St. Louis Flying Club Newsletter - 31 October 2026

From The President - By Steve

Dear Members,

It was great to see everyone at our Fall meeting. We had a nice lunch, introduced Daniel Mattler as our newest member, and took care of some club business. I want to thank all the club officers that volunteered for another term, it’s a pleasure working with all of you. Thanks also to Jason Watt for the time and effort he put into the aircraft valuations.

As I write this John and Larry are finishing the annual on the Arrow. More on that in the maintenance section but suffice to say another great job by the maintenance crew!

I am looking forward to hearing about Damian Mahoney's adventures ferrying a Cub from SUS to Anchorage, Alaska. All of you EAA members should hear about it at an upcoming Chapter 1675 meeting on December 10th.

Steve

Treasurer's Report - by T.J

BILLING STATEMENT

Comments:

• Thanks for the receipts! Please keep it up.
• Fuel Prices - Fuel has begun to rise materially. The officers anticipate that there is plenty of cash and fund cushion to hold rates steady for the time being, as well as fund some upgrades.
• Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

BALANCE SHEET

• Cash is sufficient for the foreseeable future.
• Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

  

Maintenance - by John

N202CR RV-7A

• Oil Change - On October 26th, the oil and filter were changed. The oil filter was cut open and there were no metal particles. The oil analysis results were normal.

N20843 Cessna 172M

Stuck Valve - On October 7th, Larry started the engine and it initially ran very rough. Looking at the engine monitor, he could see that cylinder No. 2 was not heating up and he suspected a stuck valve. After removing the spark plugs, he inserted his borescope and could see that the No. 2 exhaust valve was not moving. He cleaned the exhaust valve and reamed the exhaust guide and reinserted the valve.

Oil Change - On October 9th, the oil and filter were changed. The oil filter was cut open and there were no metal particles. The oil analysis results were normal.

N2242N Piper Arrow IV

• Annual Inspection We started the annual inspection on 12 October and during the emergency gear extension check, all the gear would come down but the left gear down light did not illuminate. We found that the left hook would not rotate the final amount to lock the gear down and activate the gear down microswitch. The problem was in the actuator and we installed a new one. We hope to finish the annual 6 November and will give an annual inspection summary in the November Newsletter.
• Automatic Back-up Gear extender After trying multiple times to adjust the Back-up Gear extender to drop the gear at 87knots and raise the gear between 70 and 80 knots without success, we decided to remove the Automatic backup Gear extender system per Pipers Service Bulletin. Parts and service for the system are no longer available and most Arrows have the system removed. To provide an additional warning to the pilot that the gear is not down, we are installing a LHS-200-C warning system that will give an audio warning to "Extend Gear" if the gear is not down at 200 feet AGL. It will also provide your height above the ground as you come in to land such as 20, 10, 5, 2, and 1. We will update the Arrow Familiarization Charts to reflect the removal of the Automatic Gear Extension System.

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