TALESPINNERS - December, 2001

EAA Chapter 174
Chartered since 1966

TALESPINNERS
December, 2001



More from the great fall picnic at Todd Winemiller's farm.

From the President

This is my last “From The President” message.  Starting with the January 2002 issue, this column will be penned by Scott Hersha, your new president.  After getting to know Scott this past year, I look forward to his views and comments about aviation and chapter issues.  He has a tremendous amount of aviation experience as a pilot, builder and instructor.  His leadership will undoubtedly keep the chapter flying in the right direction.

I thought I would use this month’s space to recap some of the things that have happened with your chapter over these past twelve months.  To prepare, I went back over my past columns to see what topics I rambled on about.  Then I looked over my notes from the chapter and board meetings.  I found it to be an interesting year.

The chapter web site was one of the first topics I addressed.  What a great addition this technological wizardry has been for our chapter.  By now, most if not all of you know that Norm Beaudette was and is responsible for the www.eaa174.org address.  We have come to depend on this tool to spread information to members, get urgent event changes announced, pre-register young eagles, sign up for the chapter flyouts, check notams, check weather issues, look at pictures of chapter events, publish the newsletter and I’m sure many other things that I can’t remember.  I have lost count of how many times I have referred people, who were looking for information about our chapter, to the web site.  For his dedication and hard work, Norm was selected as one of the top three web editors for all of EAA.  What a great accomplishment.

One of my primary goals this year was to get more members involved in chapter activities.  At first, I thought we failed to accomplish this.  Then I started to give it some thought.  I realized that Tim Fry and Ray Parker both agreed to be new faces on the board.  When Tim Hendricks resigned as Young Eagles coordinator, Bill Crawford stepped in.  Then, Tom Jenkins and Dave Fehring both offered to help Bill with the program.  Don Fairbanks, Scott Hersha, Mike Franzago, Stu Faber, Tim Fry and David Schooler all put on programs at the chapter meetings.  Lee Jewell volunteered to coordinate the monthly flyouts.  Mike Griffith and Gene Seiter volunteered to help Mike Franzago with the newsletter.   Art West took on the daunting task of heading up the picnic committee consisting of Doug Hurd, Tom Jenkins, Howard Wells, Dave Robertson, Norm Beaudette and Scott Hersha.  Todd Winemiller offered his farm for the picnic.  Bud Newhouse put on a banner demonstration.  John Mugavin was seen helping Howard cook pancakes at one of the breakfasts.  Don Reasoner and Gary Collins made up the election committee and gathered the names on the ballots.  New member Terry Taylor not only participates in many of the flyouts, but has also contributed to the newsletter.  And I don’t have enough room here to mention all of the pilots, ground crew and registration people who made this years Young Eagle Rally such a success.  So I was wrong.  We are getting more people involved and it’s paying off big.  Thank you.

Your board decided to take on the task of updating the bylaws.  While it took longer than we would have liked, we got it done and you as the chapter rewarded our efforts by approving them.  Hopefully this task will prove worthwhile for the ongoing business of the chapter.  Another less glamorous task was getting our federal non-profit status cleared up.  It was just one of those things that needed a little attention.

It has been fun to see guest and new members come to the meetings.  I have not received an actual count from George Elbel, but I believe our membership topped 145 this past year.  A strong, active membership is the lifeblood of our chapter.

There were138 young eagles flown by our chapter members this year surpassing our goal of 125. Our Young Eagle Rally in June was a big success with 99 youngsters flown.   The remainder of the rides consisted of our members participating at Hamilton and flying kids on their own. Phil Caddy will be at the controls for the Young Eagles in 2002.  I’m excited to see what plans and goals he has for the program.  While a strong membership may be the lifeblood of our chapter, interested young people are the lifeblood of aviation.

The monthly flyouts have become bigger and better.  This is one of those activities that help define what EAA is all about.  A group of pilots and passengers getting together in a mixed breed of flying machines and aviating off to see something new.  It’s an opportunity to fly with pilots of different skill levels and learn something new.  If I’m not mistaken, the longest trip was to Middlesboro, Tennessee.  But the compass dial is the only limitation as to the direction the group may venture off to.

When I began this piece, I mentioned that the web site was one of the first things I wrote about.  That’s incorrect. The first concept that I commented on in the January issue was that of change.  And this has been a year of change.  You got a new president and vice president at the same time. We had new members join and we lost members to relocation and to the final flight that we all must take.  We had different members rise to the occasion and take on responsibilities within the chapter ranks.   On a much more colossal scale, our country was attacked and as citizens we lost our innocents.  As pilots, we no longer take our freedom of flight for granted.   It is now incumbent upon us to defend and fight for our privilege to fly.  Our airspace as we knew it has changed forever.

As the year draws to a close, change for the chapter in 2002 begins.  Your new president is Scott Hersha.  His vice president is Tim Fry.  Norm Beaudette remains as the secretary and Dave Robertson has once again become treasurer.  I do not know whom Scott will choose for board members.  But each and every one of you should hope you are asked.  This is a great group of individuals to lead our chapter.  This upcoming year will be an exciting flight and I challenge each and every one of you to be part of it.

I have enjoyed being your president for 2001.  I have had the privilege to work with outstanding people who are committed to your chapter and did their best to keep me on course.  A simple thank you is so inadequate for all that they have done.  And I thank you, all of the members of EAA Chapter 174, for your patience, understanding and support.

The grand finale of the year is our Christmas party on December 16^th.  Please set the day aside and plan on attending this gala event.  Hal Shevers has once again offered his facility to us and the board is working hard to ensure that everyone has a good time.  So bring your family and friends and celebrate this warm, special time of the year with us.

Bob Porter

Minutes from the November Chapter Meeting

The meeting was called to order by the president at 2:10 pm, November 18, 2001.  The treasurer gave the Chapter’s current financial status.  The secretary noted that cards had been sent to the pilots who had provided entertainment at the Chapter picnic, and also informed the Chapter that photos from the P-38 fly-out had been posted on the web site.  The Young Eagles coordinator Bill Crawford noted that so far the Chapter has flown 138 YE flights, well beyond our initial goal of 125.  Bill also recognized Phil Cady as next year’s YE coordinator.

The president noted that the Board would take complete responsibility for the Christmas party this year, and George Elbel mentioned that Hal Shevers has generously agreed to allow use of the Sporty’s mezzanine once again.  A motion to allow up to $500 in party expenses was made by Lee Jewell, seconded by Dave Robertson and approved by the membership.

Mike Franzago called for more newsletter articles. The membership agreed that the last newsletter was one of our best, with new articles by some new contributors. Mike also mentioned his satisfaction with an electric oil pan heater he recently installed, consisting of an aluminum heating pad and 225 degree auto disconnect. Paul Bowden provided some historical papers that he had recently found, pertaining to the Chapter.  Dave Conrad announced that a Pitts S2C is now available at Waynesville for aerobatic dual instruction at $250 per hr.  Bob Porter once again urged the membership to give some attention to creating a new set of chapter goals for next year.

Annual elections were then held and supervised by Lee Jewell, Dave Rainey and Gary Collins.  The final tally gave the victories to Tim Fry – vice president, Norm Beaudette – secretary, Dave Robertson – treasurer.  As prescribed in our bylaws, current v.p. Scott Hersha will be the Chapter president next year.

Meeting adjourned at 3:25 pm, followed by films about the impressive Sherpa aircraft and the new Citabrias.

Norm Beaudette, Chapter Secretary

Minutes from the November Board Meeting

Meeting was called to order by the president at 7:30 pm, November 28, 2001 at the Porter residence.  The meeting focused primarily on renewal of Chapter insurance, the Christmas party, and the physical condition of the clubhouse.  The Board agreed to purchase hangar insurance again this year, despite the large increase in premiums. Payments of $165 for insurance and $40 for annual membership were disbursed.

George Elbel will check with Hal on the status of the clubhouse.  It was felt that, at the least, a motion should be made in a future Chapter meeting to examine and, if necessary, reinforce the window wall.  The ability to make other building improvements may also be investigated further.  The treasurer pointed out that a total of 101 members have renewed their membership; he also indicated that the year-end drop is normal for our chapter and that he expects the ranks to increase as the summer approaches.

To the disappointment of the Board, Howard Wells expressed his desire to resign as Technical Counselor, primarily for personal reasons.  The scheduled Board meeting for December was cancelled because of proximity to the Holidays.

Dinner and desert were kindly provided by Kim Porter.  Meeting adjourned at 9:45 pm.  Attending: RP, NB, GE, GCollins, SFaber, TFry, RParker, HWells.

Norm Beaudette, Chapter Secretary