Annual Christmas Party 11/18/2009
The Annual Chapter Christmas Part is scheduled for Saturday the 5th of December at the CenturyTel Hangar in Monroe. The event/cooking will start at approximately 4 pm. Fried Catfish, French Fries, and Hush Puppies will be the main attraction. Drinks will be provided. Members are asked to bring a dessert or salad. A 5$ donation per adult will be collected. Young people eat free. ALL family members/friends are invited. We plan to eat at 5 pm. If possible, you should bring a chair/lawn chair since seating may be an issue. We should have plenty of tables. Mark will be summarizing the past year – things that worked and things that didn’t. It will be a good time for discussion and to make plans for next year. We are always looking for some suggestions on things to do at our meetings. Hope to see you at the event. We will have a good eventing of food and fellowship. The regular news letter will be issued later this month. John Gummere October 2009 10/31/2009
The October meeting was held at Lanny’s hangar in Winnsboro. The poor weather prevented anyone from flying in. Bill Albritton filled in for Mark and conducted the meeting. The discussion focused on the up coming TVR fly-in. We had volunteered to support the event which was scheduled for Saturday the 31st of October. The attendance at the Winnsboro meeting was low due to the flying conditions. Dan Fordice provided us with some of the details and we were able to get the word out about the event via email/phone. The weather up to the day of the fly-in was questionable. Fortunately the weather cleared and the day dawned cool and sunny. We had four airplanes and 7 chapter members to support the event. Dan and John Paris seemed to have everything well planned out. We manned the registration table. I saw Earl and Mark giving rides to people. Dan reported that 54 people were registered with 25-30 airplanes. He estimated the total attendance at 70 people. Four T6s arrived for the event. The noon meal was excellent (jambalaya, beans, and dessert). Everyone agreed that the fly-in event was very successful. Next Meeting Our next meeting is scheduled for 9 am, Saturday the 14th of November. The meeting will be held in Monroe at the CenturyTel hangar. We will be making plans for the Chapter Christmas party. The Christmas party is the last chapter event for 2009. Other News of Interest Another RV has arrived at Farmerville. Zack purchased an RV-6A a few weeks ago. The airplane looks great. It has an Air Force paint scheme. Hopefully, he’ll bring the airplane to our meeting next Saturday. The RV jointly owned by Wayne and Zack was sold last month. Wonder when the next new project will appear at Farmerville? I heard a rumor that Dan Fordice is going to expand his airplane fleet with a P-51. An airplane like this would get a lot of attention around the area. Everyone I’ve talked to was very impressed with Dan’s hangar and airplanes. John Gummere Secretary EAA Chapter 836 September 2009 09/30/2009
Unfortunately the Freedom Fly-in turned into a drive-in instead of a fly-in. The weather forecast for the day was low ceiling with intermittent rain. This prevented most people from venturing out in their airplanes. Earl W, John B, and Bill K flew in from the local area while we had two airplanes from Jonesboro and an amphibian passing through from south Arkansas. The weather around the Farmerville airport did not prevent some of the local members from flying. The cubs and RVs were active and Earl gave rides in the Zenith. Ground activities went well. Lawrence prepared a great hamburger/hotdog lunch. His idea of using a donation box instead of charging a set fee for the lunch worked out OK. We sold out of food again this year (a good thing). We also sold chapter tee shirts. Most of the chapter members present were able to get a shirt. We also sold many of the older shirts. I counted approximately 65 people in attendance throughout the day, which is impressive with the poor weather. We had 26 chapter members present. The local Chevrolet club displayed several cars. Roger said there would have been more people but they didn’t want to get their cars wet (kind of like airplane people). Everyone I talked to enjoyed the event despite the poor flying weather. I can only imagine the turnout if the weather had been good. I bet Zack and Rene would have been busy handling the airplane traffic. After the dust had settled the event generated 53$ to the good. This was good news since we had hoped to at least break even. We added a new chapter member – Danny Redding from Calhoun. The day ended about 2 pm just in time for the rain to set in. All in all it was a great day. Many thanks to the chapter members who worked before and during the event, and especially to our illustrious fly-in chairman Jackie G (alias the ‘Delegator’). Next Meeting The next chapter meeting will be held at Lanny’s hangar in Winnsboro. The meeting time is 0900, Saturday the 10th of October. We plan on discussing the Freedom Fly-in we had last month and also our commitment to the TVR Fly-in which is scheduled for Saturday the 31st of October. Other News of Interest I continue to visit Farmerville every Saturday when possible. There is always some type of aviation activity going on there. If you want to see the cubs or RVs in action it is the place to go. Jimmy Fordham gave us a personal air show last Saturday. He stays busy performing at air shows throughout the area. I didn’t realize he was so busy with this activity. No wonder he is never around. I had someone from work the other day ask me about that airplane with the smoke coming out of it doing all kinds of loops and rolls . so the local fishermen on the lake are watching the airplanes around Farmerville. I wonder when the next project will start in Glen’s hangar? I received an update from Jim Brown the other day. He has purchased an RV6. Jim says it is a dream to fly. He sent along some pictures. It sounds like their area is also a hot bed for aviation. He is still working on an RV8. I also got an update from JoAnn. She and Howard appear to be having a great time out west. The scenery out there is impressive. She mentioned that they may get back to Louisiana around Thanksgiving. Maybe we’ll have a chance to visit. Earl is continuing to make progress on his Zenith project. It sounds like he is getting pretty well along. He plans to go with the Jabiru 3300 engine (same engine that I have in the Sonex). I guess it is time to start pressing him for a completion date. All he likes is finishing up. John Gummere Secretary EAA Chapter 836 August 2009 08/30/2009
The August meeting was held at the Farmerville Airport. We had 19 members/guests with 11 airplanes counting the ones based in Farmerville. The major topic of discussion was planning the Freedom Fly-in which is scheduled for the 12th of September at Farmerville. The list of events for the fly-in include the spot landing contest, poker run, showcase fly-bys, and a car display by the local Corvette club. We will also offer a hamburger lunch and drinks. Lawrence H. is organizing the lunch. Zack S. is working out the aircraft parking issues. Rene D and Vernon R will serve as Air Boss, providing information to pilots inbound/outbound and also helping to control the spot landing contest and the showcase fly-bys. Sam H. will help judge airplanes and cars. Bill A. will manage the poker run. I’ll be working in the registration tent. We will help out with the spot landing and showcase fly-by activities, pilot registration, and answering questions. Jackie G. will be working at the spot landing area. Mike B. will keep everyone updated on the PA system – when/where various events are scheduled. If you haven’t been approached to help out in one of these areas please contact someone Saturday morning. The group voted to get tee shirts for the event. They should be available the day of the event. Lawrence is handling the tee shirts and they can be picked up at the registration tent (I’ll check with him on the price). Rene gave us an interesting report on the air race he and Vernon participated in on the Sunday before the start of Oshkosh. They finished 2nd overall and first in their division. Next Meeting The next chapter meeting is the Freedom Fly-in scheduled for Saturday, the 12th of September at the Farmerville Airport. The event will start about 9:00 with the first event (Spot Landing Contest) starting at 10:00. We will also begin the poker run during this time. If possible, people helping with the event should arrive between 8 and 830. Other News of Interest Most of the flying activities seem to occur at Farmerville. Two Legend Cubs are flying, along with a host of RVs. I don’t see any projects in Glen’s shop? Wonder how long that will last. I try to get up there every Saturday morning to wind out the Sonex. Mark gave me a ride in his RV today. It handles like a dream – light and responsive. Aileron rolls are easy after a brief lesson. He demonstrated several loops, a loop with a 90 deg roll in the vertical, and an Immelmann. Jackie and Zack reported that Ruston airport is charging a 10$ landing fee at the FBO and that Monroe may be doing the same thing. I would imagine the fee is waived if you buy fuel, etc. I guess they are getting tired of us free-loaders who fly in, use the facilities, drink their coffee, and leave. Don’t think we’ll be having any chapter meetings in Ruston anytime soon. You can still do touch and goes and taxi up to one of the hangars without charge, just stay away from the FBO unless you are going to spend some money. I’ll have to check with Lawrence to get the full details and see if this is the new policy. Please try to make the Fly-in next Saturday. Everyone can find a place to help out and have some fun during the event. John Gummere Secretary EAA Chapter 836 July 2009 07/31/2009
The July meeting was held at the Winnsboro Airport. The turn out was excellent for the weather conditions – clear, light wind, but HOT. We had 19 members/guests with 10 airplanes. Wayne arrived in his Legend Cub. Everyone had to inspect the new airplane. Lawrence and I took up the cooking activities. Robert supplied the coffee (it was good). Lawrence and I prepared pan cakes. We didn’t get any complaints, but they were tough enough to use as patches. My wife said I probably didn’t have the fire hot enough. I’ll try to do better next time. The meeting was called to order by Mark, with the Freedom Fly-in the major topic for discussion. The group was concerned about the location since we haven’t had any feed back from the Bastrop Officials. Jackie (fly-in chairman) and Lawrence wanted to get a decision today and Farmerville was suggested as an alternate. So a motion to move the fly-in to Farmerville was discussed and approved by the chapter. The 2009 Freedom Fly-in is officially set for Farmerville on Saturday the 12 of September. We discussed details of the fly-in during the rest of the meeting. Lawrence has agreed to organize the food. Zack will oversee the aircraft parking and Rene has agreed to be air boss. I was able to recruit another helper for the registration table, so this should be covered. Bill Albritton volunteered to plan a ‘poker run’, with details to follow (something new). We will need someone to organize the aircraft judging. We have the trophies from last year. Roger will check with the local Chevy club to see if they would like to display some of their cars during the fly-in. It was very successful during one of our events in Ruston. Farmerville has many good features for the fly-in. We had considered this site earlier, but felt that parking and the lack of a parallel taxi way would be a problem. We’ll work through this issue. We are still looking for ideas to help make the fly-in more appealing. The typical fly-in as far as I’m concerned has been – fly in, land, talk, eat a hamburger, and leave. Little or no flying activities! If you call this a fly-in, then the Farmerville group does this every Saturday and they do fly their airplanes. There was some discussion about those planning to attend Oshkosh. I think we’ll have about 10 chapter members going to the event this year. Mark and Lawrence and Jackie plan to fly in and camp in the homebuilt camping area. I think Rene and Vernon will have the Legend at Oshkosh following their cross country race. Next Meeting The next chapter meeting is scheduled for Saturday the 8th of August. We will meet at the Farmerville airport to complete most of the plans for the September Fly-in and have an Oshkosh de-brief. Other News of Interest The Legend Cub is nearing completion at Farmerville. Glen tells me that the airplane should be finished and flying in August. He is working on the cabin interior. You can check it out at the meeting Saturday. Folks are filtering back from Oshkosh. We got back Friday afternoon. Rene and Vernon finished 2nd overall in the air race. Jackie said that Jimmy Fordham flew his Yak in the air show Friday. I’m sure there will be a lot of talk about Oshkosh at our meeting next Saturday. Please try to make the meeting. We’ll be making final plans for the September fly-in. John Gummere Secretary EAA Chapter 836 June 2009 06/30/2009
The May chapter meeting was held at the Bastrop airport. We had 12 chapter members/guests and 9 airplanes. The group met with the new airport manager, Brent Elton to discuss the possibility of moving the Freedom Fly-in to Bastrop. The meeting went very well. Brent had no issues with how the fly-in would be conducted and said he would be glad to work with us. We are presently awaiting the official OK from the new Bastrop mayor. We should get the word by mid July. Maybe we’ll know something before the July chapter meeting. After the discussion with Brent the group started planning for the event. The first item of business was finding someone to head up the fly-in this year. Jackie volunteered (under extreme pressure) to be the fly-in chairman/coordinator/etc. As usual he plans to delegate where possible. I will be running the registration this year. I’ll be looking for some help. Planned events will include the spot landing and show case of various designs. We have several new airplanes in the chapter this year –RVs, Zenith, Legend Cubs, etc. We decided to stay with hamburgers, hotdogs and cold drinks in the food department. This seemed to work in Ruston and it does minimize the effort. Everyone at the meeting was in favor of putting Lawrence in charge of the food again (he wasn’t at the meeting to defend himself). He and Alice did a great job at the last fly-in at Ruston (I’m not counting last year’s rainout). Zack’s name came up for aircraft parking, Rene for air boss, and Mike B. to help out with the sound system. We’ll need someone to run the aircraft judging. The group decided that chapter member aircraft will not be eligible for judging. We will continue to discuss the fly-in during our next chapter meeting. If you have a suggestion for other events please bring it up at the meeting for discussion. Oshkosh is coming at the end of this month so there will be a lot of discussion on who is going and how they plan to get there. I plan to attend by ground transportation again this year. May 2009 05/31/2009
The May chapter meeting was held in Farmerville. The major topic of discussion was the location for the Freedom Fly-in which is scheduled for September. We have had the fly-in at the Ruston airport for the last three years. It is a great location and the people operating the airport have been a big help. There seemed to be a lot of interest in picking another site just for a change. All of the comments about our previous fly-ins at Ruston were positive. We discussed the possibility of having the event at the Farmerville airport. There was some concern about facilities such as the lack of a parallel taxi way and parking. The Bastrop airport was the next site that was discussed. The runway, parallel taxi way, and parking areas have been re-surfaced and painted. The site had been selected several years back, but rejected after talking with the airport manager. Since that time a new airport manager has been named. The group decided that someone from the chapter would contact the current Bastrop airport manager and see if he would be interested in letting us use the facility for our fly-in. April Newsletter 04/30/2009
The April meeting was the annual Bald Eagle/Crawfish boil. The event was a huge success. The food was outstanding as usual. John B prepared the crawfish, shrimp, corn and potatoes while Lawrence cooked hamburgers and hot dogs. I counted 50+ in attendance with at least 10 airplanes flying at various times. The lunch turned out to be an all you could eat affair (we had plenty of food). I didn’t see anyone going home hungry. It was a strange day weatherwise. Rain set in just west of the Farmerville, but it did not rain at the airport. The sky was overcast, but there was plenty of ceiling for loops and rolls, etc. The wind was an issue early in the morning, but it seemed to taper off by mid morning. When I left Monroe the tower was reporting 18, gusting to 24. These numbers are challenging to my airplane. Fortunately the wind was down the runway so it wasn’t a problem taking off. I was wondering what awaited at Farmerville. The trip up to Farmerville was a little rough. I had to throttle back to 2200 rpm for part of the flight. I was pleasantly surprised during the approach and landing, which turned out to be routine. The wind had settled in the Farmerville area and was blowing down the runway. Bald Eagle Day Update 04/25/2009
I think everyone feels that today's event was outstanding - cooking, flying, and fellowship. I sure enjoyed the day. Everyone keeps asking how we did moneywise and how is the chapter doing. Newsletter: March '09 03/30/2009
The March meeting was held at Lanny’s hangar in Winnsboro. The weather was not good (cold, rain, low clouds) so no one was able to fly in. We had 12 members/guests in attendance. After the usual hangar flying Mark called the meeting to order. We discussed the up coming schedule. The Bald Eagle/Crawfish event has been re-scheduled for Saturday, the 25th of April. We have decided not to have our regular April meeting (2nd week of April). Mark will be checking to see if the Oak Grove fly-in is still on for May. It was suggested that we schedule one of our meetings at the Aviation Museum in Monroe. |
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