The B-17 tour stop is 6 weeks away. All 5 volunteers who will be escorts inside the fence have cleared TSA security. Byerly Aviation finally got in contact with us regarding this event. It appears their reply e-mail had been bouncing back and forth within Byerly for weeks.
We've received a large number of marketing materials from the tour. If you are flying out to a local airport, stop by the hangar and take a letter size poster and a table tent with you to place at that airport, on the bulletin board or the counter. With these materials we'll try to keep a roster of airports already visited.
VMC and IMC Club
The VMC Club meets the first Sunday of the month and the IMC Club the second Sunday, both at 6:00 PM.
Flying Start
National wants each chapter to host a Flying Start on May 18, the "International Learn to Fly Day," but many of our members will want to be in Peru, IL to attend the TBM Reunion. Two pilots have volunteered to fly the following weekend instead. We currently have no one to organize and handle the paperwork for this event: Perhaps you?
Youth Programs
The committee to select the chapter's nominee for a Ray scholarship has picked Jayson Presley. He sent his application to EAA, and the treasurer received word from national that he is approved. Unfortunately, funds from the scholarship are not expected before the middle of May, yet Jayson is currently taking flight instruction with Allmond Aviation here at 3MY. The board has agreed to cover his costs of instruction from chapter funds until money from the Ray program is received. At that time, the part we have spent in advance will be returned to the chapter treasury. The treasurer received confirmation by phone this is acceptable to national. Further, Jayson's parents agreed to reimburse the chapter should national for any reason change its mind.
The Lightspeed Aviation Foundation is joining with the EAA's Ray Scholarship program to provide a free Lightspeed Zulu 3 ANR head set to each scholar upon completion of their solo flight and ground school requirements.
The chapter is providing partial funding for Jolene Miller's week at the Air Academy at OSH. She attended the most recent chapter breakfast to thank the chapter and talked with several members there. She attends Dunlap High School.
Jolene's visit to the hangar
Hangar
In April the family of long time member Al Lurie held an estate sale at his old hangar on the Pekin airport. The chapter was able to purchase three rivet squeezers (standard, medium, and deep throats) along with three soft faced hammers for working aluminum.
Donations
A reminder that donations of at least $50 received from Caterpillar employees or retirees will be matched by the company. Contact the treasurer for details.
International
We received a copy of correspondence between the EAA chapter in Peru, South America and the EAA headquarters. The Peru chapter has set about to restore the last example of an North American NA-50 fighter plane, a few of which served in the USAAF as trainers. It sprang from the same lineage as the AT-6, and if you know any AT-6 experts, you might mention to them the appeal for assistance from Peru.
Members
Welcome new members Jayson Presley and Lee Capati. Jayson received our Ray flight training scholarship, and Lee hangars an airplane here on the field. The membership count is currently 63 this year.
Dick Barthel provided a reminiscence of George H. Mason, who passed away in early April at age 93. From his obituary: George enlisted in the USAAF in July 1943 for pilot training. He attended Eureka College after the war, graduating in 1949, and then joined the 169 Fighter Squadron. In 1952 he was hired by the Peoria Air National Guard 182 tactical air support group as the first flying training instructor. He served full time in the ANG in many positions until 1977.
I thank George for my favorite memory of a trip to the Airventure Convention in Oshkosh, WI, on July 29, 2003. He had seen my schedule entry at the Bradley Flying Association and called to ask if he could ride along. I vaguely knew him as a pilot at BFA, but we became much better acquainted as the day went on. After a delayed departure from Peoria due to morning fog, we were blessed with the last parking spot at Oshkosh with about 6000 airplanes on the field. As we entered the gate, George said "Let’s go through the warbirds" and began to describe most of the aircraft we looked at with details of where and when he had flown that type, since as an Air National Guard Officer he was often sent to meetings around the country, where in his free time he would look for interesting airplanes and persuade their crews to let him fly their equipment. Later, as we were exiting a large commercial airplane on display, George was approached by a NPR reporter and was able to spontaneously give a 4 or 5 minute interview about what a wonderful event Airventure was. We watched most of the afternoon airshow before we left, using the shade of the trees near the Vintage Red Barn for shelter from the sun. It was a great day for both of us. Thanks, George.
Tim Threw sent along a link to a new tool to break loose the bead of a tire from its wheel. It employs a drill press to work the tool into the joint.
Tim Coverstone noticed a completed RV-9A for sale at a price too good to ignore. It's now at PIA, and he's considering selling the partly completed RV-9A kit he acquired late last year.
A list of the past officers of the chapter has been added to the chapter web site, and the member directory, under the Contact tab, has been updated.
Airport
The Peoria R/C Modelers have a scale warplane meet in June. They will invite veterans and would like a real airplane of the era to fly over. Contact them if you know the owner of a war time trainer or the like.
3MY
It appears there are no scheduled rate increases for hangars at 3MY this year, but the city and the airport have yet to resolve the new water run-off fees.
The airport authority will hold another "open house" at 3MY on Saturday July 13.
Havana
Work has begun on the foundations of the new shower facility. The local EAA chapter there is preparing a campground to encourage pilots to fly in for an overnight stay. Their fly-in lunch is every second Saturday of the month
