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St. Louis Flying Club Newsletter - 31 March 2019

From The President - By Steve

Greetings Members:

Spring is finally here and hopefully some better flying weather comes with it. I found enough good weather to fly down to Charlotte in the Cessna and really enjoyed the scenery over the mountains. It was a long flight but the avionics and autopilot upgrades really paid off. The only thing I could have used was a 30kt tailwind!

We have another membership applicant who showed a great interest in the club during a hangar tour last week. I have been in contact with some previous applicants who wish to remain on the active waiting list and will have more on that in May.

Get ready to mark your calendar for our Spring meeting. The officers got together to set the agenda and Mike Landgraf will soon announce a date. John Heilmann is putting together information on some great upgrades for the RV so look for that to come out soon. The meeting should give some folks a chance to check out the Cessna upgrades and I know John and Larry would be more than happy to help explain some of the features. I would also offer to ride along with any member and point out some of the things I've learned about the GTN750 and Garmin autopilot. I know it can be hard to fly the plane and try out new equipment.

The IRIS App that was used to control the aircraft engine heaters shut down on March 31. We have switched to a new App called "WEMO" to control the engine heaters. To get set up to use WEMO, download the WEMO App from the App Store. The next time you go to the club hangar, connect to the STLFC WIFI network (use password on the white board in the office) and open the WEMO app and you should see the three aircraft heater buttons as shown below. Enable remote access (if not already enabled) and you will be all set up. If you need to turn on heaters before you get set up, send John, Larry, or myself a text or phone call and we will turn on the heater for you.

I look forward to seeing all of you in May.

Safe Flying,

Steve

Treasurer's Report - by T.J

Fellow Members,

Attached below are our 2/15/19 financial schedules; don’t hesitate to call with questions.

Blue Skies

TJ

Billing Statement

Attached below are our 3/15/19 financial schedules; don’t hesitate to call with questions.

BALANCE SHEET

Notable Items:

• Cash-General – We paid the RV sales tax and maintenance purchased the ADS-B solution, thus the decrease in general funds. The majority of these funds now represent the general payable we have to the membership.
• Avionics – When we purchased the RV, we established a reserve of $4,000 (in general above) for the ADS-B solution. The members voted to install an upgraded system and any amounts greater than the amount reserved come out of the avionics fund. These asset purchases temporarily reside on our balance sheet in the “major work” line item.
• Cessna Maintenance – Bills continued to trickle in related to the Cessna annual so the fund continued to trend down. We believe no major adjustments are needed as the expenses are now significantly completed and the fund will replenish as the Cessna flies heavily over the spring/summer fall.
• Aircraft Valuations – As done every March and September, our aircraft have been revalued to market (per AOPA vRef).
• Major Work – While some funds still exist for parts we purchased for the Arrow upgrade, the majority of this line item now represents items purchased to upgrade the RV.
• Other / Debt – The $7,500 was $3,500 for taxes and $4,000 for the RV upgrade; as described above, these amount have been paid.

RATE PER HOUR

Rates per Hour until September are as follows:

• RV – From $80 to 75.
• Cessna – No change @ $80. Note that the maintenance fund is currently running at a deficit. However, we believe that it will recover over the next six months as the aircraft just came out of a significant upgrade/annual. If the deficit is not corrected by September we will likely need to increase the rate.
• Arrow – From $100 to $95.

DUES

The officers discussed the dues at the March officers meeting and the monthly amount will remain $135, although the allocations have changed. We have incurred a significant increase in insurance expense as well as a smaller increase in hangars. Because we don’t pay for an annual, any work done is really maintenance expense and as such, we have moved the “annual” amount to $0. Over time all these expenses will come out of the annual/maintenance fund and will ultimately drive the rate per hour of the aircraft. See the table below, but don’t hesitate to let me know if there are any questions.

   Maintenance - by John

N202CR RV-7A

• Condition Inspection - The condition inspection on the RV-7A started on April 1 and the compression test results were very good: #1-76/80, #2-76/80, #3-72/80, #4-77/80. The oil and filter were changed and the oil sample sent in for analysis.

N20843 Cessna 172M

• No Maintenance activities on the Cessna this month

N2242N Piper Arrow IV

• Annual Inspection - The annual inspection started on 27 Feb and was completed on 3 Mar. The compression results were very good: #1-76/80, #2-77/80, #3-75/80, #4-75/80. We complied with Piper Service Bulletins 1331A, 1313A, and 1242 Inspections and the Arrow did not have any issues. The lower Transponder and ADS-B In Antennas on the bottom of the fuselage were replaced as they were starting to delaminate.

Copyright © 2018, St. Louis Flying Club, All rights reserved. Last updated Feb 2019 .