St. Louis Flying Club Newsletter - 25 December 2010

From The President - By Todd Michal

Dear Members,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

As I look back to the beginning of the year, we were just in the early negotiation phase to purchase the club second aircraft, a Piper Arrow, and expand the club. 12 months later, we put 268 hours on the Arrow and have 8 new members in the club. Overall, we flew a total of 401 hours this year which, even after accounting for 2 planes and 16 members, is a significant increase in flying for the club. Mike McBride will be compiling the flight hours per member totals for the year and will include it in next months Newsletter. The Cessna has a newly overhauled engine and both aircraft are in fully enclosed hangers. Thanks to everyone that helped make the Arrow purchase and club expansion work out so well this year

I look forward to the new year and increased flying for all the members.

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Todd

Treasurer's Report - by Mike McBride

Fuel prices at TACAir remained stable once again this month; hourly rates for the C172 and Arrow remain at $64 and $87, respectively. Flight hours were moderate for the Arrow, but relatively low for the C172.

The treasury balance is at just over $2,760; the adjusted treasury is positive at $312. Property tax was paid on the C172 (a credit on Todd Michal's account), offset by a transfer from the C172 escrow fund. Since we do not owe property tax on the Arrow this year, the escrow funds for Arrow property tax was transferred to the Arrow equity fund; this will be used to offset the expected shortfall on Use tax for the Arrow purchase.

Fly Safely

Mike

   Maintenance - by John

N20843

• Pilot Door Handle - We had a squawk on 10 Dec that the pilot door handle inside the plane would not operate. The door panel was removed and one of the handle pushrods was found to be broken. I was able to weld on a new threaded stud to the existing pushrod and fix the problem. The aircraft was returned to service on 11 Dec.
• Wing Tip Fairing - The replacement wing tip fairing arrived and a few additional parts are on order to complete the installation.
• Nose Wheel Fairing - The nose wheel fairing repair is progressing slowly, mainly due to business travel the past month.
• Panel Dimmer Light Knobs - The new dimmer switch knobs arrived and I plan to install them over the Christmas holidays.

N2242N

• Oil Change - The oil and filter were changed on 22 Nov and Philips X/C 20W50 oil was added.

   Club Airplane Model Order - by John

Aimhigh Model company has finished the Arrow and Cessna models and will ship them on Dec 27th. They will probably arrive the first week of the new year. Here are a couple photos of the models in work.