St. Louis Flying Club Newsletter - 31 August 2015

From The President - By Charley

Dear Members:

Great to see so much flying over the past month! Great trips taken in all kinds of weather. A big thank you to both John and Kip who were able to replace the Arrow Attitude Indicator and panel light potentiometer in time for Steve’s flight to Charleston.

I’m happy to tell you all that we now have three new people on our waiting list. We initially worked through a long list of prospective members who had expressed interest over the last year to fill the spots created by the addition of the Citabria but have now begun taking on new applications again. One of the prospective members is a highly experienced CFI who would be willing to help out with aircraft checkouts etc. while the other two are lower time looking to build experience. The good news is that we are attracting high quality members who are ready to join if we should have an opening.

If you have not responded to Steve Heidenreich with your availability for a Fall meeting, please do so soon. It looks like we are circling in on October 17th as a meeting date, stay tuned for confirmation. As a reminder, we will have a brief BBQ social after the meeting for anyone who can stay. It is a great opportunity to relax and get to know each other over lunch.

A couple of years ago we changed our club meeting format so that the Officers meet a couple of weeks in advance to develop an agenda and distribute to the members for consideration about a week before the meeting. We have found that this advance notice allows people the chance to voice opinions or ask questions in advance of a vote or discussion at a meeting. Many items reviewed for inclusion in the agenda come from members at large. Please be sure to send myself, Steve or any of the Officers items you would like to discus at our upcoming meeting as we are developing an agenda now. The Officers will be meeting on October 5th, and it would be ideal to have all agenda items by that date. Club meetings are the best vehicle to suggest improvements or changes you would like to see, it is important we all have a voice in making our club the best it can be!

Talk to you all next month.

Safe skies,

Charley

Treasurer's Report - by PIC

Members,

Flying really picked up last month (over 63 hrs) with the better flying weather. This was the most monthly hours flown this year. John was able to get the "Oshkosh" special from Jeppesen on the Garmin database updates (15 months for the cost of 12 months).

Gas went down a couple cents which didn't affect the hourly rates. No change in monthly dues. The share value went down this month due to the cash flow surge with the heavy flying (fuel costs are immediate but the flight hour payments lag a month). This will average out in future months.

You'll see a lot of "?" in the fuel credit actual column. Please remember to e-mail a picture of your fuel receipts so I can record the actual values.

Pic

   Maintenance - by John

N8746V Citabria 7ECA

• Tail Wheel - On 20 Aug, Tim reported the tail wheel tire was flat prior to his flight. He filled it with air and it seemed to hold pressure and Tim alerted the other Citabria pilots to check the tire before their flights. On Aug 26, the tail wheel tire was found flat again. On Aug 27th, the tire was removed and the inner tube had a small hole in it that was causing a slow leak. The tube was replaced and a new spare tube was ordered.

N20843 Cessna 172M

• Door Latch tube - On 29, Pic reported that the Pilot door latch handle was not working. On 30 July, the Cessna Pilot door handle latch mechanism tube was replaced with a new tube and now works properly.
• Oil Change - The oil analysis results from the oil change on 28 July were received and trends are continuing to look good.

  

N2242N Piper Arrow IV

• Oil Change - The oil and filter were changed on 2 August and the oil analysis result trends are continuing to look good.

  

• Panel Lights - The instrument panel light dimmer Potentiometer switch was replaced on 7 August The panel lights now work properly.
• Attitude Indicator - John Waddell reported that the Arrow Attitude Indicator failed during his flight on 31 July. An overhauled AI was ordered and installed when it arrived on 7 August.

Copyright © 2015, St. Louis Flying Club, All rights reserved. Last updated August 2015.