In this issue:
Tues. May 11, 7:00 - Board Meeting at the Hangar
Sat. May 22, 9:00-4:00 - Willow
Run Aviation Day (**)
Sat. June 5, 9:00 - Plane Wash & Barbecue & General
Membership Meeting
Tues. July 13, 7:00 - Board Meeting at the Hangar
Sat. July 24, 9:00 - Plane Wash & Barbecue
Tues. Aug. 10, 7:00 - Board Meeting at the Hangar
Sat. Sep. 11, 9:00 - Plane Wash & Barbecue
Tues. Sep. 21, 6:30 - General Membership Meeting at Plymouth Library (*)
Tues. Oct 12, 7:00 - Board Meeting at the Hangar
Tues. Nov. 9, 7:00 - Board Meeting at the Hangar
Sun. Dec. 5, TDB - Holiday Party at TBD
(Times and locations are subject to change.)
* The Plymouth District Library is located in downtown Plymouth, one block North of Ann Arbor Trail, at
223 South Main Street
Plymouth, Michigan 48170
(734) 453-0750
We will be meeting in the meeting room that is on your left on the main floor just as you come in from the East entrance.
** Willow Run Aviation Day is a free event with free food and other attractions. See the Willow Run website for details.
Membership is currently full and there are two completed applications awaiting room.
Reminder: You can always look up the most up-to-date member info including phone numbers and e-mail addresses as well as some other info by clicking on "User" in Schedulemaster.
MANG Aero Club members, please welcome new member Patrick Lusch, who wants us to know:
I began flying in July of 2000, a month after my 17th birthday. For as long as I can remember, I've always wanted to fly. When I was little, my grandfather used to drive me over to Selfridge ANG Base and park on the side of the road. We would sit and watch the jets takeoff and land and from that point on, I was hooked. My father took me to Detroit City Airport where I began flying with Spicer Flying Service out of the old terminal building. I flew 5319D, a Cessna 172, for about three months and then heard that they were closing up for good. The aircraft was sold, my instructor began flying cargo and I was at a standstill again. My mother put me in touch with an old friend from our chuch, Carter Billiu, and he promptly took me on as a student. In April of 2001, I resumed flying at City Airport in a Piper Warrior at the Detroit Pilot Center on the field. Two months later after re-learning everything, I made my first solo flight. I continued training with Carter out of Detroit until July, when I began preparations to move to Kalamazoo to begin my first year of college at Western Michigan University. Aviation majors at WMU do not begin flying until their junior and senior years, so my training came to a standstill for a third time. I came home for the summer after my freshman year and contacted Carter again. He had moved his operations out to Grosse Isle and was training out of Seaway Aviation. In May 2002, I drove out to Grosse Isle for the first time, and low and behold, sitting on the ramp in all her glory, was 5319D. The 172 had been purchased by Seaway. I resumed training again with Carter and a month later, made my "second" first solo. Summer ended, my training stopped again, and I went back to Kalamazoo for my sophomore year. In June 2003, I picked up training again with Carter, but that summer, only managed to get a few hours in because of a new work schedule. Beginning to feel that I was never going to finish, I almost gave up hope. I moved back to Kalamazoo for my junior year, was accepted into the College of Aviation, and began flight training under Part 141 standards. WMU flies Cessna 172's, none of which are older than 1999, and all of which are equipped with full IFR GPS, autopilot and HSI's. This experience with modern avionics and courses in the Professional Flight cirriculum with be a great asset to my lifelong dream of becoming an airline captain. I went through this rigorous training program, of which a lot of my previous experience was credited towards, and passed my private pilot checkride in March of 2004. The training I recieved at Western has really made a difference in my piloting abilities. I am almost through my instruement rating training, and hopefully by the end of April, I will be ready to take the Instrument checkride. I look forward to flying with MANG this summer, and look forward to meeting other members. I would love to share my stories and experiences, and hopefully can share some of the great things I've learned at Western with other members and make some new friends.
Bob Rifflel from MDOT gave an entertaining and enlightening presentation, "Distractions in the Cockpit" at Thursday's Safety Seminar. Of the 51 pilots in attendance, six were MANG members. MANG provided the treats and displayed a poster of our planes for pilots interested in joining. Glenn Shaw from the FAA also spoke for a few minutes.
Warrior: new (cruise) prop has been installed for $2595.25
Remember, the maintenance officers are volunteers, not hired hands. If you have concerns about maintenance in general, then exercise your ownership in this club and participate. All members are welcome to show up and voice their concerns at board meetings in addition to the general membership meetings and plane washes.
Missing Warrior Checklist (Still!)
It seems the official checklist for the Warrior is still missing. Please check your flight bag to see if you have taken it by mistake.
At the last board meeting, the committee consisting Bruce Anderson, Dion Zammit, and Dino Dinatale investigating new radioes gave their preliminary findings. They were looking at various GPS/NAV/COM combinations. The Garmin model 300 XL is a possibility price-wise, but it is a first-generation IFR GPS and is awkward to operate. It does not contain a VHF Nav (VOR) radio and requires a separate annunciator panel. The newer Garmin model 430 is much easier to use and has a software simulator for offline training. Either of these radioes would probably mean that new CDIs will be needed. The use of any IFR GPS will require an additional duty for someone at MANG - the updating of the database every 28 days. Perhaps it would be worthwhile to wait until we can afford the model 430. Both models are on display at Michigan Aviation at PTK airport. Other possibilities mentioned were getting better ordinary VHF radios, or assessing members an equity increase to buy a better GPS now. A model 430 costs $9800 new or $5800 remanufactured. Database updates cost $324 per plane per year. The committee will plan on developing a presentation for the general membership meeting in September.
If you would like to find out more about the new radio considerations or offer some input of your own, contact anyone on the new radio committee: Bruce Anderson, Dion Zammit, and Dino Dinatale.
One MANG member was contacted by the FAA for being observed as taxiing too fast at Willow Run, so play it safe and keep your taxi speed under control.
Here are the flying hours for March:
|
(Total HOURS) |
54115 |
43755 |
33149 |
All Aircraft |
|
March only: |
21.7 |
11.2 |
4.6 |
37.5 |