EAA Chapter 563
The Beacon
February, 2026
The winners of the five auction prizes were announced at the January chapter meeting. The prizes went to:
The auction added roughly $400 to the chapter account, largely due to Ric Woldow's generous donation of a ride in one of his radial engine airplanes. Dick was asked which airplane he's chosen:
I'm not sure. Mary is thinking about whether she would like a ride in Stearman. I would love for Mary to have a ride in the Stearman, but if she declines, I would like to ride in the T-6. In no way should my choices be seen as trying to downplay the tremendous accomplishment of restoration of the Broussard... I'm thrilled to have this opportunity. Are parachutes included?
The kitchen is in dire need of volunteers the next few weeks. Assistance with set-up, cooking, and clean-up is needed, please.
Todd Moore has invited all the past Young Eagles to this Saturday's breakfast.
The VMC Club meets on the 25th. While the IMC Club will not be meeting this month,
We are having a meteorologist from Lincoln visit in March. Andrew Taylor will be speaking to us about aviation weather and forecasting. This is open to the whole chapter, though it will probably have a distinct IMC flavor.
In HQ's Chapter Video for January, they mentioned that with MOSAIC now in place, their two biggest regulatory issues are integrating drones into the airspace and unleaded aviation fuel. Something they know needs to be addressed for the 2026 OSH are all the electric scooters, etc, which are zipping around the grounds.
The chapter's application for a 2026 scholarship has been accepted. It will be the end of February before we know if we will receive one.
At the January board meeting, Rob Meyer, who manages the chapter's scholarships, said Lincoln Land has been holding $2,500 from the chapter awaiting a candidate that meets our criteria of being from the area around Peoria. The board agreed to have them release $1,500 to any qualified candidate this year.
The chapter's scholarship at Lewis University was also discussed. Members of the board feel this scholarship is not as effective as that with Lincoln Land. Both are for mechanics training, and the goal is to promote general aviation in central Illinois. However, Lewis graduates tend to remain in the Chicago area, an area from which Lewis already receives large charitable donations. Further, providing funds to the runners up for the Ray pilot scholarship has produced several young pilots in the Peoria area.
The allocations will be discussed again at future board meetings. They seem to be leaning towards moving funds from Lewis to either Lincoln Land or flight training. The head of the Investments committee noted that the rising markets have improved the chapter's modest endowment fund despite having withdrawn some of it for scholarships this year.
Samuel Spragg, one of the teens working on the Cruzer build, has been accepted to the Air Academy at this summer's OSH fly-in. The chapter has been sponsoring these trips for many years, covering half the cost. Samuel will likely be able to cover the other half through a "campership," and the Young Eagles credits earned in 2025 will offset part of the chapter's half.
The avionics have been powered up and are being configured and tested. The seats are in, and the aft cabin side glazing is being installed. Work has begun on the windscreen and the cabin top glazing.
While this project has been advertised for months, we have not yet found a buyer. Setting the price is largely a matter of studying the asking prices of similar aircraft on Trade-a-Plane and Barnstormers. Trying to figure out how much money this project stands to "lose" (ie, sale price as compared either to donations received or to replacement costs) has been challenging. The record keeping for this four year project has spanned three treasurers, and the numbers don't quite line up. Mike Simmons, the current treasurer, and Karl Kleimenhagen have been digging through the records and will continue to do so; they feel they are close. The board has asked the project team to pay better attention to these details on the next build.
The sale of this first airplane building project for teens will be for less than the money spent. The board agrees the intangible benefits to the chapter have been worth it, especially considering youth engagement with the chapter and in getting adult members more involved in airplane building. To minimize losses with future builds, the board and the project mentors agree the next build will be limited to the airframe, with an offer to install an engine and avionics if the buyer supplies them.
Two fellows, Sudheer Sajja and Sai Suchith Pesala, from Pringle Robotics help with several of the area robotics teams, and they wish to expand to year round their work with youth. They have purchased an RV-10 kit and have about ten kids interested in building this airplane. They will invite teens from the current project to join in. They plan to join the chapter and use space in the hangar to work on their project. The mentors from the current Cruzer project will be available to assist them.
MGL Avionics has a new U.S. distributor, Legit Avionics in Lafayette, IN.
AvBrief continues to grow. One recent interesting tidbit found there was on Piperzilla. This is a tricked out Cherokee 180 ("Hershey bar" wing) with vortex generators, etc, which is besting some Super Cubs in STOL competitions. Your spam can might have more potential than you think.
They have also reviewed electronic ignition systems. Of interest is the upcoming magneto from Champion. This will be an electronic ignition system completely contained, including its internal power generator, within a package that fits on the current pad for a conventional magneto. It should be able to generate a spark down to 100 rpm.
The board has discussed whether the current site might be lacking in pizazz. The current site is in raw HTML/CSS, and its editor admits it might be a challenge for his successors to maintain. (On the plus side, it's also the lowest cost and completely portable between most hosting services.) Board member Killian Madeley has recently revamped the site of Bradley Flying and will look into alternatives.
For now, adding a few more photos might help, and if you have some taken at meetings and other chapter events, please pass them along through the chapter e-mail account.
On the home page of the chapter web site are links to the three social media accounts the chapter has recently opened: Facebook, X, and Instagram. Todd Moore has created and is maintaining these.
It's time to form an Audit Committee to review the chapter's financial records from 2025. The chapter president appoints three people (who must not be board members) to this committee. Please talk to JJ if you are willing to serve.
If you haven't sent them in, your 2026 membership dues are overdue. It's $40 for either individuals or families.
You will be hearing more turboprop noise at the airport. The hangar directly south of the chapter's is now home to a "Super" King Air.
Courtesy of all the people using the airport's dumpster to dispose of their home improvement waste, the dumpster is now locked. See the person at the desk in the FBO for permission to use the dumpster.
eaa563.org
Mt. Hawley Airport, Peoria, Illinois