As an interesting tidbit…
CONTACT! Magazine has hosted the alternative engine forums tent at COPPERSTATE (as well as SnF) for close to 15 years.
I took over the magazine a little over five years ago and kept the tradition alive.
Several weeks ago I received the below note from the Forums Chairman.
>> Hi, Pat,
>>
>> Joel Mayhall called me today on behalf of Paul Lamar. Paul wants to
>> present a forum on Mazda rotary engines. Do you have room for him? He
>> requested a Saturday morning time slot (just like everybody else),
>> but we can put him where we have room. I have never met him and don't
>> know his level of expertise. Joel gave Paul's website as
>> www.rotaryeng.net
and his e-mail address as rotaryeng@earthlink.net.
>> I haven't looked at his website yet.
>>
>> I told Joel I would pass the information to you. I'll let you decide
>> if he's a legitimate resource for our forums program. Joel's e-mail
>> address is
jmay2174@yahoo.com, in case you need to contact him.
>>
>> If you have a partial schedule of engine forums, may I have a copy to
>> put on the COPPERSTATE website?
>>
>> Thanks for your help and hard work.
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> Lynn
So I fired off a note to Paul.
>> Patrick Panzera wrote:
>> > Hi Paul,
>> >
>> > Can we slot you for Friday @ 1pm?
>> > Are you up for more time slots?
>> >
>> > What title(s) would you like to have printed in the program?
>> >
>> > Thanks!
>> >
>> > Pat
Paul then wrote me back.
(Note the lack of a greeting)
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Rotary Engine [
mailto:rotaryeng@earthlink.net]
>> Sent: Friday, September 28, 2007 1:29 PM
>> To: Patrick Panzera
>> Subject: PRIVATE COPPERSTATE Engine forum
>>
>> I don't know right now.
>>
>> However if it is under the guise or title of alternative engines I
>> would not be interested. It all depends on how the schedule reads.
>>
>> Paul
It's ALWAYS under the guise and title alternative engines, so I relied thus...
(all communications were cc'd to the Forums Chairman)
>From: Patrick Panzera <
Panzera@Experimental-Aviation.com>
>Sent: Sep 28, 2007 5:14 PM
>To: 'Lynn Wesley' <
lwesley1@peoplepc.com>, editor@contactmagazine.com
>Cc: jharlow86@msn.com
, rotaryeng@earthlink.net
>Subject: RE: PRIVATE COPPERSTATE Engine forum
>
>Sorry to have bothered you Paul.
>
>I was under the impression that you asked to be scheduled, I didn't
>realize strings were attached.
>
>Pat
This is from the Forums Chairman, who is a little more diplomatic than I can be.
Paul,
In response to Joel's phone call, we are offering you the opportunity to present a forum on rotary engines at the COPPERSTATE Fly-In. We have tentatively scheduled you at 1 pm on Friday, October 26 in Forum Tent 5. If you would like to present more than once, we do have other slots available.
To clarify a bit, the aviation industry appears to have a practice of referring to any powerplant other than a certified aircraft engine as an alternative engine. In my own personal opinion, that may change as development continues and engines presently called "alternative" outnumber the traditional certified engines. We'll see how things play out.
As I stated earlier, we have tentatively scheduled you for one forum on Friday. If you would like to change that, please let us know.
I look forward to seeing you at COPPERSTATE.
Regards,
Lynn Wesley
2007 COPPERSTATE Forums Chairman
Paul then seemed to backpedal a little, again no greeting.
>> -----Original Message-----
>> >From: Rotary Engine <
rotaryeng@earthlink.net>
>> >Sent: Sep 29, 2007 11:56 PM
>> >To: Lynn Wesley <
lwesley1@peoplepc.com>
>> >Cc: Chuck Dunlap <
crayd@cableone.net>, Tom Parkes
>> ><
tkpark@cableone.net>,
>> David Leonard <
wdleonard@gmail.com>
>> >Subject: Re: PRIVATE COPPERSTATE Engine forum
>> >
>> >I would rather not make a commitment at this time. I may be
>> >traveling over seas on business.
>> >
>> >I suggest you contact one of these people that are likely to fly
>> >their rotary engine powered airplane to copper state.
>> >
>> >Chuck Dunlap RV6 Chuck Dunlap <
crayd@cableone.net>
>> >Tom Parkes Lancair ES turbo Tom Parkes <
tkpark@cableone.net>
>> >Dave Leonard RV6 turbo David Leonard <
wdleonard@gmail.com>
>> >
>> >Paul Lamar
So Lynn let him off the hook.
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Lynn Wesley [
mailto:lwesley1@peoplepc.com]
>> Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2007 11:00 AM
>> To: Rotary Engine
>> Cc: Chuck Dunlap; Tom Parkes; David Leonard;
jharlow86@msn.com;
>>
editor@contactmagazine.com; panzera@experimental-aviation.com
>> Subject: Re: PRIVATE COPPERSTATE Engine forum
>>
>> OK. Thanks for the information, Paul. If not at COPPERSTATE, perhaps
>> I'll get to meet you some other time.
>>
>> Pat, would you please see if one or more of these gentlemen would
>> like to share their experience and expertise?
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> Lynn W.
What a pain in the rear!
Lynn and I are done with him.
He pulled similar stuff last year too.
Pat