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St. Louis Flying Club Newsletter - 30 September 2020

From The President - By Steve

Dear Members,

Our club meeting is scheduled for 10/25 at 1pm. The plan is to pull a plane out and space chairs to allow for social distancing. If you are unwilling to attend due to Covid concerns let me know and we can try and work something out. At this point it looks as if the only vote will be for the election of officers. The current officer group have all agreed to remain on the ballot and as of now are unopposed. For those unable to attend please give your proxy to a member that will be there.

The Arrow is down for the upgrade and the Cessna and RV have been flying regularly. Weather permitting I have a 5 day trip in the RV to western Michigan in October. I plan on using the new cover and I brushed up on the canopy and gust locks. Thanks to Kevin Gause for getting the current RV POH put together in a nice laminated spiral book. It is well constructed and should last a long time.

I hope you all have a chance to get out and enjoy the Fall weather!

Safe flying!

Steve

Treasurer's Report - by T.J

Fellow Members,

Attached below are our the August financial schedules; don’t hesitate to call with questions.

Blue Skies

TJ

BILLING STATEMENT

BALANCE SHEET

Significant Discussions

• Avionics Fund - We sold the GNS430W from the RV and netted $5,154.70 (see the major work in process bullet).
• Other Improvement Funds - We are no longer funding these lines as we experienced a significant increase in insurance and elected to not raise dues. At the officers meeting, we decided to hold dues flat and see what happens to insurance in January. Ultimately, we will likely combine the interior and exterior improvement funds.
• Maintenance Funds - No maintenance funds are negative. In fact, with the falling fuel prices and our not decreasing rental fees, the maintenance funds have begun to increase more rapidly.
• Overall Cash - This will build $3k to $4k per month and we expect it to be sufficient to pay taxes and insurance at the end of the year.
• Aircraft Valuations - Pic moved us from vRef to “Aircraft Bluebook” and valuations were adjusted accordingly. While they all did adjust down, the dollar amounts were not significant.
• Major Work - As discussed in the avionics fund, we sold the 430 for which the valuation was held here. As of last month, the 430 was valued at $6,250 so the final sales price did impact the share value by $1,000. As of now, this line item only represents monies we have spent thus far on the Arrow upgrade.
• Spare Parts/Old Avionics - Pic and John Heilmann have committed to completing and providing a detailed valuation of these line items. This process should be complete by the November 15 statement.
• Share Value - Between the write-down of the aircraft and the lower sale value on the GNS-430W, shares decreased $162 per share. /UL>

  

RATE PER HOUR and DUES

• As a reminder to the membership, we reimburse ourselves for our club as follows:
  • Improvements - Monthly/Annual Fixed charges – non-aircraft expense = Dues and Assessments
  • Aircraft Operation and Maintenance = Rate per Hour
• We re-evaluate the amounts every March 15 and September 15. For this September, we are keeping dues that same until we can evaluate what happens with insurance.

   Maintenance - by John

N202CR RV-7A

• Oil Change - On Sept 9th, the oil and filter were changed and the oil sample sent in for analysis. The lower spark plugs were removed and cleaned, gapped, rotated and reinstalled.
• Engine/Prop Balanced - On Sept 9th, we dynamically balanced the propellor and engine to reduce vibration levels on the airframe and aircrew. The initial vibration level was .46 inches per second (IPS) and after balancing the prop and adding 25.4 grams of weight to the starter gear, the final vibration level was down to 0.05 IPS. We plan to balance the Arrow and Cessna in the near future.

  

• Carb Heat Control - On Sept 30, we replaced the Carb Heat control cable as it was not staying in the desired position when pulled out.
• Drink Holder - On Sept 30, we installed a drink holder just forward of the fuel selector handle support structure

N20843 Cessna 172

• Oil Change - On Sept 5th, the oil and filter were changed and the oil sample sent in for analysis. The spark plugs were removed and cleaned, gapped, rotated and reinstalled.
• Autopilot - Garmin issued two service bulletins on the Cessna autopilot installation. Service bulletin 2063 Rev B calls for replacement of Servos with a serial number less than 2000. We already had a warranty covered replacement of our Pitch Servo (S/N 355)and we will replace the Roll (S/N 337) and Pitch Trim servos (S/N 355) during the annual inspection under Warranty. The other Service Bulletin, 2090 Rev A, adds a cable guard to prevent a slack rudder cable from potentially getting caught on a connector connector screw. We will order the parts and install them at the annual. The autopilot servos in the RV and Arrow have serial numbers over 9000 and are not subject to the Service Bulletin.

N2242N Piper Arrow IV

• Oil Change - On Sept 6th, the oil and filter were changed and the oil sample sent in for analysis. The spark plugs were removed and cleaned, gapped, rotated and reinstalled. Compliance with AD 2015-19-07 on fuel line and clamping inspection was also done while doing the oil change.
• Avionics Upgrade/Autopilot Install - On Sept 21st, the Avionics Upgrade/Autopilot Install started on the Arrow. The pitch, Roll and Pitch trim servo installation was completed and work is in progress to remove all the old avionics and start installation of the new avionics and sensors.

Copyright © 2018, St. Louis Flying Club, All rights reserved. Last updated September 2020 .