MANG AERO CLUB

Newsletter Vol. 9 No. 11  (November 2011)


In this issue:


Calendar of Events

December 2, Friday, 6:00 PM Holiday Party & General Membership Mtg. @ DeLucas


MANG Needs a New President

Robb Butts, who has served as MANG's President for over two years, has announced that he will not be a candidate for President for next year. That means we really need someone to step forward and fill this important position to keep our Club operating. If you believe you would do well in this position, please contact Robb and he will be glad to fill you in on what the position involves. We need to choose someone at the Holiday Party on December 2nd.

Of course any MANG member may run for any of the other three elected positions too: Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer. To make your intentions known, contact any Board member.


Changing Oils

As Dave Schrader pointed out in a recent e-mail to the membership, we are in the process of changing over to multi-weight 20/50 oil in our planes. This calls for special attention in case you need to add oil. It is important not to mix multi-weight oil with single-weight oil. Currently the Cessna has already been changed over to 20/50 oil, but the two Pipers are still using 65-weight oil until their next oil change, at which time they will also be using 20/50 oil. The maintenance and operations officers are doing their best to help you avoid mistakes. All three planes have the current correct oil posted on the chalk board for that plane. In addition, the operations officer has made sure each plane is stocked with the correct spare oil in the luggage compartment. Nevertheless you should make it your responsibility to verify that the correct oil is being used if you need to add any. Read the notice by the chalkboard and follow it. As each plane is changed over to the multi-weight oil, the chalkboard for that plane will be updated.

Previously MANG had been using a different single-weight oil for summer and winter flying. This created changeover problems twice a year. Once we get through this latest changeover we will only stock the one kind of oil.


Holiday Party is December 2nd!

We are looking forward to seeing our fellow club members at the Holiday Party at Delucas Restaurant in Westland. You should have all gotten an invitation from Robb Butts asking for your dinner choices. In addition to a great dinner with all your MANG friends the gathering is the occasion for our yearly election of officers. Please get back with Robb about your selections.


Winter Procedures in Effect

We might as well face it - winter is taking hold. That means engine block heaters are now being used. When you come to the hangars you can expect to find the plane plugged it. This makes it easier (or possible!) to start the engine when it is so cold. Make sure that after you fly you plug it back in so the next pilot will have a nice warm engine to start with.

Another change brought about by winter is that we ask members to leave their cars outside the hangars. Cars can drip oil and in the winter, salt. The salt would be very destructive to our hangar floors. In fact the Board has decided to encourage members to park outside the hangar year-round - not just in winter. There is plenty of parking around our hangars, so moving you car inside really should be unnecessary in most cases.


Around the Hangars

Operations Officer Dale Thorsby has two items regarding stuff found in the hangars. One is that there is a large and growing lost-and-found box in the MANG office. It has various sunglasses, cases, knee boards, maps, etc. If you are missing any of your stuff, take a look quickly, because Dale is going to be purging (donating?) the items on January 1st.

The second item has to do with real junk - garbage - trash - food packaging - cups. Dale is finding way too much of it in the planes. Make sure that when you put the planes away you look around in the cabin and pick up after yourself.


Mirrors, anyone?

We are considering getting some cheap wide-view mirrors to install in the hangars to aid in checking the lights from the cockpit. We would need about three mirrors for each plane. The mirrors would be mounted in the hangar so that from inside the plane you can see if all the lights are working without having to get out of the plane and walk around. The mirrors do not have to be huge, but they do have to be convex so they will cover a wide view. If anyone has any mirrors like this that they would like to donate, or if you have a lead on where such mirrors can be found without spending too much money, please contact Dale Thorsby.


Flying Hours and Statistics

As of the end of October, our flying hours for the year were up 29.8 hours over the same period last year. This speaks very well of a healthy Club that doing quite well.

Here are the statistics for October 2011:

(Total HOURS)

54115

43755

33149

All Aircraft

October 2011:

37.0

25.3

14.2

76.5

Here are the top flyers in terms of flight hours for the month: