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St. Louis Flying Club Newsletter - 31 April 2020

From The President - By Steve

Dear Members,

I hope all is well with you and your families during this strange time.

I am happy to report some good news as the last month saw many positives for our club. The much anticipated upgrades on the RV were finished and having flown it I can tell you it is still the same fun airplane but with increased capabilities. It is now an IFR airplane (See codes to use for IFR flight plans below) with a better autopilot, improved panel and many other features. We also had the completion of the annual for the Arrow that included a successful eddy current test of the outboard bolt holes on the wing spars per a Piper service bulletin 345.

While the Covid crisis continues, it has had a minimal effect on the waiting list for potential members. I have been in touch with all of them and will have a full report next month.

Mike Landgraf has announced the club meeting for May 9th at 11:00 that will take place via teleconference. If there is something you would like on the agenda let me know.

I look forward to at least talking to all of you at the meeting.

Safe flying!

Steve

Treasurer's Report - by T.J

Fellow Members,

Attached below are our April financial schedules; don’t hesitate to call with questions.

Blue Skies

TJ

BILLING STATEMENT

BALANCE SHEET

There were several large moves on the balance sheet this month, notable items include:

• The maintenance funds for the RV and Cessna are negative, but we expect them to correct through normal usage over the next couple of months.
• The RV is put back in service and the costs spent that we built in the “improvement fund” line item is collapsed into the N202CR line item. However, we have left $6,000 in the improvement line item that represents the assumed market value of the Garmin 430 that we plan to sell.
• We are done spending out of the Avionics improvement fund until the Arrow autopilot/other upgrades are started. Assuming we sell the 430 for $6,000 or better, at the current run rate, we will replace all of the funds over the next 4 years through normal dues.
• The Cessna and Arrow values have been adjusted to market via an assessment done using vRef.

RATE PER HOUR and DUES

• As a reminder to the membership, we reimburse ourselves for our club as follows:
  • Improvements - Monthly/Annual Fixed charges – non-aircraft expense = Dues and Assessments
  • Aircraft Operation and Maintenance = Rate per Hour
• As disclosed in previous month this year, we incurred a rather significant increase in insurance premiums. The officers have met and discussed and given a desire to not increase the dues, we have elected to change some allocations until circumstances no longer warrant.
• The new allocation of funds is effective as of 3/15/20.

See the schedules attached below:

We have also analyzed and made necessary adjustments to rate per hour. Note that these are effective as of 4/16/20. Also note that the rate per hour in the RV has been de-facto adjusted because, with the new avionics, we will begin tracking time via Engine Hours (Tach Time) vs. Hobbs Time. You can get the current Engine Hours on the G3X by touching the engine monitor area on the RH side of the screen and seeing the Engine Time near the bottom of the screen.

   Maintenance - by John

N202CR RV-7A

• Condition Inspection/Avionics Upgrade - The Condition Inspection/Avionics Upgrade was completed on April 21st. After the first test flight on April 3rd, the instrument panels were removed and painted and the new markings and placards added. As TJ mentioned in the Treasurers section, we are now using Tach Time or "Engine Hours" instead of Hobbs time for calculating flight costs. The 1:1 RPM is set at 2300 RPM (similar to Cessna and Arrow) so that if you flew for an hour at 2300 RPM, you will be charged 1 hour. If you are taxing, you will be charged less than 1/2 as much time as you were with HOBBS time. Here is a screen shot of the Engine Page on the G3X where you will find the "Engine Hours" to enter in the flight log before and after your flight.

N20843 Cessna 172

• No GPS signal on GTN-750 - On a flight on April 3, the GTN lost the GPS satellite signals for the whole flight (GPS INOP Message on the screen). I checked the GPS signal page in flight and there were no GPS satellite reception bars like there typically are. After the flight, the problem was also duplicated on the ground with the Cessna pulled out of the hangar. A check of the GPS coax connections looked OK. We pulled the GTN-750 from the Arrow and installed it in the Cessna. The Arrow GTN-750 received the satellite signals as normal in the Cessna which indicated a problem with the Cessna GTN-750. Prior to sending the Cessna GTN-750 to Garmin for repair, we reinstalled it back in the Cessna and it worked fine. A flight the next day confirmed the Cessna GTN-750 is working normally.

N2242N Piper Arrow IV

• Annual Inspection - The annual inspection was completed on April 21st. We completed the elevator cable/turnbuckle AD inspection with no issues found. This inspection is due again in 7 years or 2000 hours, whichever comes first. We also complied with Piper Service bulletin SB-1345 that required an Eddy current inspection of 4 wing attach bolt holes for Arrows with over 5000 hours flight time. We worked with the flying club next door to get a discount on having two aircraft inspected at the same time. The inspection by St Louis Component Repair and Inspection and the replacement bolts and nuts totaled under $300.

  

  
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