EAA Chapter 563 News

February 2017

Chapter

Meetings

The first chapter meeting on the new schedule was held Saturday 1/7 following the chapter breakfast. With 16 members present, attendance was no better than on the old schedule, but it will be a few months before it's known if this was a worthwhile change. The Audit Committee met after the chapter meeting. The summary from their report: "the committee is completely satisfied that our financial affairs are in good order." A copy of the report has been placed on the Documents page of the web site.

Volunteers needed

As of yesterday, no one had signed up to work either breakfast in February. There is also nothing but blank spaces on the sign up sheet for cleaning the washroom in the hangar. Is it your turn to help out at your chapter?

Youth Programs

The first meeting of the new Aviation Explorers Post is tentatively Sunday 1/29 at 6:00 in the hangar. However, of the five kids who asked to join, only three sent in the forms, so we are still two short. Do you know any kids ages 14 to 20 who might want to join? If so, bring them Sunday. A copy of the flyer distributed in December to area schools has been placed on the web site, for reference.

Treasury

At the year's first chapter meeting, treasurer Rob Meyer gave a review of last year's finances and presented the proposed 2017 budget. The equipment purchased in December was placed on the new budget, and the budget was approved by all present. Some of the money in CEFCU checking has been placed in the Wellington fund at Vanguard.

Donations and Acquisitions

In January, an anonymous cash donation of $200 was received. Donations of a rolling TV stand, a Blu-ray player, and a wireless keyboard were also received, to be used with the recently purchased TV. In late January the board agreed to buy a steel cabinet to hold all the a/v equipment now on hand. This will be bolted to the base of the TV stand, which should also make the stand a little more stable. Per the recommendation in the recent Audit, donated items will all be tagged until sold. A list of all donations kept by the chapter (for example, tools such as the English Wheel) will also be prepared.

National

In the January Chapter Video, national noted their museum is part of the Association of Science-Technology Centers. As such, EAA members enjoy free access to more than 300 such museums worldwide. (One caveat is the museum must be more than 90 miles from the AirVenture Museum and from your home.) See this page for more information, including a list of the museums involved.

Fly-in

Although poor weather was certainly a factor, attendance was disappointing at both the 2015 and 2016 fly-ins. Most (but not all) of the board members feel it is not worth organizing another fly-in this year. In its place, a pot-luck meal will be organized, perhaps in conjunction with an aviation movie night. If you'd like to try one more fly-in, speak up; with enough volunteers, we might yet have a go.

Hangar

Two more airplanes will temporarily occupy the hangar in January and February, for their annuals.

Publications

The company which hosts our web site has had numerous problems in January, preventing timely updates to the site. While better now, it is still very slow at times.

Members

Welcome new members Keith Claypool, Richard Meardy, and Kent Cook. Keith and Richard are actually not "new" members, for they were both charter members from 1976, rejoining after an abscence of several years. Kent is the new owner of Allmond Aviation, the flight school at 3MY.

Dues

Dues remain $30 for an individual and $35 for a family. The Audit Committee requests all renewals be made by check, to provide a better paper trail. Regarding family membership, the By-laws require those applying for chapter family memberships already have family membership at national. As in the past, it is on your honor to ensure this is so.

Airport

No news for either 3MY or PIA

Upcoming events

(See also the Home page on the chapter web site.)

1/29 (Su) 6:00: first meeting of this year's Aviation Explorers Post, in the hangar
2/04 (Sa) 8:00-9:00: breakfast, in the hangar, to be followed at 9:30 by the chapter meeting
2/18 (Sa) 8:00-9:00: breakfast, in the hangar, to be followed at 9:30 by a board meeting

Editor: Karl Kleimenhagen