A Message From Our Chapter President, John Gill (July '06)

Members,

Summer and holidays have arrived bringing on a busy season, with air adventure only three weeks away.

Let's plan on a picnic for the chapter on one of these hot summer days. It would be a good chance to get to know the members and their mates, as well as their interests.

Looking forward to seeing all of you at the meeting next Monday.

Your president,
John

Dawn Patrol Pancake Breakfast (2006)

On July 16th from 7:30am til 11:00am in conjunction with Sparta Town & Country Days with tractor pulls, lawn mower races & radio control airplanes airshows during festival days.

Cost: Adults - $5.00
Children - 10 and under $2.50
Sponsored by EAA 704 & Sparta Lions Club. Call 616-887-5744.

June (2006) Meeting Minutes

Meeting Minutes
June 12, 2006

President Gill was delayed while on a return flight back to our airport, so Vice President Paul Spetosky assumed the leadership for the beginning of the meeting. Secretary Kathy Hakeem was also absent so P.J. Bevelacqua took care of recording the minutes.

The minutes from the last meeting were approved as written in the June newsletter.

Tech. Counselor Dan Bauman stated he was still working on the PA-12 and that he also recently picked up an RV-9A kit that is partially completed.

Airport Manager Vic Johnston stated that he, along with some other pilots, had been on a jaunt over to Hart/Shelby for breakfast the previous weekend. Apparently 6 pilots had started the trek and 3 others joined in and went out over the dunes on Lake Michigan and checked out the shipwreck near there. He also said that they were planning many more “fly-ins” including that upcoming weekend.

Vic also stated that the runway expansion will be starting around July 5th, and that the first stage of preparation should not get in the way of the upcoming Pancake Breakfast on July 16th (The runway will be available for fly-ins).

The applications for the new Airport Manager are being reviewed by the Village of Sparta.

Ron Fritz brought his 1938/39 Miss Worlds Fair (rubber powered) model. He gave us some background on his experiences with rubber powered airplane models.

President John Gill arrived and was able to step in and chair the remainder of the meeting. He shared with us how he was able to ride in Tom Kozura’s Skybolt on the previously mentioned Saturday fly-in to Hart/Shelby.

Ken Barnum brought a few pieces of his RV-9A to show his progress (Ken has been working on his project for about 2 years).

The powered-parachutes on the field have had a rough spring due to the weather, but are hoping for better weather soon.

After the break, President Gill brought the meeting to an end and invited the members out to his hanger to look at some airplanes (and stuff).

-P.J. Bevelacqua,
Newsletter & Website
(substituting as Secretary)

Sparta Area Pilots Association BBQ (2006)

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! Please contact Kathy Hakeem at (616) 550-0878 to help out with this event. Your participation in this event would be greatly appreciated. Please tell your friends and family to come on out and enjoy the food and fun...

On July 15th starting at 11:00am (in conjunction with the events of Sparta Town & Country Days).The location for this event will be just outside “hangar D”. The menu includes brats, hotdogs, etc...