Mark your calendars for the MANG Holiday Party on Dec. 5th!
In this issue:
Tues. Nov. 9, 7:00 - Board Meeting at the Hangar
Sun. Dec. 5, 5:30 (dinner at 6:30) - Holiday Party at Atlantis (Ann
Arbor Road, East of I-275)
(Times and locations are subject to change.)
Atlantis say if we get at least 40 people attending the Holiday Party, then we will get the choice of four entrees. Otherwise we get to chose from only three main dishes.
As you know, we are getting a new Garmin GPS NAV/COM for the Archer shortly. (This is why you will see an increase of $20 in your October bill and for the next five months.) You can learn to operate this radio from the comfort of your home computer so that when you step into the Archer, you will already be an expert. Garmin offers a free simulator that you can run on any Windows computer. This simulator allows you to poke at the buttons with your mouse and see how it responds. If you would like to get this simulator, here is what you can do.
The simulator download is about 14 Mbytes long. If you have ordinary dial-up Internet service with a 56k modem, this will take about one hour to download. If you have any broadband service (like DSL, or a cable modem), then it will take just a few minutes. If you don't want to download the program, MANG can make some CDs available at the hangar office. Contact Bob Scott if you need a CD. Otherwise, you can download the Garmin 430 simulator by clicking here.
What you download by following that link is a program fill named Train430.exe. If your web browser gives you the option of saving it or running it, choose save. This will simply copy the file to your hard disk. It will not install the simulator on your computer. To install the simulator, you have to locate the file, Train430.exe, and then run it. The reason it is better to run it as a separate step rather than as part of the download is that by doing it separately, you have the option to copy the installation file (Train430.exe) to a CD and then installing it on some other computer, perhaps one that is not connected to the Internet. What we will do for members who cannot download the program is put this file on a CD and make it auto-installing.
In any case, after you install the simulator, you will find a new entry on your Start Programs list "Garmin Trainer". Then you can actually run the simulation and begin playing the the radio. If you like reading, you can also download the complete operator's manual for the 430 by clicking here. This is a 3.5 Mbyte PDF document file that takes about 15 minutes to download with a dial-up Internet connection.
Members Responsible for Returning Airplanes
At the October 12th Board Meeting, the Club policy of members responsibility for returning airplanes was discussed and reaffirmed. When you fly a Club airplane somewhere, you are responsible for returning it. If you get stranded because of bad weather, or because of maintenance problems with the aircraft, you can elect to stay with the aircraft until you can return it, or you can leave it and return home some other way. In any case, please make every effort to contact someone from MANG if you cannot return by your scheduled return time. At the very least, you should inform the person who would fly next so that person knows that the airplane will not be available for them. If the issue is maintenance, then contact a MANG maintenace officer for advice. Normally MANG will pay for fixing the plane, but if you decide to have repairs done on the airplane without advice from a maintenance officer, you might not be reimbursed. If you decide you cannot return the airplane and you leave it somewhere, you are responsible for your own transportation costs returning home. If MANG must send someone out to retrieve the airplane, then you will also be charged for the flight time in flying that airplane back to Willow Run.
MDOT Seminar: ‘Flying with Kids' and 'Flying to Canada', Oct 27, Oakland-Troy
"MDOT Aviation Safety-Education Seminar"
Topic: 'Flying with Kids' and 'Flying to Canada'
Date: October 27, 2004 at 6:30 PM
Location: Oakland-Troy Airport
"Flying with Kids"--Tips and techniques on loading your aircraft full of kids and actually enjoying the flight. "Flying to Canada"--Learn how to fly across the border without confusion. To view further details and to register for this event, click here.
As Operations Officer, Dion Zammit has the job every month of taking the time sheets that you fill out when you fly and entering the tach times into the computer to generate correct billing. Dion has noticed several instances where members have not entered correct times. He knows the tach times are incorrect because the starting time for one flight does not match the ending time of the previous flight, or the times otherwise just don't make sense. In this case Dion has to do a lot of head scratching to figure how much time to bill each member.
When you fly, please enter the correct tach time, and check to see if your start time is the same as the ending time for the previous flight. If not, try to figure out what went wrong so Dion won't have to guess. If you buy fuel at the Jet Center East and then taxi back to the hangar, make sure to enter the final time on the log sheet, not the time at Jet Center. Sometimes the tach time can flip over an extra tenth during that taxi.
Nominations are still open for the positions of President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer for the coming year. All the current holders of these offices have agreed to run for another term. But if anyone else wants to run, or if you would like to nominate someone else, please contact a member of the Board before the Board Meeting on November 9th. The election will be held at the Holiday Party on December 5th.
Here are the flying hours for September:
|
(Total HOURS) |
54115 |
43755 |
33149 |
All Aircraft |
|
September: |
34.2 |
38.1 |
27.2 |
99.5 |