but is sympathetic to the aspirations of current recreational users, including seplane owners.
During the summer recess, Mike Lunenschloss and I will meet with senior members of the staffs of Senator Murray, Representative Larsen, and Representative Dunn to advocate either of two alternative amendments to the pending versions of the Wild Sky Wilderness Act: 1) explicit recognition in the bill of the "prior and historical" use of Lake Isabel by seaplanes or an exception to the normal proscription for seaplanes (these are variations of the same idea), or 2) exclusion of the Lake and approaches from the geographic definition of this wilderness area. These proposals merely preserve the status quo. We will convene our meeting on the beach at Lake Isabel. It has been suggested that less than unanimous approval of at least one amendment ought to result in light loads for the flight home. We'll certainly do what we can within the bounds of law.
Upon the return of both houses in the fall, Mike Lunenschlos, Mike Volk (SPA) andd yours truly will make the rounds on Capitol Hill. We intend to meet with as many members as possible from the sponsor group and the committee members whose committees have subject-matter jurisdiction (House Committee on Resources, Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health; Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources). While it is early in the process, Senator Murray enjoys committee seniority and may choose to attach this bill to Interior Department appropriations or some other bill likely to pass. Mid-term elections will affect behaviors in unpredictable ways. The sheer number of supporters of this legislation creates a momentum difficult for a small constituency to impact. Our "best case" is revision in a favorable way during committee deliberations.
Please support our efforts with your letters and telephone calls to staff members in both
houses of Congress. You may write to any members of the Washington delegation, as most of them
are on the sponsorship lists. You should write to the district offices, as most Capitol Hill
offices have a terrible backlog of unprocessed mail. Besides, both houses will be in summer
recess by the time you read this. The official numbers of the bills are: S.2565 (Senate version)
and H.R.4844 (House version). Descriptions are available through popular search engines using
the bill numbers or name, or through the web sites of the members of the delegation, Senator
Murrays in particular. The district office addresses also are available on line. To get started,
try
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The following list should help in contacting the proper people in this effort:
Senator Maria Cantwell Senator Patty Murray
915 Second Avenue, Suite 3206 2988 Jackson Federal Building
Seattle, Washington 98174 915 Second Avenue
(206)220-6400 (648)888-7328 Seattle, Washington 98174
maria@cantwell.senate.gov (206)553-5545
senator_murray@murray.senate.gov
Representative Jennifer Dunn Representative Rick larsen
2737 78th Avenue Southeast, Suite 202 2930 Wetmore Avenue, Suite 9E
Mercer Island, Washington 98040 Everett, Washington 98201
(206)275-3438 (425)252-3188 (800)562-1385
dunnwa08@mail.house.gov rick.larsen@mail.house.gov
In an effort to support our lobbying efforts to keep Lake Isabel open to seaplanes, those of you
who have logbook entries showing landings at Lake Isabel are urged to make copies of those pages
(the further back in history, the better) and mail to:
John Sessions
411 University Street, Suite 1200
Seattle, Washington 98101