TALESPINNERS - October, 2001

EAA Chapter 174
Chartered since 1966

TALESPINNERS
October, 2001
 

From the President

What a difference a month makes. In the last issue of our newsletter, our big concerns were the bylaws and whether or not the weather would be good for the picnic. As I sit to write this column, my main concern is whether or not we will be able to fly as we did before September 11th. When we talked about change in previous issues, I never dreamed we would see such changes to the aviation world as we knew it.

I have tried to keep up with the Notam changes involving our world of aviation. I will not try to summarize them here, as they undoubtedly will have changed by the time you read this. The most recent change is that the military can now shoot us down if we stray over the wrong area and a solo student pilot can fly where a CFII cannot. Comforting thought. Not exactly my idea of how our life will go on as it did before. I suppose my biggest frustration is not understanding why. Why is our segment of aviation being so restricted? Why or how have they come up with the restrictions they have? Why should people whose livelihood depends on the little airplanes, be so punished? At first I thought they were keeping us down to keep the radarscopes a little clearer until things settled down. This seemed to be a good plausible explanation. I applauded the initial action of bringing the system down. What a great way to isolate the problem. But now I’m stumped and gravely disappointed by the way that they are bringing it back up.

When our country was attacked on September 11th, the terrorist went straight to the most scrutinized and highly regulated sector of aviation to carry out their mission. And yet, the most oppressive focus seems to be on our niche. We can hope that with time that individuals and aviation groups, such as EAA and AOPA, can persuade the National Security Council to give us back our airspace. If not, the terrorist will have won a little piece of our American pie.

I’m going to keep my column short this issue to save space for the attached revised Bylaws. We need the membership to review the Bylaws and be ready to vote on whether they should be accepted at the October meeting. If you are not able to attend the October meeting, you can mail in your vote to Secretary, Norm Beaudette. Simply write down yes or no along with your name on a piece of paper and send it to Norm. Written votes must be received prior to the October meeting.

One more house keeping issue. Remember that your yearly dues must be in by the end of October. If you haven’t already done so, please send them to Treasurer, George Elbel.

I’m a little afraid to end this month’s column. I’m not sure what will happen to our aviation community between now and next month. Let us keep our hopes high, that our country’s leaders will begin focusing on real solutions and put the knee jerk reactions behind us. God speed to us all.

Bob Porter

Minutes from the September Board Meeting

Meeting was called to order by President Bob Porter at 7:08 pm, September 26, 2001. Final changes in the Chapter bylaws were approved for publication in the October newsletter. Stu Faber noted that the IRS has confirmed receipt of the Chapter’s application for non-profit status. Some last minute picnic items were discussed. Meeting adjourned at approximately 7:50 pm. Attending: RP, NB, GCollins, HWells, TFry, SFaber.

Norm Beaudette, Chapter Secretary