WV FUNFLYERS

April 2006

by Gretchen Watson

April 1st, 2006 Meeting-Dinner

    It was a nice warm day for the first day of April but just a little too windy for much flying.  Kevin and Chuck however, braved the elements and entertained us with a few wing overs.  Captain said that his new plane, Tiger Cub, should be finished in a few weeks. 

    Since it was so windy, Bret and Raine flew their kites.  Kevin built a couple very cute radio controlled Mini Max planes out of foam board and flew them between wind gusts. 

     At the meeting it was brought up that there have been complaints of individuals flying too low over their horse farms and houses.  Please be respectful of our neighbors by keeping a safe flying distance from their properties.  Even if they don’t have animals to scare, keep in mind that not everyone is as enthusiastic about our sport as we are and may not like us buzzing their houses.

    Also at the meeting, we were asked to make donations in order to purchase gravel for the road behind the hangers.  The holes and mud are getting deeper and is hard to navigate in wet weather.  Our treasurer, Steve Doll, will be collecting donations at the May meeting.  When enough money has been collected, the gravel will be purchased and spread on the road.

     It was also asked that owners of airplanes at the airfield, from now on, take their own used oil to have it recycled. 

Clean-up Weekend

      The club clean-up weekend in preparation for the May Campout/dinner/meeting day will be the weekend of April 28, 29 & 30^th.  Bring weed eaters, mowers, etc. and help make the airfield as nice as possible for our members and guests the following week.

Next Meeting - May 6th, 2006

     Our annual May Day Campout Fly-in will be the weekend of Friday, May 5^th.  The Dinner will be on Saturday, May 6th at 1:00 with the Meeting immediately following.  We will be having hotdogs and hamburgers.  If possible, bring a side dish.  We are also asking for volunteers to come early in order to help clean and set up the lounge and tables outside. 

     On Friday evening there will be a campfire/hot dog/marshmallow roast.  Bring your chairs and relax by the fire.  There are usually some very entertaining flying tails told - that grow bigger every year.

     Also on Friday, at 7:00 p.m. there will be a bomb drop competition with two attempts per pilot.  The faster fixed wings will compete first and the slower parachutes and ultralights will be next, around 7:45 p.m.

     On Saturday morning, May 6th, a trip around the triangle (Jackson, Mason, Leon) is scheduled to depart Leon around 8:00 a.m.  Be early if you are interested in joining in the fun.

Dues

     The May meeting day is when the dues for the club are due.  Club membership is $15.00 per person.  Contact Steve Doll, Treasurer at the meeting.

Memorial Service

    A memorial service for Henry Upton will be held at the Clinic at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 6^th.  If you have any pictures of Henry and Savannah, please bring them to the service.  Also, if you can, please share any stories and fond memories that you have.  Refer to the enclosed flyer.

Leon Stuff

April 2nd, 2006

    It was a little calmer that morning than the day before.  Steve (trike), Mickey (trike) and Gretchen (Tbird) flew to Jackson County for breakfast and then over to Kenna.  Steve and Mickey landed at the Rodney Travis International Airfield (aka cow pasture) while Gretchen circled over head monitoring the activities.   On the way back the thermals made for quite a ride.  The two trikes climbed up over the clouds to approximately 4500 ft. seeking calmer air while the Tbird stayed under them.  Glen flew later in his Zenair 701.  Chuck (Mini Max) showed up toward evening and flew for a while.

April 14th, 15th - 2006

    Chuck started out the weekend by taking a late evening flight on Friday.  Saturday morning, Bret, Raine, Ron and Curtis helped Mickey & Gretchen remove their doors from hangar seven and attach them to hangar 3.  It was windy all day long so many just worked on their planes.  Rick arrived back from Florida with his Challenger on a trailer.  He worked all afternoon reassembling it.  Ron, also back from Florida, worked on getting his challenger ready for Spring flying.  Captain and and Doni were also at the airfield.  Gretchen took one flight after the wind died down right before dark. 

April 16 - Easter Sunday

    On Easter Sunday, Glen (701), Steve (trike), Mickey (trike), John Townsend (Quicksilver) and others were flying on what was a beautiful afternoon.   

April 21^st, 22^nd and 23^rd

     It was a busy place that weekend.  All of the trike pilots were out flying - Bret, Curtis, Steve, Josh and Mickey.  John Townsend (Quicksilver), John Bolten (Titan), Gretchen (TBird), Chuck, Kevin and Raine were all out in their Mini Max’s.  Gwain and Kevin road their scooters to the airport one evening that weekend.  Glen and Russell were there.  Ron Rife has been working on his Challenger.  Melvin is also back and flying his Hi-Max.  Rick was out training students several evenings in his Challenger.  The two-place Quick Silver, Roger's, went home to get new wing covers at which time Roger found a buyer for it. 

     Curtis made a new windsock and, with help from Bret, Mickey, Raine and Steve, put it on the pole.  They also greased the bearings so that it should now move more freely.

Sport Pilot News

     If you are interested in getting your aircraft Airworthiness Inspection, Jim Stephenson, DAR, will be at Super Dave’s Powered Parachute Fly-in on June 6^th at Canonsburg, Kentucky.  Jim is certified to inspect all types of aircraft.  If enough are interested or ready, he will make a trip to our airfield to conduct the inspections.  However, in order to have an inspection, you must have applied for and received by June 6^th an N number.  Once it passes the inspection and the N number has been applied to the aircraft, if you are not yet a certified Sport Pilot, you will not be able to fly it legally.  If you are preparing for becoming a Sport Pilot, this would be a great opportunity to get your plane legal since finding DAR’s (Designated Airworthiness Representatives) are difficult.

Quilt Raffle

          Don’t Forget, the quilt raffle will be held on Saturday, May 6th during the meeting.  If you wish to enter that weekend, Kathy Pack has the tickets.