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St. Louis Flying Club Newsletter - 31 April 2023

From The President - By Steve

Dear Members,

This message is coming a little late as I wanted to include comments on our Club meeting on Sunday. We had a nice turnout with 16 present and another 5 via proxy. Those not there missed some great ribs courtesy of John Waddell and a delicious dessert made by Beth Campbell.

Bill Carrier presented a safety moment on collision avoidance. TJ went over the financials with helpful explanations and a reminder of the $1500 assessment coming soon with the timing dependent on the shipment of the new engine. It was originally scheduled for April and we are waiting to hear from Air Plains on the latest shipping information.

Brad reviewed the Member Status and announced the results of the Oshkosh Lottery. TJ is going in the Arrow, Mike Mahoney in the RV, and yours truly in the Cessna. Pic revalued the planes and each increased about $2,000. John's maintenance report included info on the Garmin GSA-28 autopilot servos that we have in all the airplanes. We can replace then with Mod-1 servos now or anytime in the next 5 years so the decisions was to wait (as long as ours are woking) as there may be a newer version down the road.

The RV Condition Inspection turned up low compressions in 2 of the cylinders and an issue with the Lightspeed Electronic Ignition System. With any luck, it will be resolved next week.

We had two votes on seat upgrades for the RV and the Arrow. Both votes were unanimous for the upgrades. The first vote was for new seats and side-panels (with pockets) in the RV with a cost of $6100. This would be funded by a $150/member assessment with the rest coming from the interior improvement fund. The second vote was for new carpet and front seat foam cushions for the Arrow payable with money from the interior improvement fund.

Thanks again to everyone that participated or presented in the meeting.

Steve

Treasurer's Report - by T.J

BILLING STATEMENT

Comments:

  • April was a great month for hours!
  • Please remember to send those fuel receipts, keep in mind how easy it is to do it from the fuel pump.
  • We keep holding fuel flat as nobody is using full service and so we use published rates; keep up the great work!!
  • Please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions.

BALANCE SHEET

  • We have plenty of cash to operate into the foreseeable future, but as a friendly reminder, the club approved a $1,500 assessment that will become payable in the late spring of 2023, depending on engine delivery.
  • Don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions.

   Maintenance - by John

N202CR RV-7A

  • Condition inspection in Progress - We started on the condition inspection on May 1st and hope to have it complete by May 12th. There were some unexpected issues that we are currently working to resolve.
    • Compression Test - Compression on Cylinder #3 was 58/80 and cylinder #4 was 60/80. When we checked compression last month, all cylinders were above 75/80. Borescope inspection doesn't show any issues. We plan to fly plane and then check compressions again.
    • Electronic Ignition - The timing indicator LED on the 20 year old Lightspeed electronic ignition failed and there is no good way to time it to the engine. We ended up purchasing the new Surefly Electronic Ignition and are installing it. We needed to order a new drive gear that has two woodruff key slots so that we can time it to the engine.

N20843 Cessna 172M

  • No maintenance Actions this month

N2242N Piper Arrow IV

  • Speed Mod Status - The Landing gear fairings and flap gap seals have arrived and will be painted and installed at the annual inspection or sooner if we can fit it in.
  • Oil Access Door - Steve reported that the oil access door was excessively vibrating in flight. Inspection indicated that the latch was worn and letting the door open about and 1/8 of an inch. We made a new door and installed a new latch and hinge and returned that Arrow to service on April 15th. The new door fits snuggly with no vibration in flight.
  • Oil Change - On April 18th, we changed the oil and filter and added 7 qts oil and 11oz Camguard. Inspection of the oil filter shows no metal. An oil sample was sent in for analysis.


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