Mark your calendars for the MANG Holiday Party on Dec. 5th!
In this issue:
Tues. Oct 12, 7:00 - Board Meeting at the Hangar
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.
You will notice an increase of $20 in the monthly dues for the next six months, starting with the October billing. This is as a result of the decisions made at the September General Membership Meeting regarding new radios. The extra $120 raised in this way will be added to every member's equity, which will go up from $600 to $720. Since it is counted in equity, it will be returned to you when you leave the club (provided you have been a member for three years). It also means that new members will have to pay $720 in equity instead of $600. If you choose, you can also pay the entire $120 assessment at once instead of paying an extra $20 per month for six months.
We have recently completed a major upgrade to our Cessna 172 avionics. A new (used) audio panel and KX-155 Nav/Com have been installed. The audio panel is the same model as we have on our other two airplanes, so we only need to learn how one audio panel works instead of putting up with the quirks of the old audio panel that we had in the 172. The total cost was about $4,300.
In addition, we have been discussing a possible upgrade involving the Garmin 430 IFR GPS and Nav/Com for nearly half a year. After much research by the New Radios Committee, and much discussion, it was finally decided at least to upgrade one aircraft in this way. That aircraft will be the Archer. We have decided to buy and install a Garmin 430 as Nav/Com #1 in the Archer, and to move the KX-155 to the Nav/Com #2 position, thus fixing the defective Nav/Com 2 at the same time. This will cost about $6,000 more than what we have in the avionics reserve for the Archer. The $120 increase in equity for each member will cover this shortfall. It also represents a permanent increase in value of the airplane, thus justifying the increase in the equity.
As for learning about how the Garmin 430 works, there is a free downloadable simulator available from Garmin. There will be more information on our new radio in future newsletters. The actual installation will probably take place some time during the winter, so as to minimize the downtime during good weather.
We are reminded once again to close the gate after you pass through. If you use the motorized gate, remember that the gate does not automatically close behind you. You must click your clicker after you go through. And if anyone interrupts the light beam while the gate is closing, it will stop closing and re-open. If you use this gate, it is your responsibility to ensure that the gate does close completely before you drive away. If you use the gate with the padlock, you also are responsible for locking the gate behind you.
In preparation for our annual Election of Officers, which will be held at the Holiday Party on December 5th, we are issuing a call for nominations for the positions of President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. The ballot will be finalized at the Board Meeting on November 9th, so if you want to run for one of these offices, or if you want to nominate someone else to run, please contact someone on the Board and let them know before then.
Updating your Info on ScheduleMaster
Suppose you are scheduled to fly on Monday. The pilot who took the plane out on Sunday notices a problem that grounds the plane. As a courtesy to you, that pilot, or perhaps the Maintenance Officer, tries to contact you to tell you that the airplane is unavailable. In order for them to contact you, they need to have your current phone number(s) listed on ScheduleMaster, which is the official list for that type of information. How can you check to see if your information is up to date? When you visit ScheduleMaster on the Internet, click on Users, and then find yourself. Then click on your user number. That will open a window in which you can enter your address, phone number, and e-mail address. The e-mail address is used not only for members contacting members one at a time. It is also used whenever anyone on the Board sends out a broadcast e-mail to all members, which happens for newsletter announcements, as well as urgent notices about the status of our airplanes. So if any of this personal info changes, make sure you update that info with ScheduleMaster.
In addition to the personal info that you can enter, ScheduleMaster also keeps track of the expiration date of your Flight Review and FAA Medical. If either of these things expire without your doing anything about it, you will lose the ability to make airplane schedules. In order to prevent this from happening, forward proof of the new Medical or Flight Review by sending a photocopy of the Medical Certificate or Logbook entry to our Safety Training Officer, Alan Hickman. Some of you may have been getting other Board members to fix ScheduleMaster for you, but Alan reminds us that it is important that all such records be maintained by the Safety Training Officer. So make sure Alan gets the documentation for this these events.
In addition to hosting our newsletter, the Internet domain "mangaero.org" also hosts special club e-mail addresses. Three such addresses have been set up:
president@mangaero.org
info@mangaero.org
cmo@mangaero.org
E-mail sent to these addresses will be automatically forwarded to the current holder of the appropriate office (President, Vice-President, and Chief Maintenance Officer).
Here are the flying hours for August:
|
(Total HOURS) |
54115 |
43755 |
33149 |
All Aircraft |
|
August: |
34.5 |
25.1 |
34.3 |
93.9 |