May 2005

Greetings, Members!
We have been busy! Since our last meeting, we had the Sport Pilot seminar and a Young Eagles Rally. The building committee met after the last Saturday breakfast, and work will be getting started on the hangar again, as Benny Butler makes time available from his busy work schedule. Howard Wolford presented the cornerstone for the hangar to those present at the Young Eagles Rally in Houston. Some members were able to attend the airshow at Poplar Bluff in which Clint Allen performed, reportedly one of his best. I watched Clint practice on a couple of Saturday mornings at Willow Springs, and he was looking good.

The building committee meets	Howard presents the cornerstone
Emmett Kelly Day Young Eagles Rally at M48	YEs try the flight simulator                                         Photos by Sue Kalhoefer

Young Eagles Rally
Chapter 1218 was invited by the Houston Chamber of Commerce to hold a Young Eagles Rally on Emmett Kelly Day, May 7. We scheduled it at our customary time from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Because of all the other activities scheduled on the same day, it looked like we might not have any pilots to fly the kids. In addition, there was wind in the forecast, supposedly starting early in the day. As it turned out, surface winds remained pretty calm for a while, even though winds at 2,000 feet were already becoming strong, as reported by Bob Obert, who said it only took him 22 minutes to fly the Cessna 180 from Gainesville to Houston. He was the first to arrive. Then Tom White, Bob Bohemier, and Mike Vaughn arrived, and they all started flying kids. Finally, Joe Stockard, based at Houston, got the Piper Arrow out, and he made one flight. Then Jim Evertsen arrived in the helicopter, and he made several flights, finishing with one clown from the festival, an "unofficial" Young Eagle. The total number of Young Eagles for the day was 43 by the time the session ended at 11:00 a.m. A big thank you to all the pilots!

Our next Young Eagles Rally is planned on June 4, 2005, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at Ava Bill Martin Memorial Airport (AOV) on the day of the Missouri Fox Trotters annual Spring Show. This is a big event which attracts breed association people from all over the United States. Whole families attend, arriving in motor homes and RVs. The show grounds are less than a mile from the airport. We will need all the pilots and ground crew we can get.

Lots of visiting between the meeting and lunch as Teresa Clark puts the finishing touches on the serving table.
Some of Henny's DVDs available; Bill and Clint checked the building activity; and the sim heads home.                                                                                                                                                                                  Photos by Sue Kalhoefer

Sport Pilot Seminar
Henny reports that attendance was good at the Sport Pilot seminar presented by the Kansas City FSDO at noon on May 7. About 20 people attended. Nobody flew in, probably because of the wind. Interest was high in the 15 disqualifying medical conditions. The FAA has produced a video on this subject, running about 35 minutes, humorously presented, and Henny got a copy of it. She will make copies available on VHS and DVD at the meeting Saturday. After the meeting, everyone was treated to hot dogs for lunch.

April Meeting
Our last meeting was held at Roddy and Teresa Clark's hangar at Mansfield Municipal Airport. It was a beautiful day, and we had hoped to fly some Young Eagles. Apparently, the word didn't get out and none came. However, we only had one pilot, too. Jim Evertsen came prepared to fly kids. So we had plenty of time to visit, then held our business meeting, followed by a delicious lunch of barbecued meats and plentiful side dishes. There is some building activity at Mansfield. A young man that Bill Newton taught to fly bought a Cessna 175 for his training. He is now building a hangar to house his airplane with extra bays to rent. Potential Chapter members.

May Meeting
Our meeting on Saturday, May 14, will be at Mountain Grove Memorial Airport at 10:00 a.m. Henny says lunch will follow the meeting, and meat will be provided. Please bring sides, salads, and desserts as usual. Fly in or drive in. Henny will show the video from the Sport Pilot seminar. She says it is very entertaining and she has made copies of it.

Member News
Jim and Millie Tausworthe are inviting all Chapter 1218 members to attend their annual Memorial Day Barbecue Picnic at Taus River Ranch on Saturday, May 28, starting around 11:00 a.m. Taus River is a grass strip intended for ultralights, 10 miles north of Houston, Missouri. No ultralight? Just drive in. Take Highway 63 north from Houston approximately 3 miles to Highway E and turn left. Take Highway E to the end of the pavement and turn left on Sand Hollow Road for ¼ mile to Taus River Lane. Turn right on Taus River Lane and go a couple of miles to where it ends at the river and you see the houses, hangars, white fence, cars and people gathered. Millie says you have to close your eyes as you pass a really dumpy place and a farm with fighting chicken coops along the way ("that ain't us; when you get to the place with the airplane junk, that is us"). Meat and drinks will be furnished but it would be good if folks would bring a covered dish or dessert and some chairs. If anyone wants to fish in the Big Piney, bring rods and reels. They have about ¾ mile of riverfront and it has some very good fishing holes. For those who like boating, they have a canoe you are welcome to use.

John Zook had the engine in the Taylorcraft overhauled by Lloyd Darter, and he's back in the air.

Sharon Vaughn was having some health problems, now diagnosed and treatment prescribed. Turned out to be nothing too serious, as long as she stays with the daily routine. For that she, and we, are thankful.

As most of you know by now, I didn't get to make my trip to Florida for Sun 'n' Fun and to visit with family there. There was too much bad weather between here and there for both the going and the coming days. Another consideration was the inability to fly locally for enough hours after getting the airplane back from having the engine changed out before the time for the trip. Maybe next year… I'll keep my flight planning stuff, just in case.

Our Birthdays & Anniversaries

TFRs
As I put the finishing touches on this, they are having an evacuation in D.C. because somebody violated the TFR. This is a real embarrassment for GA and won't help us. Please, everybody, even if you don't file a flight plan, at least get your FSS briefing as to the day's TFRs before you fly. Get one of those cards on what to do if… and keep it handy in the airplane. We get kind of complacent in southern Missouri, because we don't have a lot of airports with Class B or C, or even D—only a couple of MOAs—and we know about dams and power plants (they don't move around), but a TFR can pop up anywhere on any day.

Buzz Thunderbee by Squawk
Hey, Buzz, did Bellyachin' Bee go to the Sport Pilot seminar? It could be that a Light Sport Aircraft is his best bet.

Meeting Reminder
That's all for now. We'll see you all Saturday at Mountain Grove. The meeting starts at 10:00 a.m., with lunch to follow. Don't forget to bring a side dish, salad, or dessert.

It's a good place to fly in, with fuel always available. 1MO on the chart. For those driving in, take the Business 60 exit west of the Highway 95 exit, go south across the bridge, turn right at the first street, turn left on Bell Crossing, and turn right on Canary Lane—you are there, and we'll see you there.

May Meeting Announcement