EAA Chapter 563
The Beacon
January, 2024
The holiday banquet at Alexander's Steakhouse was well attended, with about 50 people dining and chatting.
Both clubs meet in the hangar at their usual time this month. The VMC Club is this coming Sunday at 6:30 and the IMC Club the following Sunday at 6:00.
HQ notes this year's Homebuilders Week aligns with the 70th anniversary of the founding of EAA:
We start on Monday, January 22nd, 2024, and end on Friday, January 26th, 2024. Each day, we offer six live webinars back-to-back, starting at 11:30 am Central time and running every hour and a half until the last session at 7 pm Central. The sessions are live and allow time for questions.
The topics cover a wide variety of areas of interest to anyone curious about building their own aircraft. We try to make sure there is something for everyone, whether you are just considering the idea of building an aircraft, are knee deep in a project, or getting ready for test flying. We even have EAA president Jack Pelton lined up on our anniversary date, January 26th, to talk about EAA's Advocacy efforts on behalf of the homebuilt members.
A list of the webinars with the sign up links can be found on the EAA website.
The chapter will apply for its seventh Ray scholarship this month, but it will be March before the result is known.
Also this month, checks will be sent to the chapter's two scholarship funds for aviation mechanics, at Lincoln Land in Springfield and at Lewis University in Romeoville. In talking with Lincoln Land, the treasurer found a chapter member had donated $1,000 directly and it received an employer match, so the scholarship fund there is larger this year than usual.
The treasurer, Rob Meyer, keeps in touch with both colleges, and they report much more interest in both mechanic and flight training. Lincoln Land had typically entered 12 new students each year but have expanded it to 16 this year. Aviation mechanics' salaries have risen recently to between $35 and $40 per hour, roughly doubling over the past decade. He traveled to Lewis in November to meet with our scholarship recipient there and was favorably impressed by him and his efforts.
We have secured a spot at the Air Academy and will need to select a teen for it. Priority will be given to the teens on the Zenith Cruzer build.
With both mentors and teens traveling over Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year, not as much progress was made in the past few weeks as usual. It still appears the engine will be mounted yet this month, but that may slip into February.
When the Cruzer is finished, work will begin on the 601-HDS received this summer from former chapter member Jim Hinrichsen. There was some debate among the mentors whether to build or sell this 25 year old kit. A phone call to the factory finds they still support the design with parts and updated drawings, so it's planned to begin work on it in about a year. The factory test pilot says the Corvair engine received with the kit is on the heavy side for the design but viable.
The hosting service moved the chapter's site to a new server. This didn't happen on the schedule they posted, so there were a few hiccups in service, but all is functioning normally again. As a reminder, there is a Members section to the site which requires a password (posted on the bulletin board in the hangar, if you forget it). Kept there are more detailed meeting minutes, the budget, the Bylaws and Standing Rules, etc.
Have you sent in your dues for 2024? They are $40, individual or family. If there are no changes in your contact information, just mail (or drop off) your check to the hangar: EAA 563, 1320 W Bird Blvd, Peoria, IL 61615.
John Tillotson and his young family have moved to Ft Wayne, along with their RV-8 project.
Janet Phipps has died. Along with Morrie Caudill, she and her husband Al started the chapter breakfasts. For many years she did the grocery shopping and also supplied the table decorations at the annual banquets.
On Thursday the 11th, the Airport Authority is holding a Cheers to the New Year party at the FBO. If you plan to attend, please let Halee at 697-8272 x100 know so they can plan how much food to bring.
eaa563.org
Mt. Hawley Airport, Peoria, Illinois