In this issue:
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Saturday, April 29, 9:00 - Plane Wash / Barbecue at the Hangars
Monday, May 8, 6:00 - Board Meeting at the Birdcage Pilot Lounge
Thursday, May 25, 7:00 - MDOT Safety Seminar: Flying to Canada, at
Plymouth Library
Saturday, June 10, 9:00 - Plane Wash / BBQ & Membership Meeting
at the Hangars
Monday, July 10, 6:00 - Board Meeting at the Birdcage Pilot Lounge
Saturday, July 22, 9:00 - Plane Wash / Barbecue at the Hangars
Monday, August 14, 6:00 - Board Meeting at the Birdcage Pilot Lounge
Sunday, September 10, 9:00 - Plane Wash / Barbecue at the Hangars
Thursday, September 21, 6:30 - Membership Meeting at Plymouth Library
Monday, October 9, 6:00 - Board Meeting at the Birdcage Pilot Lounge
Monday, November 13, 6:00 - Board Meeting at the Birdcage Pilot Lounge
Sunday, December 3, 5:30 - Holiday Party at a place to be announced
The Plymouth Library is at 223 S. Main St. in downtown Plymouth. Phone 734-453-0750
Plane Washes are scheduled to reserve the planes from 9 AM to 1 PM. This should allow members convenient use of the planes on plane-wash days.
Saturday April 29th is our first plane wash and barbecue of the year. Come and see your new (looking) planes and meet some of your fellow Club members. For those of you who are still wondering what goes on at a plane wash, here it how it goes. People start arriving at the hangars around the official start time of 9 AM, although some get there a little early, and some show up around 10 or later. You get credit for showing up even if you just come for the food. Each plane gets pulled out of the hangar. We spray a little de-greaser on the bottom and then we hose them down with water. Then we fill a bucket with water and detergent and give the plane a sponge bath. Then we use the hose again to rinse off everything, top and bottom. Now it is time for drying. Everyone grabs a a squeegee or a towel (we have plenty of them!) and we wipe off the water. Someone usually gets on a creeper and wipes off the bottom the plane too. Then we let the plane air dry. About two times a year we follow this up with a waxing. (Wax-on, wax-off, just like on Karate Kid). In the meantime, someone may find a broom and sweep out the hangar while the plane is being washed. Someone else will get the vacuum cleaner and vacuum out the interior of the plane. About the time that all three planes are nearing completion, Joe McEvoy usually fires up the (new) MANG Aero propane grill and starts making some burgers and hot dogs. Sometimes there are chocolate chip cookies or potato chips too. Various drinks are available. Amidst all the work is a lot of talk. You may hear a story about how someone went to Kelly's Island or crossed Lake Michigan or got lost near Traverse City. Get various opinions on the best way to land the Cessna in a short field, or how to use the new Garmin GPS radios. You can share you own flying experiences over a burger and a Coke. You can generally help out in whatever way you like, and you can leave whenever you like. We are looking forward to seeing you on Saturday!
We are entering the good weather flying season with all three airplanes in good flying condition. All three have recent annuals and some nice mechanical and cosmetic improvements. While some clubs are struggling to maintain membership, we are fortunate to enjoy full membership. We have not had a membership vacancy longer than 30 days in the last 3 years. Our fee structure and new membership level (55) should allow us to enjoy a healthy financial year in spite of the negative start which is expected after winter annuals. All we need to do now is fly! So where are you going to go this summer? What destinations are on your list? Every year at this time I get my list out of places to go, and adventures to take and start to daydream about the upcoming journeys. This club is about providing safe, reliable, affordable aircraft to our owner-members so they can enjoy the freedom of flight, whether for an hour round-trip hamburger run, or a cross country scenic adventure. Before you go, please take a moment this spring to review the club rules on the website www.mangaero.org, and fly safe.
Best Regards, Steve Thornburg
MDOT Safety Seminar: Flying to Canada
MANG Aero is sponsoring an MDOT Safety Seminar on May 25th at the Plymouth Library from 7:00 to 8:00. The topic will be Flying to Canada, and the speaker is Phil Tartalone of Eastern Michigan University. Anyone who wants to help set up for this seminar, contact our new Safety/Training Officer, John Keck.
The ballots have been counted. Bob Scott reports that between the ballots returned at the last General Membership Meeting and those returned by mail, there were a total of 15 "no" votes. The rest of the votes were counted as "yes" votes. Therefore the amendment to the By-Lays passes. This will not result in any immediate change since there are no applicants on the waiting list. But the concerns of the members that voted "no" prompted President Steve Thornburg to appoint a committee to examine possible steps that could be taken to improve scheduling availability. The main area of interest is the discrepancy between the time originally scheduled and time flown. Bob Scott and Dale Thorsby are on this committee. If any member has any thoughts on this question, especially with suggestions on things we could do to improve the situation, please e-mail Bob Scott at robert.scott@tunelab-world.com.
Dale Thorsby, our Operations Officer, is back on the job after his surgery. Welcome back, Dale!
After voting in new member, Mel Newdigger, we have 53 members. In light of the recently-passed By-Law change, this means we have two more openings.
Meet new member, Mel Newdigger:
Mel Newdigger is a District Manager for Farmers Insurance. He has lived in Northville, MI for the last 10 years. He is a native Missouri lad with stops in Virginia and Kentucky. He has a wife Connie, two grown children, and three grandchildren. Mel has always loved the thought of flying and after coming in contact with an old classmate at a high school reunion who flies a MU2 he talked Mel into taking lessons and becoming a pilot. Mel obtained his ticket through Kitze Aviation at Mettetal airport.
The Archer hangar door has finally be fixed with new cables. It should operate much smoother now.
Thanks to Paul Fortino for a great job on the annuals. The Warrior panel has been restored and painted. The carpet has been replaced, and the passenger arm rest has been repaired.
John Keck is new Safety/Training Officer
The headline says it all. John Keck has been appointed Safety/Training Officer to replace retiring Alan Hickman. I'm sure we will be hearing more from him in the months to come, since one of his objectives is to improve communication among members in the Club. Welcome aboard, John!
(This is the first of a series from John Keck, our new Safety/Training Officer.)
Aviator's Code of Conduct: Part 1 of 7 (rules for a Pilot to live by)
I will be maintaining an on-going signup for specific needs for our Pilots, such as:
Flying Specific: Safety Pilots,
Buddy Pilots, Refresher Pilots, Coffee Pilots & After Plane Wash Pilots.
Training Specific: BFR Refreshers,
Spring Refreshers, Phase of Flight Refreshers & Maneuvering and
Emergency Procedures.
Destination Specific: Port Clinton,
Fulton Co, Mount Pleasant, Sagatuck to name a few
Night Operations: Downtown Detroit
at night for the non-flyer.
I am also intereseted in organizing Emergency Procedure Simulation. This will be administered in the hangar, with a flight sim and slowly and methodically going over the checklist... You react the way you train.
We want to know "Are you interested"?
In volunteering to assist with the MDOT seminar we
are sponsoring on May 25th?
In giving safety oriented classes lasting 15-30 minutes?
In Piloting or Navigating Club day/overnight
Airtrips to destinations like Mount Pleasant, Coldwater?
In receiving or riding along on Spring Refresher
Flights? We need Buddy/Safety Pilots?
In becoming part of our new Breakfest Club? With
AM weekday and weekend flights to Jackson?
In making our own flight safety video?
If any or all of these ideas appeal to your sense
of adventure, contact John Keck
and find out more!
Here are the statistics for March 2006:
|
(Total HOURS) |
54115 |
43755 |
33149 |
All Aircraft |
|
March: |
5.8 |
20.1 |
5.3 |
31.2 |