EAA Chapter 563
The Beacon
January, 2026
The winners of the five auction prizes will be announced at the chapter meeting this Saturday. You will have a last chance to place a bid during the breakfast which precedes the meeting. The five items available are (with images below):
The EAA wall hanging was created by Killian Madeley, who had the idea for this auction and is running it. The jars of honey and apples were received as a "thank you" from one of the colleges to which the chapter provides a scholarship for aviation mechanics.
The big prize is a generous donation from chapter member Ric Woldow. This spring, you can select a ride in one of his radial engine airplanes: an AT-6 Texan advanced trainer, a Stearman open cockpit primary trainer, or a French Broussard cabin monoplane. The Broussard can seat you and a few of your friends.
While this had been billed as a "silent auction," we've been told the correct name for this form of auction is "blind auction." You make your bid on a piece of paper and leave it in a box.
The banquet was held on December 5th at the Lariat Steakhouse in Peoria. The smaller room which was available this year provided a better atmosphere, and conversation was steady at all the tables throughout the 3½ hour evening. The auction items were first presented here and drew several bids.
This year there were 33 people present. One third of them asked to join in the last few days before the banquet, so the single waitress assigned to the room did get a work out that evening.
A number of people who attended were asked if the Lariat would be worth visiting next year. The majority said it was although a few felt we should look elsewhere. Suggestions are welcome.
The kitchen is very much in need of volunteers these next two months.
The IMC Club meets on Sunday the 11th, and the VMC Club meets two weeks later on the 25th.
Thank you to the members who completed HQ's annual chapter membership survey last month.
You can register for any of this year's Homebuilders Week series of free webinars on building your own airplane. Thirty of them will be presented the week of January 26th.
Board members Killian Madeley and Todd Moore will try to restart the chapter's posts at Facebook and the like with a goal of getting more aviation people to come look over the chapter at one of our twice monthly breakfasts.
There may also be a potluck late this spring advertised through Headquarters' "chapter blast" function. These are delivered to every EAA member in the area.
For the mid December breakfast, Todd Moore (the chapter's Young Eagles coordinator) extended an invitation to all the 2025 Young Eagles to attend, meet the chapter members, and look over the projects. Cameron Gleichman is both a member of the chapter and president of Bradley Flying and had this to say in reply:
It really was a great year for the YE program in Peoria. Seems like we had no problem filling the roster and then adding additional walk-ins. I hope this coming year will bring lots of new kids into the world of aviation. I know we had at least 2 that joined Bradley Flying not long after their flight with YE! I am really looking forward to our rallies next year!
Todd has already set up the reservation system for the 2026 events and has mentioned it is the busiest schedule yet for the chapter.
The chapter has applied for another scholarship for 2026. The chapter coordinator is Rob Meyer, and he believes our 100% success rate in this program will likely earn us another slot.
Chapter member Dean Lake is instructing Hope White, who is the chapter's Ray scholar for 2025, and he has an update on her progress:
Due to the busy holidays and poor weather days, the flying sessions this past month have been somewhat limited. Hope has done well with the flights we have accomplished and will continue to polish the maneuvers. We've also been able to use some of our time to review a number of ground school topics. We've met for several sessions to refresh flight planning, navigation, aircraft/engine systems, and more. We will continue to discuss more topics as we move through the private pilot ACS. Hope is doing well with her knowledge topics and shows good judgment as she discusses various scenarios presented to her.
The Lacon chapter would like to offer flight scholarships to worthy students. Currently there is no flight training available at that airport, and they have approached our chapter about funding scholarships here. Several details would have to be worked out.
The avionics are being wired up. Weather and holidays led to two missed build sessions in December, so progress is slow. The avionics will begin to light up in January, and the battery is on the trickle charger in preparation for this.
This project should be finished in the first half of 2026, and the time has come to set a price for it. The board has appointed a committee of three—Greg LePine, Todd Moore, and Bob Pegg—to handle this sale. Looking at listings of comparable airplanes for sale, it appears highly unlikely we will be able to recoup the cash outlay made.
Over December, a few more former staff members from Kitplanes began posting articles on airplane building on AvBrief's Experimental Aviator section. This includes Barnaby Wainfan, who posted an article not about aerodynamics, and there were short articles by Vic Syracuse and Ron Wanttaja, too.
AvBrief also has a section acting as the successor to Aviation Consumer magazine called the Smart Aviator.
While on the topic of on-line aviation magazines, Greg LePine recommends Vintage Aviation News. A typical, recent article had this summary as part of its headline: "Two Flying Bulls aircraft—the Lockheed P-38 Lightning and Douglas DC-6B—will be featured at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2026. Both airplanes will be on display at Boeing Plaza and take part in the daily afternoon air shows throughout the weeklong event."
Have you sent in your 2026 membership dues? It's $40 for either individuals or families.
Many years, the Airport Authority asks for a list of who's on the chapter roster to determine which gate cards can be disabled.
The heated hangar that used to be the mechanic's shop next to the FBO is now being rented for airplane storage.
The problems with the hangar lease have been resolved. The new gal at PIA handling the paperwork even fixed up the lessee section to correctly state that the chapter leases the hangar, not some individual on the board, a change that had been needed for years.
eaa563.org
Mt. Hawley Airport, Peoria, Illinois