Larry Gehrig called the meeting to order at 7:05 pm at Charlies Restaurant. Bill Mills, our President, was away at Sun 'N Fun. Mark Miller would be speaking on the Wright Flyer, so we had to keep the meeting short to allow ample time for his slide show.
A moment of silence was observed for departed members, and then the minutes for the March meeting were read and accepted. Visitors included Tom McCoy, a friend of Vance’s; Rich Moberg, a friend of Joe Smosky; and Jim Wolak’s son Jeff and son-in-law Rick. Rickey Anderson gave the financial report. He stated we had a balance of $1,588.65 in our account, and that we have 33 “official dues paying members”. The report was voted on and approved.
Committee Reports:
Emergency Response Team: Brad Wolfe (West) and Kevin Bertorelli (East) will work together on the list. Brad passed out a form for people to fill out.
Newsletter: Brian Gilomen passed out several copies of the latest newsletter and said that the newsletter is only as good as we make it. Please pass information, stories, pictures, stuff for sale, or whatever on to Brian on for inclusion.
Media: Kevin had no report.
Fly-Ins: Mick Pahnke made a list of upcoming fly-ins available at the meeting. He mentioned a few “good ones” such as Mt. Morris, Wolverton, and he noted that the Brodhead WI group has extended an invitation to our club.
Social: Tom Houghton says he hasn’t done anything on social events. Kevin will work with him and represent the East side of the Club.
Safety: Larry spoke of increased traffic at Cushing Field. There are now hang gliders along with trikes, and neither have radios. The frequency to monitor at Cushing is 122.7. Gas is also available to purchase at Cushing.
Ground School: Brad Wolfe stated that they have about 2 weeks left and when they are done 14 people will be a lot more more educated about flying.
Old Business:
The discussion about combining our meeting dates with the local EAA chapter was tabled until next meeting.
A report on Sun-N-Fun: Neal was there for one day, and he stated that crowds were smaller than he remembered. The EAA’s Wright Flyer was in a pavilion, with an interactive display.
Kevin talked about Steve Meyers suggesting a contest where teams would check each plane in the Club for safety concerns. Tom Houghton and Kevin will set a date.
Evan (Crash) said that Mayor Daley’s and The Governor’s mail and email addresses are on the Club's website. He urged everyone to write/e-mail to express our feelings on the closing of Meigs Airport.
Phil is building a GT400 and a Sprint II.
Joe Smosky said the trip to Dayton was a really good time, although a long ride. Kudos were given to Joe Mahr for doing a great job organizing this event. 26 people attended.
New Business:
It looks like there will be no trip to Meigs Field this summer...
Rickey is modifying his engine with a conversion kit providing for altitude compensating carburetors. He is looking for a newer model 54 carburetor with the extra hole by the fuel inlet. If you have one of these, please contact Rickey.
Good of the Club:
Kevin has sent his engine to Lockwood to be rebuilt. Of course he waited just long enough that all of the mechanics were at Sun n’ Fun and couldn’t get to his engine for a couple weeks.
Vance stated that Tom Grimm is selling a 582 engine for $2,000.
Bob Debbs and Tony will be replacing the roof on Bob’s hanger to weekend of the 12th. Any help would be appreciated.
Our next meeting will be held at Charlies, the first Thursday of May.
Mark Miller Presentation:
Mark Miller was introduced.
His son and daughter were in attendance and his son won a ROTC
scholarship, where he will study aviation at Kent State.
He did a slide show regarding the Wright Experience, followed up by a
“field trip” to hanger 3 at Clow to see the Wright flyer that he has been
working on.
Adjournment:
The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. so that we could all head over to hanger 3 in a thunderstorm. Ah, spring!
Where to Now?