"St Louis Flying Club Newsletter"

St. Louis Flying Club Newsletter - 20 October 2005

From The Vice President - By Todd Michal

Dear Members,

I hope you've all been able to enjoy the great flying weather we've had this fall. I was able to take my son out for a local sight seeing flight which we both throughly enjoyed.

John has tallied the club officers election results and posted them on the web site. Thank you to all past and present officers for volunteering your time and effort. Your dedication keeps the club running smoothly. Also thanks to Randy for washing the plane.

There have been several emails exchanged concerning the NAV radios and what direction the club should take to bring these up to date. I have asked the club secretary to arrange a club meeting to discuss this topic and other upgrade/maintenance items. Scheduling conflicts with some of the club members will delay the meeting for a couple of weeks, but watch for a meeting notice soon.

Happy Landings!

Todd

Treasurer's Report - by Marlin Sipe

The Adjusted Treasury increased slightly, from $1193 to $1258. This is looking good so far this year.

As announced last month, the hourly rate is now $57 on this bill. The fuel price has continued to increase and has gone from $4.17 to $4.47/gallon. This means that the hourly rate on the bill next month will go up to $59. A few weeks ago I bought fuel at Smartt for $3.56/gallon. That difference of 91 cents makes a big difference in total price.

The club still has a Philips 66 credit card account which hasn't been used in a long time. JetCorp switched back to that and started charging our fuel to that. They can't explain why it happened, but I got it switched back to my card again. I think after those charges come through and are all paid, I'll just close the P66 credit card account.

I occasionally look at fuel burn, based on fuel charges and flight times. It looks like in some cases the hourly fuel burn is higher than it should be, with over 9 gph. Remember to lean, even on local flights, and even at low altitudes when under 75% power. Fuel burn can be well over 10 gph if not leaned, and at current fuel prices it eats up a large part of the hourly price that should be going towards maintenance.

Maintenance - by John Heilmann & Randy Skyles

No maintenance actions over the past month. The Transponder, Altimeter and Altitude Reporter tests are due by Dec 1. I will contact Mueller Avionics to conduct the tests.

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