In this issue:
Saturday, October 4th 8:00 AM Plane Wash & 11:00 AM BBQ @ MANG Hangers
Monday, October 20th 6:00 PM Board Meeting @ Birdcage Lounge
Monday, November 17th 6:00 PM Board Meeting @ Birdcage Lounge
Friday, December 5th 6:00 PM Holiday Party @ Ernesto's
The Plymouth Library is at 223 S. Main St. in downtown Plymouth. Phone 734-453-0750, ext. 217.
This year we have had five new members join our Club so far. We are at full membership (55) and we have three prospective members on the waiting list. Since we are limited by our Club Bylaws to 55 members, these three cannot join until someone leaves. It is nice to know we have such an attractive Club.
This year happens to be the 50th anniversary for MANG (founded in 1958)! Here are the current members who have been with MANG the longest, along with the their number of years:
Bob Finn
30
Larry White
22
Carl Dollins
20
Mark Cabus
19
Dave Jordan
16
Dino Dinatale
14
Dan Wadowski
14
Dave LaPointe
12
John Sorovetz
11
Sam Mekled
10
Robert Scott
10
Dennis Ward
10
Bruce Anderson
10
As for the newer members, it is interesting to note that of our 55 members, 40 of them have joined the Club in the past 8 years.
It is not too early to start thinking about your selection of officers to serve MANG Aero Club in 2009. The officers to be elected are President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer. The duties for each officer are found here. The election takes plane at the Holiday Party in December (see next item). If you would like to toss your hat into the ring, then contact any Board member. Better yet, come to the next Board Meeting on October 20th. In addition to those four elected officers, there are the officers that will be appointed by the new Board in January: Safety/Training, Chief Maintenance, Archer Maintenance, Cessna Maintenance, Warrior Maintenance, and Operations. If you would like to serve in any of these capacities, it would also be good to put in an appearance at the October 20th Board meeting. Attendance at Board meetings is expected for all officers, elected or appointed.
The Holiday Party will be at Ernesto's in Plymouth. This is the same place where we were two years ago, but this time we have a larger room. We will have a choice of three entrées. The meal will be billed to your MANG account. There will drawings for door prizes which include Sporty's gift certificates and flying time and others. The only club business will be the election of officers. More information will follow in later newsletters, but mark your calendars now for Friday, Dec. 5th.
Crossing the Border with Canada
Just a reminder to anyone who flies near the border with Canada: According to NOTAM 6/7435 you must meet three requirements to cross that border:
1. You must file and operate with an active flight plan (IFR or VFR).
2. The transponder must be continuously squawking an ATC-issued
discrete code (not 1200).
3. You must maintain two-way communication wtih ATC.
This even applies to minor temporary incursions of the border through Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair, and the Detroit River. The full official text of the Notam can be found here.
Dick Harrison's First Solo in his LSA (Light Sport Aircraft)
MANG member Dick Harrison has posted the following videos on Youtube showing his first solo with his new light sport aircraft at Hillsdale:
Google Earth for Flight Planning?
John Keck has provided this link to a Plane and Pilot article on using Google Earth, Aero Charts, Weather, etc.
Expired Medicals and Flight Reviews
Our Club makes sure you don't fly with an expired medical certificate or flight review (formerly called the "Biennial Flight Review", BFR). We do that by notifying you through Schedulemaster, and by preventing you from scheduling a Club plane until the needed documents are submitted to our Safety/Training Officer, John Keck. You can put copies of the documents in the mail and send them to John. But John says that the fastest way to send him your documents is by e-mail.
If you happen to have an image scanner connected to your computer, then you can create a JPG file and send it to him as an attachment to the e-mail. You might even use your digital camera to capture the documents, provided it has a close-up mode and you can make a picture that is as clear as a photocopy. If you don't have access to either of these things, then you can go your local public library and scan a document onto a USB memory stick for free.
For renewed medical certificates, send a copy of the new medical certificate itself. For a flight review, send a copy of the endorsement portion of your logbook where the CFI states that you have completed the flight review.
Fuel Surcharge Remains at $14/hr
As determined by current fuel prices, according to the formula we reported in the May newsletter, the Fuel Surcharge for the month of October will be $14/hr. Therefore the total charge for flying hours in October will be:
|
Cessna and Warrior: |
$75 + $14 surcharge = $89 / hour |
|
Archer: |
$80 + $14 surcharge = $94 / hour |
Here are the statistics for August 2008:
|
(Total HOURS) |
54115 |
43755 |
33149 |
All Aircraft |
|
August: |
16.3 |
17.8 |
21.6 |
55.7 |
We had 22 pilots flying. Here are the top flyers in terms of flight hours for the month:
|
Craig Frothingham |
8.2 |
|
Bruce Anderson |
6.2 |
|
Joe McEvoy |
4.8 |
|
Rod Lelental |
4.6 |
|
Michael Smith |
4.5 |
|
Larry Millen |
3.7 |