EAA Chapter 563
The Beacon
December, 2025
The Annual Meeting went quickly. The new board and a budget were approved by the membership.
In the Chapter Video, it was pointed out MOSAIC is now in effect, forming the new Sport Pilot regulations. They encourage members to ask local flight schools to offer the Sport Pilot rating. Board member Killian Madeley is an instructor at Bradley Flying and was asked whether they planned to offer it. The reply was "no," for there are a number of uncertainties, including with the insurance companies. Another reason is they fly at a towered airport, and the basic Sport Pilot rating is geared towards flying from untowered fields. To offer Sport Pilot at PIA would require a separate endorsement on the rating, which brings it closer to a full Private Pilot rating. Further, they are plenty busy with their Private Pilot work. Should they change their mind, their fleet of Cessna 172s now qualifies for Sport Pilot flying.
Killian suggested a holiday raffle for December. Prizes would be displayed and tickets sold at the various chapter meetings held through the month, with the drawing to be held at the January chapter meeting. The goal would be to encourage people to come to chapter events, as opposed to raising money, although we'd hope to at least break even in that regard. The members present were generally in favor of trying this.
Illinois has regulations on raffles which include filing fees and a requirement for insurance to be purchased on the value of the prizes. For the $500 in prizes being considered, the overhead was found to be about 25%, and the raffle was then rejected by the board. In its place, a reduced number of aviation themed items are being offered through a Silent Auction.
Killian has provided a sly description of the items for sale:
There are three items to be revealed at the Holiday Party this Friday at the Lariat, where you will also be able to place offers. You will also have the chance to place bids at the next few morning breakfasts, with the winners being revealed on the first chapter breakfast in January (1/3). These items are mainly for decoration rather than functional pieces. One prize will help keep your shelves as organized as your flight plans, another is a timeless piece that props up any room, and the last one is a truly bold way to display both your passion for aviation and our chapter.
The banquet is this Friday (12/5) at the Lariat Steakhouse in Peoria. The menu is limited, but you don't need to make your selection ahead of time:
Vegetarian options are available by request. Socializing will start at 6:00, and orders for food will be placed at 7:00.
We have a more compact room this year, one which can accommodate 40 people. With 27 seats reserved, there remain several seats open for walk-ups.
Help in the kitchen is needed. Greg LePine has been handling supplies and cooking, and he will be away from the chapter for several weeks in early 2026.
The IMC Club meets on Sunday the 14th. The VMC Club now meets on the 4th Sunday, which is the 28th this month, and coming just three days after Christmas might be poorly attended.
HQ would like you to fill out their annual chapter survey. Participation in this survey is one of the activities by which a chapter is judged in the Chapter Recognition ratings, so please let them know what you think about Chapter 563.
HQ has posted the program for their Homebuilders Week series of free webinars on building your own airplane. These will run the week of January 26th.
EAA Aviation Foundation scholarships for 2026, which are separate from the Ray program, remain open through the 19th. More can be found on the EAA website at EAA.org/scholarships.
In their Chapter Video, HQ said that in the past few years, the rate at which recipients are earning their Private Pilot rating within the time allowed has fallen below 80%. HQ feels the program will bring "young blood" to a chapter and wants chapters to strive to complete every scholarship awarded. So far, Chapter 563's success rate has been 100%.
Hope White, this year's recipient at 563, reports weather slowed her progress in November.
The flight controls are all now functioning and much of the electrical system is in place. The avionics are yet to be tackled. The local automotive upholstery shop hired to cover the seats did the work as if they were car seats, and they were too bulky to fit in the cabin. They are back in the shop for rework.
This magazine still has a pulse. A thin issue to cover both October and November was mailed. A couple of the articles by the new editor read like AI generated copy (and an AI based AI detector rates this as certain). The staff now consists of the editor and his boss at the publishing company, but a few articles from outside the staff were included.
Several members from the old staff have been posting short articles at AvBrief's new Experimental Aviator.
The Airport Authority has not found a mechanic to set up shop at the hangar by the FBO and is rumored to now be in negotiations to rent that space as a heated hangar.
In a bit of legal Catch-22, the Airport Authority inserted language into the 2026 hangar lease that no mechanic's work could be carried out in a leased hangar. On behalf of both AOPA and the chapter, chapter member Kent Lynch attends the Airport Authority board meetings, and he quickly fired off an e-mail to the Director pointing out the unreasonable situation the new lease created: With no mechanic's shop on the field and with the lease forbidding repairs, any airplane needing a repair is stranded. That language is being changed.
eaa563.org
Mt. Hawley Airport, Peoria, Illinois