EAA Chapter 704

October Meeting

2010-11-28T09:41:00.000-05:00

October 11 EAA Chapter 704 Meeting Minutes:
The meeting was called to order at 7 PM by President Dave Duperron.
We began with the pledge of Allegiance.
Minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved with one correction. (Paul Zimmer is not Paul Zimmerman) So sorry.
Treasurers Report shows a balance of $ 1053.45.
Old Business:
Dave asked our members if they thought it was a good idea to pay dues to the Michigan Private Air Strip Association. Vic Johnston discussed the benefits. A motion was made by Ron Fritz and approved by the chapter.
New Business:
Our combined Christmas Party with chapter 233 will again be at John Gills hanger on December 6. As usual everyone will bring a dish to pass.
Notice of the Greenville Poker Run for October 22:
Dave asked for volunteers to be on an election committee to nominate officers for 2011
We will elect our new leaders at the November meeting, while Paul Gill makes hamburgers for everyone.
Motion was made and approved to donate $100.00 to the Boy Scouts, thanking them for helping at the pancake breakfast.
Paul Zimmer talked about the procedures for Young Eagles Flights.
A documentary film on War Birds of World War II Airplanes was shown until adjournment at 9 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sec. John Gill

Links of interest

2010-11-28T09:37:00.000-05:00

Links of interest.
House of Representatives support for backcountry airstrips
http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2010/100916backcountry.html

http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2010/100628backcountry.html
Co-Pilot for Iphone/Ipod
http://www.ljd-tech.com/copilot/
CoPilot is a flight planning program for general aviation. It performs the calculations that you would normally perform with a ruler, a protractor and an E6B calculator. It performs time, distance, heading, fuel and weight & balance calculations.

Re Registration

2010-11-28T09:35:00.001-05:00

FAA AIRCRAFT RE-REGISTRATION BEGINS NEXT MONTH

According to the FAA, about one third of the approximately 357,000 aircraft registered in the United States have inaccurate records. To clean up what they say has become a database riddled with incorrect addresses, aircraft that have been destroyed, etc., the agency has made a decision to require all currently registered aircraft to be re-registered. Essentially they're starting with an empty ledger, and will fill it out in the next three years.

September Meeting Minutes

2010-11-28T09:34:00.002-05:00

EAA Chapter 704 Meeting Minutes: Sept. 13,2010
Meeting opened by Dave Duperon with the Pledge of Allegiance:
Treasurer’s Report shows a balance of $1,135.44
Paul Zimmerman reported on the Aug 28 Young Eagles Event. They flew 45 Young Eagles after a short weather delay.
Dave Duperon will send thank you notes to the volunteer pilots.
PJ is creating a face book page for 704’s Young Eagles. The address is “face book young eagles.” A discussion on the benefits of being on face book followed.
Ron Fritz let us know that he still uses an old typewriter and not a computer.
The Young Eagles credits from 2009 were given to Evan Mason for the EAA Academy.
We discussed sharing the proceeds from the pancake breakfast with the Boy Scouts.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 followed with a trip to Paul Kovalak’s to view his RV7-A project.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sec. John Gill

A trip To Paul's House

2010-11-28T09:31:00.000-05:00

At the meeting September 13th.

I got a call from Pres-Dave and an email from Paul Kovalak about a presentation for the September meeting. We are going to get together at the Sparta Airport Lounge and take care of the normal business for the chapter. Then for all the people that want to, we will go over to Paul Kovalak’s home and check out his project. He has his RV-7a coming along great. I think it is great that he is willing to do this. You know all pilots pay attention to detail. So inviting a bunch of pilots over to see a project that you are working on is a great way to motivate other people that are dragging their feet (I’m guilty of that). So come to the meeting and then come see Paul’s workmanship on a great plane.

Ken

2010 Young Eagles

2010-11-28T09:28:00.000-05:00

Young Eagles

We had another good Young Eagles day at Sparta airport. The Pilots and volunteers did a great job at helping all the kids and some of the parents getting a ride in an airplane to introduce them to aviation. Paul Zimmer has organized another great Young Eagle day. He and his family do a great job helping out. Scott Richmond also did his part. He helped get the insurance worked out with the EAA . He also talked me into flying the kids, I need to thank him for that. PJ did the certificates with the pilots signatures and helped out with the post-flight gifts. All the others including our Pres-Dave Dupperon had a smile on their face and helped keep everything going. I need to apologize because I can’t remember all names of the people that helped out. I’m just terrible with names.

I do know that this was my first time flying YE kids. I had a great time. No one puked in my plane (bonus) and smiles were plentiful. I never thought that flying the kids was going to be so much fun. Just this past week I got the information package from EAA and welcoming me to the ranks of YE Pilots. EAA gives they pilots an information package with certificates and registration forms, first class package to keep a pilot sharing the experience of flight with more kids.

Thanks Paul and everyone that helped. Special thanks to the pilots.

Blue Skies,

Ken

AirVenture 2010

2010-11-28T09:24:00.002-05:00

As AirVenture 2010 draws ever closer, here's a few tips to help make your visit a little bit easier on your stress level and even your pocketbook. First, you can still pre-purchase tickets online and print them to save time at admissions. Before you pre-purchase your tickets, make sure that your EAA membership is current since EAA members get a significant discount over non-members. EAA member can also purchase passes for friends at the discount rate, plus if you buy a weekly ticket for a friend, they will receive a free 6-month EAA membership, redeemable at the EAA Welcome Center.

You can also pre-pay for your campsite in Camp Scholler if you plan on arriving between Thursday, July 22 and Monday, July 26. You'll receive express entry into the campground during peak hours, saving you some waiting time. When you get to Oshkosh, follow the signs to EAA Camping. A red "pre-paid" camper sign will direct you from there. You can finish up your registration at the "Online Prepaid Camping" building. While you're there, you can also redeem your advance purchase admission, or buy additional tickets.

AirVenture can seem daunting, but a little bit of preparation beforehand will help things go smoothly.

June Meeting Minutes

2010-11-28T09:24:00.000-05:00

JUNE l4, 2010 CHAPTER 704 MINUTES:
The chapter met at John Gill’s hanger at 6 PM to dine on hamburgers and brats.
The meeting was called to order at 7 PM by President Dave Duperron.
There were 23 members present and seven guests. (David Meinke, David Moody, Dale Buttermore, Cameron Therese, Nick Kline, Peter Neal, and Cory Reimink.)
President Dave explained that Scott Richmond has the Media all set for the “Pork on the Hoof” barbeque on Aug. 21st. He also discussed buying a commemorative brick at the Brown Arch at Oshkosh. No action was taken.
The newsletter will now be posted on the airport computer.

A reminder of the Chapter 211 September 24 bus trip to the Air Force Museum in Dayton Ohio (All payments are due in full by July 15). Please mail checks to Walt Clawson, payable to EAA Chapter 211.

Cost for overnight at Hampton Inn, is $94.00 per night for double occupancy.

Cost per seat for the bus transportation is $46.00.

After the meeting several members gave plane rides to anyone wishing to fly.

Respectfully Submitted,

John Gill

Pauls's Engine

2010-11-20T20:13:00.000-05:00

Paul Kovalak sent some photo’s of the ECI engine kit that he is putting together.
He is going ECI kit IO-360. Zimmer is installing the same basic engine with some differences only in the accessories and induction types. I plan to finish the build Thursday if all goes as planned.
That was some of the text from the email that I received on June 22nd. So the engine could be finished by now.
Paul is going t miss this upcoming meeting because his son is on leave from the Air Force Academy. (Family of fliers)
Thanks to Paul for sending in the pictures and keeping us updated on his projects.
If you have a couple pictures that you want to share please send them in. Everone in the chapter would love to see them.

Minutes from May Meeting

2010-11-20T20:07:00.000-05:00

MAY 10,2010 CHAPTER 704 MINUTES
The meeting was called to order on May 10 at 7:P.M.by President Dave Duperron.
We began with the Pledge of Allegiance.
Paul Gill introduced the guest speaker, Steve Gutschow.
Steve has seven different turbo powered radio controlled model airplanes.

It was a good night for some demo flights, so Steve was first on the agenda.

Out on the runway, Steve explained what’s involved flying these models, including the controls and instrumentation.

The actual demo flights were very exciting to watch.
Tom Kozura gave a show and tell on his motorized bicycle. He built it to resemble a classic Indian motorcycle. It has an original1903 carbide headlight.
Paul Z gave a report on the Young Eagles. We have a camp pledge of $265.00.
Paul Gill reported on the DC 3 for Pork on the Hoof Day.

Dave asked for volunteers to fly Young Eagles at Greenville Airport on May 22nd.
John Gill passed out information sheets for the Sept. 24 trip to the Air Force Museum in Dayton OH. He also explained that if the group wants to visit the Waco factory in Battle Creek, we just need to call ahead.
Dave said there are used digital scales for sale if anyone is interested.
Dan Carlson showed his newly redesigned rudder. With the help of Larry Bauer, it now has more yaw control.

John & Paul Gill displayed a rudder and stabilizer that is being constructed for an Acro I Biplane.

Meeting was adjourned at 9:35 P.M.

Respectfully submitted by Sec.

John Gill

May Meeting RC Demo

2010-11-20T20:03:00.000-05:00

t the May Meeting we had a demonstration of a radio controlled turbine powered airplane. Steve Gutschow came by to show us his airplanes and how they work. Steve showed us everything he does to get his plane in the air. The plane he choose to fly was not his biggest or fastest, but could han-dle the crosswind takeoff and landings. Steve did a presentation on the aircraft showing the ducted fan engine and the other components in the fuselage. Thanks to Steve for coming out and showing us what is possible with the Radio controlled Aircraft.

Other Projects

2010-11-08T09:54:00.000-05:00

Tom Kosura showed the Chapter one of his more current projects. While Tom was in Saugatuck he saw a gentleman riding around on a bike that he added a motor too. Tom found out where to get the engine kit from (Battle Creek) and ordered a bike with fat tire and a Springer front suspension.

Added a carbide front light, created a gas tank front the sheetmetal of the bike. Really a nice job and attention to detail. Words don’t describe the bike very well, Tom has done another great job on a project!

April Minutes

2010-11-08T09:51:00.001-05:00

April 12 Chapter 704 Meeting Minutes:

The meeting was called to order on April 12 at 7PM by Vice President Paul Gill.

March minutes were read and approved:

The treasurer’s report given by Jay Dean shows a balance of $858.13. (It was approved by members).

Present were 16 members and Tim Wasco was our guest.

Pete Jeppeson is looking for pilots to fly Young Eagles on May 22nd at Greenville.

Pork on the Hoof for Aug. 21 was discussed, and a sign up sheet was passed around for volunteers and Young Eagle pilots.

Tom Kozura suggested a 2535 military request form should be filed to get U.S. airplanes at the event.

Paul Zimmerman and Paul Kovolac gave reports on their RV7 projects.

They hope to take delivery of their engines soon. Tom gave an update on his Sopwith Camel project.

A short movie clip was shown on “War Birds”, a film to be produced in Michigan.

Meeting was adjourned at 9:10 PM.

Respectfully submitted by Sec. John Gill

Sun-n-Fun

2010-11-08T09:50:00.000-05:00

The annual EAA Spring Beak for Pilots, was this past month. Traveling to Florida while the end of winter is still in Michigan, always makes the trip down fast and the trip back slow. There were hundreds of informational forums, vast amount of planes, and a ton of wind for the first 4 days.

The Volunteers are the heart of any EAA event, weather the Young Eagle events or Oshkosh there are enough opportunities for everyone to help out and talk to pilots and people involved with aviation. My wife and I drove down, (she cannot travel light), and camped at the airport. If you can travel light there is areas just like Oshkosh that you can camp with your homebuilt or with your certified plane. Dan Bauman beat us down by a couple of days and was there helping out when we arrived. He helped move a trailer for one of the exhibitors of floats. I ran into him several times during the event, he volunteers at the corn roast.

I seen John Gill but missed seeing Dave Duperron but chatted with him on the phone after we got back from Florida. I try to keep pretty busy going to forums and walking the grounds. I started going for a run in the mornings down the flightline to the helicopter base and then back. I quickly found out that my run was a popular idea. Every morning I would see 20 people doing the some thing. But there was this young lady that would pass us all and wave at us old folks as she sped away, the guy I was running with vowed to trip her the next day we went out. (she was elusive)

The wind was the story for the first 4 days, all day all night. The wind let up on Friday and it was great. The evening airshow was good to see. I talked with some pilots that landed that said that they almost went around because of the wind being more than they thought.

Sun-N-Fun as a good time and I look forward to going again next year.

Blue Skies

Ken

Presidents Message

2010-11-08T09:47:00.004-05:00

Greetings fellow builders, pilots and aviation enthusiasts,

Well, except for the last few days, we’ve had a great late winter and early spring with lots of sunshine, which for me is the yardstick by which I judge the weather.

Next week is ‘Sun & Fun’ and it appears quite a few members are going to attend. Dan Bauman, Ken Barnum and John Gill that I know of though there is probably more. My wife and I are going as well. My visit will be a work/discovery session to learn all I can about the RV-10s. I’m at the stage in building where decisions need to be made regards interior and exterior finish, panel design, firewall forward considerations, etc. and I’m taking my notebook and hopefully will get some questions answered.

We are leaving early though so we can visit Pat’s parents for a few days while were down there so I will not be at Mondays meeting, however the meeting will be chaired by the very capable Vice President Paul Gill. We had a meeting Tuesday and he’s raring to go. I suspect it will be a FUN meeting given Paul’s penchant for doing fun things. Thanks a lot Paul for stepping up. And of course I’ll have a report directly from Sun & Fun when I get back as I’m sure will the others.

For chitchat sake, I wanted to let you know that I’m planning to join the Sparta airport 140 club “if they’ll have me” in the near future. I need to get flying again and this seems to be the best way to get me back in the sky without pulling me away from the 10 project. I made an offer for a share in the172 that was accepted and all that remains is to get the deal done. I know if I bought a “beater”, as Tom would say, I would be at the hanger working on it all the time and not on the RV. I’m looking forward to getting and staying current.

See you at the Airport. Dave

Road Trip

2010-11-08T09:47:00.002-05:00

Walt Clausen came to the meeting to see if there is any interest in joining with another EAA Chapter to go to the Dayton USAF Museum. They basically want to fill the bus with people to keep the cost down. Walt stopped by to judge the interest and to get a preliminary head count. So if you want to go see the planes at the Dayton Museum (who doesn't) stay tuned to this station for further information.

March Meeting Minutes

2010-11-08T09:46:00.002-05:00

March 8, 2010 Chapter 704 Meeting Minutes:

Meeting was called to order on March 8 at 7: PM by President Dave Duperron, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

Twenty Two members present and guests were Gerald Hoxie and Walt Clausen.

Secretary’s Report given by John Gill and approved by members.

Treasurer’s report was given by Jay Dean. Balance is $908.12. (Approved)

We passed a sign up sheet around for people to volunteer for flying Young Eagles.

Walt discussed an upcoming trip to the Dayton USAF Museum.

The bus trip departs late afternoon on Sept. 24.

We will visit the Museum on the 25th and depart at 5: pm

The cost is around $100.00 per person with double occupancy at the hotel.

Dick Roberts gave an update on future improvements to the Sparta Airport. They will do the taxi way design this year and construction next year.

Cathy Quakenbush is requesting a high school sponsored “airplane wash” to help support their Mission Trip.

Dan Bauman brought his vertical stabilizer from his RV 9A project. He discussed the paint and finish process he used.

Our speaker was Tom Kozura. He spoke on accident investigation by the FAA.

Respectfully submitted by John Gill

Meeting

2010-11-08T09:45:00.000-05:00

When coming to a chapter Meeting this is what you will see! Be brave, if you can land a Cessna 172 in a 20kt gusting to 30kt crosswind, you can handle a EAA meeting with ease.

I’ll be at Sun-N-Fun during the April meeting, so take a couple pictures and take a couple notes and send them to me to put in the news letter. Take a couple photo’s of your flight that you take this month. Everyone likes those!

Blue Skies

Ken

Presidents Message

2010-11-08T09:42:00.006-05:00

President’s Message

Greetings fellow EAAers. Hey there are signs of spring out there. Man am I ready. I’m even thinking about priming, some RV-10 parts this weekend that I’ve been preparing all winter. Then --- I can start putting pieces together. Will that be fun.

I’d like to thank Paul Zimmer for the great program on “computer weather procurement”. Boy I needed that. Doing most anything on the PC is intimidating for me. I know I’ll never be able to tool around in cyber space as he does but I do feel like I can now get some weather when I need it. Paul also turned me on to “VANS AIRFORCE” which seems to be the GO TO place if you’re building an RV. Thanks Paul.

Tom Kozura will be putting on the program for our next meeting which is this coming Monday. It will be about “investigating aircraft accidents”. If I know Tom It will be very interesting. Hope to see you there.

Coming up, we are still planning a trip to the KAL-AIR Museum and a trip to the WACO factory in Battle Creek. These trips will probably be in the summer or fall, what ever we can work out. In the mean time we can hopefully get out to some of our builders homes and see how their projects are coming. This could be “in addition” to our regular meetings. Any volunteers?

Most importantly please mark your calendars for the third Saturday of August the 21ST, for our Young Eagles Program. In case of rain, or other inclement weather, keep the following Saturday, the 28TH open as well.

I think most everyone is aware of the declining numbers in the aviation community and understand the effects it will have on our freedom to fly in the future. Introducing kids to an exciting, enjoyable first flight can, in the long term, have a positive impact on pilot numbers by instilling in these kids a life long interest in aviation. Good reason that we all make a special effort to make this event in August a Hugh success.

As we have on occasion in the past we are going to combine the “Young Eagles” program with the “Big Brothers - Big Sisters” program called “Pork on the hoof”. The Big Brothers – Big Sisters program is a very worthwhile program in and of itself and deserving of our support. However because it draws large numbers of people it has proved to be a good partner in Chapter 704’s Young Eagles program.

We will have more on this at Mondays Meeting. Hope to see you there. Dave

EAA Workshops

2010-11-08T09:42:00.002-05:00

EAA Workshops will be held on Saturday and Sunday, April 17 & 18 at the Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti. The topics will be Composite Construction, Electrical Systems and Avionics, Fabric Covering, and Sheet Metal. In addition there will be a Saturday evening presentation: "What's Involved in Kit Building." For costs, scheduling, and signups go to www.eaa.com and follow the links to sportair workshops.

An FAA Safety Seminar will be held at the Plainfield Fire Station, 4343 Plainfield Ave NE(5mi. and Plainfiedl) Tuesday, Mar.9 at 7pm. The topic is "Where's the 'F' in Airspace" and will be presented by Randy Coller, editor of the Michigan Aeronautical Charts. It is free. For more info on this and other free safety programs put on by the FAA go to www.faasafety.gov and follow links.

Thanks,

~Ken Mosley~

Feb Meeting Minutes

2010-11-08T09:41:00.003-05:00

EAA CHAPTER 704 MINUTES (Feb 8, 2010)

The meeting was called to order by President Dave Duperron at 7PM.

Guests Present: Michael Gill and Linda Kozura.

Minutes of January meeting were approved.

TREASURERS REPORT: The balance of $895.68 was approved.

There was further discussion of possible group camping at Oshkosh.

Scott Richmond gave a talk about Big Brothers, Big Sisters and the need for involvement.

We will again have a “pork on the hoof” and Young Eagles Flights. We are hoping for the third Saturday in August.

Following a coffee break, Paul Zimmer gave a presentation on obtaining aviation weather information via the internet.

Meeting was adjourned about 9:15.

Respectfully submitted,

John Gill

DC3

2010-11-08T09:41:00.001-05:00

EAA AIRVENTURE OSHKOSH'S DC-3 75TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION TAKING SHAPE FOR GRAND ENTRANCE

Mass fly-in arrival to highlight July 26 air show at Oshkosh

EAA AVIATION CENTER, OSHKOSH, Wis. - (March 4, 2010) - Possibly the largest gathering of DC-3 aircraft since the 1940s is committed to the aircraft's 75th anniversary commemoration during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, coming July 26-August 1 at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh.

That celebration includes what could be a 40-airplane mass arrival at Oshkosh on Monday, July 26 – the opening day of the 58th annual edition of AirVenture. Aircraft and DC-3 enthusiasts from around the world have already committed to participate in the event, including many aircraft that have never before been seen at Oshkosh. In all, as many as 50 or more DC-3s (or its military counterparts, the C-47 and R4D) could be at the event.

"When we first suggested the DC-3 75th anniversary party, we thought as many as 25 aircraft might make for an outstanding program," said Tom Poberezny, EAA president and AirVenture chairman. "The response has been far beyond our greatest expectations and now will be one of the greatest aircraft reunions ever seen at Oshkosh, with more surprises to come."

The mass arrival fly-in was capped at 40 aircraft, which will stage at Whiteside County Airport in Sterling/Rock Falls, Ill., beginning on Saturday, July 24, with support provided by M & M Aviation. Following a media day and dinner on July 25, the formation's pilots will have their full safety briefing on Monday morning, July 26, prior to the public departure for Oshkosh. The full group, with a combined 96,000 horsepower, is scheduled to arrive at AirVenture in time to open that day's afternoon air show with an unforgettable flyover.

Hess Lake

2010-11-08T09:40:00.000-05:00

Hess Lake

Dave Duperron was nice enough to send me some pictures of the planes on Hess Lake. For the past couple of winters, some of the members of the chapter have flown to Hess Lake and landed. Smugglers Cove is a good place to stop and grab lunch or dinner. There is usually some snowmobiles and ice racing going on also.

Send in pictures from the places you visit. A Picture from a phone camera is good enough!

Thanks Dave!

January 11 Chapter 704 Meeting Minutes

2010-11-08T07:21:00.002-05:00

January 11 Chapter 704 Meeting Minutes

Meeting was called to order on January 11 at 7: PM by President Dave Duperron.

December minutes were read and approved.

Treasurer’s report given by Jay Dean. Balance is $849.67. (He says pure speculation).

18 members present. Our visitor was Jeff Ostrander. Jeff is a CFI and flies a Decathlon and a Bonanza.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Discussed having a group travel to Kalamazoo Air Museum.

Discussion regarding a general camping area for chapter members at Oshkosh Air Venture.

Chapter now has about 14 members building airplanes.

Dan Bowman explained the duties of Tech. Counselors and inspections he has made on many projects. He also gave an update on his RV 9 project.

Paul Zimmer agreed to be the Young Eagles coordinator again this year and gave us an update.

Ken Mosley will do a 2011 calendar with pictures of member’s airplanes.

Ken Barnum is requesting pictures and descriptions of projects for the newsletter.

Vic Johnston talked about private airport membership in the M.P.O.A. His son Jeremy is a flight commander for the Flying Tiger Sharks, and is training to be a flight instructor in the T38.

President Dave presented awards to last years officers and committee members.

John Gill showed the video of a “special” class field trip to his hanger.

Respectfully submitted by John Gill.

AWOS

2010-11-08T07:20:00.004-05:00

Paul C. Miller-Sparta Aiport

Notice

As of 1/9/2010 the Sparta Airport AWOS has a new discrete frequency. Pilots can hear the airport weather advisory on frequency 132.95 . Two Mic clicks on 132.95 activate the AWOS

February Meeting Program

2010-11-08T07:20:00.002-05:00

February Meeting Program:

For this up coming meeting we are going to get some information on the sources of getting weather information. There are many different sources that everyone uses, and all input is valuable information for us as pilots. If you have a source that you find is accurate for Michigan weather, we would appreciate your input at the meeting Monday night.

January Meeting 2010

2010-11-08T07:19:00.000-05:00

January Meeting (What you missed)

A new year for the chapter started with several presentations on projects and some speakers from the chapter sharing their building experience.

Paul Kovalak started us off with the research he had done with L.E.D lights for wing tip lighting. An excellent presentation with a informative question and answer session too.

Great job Paul!

Second up Tom Kozura.

Tom’s project is a Sopwith Camel, He brought in some of the Historical Parts to an original Sopwith Camel. They are very rare, Tom’s presentation was with some engine cylinders and a gun sight. Very informative and the amount of research that Tom has done is amazing.

The last presentation was on a great day that John and Paul Gill had with special needs children. John and Paul had the day video taped and they shared that video with the chapter. They opened up the hanger to the kids and let them climb in and out of the planes and had a great time. Thanks for sharing that with the chapter, It was great.

The January meeting was Great thanks to all that presented and helped. :)

Featured Project!

2010-01-10T10:21:00.000-05:00

New to the Newsletter and blog,

EAA Chapter 704 Jan. 07, 2010

I always wanted to build an RV and was leaning toward a 7A at first but later the RV-9A seemed to offer more of what I wanted and this fall was very close to making the purchase. In September I saw an AD on Barnstormers for an RV-10. It was a standard kit that the builder had finished to about the “quick build” stage, and what a beautiful job he had done. I couldn’t stop looking and went back to that ad numerous times in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime I was talking with the guys at vans trying to decide if I should get the 7A or the 9A. The fellow I was talking to suggested that it all boils down to one question: WHAT IS YOUR MISSION.

I thought about that a lot over the next few weeks and my wife and I had several discussions about our mission. I figure it will take at least a couple of years to build a plane and by that time my wife will be near retirement-I’m already retired. We wanted a plane to tour the country after retirement, find a warm spot to accommodate the winter months, be able to transport kids and friends, have plenty of baggage space and an IFR certified machine. The more we thought about it the more the RV-10 seemed to fit the mission. Though considerably more expensive to buy, equip, insure and operate we decided to take the plunge and buy the plane best suited for the mission.

Of course seeing that beautiful RV-10 project on Barnstormers helped push me in that direction. Brian Raeder who started the project was determined to win “Grand Champion” with this plane at Oshkosh and then sell it for more money than had ever been received for an RV-10 on the market. This was to be an income-producing project to fill time while his business was slow. I have no doubt in his ability to have accomplished both goals, you see, he had already won Grand Champion for a lite sport plane he built a few years back. I saw it and it was marvelous in beauty and workmanship.

Well Brian’s business is restoring war-birds, which he did out in Idaho for many years. He worked for people that demanded perfection and every project was meant to be a grand champion many of which were. For family reasons he moved back to Ohio and started his own war-bird restoration business. It was slow getting started hence the RV-10 project. About a year ago his business took off and the 10 project was pushed aside for later. Well, about august he recognized he would probably not get back to it for a long time and decided to put it up for sale.

The following pictures are some that he sent me while I was in the market. Check them out. Dave

Program for Chapter 704 Meeting

2010-01-10T10:09:00.000-05:00

For the January meeting Paul Kovalak is going to show his wing tip lighting system. He did a “roll your own” way of doing the lighting. I know it will be an informative meeting, showing the way that he fabricated the lens and the LED placement.

President's Message

2010-01-10T10:06:00.000-05:00

EAA Chapter, 704 Sparta Michigan
Jan 07, 2010

Greetings fellow builders, pilots and aviation enthusiasts from the table of the president, I hope this new year brings you good health, good fortune and time to nurture old and new friendships.

Notice I said from the table of the president and not desk. One person sits at a desk, and what’s implied is that all ideas, intelligence, wisdom and energy flows from that point or “that desk” out to the chapter members. Because I don’t feel all that intelligent or wise I would rather envision myself sitting at a table with other enthusiasts gathering their ideas, tapping their wisdom and intelligence, and collectively providing direction and guidance while filling our events calendar for the coming year.

We had just such a meeting Tuesday evening with the new board and several other enthusiastic members ( 9 in all ) gathering around the lounge table in an effort to establish programs and fill our 2010 calendar. We accomplished much, and I believe we will have an exciting and informative program for the year. More about that in next month’s news and comments. We will try to have a “calendar of events” ready for publication by that time. I would like to thank all the members that responded to my “last minute” call and participated with enthusiasm and energy at this meeting.

I would like to welcome Paul Gil to the board as Vice President and thank him for agreeing to serve in that capacity. The Vice Presidents primary assignment is procuring programs. That can be very challenging for one person. If you have any ideas or suggestions regarding programs or events please contact him.

I would like to thank the remaining board members for agreeing to serve yet another year- all are returning members, most having served for many years-. Thanks for your dedication to the chapter. I would especially like to thank Ken Barnum for again accepting the task of “news letter and web editor” and Paul Zimmer who has agreed to host the Young Eagles program again. Thank you gentlemen.

Dave

Next Meeting!

2010-01-10T10:00:00.001-05:00

Next meeting for the Chapter is going to be at Sparta Airport Pilots Lounge January 11th 2010.

See you there

Next Meeting

2009-09-13T11:16:00.002-04:00

The next meeting will be April 13th at the Sparta Airport Lounge @ 7:00 PM.
April 13, 2009, EAA chapter 704 will present a program on the
Gnome Omega. After a short slide show and talk we will attempt to
run a Gnome Ω on the 100th anniversary of its creation.

Correction

2009-09-13T11:16:00.001-04:00

The next meeting will be March 9th at the Sparta Airport Lounge @ 7:00 PM.
This is a correction to the previous news letter where I had mistakenly put
down that there was not going to be a March meeting.

Sun-n-Fun

2009-09-13T11:14:00.000-04:00

SUN –N –FUN is just a couple weeks away, I know I have plans for going
down with my wife. My daughter is flying in from LasVegas so we make it a
family vacation. With any kind of luck the weather will be better this year. I
always like seeing the people there. Frank Nash that flew the C-46 that I published
in one of last years newsletter will be there. You can find us in the campground
camped on the berm across from the corn roast. Stop by and we can
have a beverage and do some hanger flying.
Ken

January meeting minutes

2009-09-13T11:11:00.000-04:00

Minutes of Chapter 704 meeting of January 12th, 2009
The meeting of January 12 was called to order by our president John
Smith at 7 PM. There were 23 members present.
Old business:
We discussed the new mandatory plastic license.
New Business:
It was agreed to cancel the Feb. meeting.
The program was informal, with the members discussing airplane related
subjects.
Venison burgers and brats were enjoyed by all.
Tom Kozura concluded the program with a presentation about his sopwith
camel project.
His presentation was informative and educational.
Meeting adjourned at 9:20 PM.
Submitted by secretary John Gill

Next Meeting

2009-01-12T18:17:00.001-05:00

Chapter 704 Meetings at Sparta Airport Pilots Lounge

A discussion was held at the December meeting about the next meeting. The meetings are smaller than the election of officers meeting during January, February, and March. So we will pickup the meetings in April.
Paul Gill is going to have a Venison burger cookout for the January meeting in the Gill Hanger. (January 12th)

Meeting Minutes

2009-01-12T18:15:00.002-05:00

Minutes of Chapter 704 meeting of December 8, 2008

Meeting opened at 7:15 pm. Minutes from November meeting were reviewed and approved. There was no treasure's report.

Nominations for chapter officers was called for. John Gill volunteered to take over the duties of secretary.
The other officers will remain unchanged:
Treasure - Jay Dean
Vice-President - Dave Duperron
President - John Smith

If you still have a paper pilot license you can log on to FAA.gov, go to licenses and certificates to fill out the form for the plastic license. You have to have this done by February.

Vic Johnston gave an update on mogas problem at Sparta and other airports. At this time what is in the tank now is all we will get.

Our January 12 meeting will be a combination meeting and venison supper get-together, bring a salad or dessert. We will meet at 7 pm in John Gill's hanger.

The program for December was Ron Fritz. He brought several rubber and gas powered vintage free flight models. Some of the rules for flying these models were explained, such as maximum engine run for gas models and minimum flight time for max points. Also discussed were the ways to limit engine run time, and how the airplane was brought down after a max flight.

President J. Smith

Presidents Corner January

2009-01-12T18:15:00.001-05:00

Presidents Corner

Christmas has come and gone and the New Year is here. I hope each was and will be enjoyable for you and your family.

I had a meeting with Tom Mills, the District Director of the Boy Scouts of America. It was a very informative and educational meeting. We talked about the chapters responsibilities as sponsor and what the troop could do for us. I will be speaking more on this in coming months.

As always we could use ideas for programs, see Dave Duperron.
See you at the next meeting.

John Smith

Next Meeting

2008-11-05T09:37:00.001-05:00

Next Meeting !!
Monday November 10th 2008
At 6:00 PM
The meeting will held @ Sparta Airport
Pilot Lounge

Next Meeting

2008-11-05T09:36:00.001-05:00

Meeting to Start at 6:00pm
Any business for the chapter that needs to be done will happen just before the Aviation Safety-Education Seminar
The program is on
“Making (some) Sense of the Federal Aviation Regulations”
Speaker : Tom Krashen

Chapter Shirts

2008-11-05T09:35:00.000-05:00

The EAA Chapter 704 shirts will be in November 10th and Dan will be taking another order for more. If you ordered a shirt please come and pick it up at the next meeting.

President Message

2008-11-05T09:34:00.000-05:00

Presidents Corner
Summer is over, Fall is here and snow is on the way. It's time to break out the aircraft winterizing supplies, winter weight oil, oil cooler, block off plates, engine preheater, snow skies, and snowmobile suits for the crew.
In my old days, late 50's to mid 60's, we used our cars and a 10 foot length of flexible exhaust pipe pointed at the oil tank and waited for about half an hour.

If your annual condition inspection is done in late winter or early spring, your heater muff was checked then. It's a good idea to check it again as a lot of hours have been put on it and small cracks can quickly spread and become big ones that let exhaust into the cabin when heater vents are opened. If you haven't already done so, review the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning and brief your crew of the same so you can keep track of each other. Some people rely on a detector, if you do, check it for any expiration date. Have a fun and safe winter flying season.

John D. Smith

Boy Scout Troop 704 will have their Court of Honor promotion program on November 10, 2008. If you would like to attend, contact John Kozal at 616-481-5590

October Meeting Minutes

2008-11-03T08:12:00.000-05:00

Minutes of the EAA Chapter 704 meeting held on October 13, 2008
EAA Chapter 704 held it’s regular meeting at 7:00 pm in the pilot’s lounge at Sparta Paul C Miller airport on Monday Oct 13, 2008 with 18 members and guests present.
The minutes of the previous meeting were approved as printed in the news letter. The treasure reported 1516.07 in the checkbook with all bills paid.
Member John Kozal, Scout leader for the BSA Troop 704, gave a report on the troop’s activities. He reported that one boy was working on his Eagle Scout Badge and was planning to build a deck for his required Eagle project. There is also to be a camp out this weekend. The troop is working on several community projects.
Mr . Kozal reported the troop is in need of a trailer to transport gear on campouts and other events. Inasmuch as BSA precludes them from owning property someone has to hold title to the trailer. He was asking ok the EAA 704 would be willing to hold title and some discussion was held as to whether EAA Headquarters would approve this. President John Smith is to call EAA to get an opinion. There was a motion passed to accept title to the trailer if EAA headquarters has no objection.
The question of EAA 704 having an Employers Identification Number (EIN) came up. Occasionally we are asked, by the bank and others, for this number but we have never had one since we have never had one since we have no paid employees and do not intend to have any in the future. This is to be investigated further.
Paul Zimmer, coordinator for the recent Young Eagles project reported that 121 young people were flown during the event held on Saturday, October 11. There were 10 or 11 pilots and numerous ground control persons to help with this very successful event. Mr. Zimmer was applauded for his efforts in planning and executing this event – even providing perfect weather.
Bill Fish is now flying his newly completed Maule project.
Dan Bauman reported on the project of obtaining EAA 704 logo shirts. He had some samples to show and much interest was shown. A number of members placed orders and Dan said the shirts should be ready in a couple of weeks or so.
Meeting adjourned

Jay T Dean, Sec/Treas EAA 704

September Meeting Minutes

2008-11-03T08:10:00.000-05:00

Minutes of EAA Chapter 704 September 2008 Meeting

EAA Chapter 704 met on September 8, 2008 for its regular monthly meeting. The meeting was held in member Bill Fish’s hanger with 18 members present.
President John Smith called the meeting to order at 7:15 pm and called for the mintes of the previous meeting to be read. The minutes as printed in the newsletter were reviewed and approved as read. The treasurer reported $1687.12 in the checkbook with all bills paid.
It was moved and passed that we send $100.00 to the Boy Scout Troop 704 for their contribution to the pancake breakfast held in July.
It was reported that 12 members went to the Grand Rapids Tower facility last month.
Dan Bauman has been investigating the possibility of designing and obtaining shirts with an appropriate 704 chapter logo. There are several styles to pick from as well as the specific logo design. These will be produced and available for purchase by the members of 704.
Paul Zimmer brought up the subject of a young eagles day this fall. He pointed out the credential requirements of the participating pilots and their aircraft. This event is in the planning stage and more information will be going out to the membership as details fall into place.
A poker run is being planned with Sparta being one of the stops along with Lakeview, Allegan, and Hastings. This event is scheduled for October 4th.
Dave Duperron reported that he has contacted the Michigan DOT Aeronautics division for upcoming programs.
The meeting was turned over to Bill Fish who was displaying his beautiful Maul restoration project. It is very near completion and is impeccable in workmanship. Bill is to commended very highly for the quality for his work as clearly indicated in the end result. A previous project, a Kitfox, was also in the hanger and looking good. Our sincere congratulations go to Bill for his accomplishments in building and/or restoring his aircraft. It has to be noted also that the workshop area was in showroom condition---very neat and tidy. Thank you, Bill

Meeting adjourned

Jay T Dean,, Sec/Treas EAA 704

Meeting Place Changed!

2008-09-04T20:58:00.005-04:00

Monday September 8th we will be meeting @ Bill Fish's hanger.

He lives off from 11 mile road. his driveway is the first one East of Wells Field. The driveway runs along the runway heading South. Hanger at the end.

See you there!

Ken

Meeting Place Changed!

2008-09-04T20:58:00.000-04:00

August Meeting Minutes

2008-09-04T20:53:00.000-04:00

Minutes of EAA Chapter 704 meeting 8/11/08
EAA Chapter 704 met for its regular monthly meeting on Monday August 11, 2008 at Paul C. Miller Airport Pilot’s Lounge.
Vice President Dave Duperron called the meeting to order in the absence of the President John Smith. There were 16 members present.
There was a general discussion held on various topics with no business being conducted.
Paul Kovalak reported that the Greenville pilot’s group is planning a Poker Run for October 4th with a rain date of October 5th. They are planning stops at Sparta, Hastings, Lakeview and either Grand Haven or Holland. Details will be available later. Dave Duperron said he will contact local pilots to enlist participation.
The next meeting of EAA704 will be at Bill Fish’s house (Hanger) off 11 mile rd. His driveway is the first one East of the Wells Strip and runs South parallel to the runway all the way to the south end. Bill is restoring a Maul and by all reports is doing a masterful job of doing so.
Paul Kovalak has arranged for a visit to the Grand Rapids Tower Facility for Tuesday August 19th at 7:00 pm. For car pooling meet at Sparta Airport by 6:30 pm – otherwise meet in the Grand Rapids terminal building by the Starbucks Coffee stand.
After the discussions were completed, Ron Fritz showed an narrated a number of slides depicting the history and development of aviation from the earliest flyers to the most recent high tech machines. Ron has a very good collection of pictures and with his extensive knowledge of the subject was able to present a very interesting program.
Meeting Adjourned
Jay T Dean, Sec/Treasurer EAA 704

Next Meeting

2008-07-11T11:58:00.002-04:00

Next Meeting for the Peach Ridge Air Force is Monday July 14th 7:00 at Sparta Paul C Miller Airport,,,see you there.

Meeting Minutes

2008-07-11T11:57:00.000-04:00

Eaa Chapter 704 met for its regular monthly meeting on 6/9/08 at the Sparta Paul C. Miller Airport Pilot’s lounge with 18 members and guests present.

President John Smith called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm and asked that the minutes of the previous meeting be approved as printed in the newsletter. (Approved) The treasurer reported $1373.70 in the checkbook with all bills paid.

President Smith held a discussion on the current by-laws and asked for a committee to review these and look for re-writing them to consider extending the term limits of elected officers to two years. John Smith, Dave Duperron, and Jay Dean agreed to serve in this capacity.
Paul Kovalak agreed to make the arrangements for a tour of the Grand Rapids Control Tower and suggested that we might also want to visit the weather station.

The owners and operators of Grand Rapids Technologies presented a program on their newest and most sophisticated electronic units. These Instruments are absolutely phenomenal in what they contain and what they will do from such a small little “box”. One has to be impressed with the expertise that conceives and builds these items.

Meeting adjourned 9:00 pm
Jay T Dean
Sec/Treas EAA Chapter 704

Presidents Message!

2008-07-11T11:55:00.002-04:00

July 4, 2008 is in the record books.

I hope everyone had an enjoyable and safe holiday.

Our country has given us the opportunity to enjoy our passion, whether hobby or vacation, to move ourselves through the air using various types of flying machines. There are some people in Congress who think we have way too much fun and don't pay enough in taxes to justify our use of the airspace. I am writing in references to a news article in Sport Aviation about a new registration program the FAA is trying to push through. Some of the news blurbs are a bit boring but it pays to at least scan through them.

Dr. Jay Dean has been filling the office of secretary and treasurer since Kathy resigned about three years ago. I would like for someone to volunteer to take over the office of secretary. The more people we have serving the less work any one person has to do. You must be a national member of EAA.

A couple of meeting ago I asked for someone to be the chapter historian. It's hard for one person to be every place at once. With a lot of cell phones having cameras in them, I'm asking you to take pictures at our events and submit a copy, with a caption, to me and I will keep the photo albums, and bring them to the meetings.

The program this month will be about the Sopwith Camel by Tom Kozura.

John D. Smith

Aviation Events in Michigan

2008-06-09T09:54:00.002-04:00

June 14th Kingford—Iron Mountain Ford Airport (IMT) 8:00 am—12:00
Port Huron—St Clair County Airport (PHN) 7:00 am—12:00 pm.

June 15th White Cloud—White Cloud Airport (42C) 7:30 am—11:30 am
Flushing - Dalton Airport (3DA) 7:00 am—12:00 pm
Canton—Plymouth-Mettetal Airport (1D2) 7:00am—12:30pm
` Bad Axe—Huron County Memorial Airport (BAX) 7:00 am—11:30 am
Bay City—James Clements Airport (3CM) 7:00 am—12:00 pm
Hart-Shelby—Oceana County Airport (C04) 7:30 am—12:00 pm
Eastport—Torchport Airport (59M) 8:00 am—12:00 pm
June 21st Kalkaska—Kalkaska City Airport (Y89) 8:00 am—12:00 pm
Lakeview—Lakeview Airport (13C) 7:00 am—11:00 am
Drummond Island—Drummond Island Airport (DRM) 8:00 am—11:00am
West Branch—West Branch Community Airport (Y31) 7:00 am—12:00 pm
June 22nd Flushing—Dalton Airport (3DA) 12:00pm—4:00pm
June 28th Howell—Livingston County Airport (OZW) 7:00 am—3:00 pm
Midland—Barstow Airport (3BS) 7:00 am—11:00am
June 29th Sandusky—Sandusky City Airport (Y83) 7:00am—12:00pm
Hillsdale—Hillsdale Municipal Airport (JYM) 7:00am

http://mdotwas1.mdot.state.mi.us/public/aero/calendar/dp.cfm
Is the Dawn Patrol site.

May 2008 Meeting Minutes

2008-06-09T09:52:00.000-04:00

EAA Chapter 704 held its regular monthly meeting on Monday, May 12th at the Sparta Paul C. Miller pilot’s lounge.
President John Smith called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. with 20 members and guests present.
The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved as printed in the newsletter. The Treasurer reported $1362.67 in the check book with all the bills paid.
President Smith again brought up the subject of extending the term of offices for the elected positions to two years as suggested in the EAA Chapter manual. Our current By-Laws limit the terms to one year and states that no one may succeed himself. A discussion was held to amend the by-laws in order to adopt the new term limit provision. The general consensus was in favor of this proposal but no action was taken at this meeting.
President Smith had appointed a committee to seek out programs for the coming year. They held a short meeting just prior to our regular meeting and discussed several ideas. A program for June was all ready planned with a future meeting to host the M-Dot/FAA team to conduct another safty seminar in the summer.
The question of our participation in the Sparta Town and Country Days celebration was held. We have held a Pancake Breakfast / Fly-In along with cooperation with the Lion’s Club and Scout Troop 704 in the past years. We decided to do this again since this is one of our main sources of funding for the programs that we sponsor. The Date of the event will be Sunday July 20th and plans will need to be made to “bring it all together”.
There was a general discussion of the flying activities of the pilots in attendance. It was suggested that anyone desiring to have a ride to a fly-in on any given weekend should be at the airport early that day and most likely would find a willing pilot with an empty seat to share.
Meeting adjourned
Jay T Dean
Sec/Treas EAA Chapter 704

Next Meeting

2008-05-10T08:44:00.000-04:00

Next Meeting !!
Monday May 12th 2008
At 7:00 PM

The meeting will be held at
The Sparta Airport
Please plan on attending.

April meeting Minutes

2008-05-10T08:43:00.000-04:00

The regular meeting of EAA Chapter 704 was held as a safety seminar put on by Michigan Department of Transportation Aeronautics Division. It was led by Tom Krashen and Jerry Hough, and air traffic controller from the Grand rapids tower. There were between 55-60 in attendance
They spent a couple of hours or so in discussing, first of all, the various types of airspace and spoke of the pilots responsibilities in regard the these various areas.
This was followed by some advice on communicating with the tower in a number of situations from clearance deliveries and take off procedures to in-flight checking and approach procedures.
There were a number of questions to be answered which were fielded nicely by one or the other of these gentlemen and, since there was considerable variety in the level of training amongst the attending pilots, a lot discussion ensued.
It was Emphasized that pilots are invited to visit the tower and get to understand what is going on inside the “box” they are talking to when talking to these people from the cockpit.
There was no formal meeting or business conducted at this time.
Jay Dean Sec/Treas EAA Chapter 704

An Aircraft is Born

2008-05-10T08:40:00.001-04:00

Congratulations in in order for John Gill and his beautiful RV7 “Plum Crazy”. First flight was on Sunday April 13th. It’s a great looking plane and according to John flies great. So when you get a chance to look at the plane please note the craftsmanship and attention to detail. This is the second RV for John. Visit
http://www.vansaircraft.com for more information on the RV7 and other of Van’s airplane kits. A couple of other EAA704 members are building Van’s RV 7’s and RV9A’s.
When finished you also can have a RV grin just like John :-)

Next Meeting 6:00 April 14th

2008-04-04T18:00:00.005-04:00

Meeting is moved forward 1 hour to do the normal business of the chapter. Following that there is a Safety Seminar
Sparta Paul C. Miller Airport (8D4) 6:30 p.m.
ATC Communication Made Easy, Tom Krashen, MDOT Aeronautics
Sponsored by the Sparta Airport and EAA Chapter 704. Call 517-335-9977

BSA Troop 704

2008-04-04T18:00:00.003-04:00

From the EAA 704 Sponcered BSA Troop 704

I would like to extend to all of you an invitation for a day in May:EAA 704 sponsors BSA Troop 704 in Sparta and our Troop would like to extend an invitation to you all of you for our next Court of Honor Potluck dinner, Monday May 19. This is a special night to give recognition to all scouts who have earned rank advancements, merit badges, or both. I will have more details to follow later.

Sincerely,John KozalEAA 704 memberBSA 704 Scoutmaster887-8137

March Meeting Minutes

2008-04-04T18:00:00.002-04:00

EAA Chapter704 held its regular meeting on March 10th at the Sparta Paul C miller Airport Pilot’s Lounge. Meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm.

The minutes of the previous meeting were printed in the previous newsletter and approved as printed.

The treasurer reported $1065.15 in the checkbook with all the bills paid.

This being the first meeting of the new season, prsident Smith held a discussion on the various tasks and the responsibilities necessary to carry on the meetings for the coming year.

President Smith commented that the EAA Chapter Handbook had suggested that each elected officer hold the office for a period of two years. After dome discussion it was moved by John Gill and seconded by Paul Spetoskey that we adopt the motion.

President Smith asked for volunteers to work with Vice President Dave Duperron as a committee to develop program ideas for the coming year. John Gill and Paul Kovalak agreed to do this and will meet with VP Dave in this reguard.

It was noted by Pres. Smith that there is a MOA just Northeast of our area and at time the military A-10 fighter aircraft flying low altitude that one should be aware of. The times of operation are listed on the flight chart and should be noted by any pilot flying in that area.

Vic Johnston, whose son Jermy is an A-10 pilot out of a base in Georgia, has attended one of their pilot briefings led by his son and was in awe at the type and amount of information that is relayed in one of these meetings. He suggested that sometime when his son is visiting he might go through one such briefing with us just to give us the experience of hearing one.

Meeting Adjourned 8:15 pm.

Jay Dean, Sec/Treasurer, EAA 704

EAA Chapter 704 Presidents Message

2008-04-04T17:55:00.001-04:00

Another year has come and we had our first meeting on the 10th of March. There were about 16 members present, not bad for the first meeting.
We had some discussion about programs for this year. A committee was formed to develop ideas and make contacts to provide programs for our meetings. The committee members are Dave Duperron, John Gill, Paul Kovalak. If you have any ideas for programs, please give them a call.
We have a new newsletter editor, his name is, Ken Barnum. He is continuing with the same content and schedule that P.J. had. You can send him your submissions at EAA704@gmail.com, or call him at 616-675-5227.
For those who do not have it my phone numbers are: home: 616-636-8797; cell: 231-629-2503; email: vpijds47@wildblue.net.
John SmithChapter President

NEXT MEETING!! Monday, December 10, 2007 at 7:00 pm

2007-12-07T08:58:00.000-05:00

NEXT MEETING!!
Monday, December 10, 2007 at 7:00 pm
The Meeting will be held at the Sparta Airport. Please plan on attending.

The EAA Chapter 704 meets at 7pm on the 2nd Monday of every month at the Sparta Municipal Airport or the homes of members when it can be arranged

Chapter 211/704 Christmas Party - 12/15/07

2007-12-07T08:57:00.000-05:00

Chapter 211/704 Christmas Party

Saturday, December 15th, 2007

Where: John Gill's hangar at the Sparta Airport.

When: The hangar opens around 6pm and dinner starts at 7pm

everyone attending please bring a dish to pass.

President’s Message (December 2007)

2007-12-07T08:53:00.001-05:00

Out with the old regime, and in with a new streamlined, energetic, resourceful, proactive, dynamic, innovative group of leaders! This will be the main focus of our next meeting on December 10, so be thinking of those folks you are going to nominate, and start practicing your acceptance speeches. Having said that, I imagine the attendance has already dropped to about half. But I do expect the "Pair-a-Docs" to be back with us, as they were conspicuously absent at the last meeting.

Other items on the agenda may include an update on the Christmas Party; catch up on reports from our members regarding projects, interesting trips, or whatever you may like to share; and review some old business topics.

We owe Li'l Ronnie Fritz a big thanks for extemperaneouly stepping up into Doc Dean's shoes to record the minutes for us. He did a marvelous job.

I think it has been a good year for us, and I thank all of you for making it so! Many of you participated in many ways....Young Eagles, sharing stories and projects, working at the breakfasts and the POTH project, participating in the flyouts, and sharing the use of your hangars for some of our activities. I thank you for that because it makes me look better, as I get to take the credit!

See you on the 10th, and bring your favorite lady with you....tell her "it's a date" or "a night out"......let's see how clever you can be to get to attend.

Stay between the wing tips.

- Vic Johnston

THANK YOU CHAPTER 704!

2007-12-07T08:48:00.000-05:00

I want to thank you all for thinking of me while I’m not feeling well. Your generous gift was a great surprise and is greatly appreciated. I hope to see you all again real soon.

-Kathy Hakeem

November (2007) Meeting Minutes

2007-12-07T08:46:00.000-05:00

Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the regular meeting of November 12, 2007. The meeting was called to order at 8:00 PM by President Vic Johnston. No attendance was taken.

In the absence of the Secretary/Treasurer no minutes or treasurer’s report was given.

Old Business:

Pres. Johnston reported that Steve Zelle, who has published a book on small, unlicensed airports, is still looking for additional airports. The chapter has purchased a book and it is on file at the airport lounge.

Vic reported that Chet Uncapher, of Chapter 211, is checking into the possibility of having the 2008 Michigan Tour make one of its stops at the Sparta Airport. More on this later.

Discussion was held on the 2008 Chapter calendar and it was decided not to pursue the calendar for this year.

The television in the airport lounge has died and it is hoped someone in the group will have an old one to donate.

There is still no volunteers to be the chapter representative for Boy Scout Troop 704.

New Business:

John Gill announced the 2007 joint chapter Christmas party will be held in his hangar at Sparta Airport on Saturday, December 15. His hangar will be open at 6:00 PM with the potluck dinner starting at 7:00 PM. Everyone planning to attend was asked to bring a dish to pass. Chapter 211 will be providing entertainment this year and there will be no gift exchange.

President Johnston announced that former Sec/Treas. Kathy Hakeem is experiencing health problems and has no health insurance to help with the bills. Motion by John Gill and 2nd by Ed DeBruyn to write a check for $250.00 out of the treasury to give to Kathy. Motion passed. An additional collection was taken from those present and netted $350.00.

Paul Zimmer asked if the chapter would be interested in having a well known avionics expert come to Sparta to talk to a gathering of all pilots/plane owners. His name is Bob Nuchols. If there is enough interest, he will pursue the subject.

Jim Jastifer gave a report on a group of local powered parachute owners getting together to get their planes licensed in the experimental category. They had excellent treatment from the FAA agent who came to do the certification.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 PM by president Johnston.

Respectfully submitted
-Ron Fritz

TO: ALL EAA CHAPTER MEMBERS (from Paul H. Poberezny)

2007-12-07T08:45:00.000-05:00

TO: ALL EAA CHAPTER MEMBERS
When I read through the history of your EAA, living every day for half a century plus, I truly know how time flies. I want to share with you some of the thoughts of our members as they appeared in our Sport Aviation magazine back in 1963. The organization of dreamers, homebuilders and fellow aviation supporters building/designing their aircraft under the CAA/FAA 51% rule we worked so diligently for and earned is something to be treasured. One can build his or her airplane for educational and recreational purposes and friends can work with you for their own educational value. Really, we can build one half of it – the other half, such as engines, propellers, wheels, brakes, instruments, radios, items not normally within the capabilities of those who work with hand and mind can be purchased. Now we are faced with a situation of the FAA amateur building program being used for commercial purposes – from building complete aircraft or well over the half mark … not within the intent of the program given to us by those CAA/FAA folks who believed in us. Let’s hope we don’t lose this privilege.

Sincerely,

Experimental Aircraft Association
Paul H. Poberezny
Founder and Chairman of the Board

Link to the Article: "Experimental Or Not" by [the late] Joe Kirk, EAA 2023
http://www.eaa.org/sportaviation/2007/november/1963_02_kirk.pdf

President’s Message (November 2007)

2007-11-07T19:47:00.000-05:00

Greetings 704ers,

Fall colors are about over and the end of the year is drawing nigh. I am heading south for an indeterminate time to help my son move from N Carolina to Valdosta, so I may not be back in time for the meeting. Therefore, I have notified Paul Spetosky to be ready to take over. I have nothing real special planned, but I do have a rough, informal agenda for us to mull over. Here it is:

1. Vote / decide whether we want to do a calendar this year as time is running short, or “can” the pictures til next year whereas we will have time to add more choices. If you decide to go ahead with the calendar, I suggest a volunteer commitee of 3 or 4 to decide on the pictures. You may want to discuss cost and timeliness of the project.

2. Be thinking of new officers for next month’s meeting.

3. Have John Gill discuss the Christmas party hosted in his hangar in mid December and the challenge presented us by the “other” chapter. See if we have any volunteers to take up the Challenge....I personally recommend Doc Dean and Larry Bauer...any others?

4. anyone come up with any “out of the way” landing strips? If you thought of any, let me know and I can forward them on to Steve Zelle to add to his directory.

5. other items to discuss?

Hope to see you at the meeting.

- Vic Johnston

October (2007) Meeting Minutes

2007-11-07T19:45:00.000-05:00

EAA Chapter 704 met for its regular monthly meeting on October 8, 2007 at the Sparta Paul C. Miller Airport pilot’s lounge with 25 members and guests present.

President Vie Johnston called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. The minutes of the previous meeting were approved as printed in the news letter. The treasurer reported $1888.07 in the checkbook with all bills paid.

President Johnston reported on the recent Fly Out to the Double J Ranch. He said that 8 airplanes went on the flight and 7 returned. One aircraft, belonging to our president, failed to start and had to be have some spark plug work done to get it started. Fortunately we have some very helpful AP mechanics in our group that come in mighty handy at times.

Steve Zelle flew in from Plymouth Mettetal airport near Detroit (EAA Chapter 113) to talk to us about a project he has worked on for the last 3 ½ years. He became interested in the fact that there are a goodly number of private uncharted landing strips located all over our state. He began making a list of them and contacted the owners to get the approval for listing them in a book to be made available to pilots. He stated that the Michigan Airport Directory lists 233 registered airports. He has identified 545 uncharted landing strips making a total of 778 places to land here in the state of Michigan.

He now has printed and is selling a book listing these landing strips complete with location and phone numbers of owners. He suggested that, if possible, a phone call to the owner would be appropriated if you find such a landing place close to where you want to go and would like to take advantage of that convenience.

He stated that he had had some very interesting experiences in the process of collecting this data —met and talked with some very interesting people. The chapter (707) purchased a copy of the book and it is on display in the lounge. Several chapter members purchased copies for themselves as well.

President Johnston stated that the project of photographing members airplanes is a little behind schedule —there was still time to get it don. See Dave Meinke about this.

Bill Fish, John Gill and Dan Bauman gave project reports with progress being made by all three. Scott Richmond told of his flying trip to the U.P. and ran into oil leak problems —had a gasket problem. It appears that there are some airplanes that like to go places but don’t like to come home.

Meeting adjourned

Jay Dean Sec/Treas EAA Chapter 704

COLD WEATHER INFLIGHT HAZARDS AND TIPS

2007-11-07T19:40:00.000-05:00

By: Technical Counselor Dave VanDenburg
EAA Chapter 439 (Michigan)
(email: WA8DOF@yahoo.com)
www.eaa.439.org

This month I would like to discuss cold weather operations by discussing some in-flight hazards and tips applicable in the winter months.

Probably the first in-flight hazard that comes to mind when we think about winter is icing. I have flown combat aircraft in a lot of areas of the world, and short of actual combat, only two things scare me in an aircraft. One is thunderstorms (which we don’t see much of in the winter) and icing, which we do. If you see ice build up on your windshield or wings, change altitude or find clear air quickly. Don’t be afraid to use the “E” word (emergency) to get whatever help is available from ARTCC.

If you experience a reduction in RPM (fixed pitch prop) or a reduction in manifold pressure (constant speed prop) suspect induction system icing. This could be carb ice or impact ice on your air filter. If you think you are experiencing induction system icing, apply full carb heat or select alternate air. If you have carb ice, the engine will probably run rougher (as the ice melts) but will clear up soon. I do not recommend using partial carb heat unless you have a carb air temp gauge. Partial heat may increase the carb ice problems.

If you are flying behind a constant speed prop, cycle it every 30 minutes or so to keep warm oil in the dome. A sluggish pitch change mechanism could be slow to react and result in an engine overspeed during a rapid power application. This could be real expensive (and dangerous).

Switch fuel tanks with plenty of fuel remaining in the tank. If you have a frozen valve and cannot select the full tank, you will still have enough fuel to land safely. If you wait until the engine coughs, and then find you cannot move the selector valve, you will probably call yourself a few bad names and join the ranks of those called “Glider Pilots.”

Avoid power off letdowns. A high speed, idle, descent can result in very rapid cooling of your engine (shock cooling) and cracked cylinder heads. Lycoming recommends a maximum temperature change of 50 degrees F per minute. Keeping the engine leaned until you are approaching pattern altitude can also help keep your engine temps up.

After landing, run your engine at a low power setting for several minutes prior to shutdown. This also promotes slow cooling and will reduce oil cooking if you are turbo supercharged.

Lastly, I highly recommend you carry some form of survival kit. It would really stink to survive an off airport landing and then freeze to death before someone found you. Some of the things I recommend are space blankets, some duct tape, matches, an aluminum cup, knife, freeze dried coffee, tea, signaling mirror (a CD works great) and warm clothing to include a hat and gloves. Also carry a hand held radio.

These have been just a few ideas to consider when flying during the winter months. Lycoming has some cold weather tips in their book “Key Reprints.” This book is available free online at www.lycoming.textron.com. Your POH is also a great source of cold weather operating tips.

Winter flying is fun and can be just as safe and enjoyable as summer, if we take a few precautions.

EAA SHARED ARTICLE

A Statement From Our Chapter President Vic Johnston

2007-11-07T19:35:00.000-05:00

I talked to Kathy Hakem tonight and that poor lady is in desperate need of help. She returned from Cleveland Clinic where they sent her home and declared they could find nothing wrong with her. Any one who has seen or talked to Kathy in the last six months would realize her condition has spiraled to the point that she can not even type on her computer anymore. In talking with her, I am also concerned with the emotional state this illness has rendered her. But not only is her health and emotional conditions reached bottom shelf, Kathy is also financialy destitute with medical bills...and still is left the responsibility of caring for her mother.

I know there is not much any of us can do to relieve her health issues. But we can contribute to help out her financial problems, which might also help a little in the emotional area. I would like to suggest / recommend we make a donation from our EAA treasury, and also take up a collection from individuals who can contribute whatever they can.

I dont need to remind anyone how much this lady has contributed in time and favors to the rest of us and to the airport over the last five years or so. This is a good opportunity for some of us to give back to her. Thank you on Kathy’s behalf, and you can also brighten her day with an email message.

-Vic

A Message to Chapter 704 Members

2007-11-07T19:30:00.000-05:00

Hello Vic and EAA 704,

I am helping a fellow (Jerry Yagen)
http://www.fighterfactory.com/ locate World-War-One era engines/airframes or replicas. Hispano-Suiza, Mercedes, Hall-Scott, Liberty, OX-5, Siemens-Halske, Oberursel, Clerget, LeRhone, Gnome, other rotaries, etc. If you know of anything for sale or trade I’d appreciate any information.

I also do aircraft construction/restoration (tube-and-fabric, wood, aluminum etc.) if I can be of service to anyone.

A mention of the engines in your newsletter or website would be much appreciated.

Sincerely,

Russ Lassetter
EAA# 0448996
Cleveland, Georgia
706-348-7514
rblassett@alltel.net

President’s Message (October 2007)

2007-10-02T21:30:00.000-04:00

Hey Flyboys (and girls, too), The colors are brilliant! There are still a few good days left to enjoy the seasonal array. We could still use some more pictures to put in the calendar, so if you would like to submit a picture of your plane, bring it to the meeting on the 8th. If you don’t have a pic, call me and we may be able to schedule a photo shoot with Dave Meinke, especially while we have such a colorful backdrop.

We had a good meeting last month with Tom Kraschen from MDOT-AERO speaking on LSA certification. He even gave us a choice of topics. This month's meeting will feature a gentleman who is working on the project of compiling a directory of all the airports in Mich that are not listed on the chart or in the Mich directory. He is always looking for new ones that he has not represented yet, so if you know of some obscure strip somewhere, bring all you know about it so he can include it.

We had a nice flyout to Double JJ Saturday, with 7 planes leaving......but only 6 returning. A total of 15 people enjoyed a fine breakfast. Dave Meinke was a "late show" so he missed the meal, but not the beautiful flight. Oh, I would like to thank my good friends, Larry and Kevin for helping me retrieve my plane the next day, and thank Tom, Dennis, and John for hauling me and my passengers back home. See you at the meeting.

-Vic Johnston

September (2007) Meeting Minutes

2007-10-02T21:26:00.000-04:00

EAA Chapter 704 held it regular monthly meeting on September 10, 2007 at the Sparta Paul C Miller Airport pilot’s lounge with 20 members and guests present.

The meeting began with a presentation by Thomas Krashen from Michigan D. O. T. Aviation Division. He showed slides and held and spoke generally on the subject of Sport Pilot license and Light Sport Airplanes. It was of particular interest because several of our group are now flying in that category.

The minutes of previous meeting were approved as printed in the newsletter. There is $1979.09 in the check book with all bills paid.

President Johnston reported on the recent “Pork on the Hoof’ program held at our airport recently. Paul Zimmer reported that 71 Young Eagles were flown that day with around 130 people in total received airplane rides thanks to several pilots who participated--there were 7 airplanes being used that day. Paul announced that there were still 13 applications for Young Eagle flights to be given rides as soon as possible.

Our thanks to Scott Richmond who ramrodded the event to the benefit of the Big Brothers/Sisters of Grand Rapids program.

President Johnston announced that several of our group participated in a Fly-out to the Double JJ Ranch a few days ago.

EAA Calendars are now available at $7.50 each when purchased in quantities of25. There was a discussion of photographing some of our own airplanes and creating our own calendar as we had a couple of times before. If this were to be done the pictures would have to be taken soon. Paul Meinke has agreed to work with this.

Meeting adjourned 8:30 p.m.

Jay Dean Sec/Treas EAA Chapter 704

President’s Message (September 2007)

2007-09-05T23:12:00.000-04:00

Good meeting!..... We heard some interesting and exciting Oshkosh episodes, project updates, and a look at John Gill's new top secret method of doing rolls from outside the airplane! Also P.J. was not present to bask in the "sitting ovation" he and Doc Dean received for the fine jobs they do.....maybe we'll to reenact that one.

The "Pork on the Hoof" event went very well, thanks to all of you who helped with the event. I know "ol' wot's his name Freetz hauled, setup and took down a lot of tables and chairs. Also, the Young Eagles portion was kept busy all day, so Paul Z may give us an update in the totals and suggestions to streamline this activity in the future.

Coming up on Sat. Sept. 8, I am planning a flyout to Double JJ Ranch for breakfast or lunch (pending weather), so call or email me if you are interested. Let me know if you prefer a breakfast or lunch event so I can make arrangements with Double JJ.

On the 10th, our meeting will feature Tom Krashen from MDOT-AERO with a presentation on either "10 things every VFR pilot should know", or " Making Sense of FAA Regs." Either one will be great, as Tom Krashen is very comprehensive and dynamic in all his presentations. Lets have a good attendance for him.

Until the 10th,...Vic Johnston

August (2007) Meeting Minutes

2007-09-05T23:08:00.000-04:00

EAA Chapter 704 met at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, August 13, 2007 for it's regular monthly meeting . President Vic Johnston called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

The treasurer's report showed $1566.04 in the check book and the minutes of the previous meeting were approved as printed in the newsletter.

President Johnston reported on the success of the recent fly-in pancake breakfast and stated we had received a check for $600.00 from the Lion's club for our share of the proceeds. It was voted to give $150.00 to the Boy Scout Troop 704 for their help in the project.

President Johnston called attention to and asked chapter appreciation for the work of the newsletter editor, P.J. Bevelacqua and Jay Dean, Secretary/Treasurer.

Paul Kovalak reported his work on the tail section of his RV-7 project and said he is getting ready to start on the wings.

Dan Bauman has the canopy pretty well fitted in place on his RV-9. The engine is all ready.

Dave DuPerron took his beautiful yellow Super Cub project go Oshkosh and was given an award for outstanding workmanship.

The group shared several stories about their experiences at Oshkosh.

President Johnston spoke of the upcoming "Pork on the Hoof' event scheduled for Saturday August 18. There are a number of different sorts of activities on tap in addition to the pig roast dinner. Among the events are a classic auto show, a motorcycle riding demonstration,
racing car display, helicopter rides, and a Young Eagles program providing rides to youngsters ages 8-18. The proceeds from this program are to benefit the Big Brother/Big Sisters of Grand Rapids
program.

Visitor John Grimer from Wayland was introduced to the group.

Ken Mosley showed pictures of a device he had welded together and attached to John Gills RV project allowing it to be rotated for ease of accessing the under side of the fuselage.

After the business meeting we adjourned to John Gill's hangar and look at the apparatus. It was a very clever and professional looking framework housing a jack and post which attached to the propeller flange on the engine. The attachment allowed for rotation of the aircraft with the aft end fitted via a rod through a "hole in a board" arrangement. It can be imagined that John will strap himself into the cockpit and practice snap rolls in the near future.

Meeting Adjourned 9:00 p.m.

Jay Dean Sec/Treas EAA Chapter 704

President’s Message (August 2007)

2007-08-09T21:56:00.000-04:00

Dear EAAers,

Well, the Oshkosh Event is well underway as I am writing this (Jul28), so many of our members will be returning with some exciting AIRPLANE stories......I believe there is one feller with one of them there yeller aeroplanes that may have a special story to tell. With most of summer activities that can seriously interfere with our “plane-talk” behind us, it will seem good to return to normal.

I understand the Paul C. Miller fly-in breakfast event was successful. Thanks to all those who participated in the setup and teardown. I apologize that I had to leave right after the tables and chairs were in place, but I had some family obligations.

Tom Krashen from MDOT-AERO will be joining us perhaps on our September meeting for a special presentation. He always does a great job of informing and entertaining us.

See you Aug 13....bring your stories and a friend.

-Vic Johnston

Pork on the Hoof 'Fly-in, Drive-in, Trailer-in or Walk-in!'

2007-08-09T21:54:00.000-04:00

Inaugural Pig Roast to benefit Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Grand Rapids on August 18, 2007 from 9:30am to 4:00pm at the Sparta Municipal Airport. Visit the newly renovated Sparta Airport with FREE plane rides for kids and a Car and Motorcycle show!

A family friendly festival with free plane rides for children (ages 8 - 17), helicopter rides, flight simulators, games and treats for children. Meet IHRA funny car driver, Tim Stevens. An opportunity for pilots, car enthusiasts and motorcycle riders to gather together on the grounds of the newly remodeled airport. Proceeds will benefit the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program. Call 616-887-5744 for details! We will see you then!

August 18th, 2007 - 9:30 am-4pm *
* Rain date August 19th, 2007 with same times.

Location: Sparta Municipal Airport
9100 Vinton Ave, Sparta, MI 49345

July (2007) Meeting Minutes

2007-08-09T21:50:00.000-04:00

Meeting Minutes July 9, 2007

EAA Chapter 704 held its regular monthly meeting on July 9th, 2007 at the Sparta Paul C Miller Airport pilot’s Lounge with 18 members and guests present.

The treasurers report shows $1641.04 in the checkbook. The minutes of the last meeting were approved as printed in the newsletter.

President Johnston led a discussion on the upcoming pancake breakfast/flyin. There was a very mixed feeling over the location of the event with the final decision to proceed as before in providing the necessary tables and chairs as promised with each individual having the option whether to attend or not.

President Johnston mentioned the upcoming Short Wing Piper Flyin at the Grant Airport on August 4. Brunch is to be held at the Grant Depot Restaurant at 11 am hosted jointly by Vic Johnston and the Koopman’s. He stated you could attend whether you flew in or not.

There is also going to be a “Pork On The Hoof’ pig roast at the Sparta Airport on August 18 to benefit the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Grand Rapids program. It will continue from 9:30 am til 4 pm.

After the business meeting we retired to Dave DuPerron’s hangar and viewed his newly completed Piper project. There are not adjectives available to describe this aircraft —It is beautiful beyond imagination. He will take it to Oshkosh with hopes of attracting the judges attention.

Meeting Adjourned

Jay Dean Sec/Treas EAA Chapter 704

2007 Pancake Breakfast/Fly-in

2007-07-06T10:00:00.000-04:00

Sparta Paul C. Miller Municipal Airport

Pancake Breakfast/Fly-in

July 15, 2007
7:30 am - 11:30 am

Pancake Breakfast in conjunction with Sparta Town and Country Days.
Sponsored by EAA Chapter 704, Sparta Lions Club, and Sparta BSA Troop 704.

Questions?
Contact Vic Johnston - 616.696.2895

President’s Message (July 2007)

2007-07-06T09:50:00.000-04:00

Dear EAAers,

Let’s all thank John and Ken for such a dynamic, interesting, and informative presentation on the progress of John’s RV-7. It was also very pertinent for Jeremy and I, as we were working on JJ’s RV-3 at the time and many of our problems/questions were answered in their presentation. Would you believe that they threw that program together in less than 24 hours!?

For our meeting on the 9th we hope to have a tour of Dave Duperron’s SUPER Cub, and hopefully some dialogue from Dave to share with us some of his expertise. I think we should offer a prize to anyone who can find a flaw in the aircraft. Bet you can’t.

Also we has some unfinished business to cover regarding the Dawn Patrol Breakfast...mainly, which building we will have it in. John’s hangar does not have potable water, which is a concern of the Lions’ Club and the County Health Dept.

I will again have ol’Blue rolled out to give any Olde Eagles who missed the last meeting, an opportunity to sample some airspace before the meeting. If anyone else would like to give rides to some of our “grounded flock” have your plane(s) on the ramp at 6 pm.

Until next time,

-Vic Johnston

June (2007) Meeting Minutes

2007-07-06T09:30:00.000-04:00

Meeting Minutes June 14, 2007
EAA Chapter 704 met on Monday, June 11, for its regular monthly meeting. The meeting was held at the Sparta Paul C Miller Airport pilot’s lounge with 25 members and guests present. The meeting was called to order by president Vic Johnston at 7 p.m.

The treasurer reported $1669.02 in the check book with all bills paid. We had received $270.00 from the village of Sparta for their 1/2 of the costs to provide cable internet service into the lounge to supply weather data etc.

P.J. (Newsletter Editor) was asking for current or corrected e-mail addresses from the membership and sent around a sheet to facilitate this. His idea is to send the newsletter by e-mail to as many as he can to reduce the postage costs.

Paul Zimmer agreed to serve as the Young Eagles coordinator to replace Kathy Hakeem who had to resign for personal reasons.

President Johnston stated we were sill looking for a Boy Scout troop coordinator to replace Glenn Holt who had to resign for health reason. John Gill announced he would be willing to fill this position.

John Kozal, Boy Scout leader for BSA Troop 704, reported on the activities of the troop. He stated that they had started out with 8 boys in the troop and have just added 5 more. They are going to BSA Camp Gerber in a few weeks and have had several camp outs all ready as well as some service projects. One of the parents has agreed to become assistant scout master. Kozal announced that the troop does not meet during the summer but will begin again in August. BSA Troop 704 is sponsored by EAA Chapter 704 and appears to be doing well under John Kozal’s leadership.

Paramount Aviation has made a request to be included on the 704 Chapter web site along with the others that are listed. The discussion that followed indicated that the web site is owned by P.J., Newsletter editor for EAA 704, for the use of the members of EAA 704 to provide information within the group. Those listed on the web site are members of the chapter whereas Paramount is not a member and is therefore not invited to be listed on the site.

A discussion was held relative to the July Pancake Breakfast.

The Sparta Pilot’s Association is holding a STOL contest on Saturday, June 16, at the Sparta Airport in conjunction with the open house being held that day from 11:00 a.m. til 3:00 p.m.. The STOL contest is being organized by Kathy Hakeem who is urgently seeking participants.

John Gill and Ken Mosely presented a program showing a selection of pictures depicting the complexities of the wiring of his RV-7 project. John and Ken have been faced with an awesome task as John is putting a very sophisticated electronic package in his airplane. As the pictures indicate and their comments confirm, they have done the near impossible in getting all the components in place and the associated wiring routed in proper fashion. They have made a very ambitious prediction of having the airplane flying in August —and they might just do that.

Meeting Adjourned

Jay Dean Sec/Treas EAA Chapter 704

President’s Message (June 2007)

2007-06-06T19:39:00.000-04:00

So what’s new?.....that’s what I’ve been wondering about our next meeting. I think it will somewhat resemble the old school hot lunch menu on Fridays which was a surprise cochophony of leftover dishes we had experienced the previous week (or two?) all mixed together. If you have any suggestions for topics in future meetings bring your ideas along.

I personally appreciated getting re-acquainted with some of our “Olde Eagles” last month. We all appreciated Kevin’s account, his and Dennis Wass’s sojourn to Sun & Fun. And we should all give a special thanks to the “2-Pauls” for offering their beloved Cardinal as a sacrificial lamb on the FAA altar. As it turned out, The FAA-sent angel in human form (that being Tom Kozura) was very forgiving and no aviation sins were judged. Thank all three men for making it a great presentation.

Also, John Gill helped out topping off the meeting with a static display of his RV with some of his latest innovations with the baffling and plumbing of the engine.

We will see you June 11, if I am back from camping at Ludington S.P., as will start organizing for the Dawn Patrol Breakfast in July. Vic

-Vic Johnston

May (2007) Meeting Minutes

2007-06-06T19:09:00.000-04:00

The regular monthly meeting of EAA Chapter 704 was held on May 14,2007 at the Sparta Paul C. Miller Airport pilot's lounge. There were 27 members and guests present.

The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved as corrected.

President Johnston held a discussion of old business. It was announced that Kathy Hakeem wished to resign as Young Eagles coordinator due to health problems. Glenn Holt asked to be relieved from responsibilities as Boy Scout representative also for health reasons. Replacements for both these positions are being sought.

Gary Miesch, president of Greenville Pilot’s Ass’n was present and mentioned a Young Eagles day next month at Greenville working through Kalamazoo EAA Chapter 221.

There has been an invitation to attend a pancake breakfast at Ottawa Exec Airport on 6/30/07 at 8:00 a.m.. This comes from Chet and Patti Unicapher. The cost is by donation and the money will go to the Aviation Education Scholarship fund.

President Johnston urged everyone to write to their U.S. Senators and/or Representatives to protest the FAA user fee concept.
Kevin Wheeler told of his experiences flying to Sun ‘n Fun. He said they had encountered a 52 mph tail wind on the way down resulting in over 170 mph ground speed in a Cessna Buck and a Half (150). He said the trip down took just short of 7 hours —the return run took 14 hours. He had to pay as much as $5.15 per gallon for fuel.

Several members spoke of having been to Sun ‘n Fun.

Guest speaker, Tom Kozura from the FAA, conducted a typical Ramp Check on one of the member’s airplanes and described the various things the inspector would be looking for. We then visited The John Gill hangar to look over John’s RV project which is coming along very nicely.

Meeting Adjourned

Jay Dean Sec/Treas EAA Chapter 704

SPRING IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER

2007-06-06T19:06:00.000-04:00

Blue Mountain EAA Chapter 604
By - Don Bais (Courtesy of The Rite Flyer)

It’s that fabulous time of year again when spring is in the air, be it a mite cool just yet, but rest assured it will come. When the weather begins to warm a little, our aviator minds turn to flights of fancy and it’s time to get our birds out of the nest and ready to go.

Strange things happen to our birds during the time they are asleep for the winter. Moisture can form in the fuel tanks, tire pressure seems to drop, and all that dust we need to get rid of! The brake disks get rusty and the battery may be down. And then there are those various critters that can invade our planes, be they parked inside or out. Birds and mice love to make our planes their homes. Mud dobbers love to make their little mud houses on our engine cylinders and create those nasty little hot spots if we don’t find them and remove them.

We purchased our Comanche in early May of 1983. We didn’t have a hangar yet so it was parked outside. We hadn’t flown for a couple of weeks and when we went out to fly I did the usual pre-flight list checks, got in, and cranked up. We were cleared for taxi to runway 14 for departure, did our run-up and were cleared by the tower for departure.

It was a bit cool so Alyce pulled the cabin heat on. As we began our climb out something started to smell hot. It wasn’t an electrical or oil smell and there was no smoke but something was hot. I called the tower and got a short close pattern for landing. We taxied off the active and stopped in a safe place. I opened up the cowling and began to investigate. Upon close examination, I could see insect legs sticking out of the shroud around the exhaust that provides cabin heat. I took a screw driver and proceeded to remove the shroud and wouldn’t you know it – that shroud was occupied by about a quart jar full of yellow jackets. Fortunately, they were pretty disabled but still moving slowly about. I still don’t know why we didn’t get a surprise in the cockpit, but not one yellow jacket came through.

EAA SHARED ARTICLE

YOUNG EAGLE BECOMES YOUNG PILOT

2007-06-06T19:04:00.000-04:00

By - Bruce St. Onge, EAA Chapter 439

My very first Young Eagles airplane ride was at Ford Airport about six years ago. The pilot did a very steep bank on my side and I thought to myself, “I’m not liking this…” A few years later I decided I would give it another shot, so I went to the 2004 Ford Airport Day for another Young Eagles ride. During the taxi, run-up, takeoff, cruise, and landing I was continually asking the pilot questions. When we got done, I thought to myself, “I like this stuff.” A couple years passed and Tom Sullivan invited me along with him to an EAA Chapter 439 meeting at NMU Aviation College. We took his Mooney Rocket.

We took off into an overcast layer. When we broke out above the clouds I could see the sun just coming up in the morning and it was “so sweet.” When Dave was giving us a tour around the college aviation shop I saw this huge set of Boeing wheels. I asked, “where did you get those?!” and Dave said that they were there prior to his working there. I still want them.

When I was at the Christmas party last year, Tom said he would talk to Terry to see what the costs are for learning to fly. Later that night Terry talked with me about the rates and suggested I save up the money, then do it. I told him I already have the money saved up and he replied, “YOU DO?” He could not believe it. He commented that usually kids my age (17) get their paycheck and spend it all. He said, “I’m proud of you for saving your money.”

Tom and Terry said to contact Kubick Aviation to see if he had gotten a training airplane yet. I went home that night, excited to start my training. I asked Chad Kubick of Kubick Aviation, “who teaches?” He mentioned an instructor, Mike Jensen, a C.S.A. Air pilot, and I gave him a call. My training started with my very first lesson on March 10, 2006.

Mike said to use one hand on the yoke. I did not like using one hand, but I got used to that after a little bit. After a few lessons we did my first stall. I started to yell and looked to hang on to anything I could, but there’s really nothing to hold onto in a 150. Mike said, “I guess you don’t like stalling” and I said “YOU GOT THAT RIGHT.”

I started to bring my ground school manuals to school so I could study during any open time I had. That annoyed one specific teacher, and she made me put them in my locker. One of my friends asked her why she was giving me a hard time about the books and she said “He will never become a pilot.” I thought, “Ok, she will see, that’s even a better reason to finish this.” When someone says I can’t do it, I become more motivated.

I started to help Tom with his plane in January of 2006, showing up almost every night around 7PM. I learned a lot about planes by helping Tom work on his. I found that you’re putting your life at risk with some awfully small hardware, like the four bolts that hold the engine mount on the fuselage. Tom said he would pay me an hourly rate (after getting up to speed) for helping him with the Lancair but I replied “no, I like doing this.” Tom came back with “OK, I will apply that money to flight time for getting your license.” I didn’t argue.

I met this guy, Bruce, in Chad’s hangar while waiting for my instructor, Mike. He asked how I became interested. I told him about my connection with Tom. Later that evening I was cleaning my room and found an EAA Young Eagles flight certificate that was signed by Bruce Rutter in 2004. I thought “wow!”

I first soloed on June 22nd, 2006. I was not nervous about the flight, but was nervous about the people on the ground observing my crappie landing. I did three touch and go’s. About a month later Mike and I were doing some ground work and he informed me that I would need to find a new instructor – he was being transferred to somewhere near Beaver Island. I flew with him another week and before he left, Mike signed my logbook to take the written exam. I scheduled the exam, passed the written and was ready for my next challenge.

About this same time I was getting ready to go to Oshkosh with Tom. I had never been there before; it was so cool. I will never forget that experience. I was also introduced to a new flight instructor while I was there, Dean Sledge.

When we came back from Oshkosh, Dean and I started to fly. We went on a couple cross-country flights. He signed me off for my first “solo” short cross-country flight; IMT-50D-SAW-ESC-IMT. After another dual cross-country with Dean, he signed me off for my long cross-country IMT-MFI-CWA-RHI-IMT. That was a long trip, taking about three and a half hours in a little 150.

Dean started to hound me even more to study the books (Tom had warned me, that as I got closer to the check ride, my instructor would get tougher.) The weather during this time was crap, it took us about a month to complete three hours of flying. Dean scheduled my private pilot check ride with Duffy in Marshfield for December 19th.

We arrived at Marshfield and Duffy was running about an hour late. All I was doing was pacing back and forth, back and forth. Dean said to sit down and relax. Well I was able to sit down for about 30 seconds only. Duffy came in and I sat next to him. Dean said to Duffy, “do you have any nerve pills for him?” He said, “We’re not going to get nervous, OK?”

Everything went well for the oral part. Nerve-racking though it was. The flying part was easy, but still nerve-racking. Duffy got out of the airplane, signed some papers and said, “Congratulations, you’ve earned it. I like seeing young people like yourself getting involved in aviation. It’s people like you that keep aviation running. We need more young people like you.” When I got back, everyone was saying “good job” and “congrats.”

It was never easy, and you get your share of nagging (and encouragement) from the instructors and fellow pilots to study. I can say now, it was well worth it. December 19th of 2006 was one of the most important days of my life.

EAA SHARED ARTICLE

RESERVE LIFT GAGE (AOA) KIT

2007-06-06T19:02:00.000-04:00

Dear Fellow EAA Member,
My name is Kelly Meiste, I’m an EAA member (#623517) living in northern Illinois.

I’m currently flying the Zenith Zodiac 601 that my son & I built back in 2002.

The reason I’m writing you is to ask if you would take the time to notify your club members of the Reserve Lift Gage (or Angle of Attack) that I manufacture.

I originally fabricated a gage to use only on my plane. It worked so well that others have asked me to build one for them as well. It’s now turned into a part time job, and as I’m hoping to retire soon I’m now looking into building these kits full time.

My kit is priced at less than half the cost of the cheapest I’ve seen, so I believe it’s a good value for the money. It comes complete and ready to install in most any aircraft. Installation is fast and easy, normally only a few hours of your time will do it.

If someone would require a custom mounting bracket, or plate, I can build the one as required at little additional cost.

Please pass the attached poster around to your members, and have them contact me anytime if the would like to purchase a kit or just ask questions.

Thank you very much for your time!
Sincerely,
Kelly Meiste, EAA #623517

RESERVE LIFT GAGE (AOA) KIT
COMPLETE & READY TO INSTALL IN NEW OR CURRENTLY FLYING AIRCRAFT

• AERODYNAMICALLY SHAPED PROBE AND MOUNTING BRACKETS MACHINED FROM 6061 ALUMINUM (CUSTOM MOUNTS AVAILABLE).

• 2" DIAMETER EASY TO READ GAGE WITH MOUNTING BRACKET, OR SIMPLY INSTALL ABOVE YOUR INSTRUMENT PANEL FOR BEST VIEW DURING TAKE OFF AND LANDINGS.

• SUPPLIED WITH 33’ OF PROBE TO GAGE RIGID VINYL TUBING.

• “AN” HARDWARE, AND TUBING FITTINGS INCLUDED.

• VERY EASY INSTALLATION.

• COST IS ONLY $175 PLUS $15 S&H.
(LESS THAN HALF THE COST OF COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE KITS)

CONTACT: KELLY MEISTE (EAA MEMBER 623517)
PHONE: (815) 684-9922
EMAIL: kellymeiste@jcwifi.com

YES THIS GAGE IS IN MY PLANE, ONCE YOU
USE ONE YOU WOULD NEVER WANT TO
FLY AGAIN WITHOUT IT.

April (2007) Meeting Minutes

2007-05-31T19:00:00.000-04:00

(Previously unpublished)
EAA Chapter 704 held its regular monthly meeting at the Sparta Paul C. Miller Airport with 24 members and/or guests present.

It was announced that the Annual Pancake Breakfast Fly In is scheduled for July 15 and notices have call ready been posted with the state so the event will be posted on the internet and published in the Michigan Aviation publication. The Fly In is co sponsored by EAA 704, The Sparta Lions Club and Boy Scout troop 704. The breakfast will be held in the John Gill hangar.

Glen Holt, chapter coordinator with the Boy Scout has been in touch with the BSA leadership and is making efforts to attend their meeting when called.

Tim and Lori Layne have announced the beginning of their new flight school called Sparta Aero operating out of an office in the pilot’s lounge building

President Johnston called for project reports and there were several. It seems that most members are working on something or helping others with their projects.

Scott Richmond gave an account of his flight across the nation as he went to California to pick up a Bonanza. After encountering some difficulty in getting the aircraft inspected and signed off he was able to begin his adventure back to Michigan. It seems that an AP recommended by the seller had declared the aircraft un-airworthy for various reasons and refused to sign it off for flight. It took some finagling to get some sort of ferry permit and the trip home was begun. Weather became a factor in crossing the nation and the route home took some bizarre twists and turns going North and South almost as much as East. They make it to Valparaso, Indiana where the plane was left to be picked up later. (It has since been retrieved and by all reports is a beautiful airplane.)

The Greenville Pilot’s Ass’n is setting up a Young Eagles event —more information will be coming at a later date.

The VOR at Grand Rapids suffered some serious storm damage and is out of service. The reports are that it may remain out of service permanently.

Meeting Adjourned

Jay Dean Sec/Treas EAA Chapter 704

President’s Message (May 2007)

2007-05-10T22:10:00.000-04:00

Welcome back from Sun & Fun! Your tan faces should reveal those who went. Speaking of which,....Kevin Wheeler and Denny Wass will summarize the adventure of flying down and back in a comfy (and slow) Cessna 172. I wonder if it was as exciting (in more ways than one) as Scott Richmond's trip back from California....thanks for sharing your stories with us, Scott.

We have a few things brewing in the agenda cauldron this month. Firstly, we would like to focus on our "Olde Eagles" by allowing them to view the new airport from above. I will be available at 6:00 if any one who has not had the opportunity would like to sail around the patch. If there are any other volunteer pilots willing to offer their services, have your plane on the ramp and ready to go at 6:00pm also. This may delay the start of the regular meeting, but I am sure you wont run out of conversational topics.

After our coffee break, we may amble down to John Gill's hangout and view his progress on his "7". Tom Kozura and John has offered to inform all you builders what to expect in the way of inspections and other milestones in the building process.

Also, if we have time, Tom will perform a “mock” ramp check, with no intimidation. Do we have any volunteers to lay their plane, credentials, and reputation on the line? Please give me a call if you can give "Olde Eagle" rides or art willing to be ramp checked. See you about 6pm on the 14th?

-Vic Johnston

Sorry, the April meeting minutes were not available at time of printing

Accompany Chapter 145...

2007-05-10T22:09:00.000-04:00

Dick Foster of EAA Chapter 145 has extended an invitation to our group... Chapter 145 is having a representative from Electroair direct fire ignition systems, Waterford Mi, give a presentation on a new type of ignition system for aircraft. Check it out at www.electroair.net.
Any one who would like to know more is welcome to attend on Friday, May 11, 7:00 pm at Riverview airport.

Message From Dick Foster EAA Chapter 145...

2007-05-10T22:08:00.000-04:00

Greetings,

The Young Eagle program has introduced over a million young people to aviation! The future of general aviation is somewhat dependent on how young people view aviation. Good pilots like you are needed to help continue flying young people.

I thought you might want to know that several EAA chapters are sponsoring Young Eagle rallies this summer, and you could be part of the activities. The schedule looks like this: (Rallies run about 9am to 4pm, you can do any part or all.)

May: Sat. 5/05/07, Kalamazoo Air Zoo
Sat. 5/12/07, Marshall
June: Sat. 6/02/07, Riverview
Sat. 6/23/07, Allegan
July: Sun. 7/15/07, Hastings
August: Sat, 8/25/07, Kalamazoo, Boy Scouts

Help is needed to either fly Young Eagles or work as part of the ground crew. If you, friends, or family would like to get in on any part of the fun, please contact:

Jim Butcher (EAA221 Young Eagle Coordinator)
eaa221ye@triton.net
269-375-5923

Dick Foster (EAA145 Young Eagle Coordinator)
rfoster@grcc.edu
616-358-8849

I hope you will enjoy flying young people as much as I do.

-Dick Foster

President’s Message (April 2007)

2007-04-06T10:06:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! Get all your taxes done so you can attend the EAA meeting April 8th. The program is still in limbo (I have been busy on my taxes) and do not have a speaker lined up at this time. Maybe John Gill can tell us how the skiing was in Colorado. But don't be discouraged....look how good the "two Pauls" extemporaneously took over and thoroughly entertained, educated, and bedazzled us with their presentations!

Looking ahead, as the sun sets later, perhaps we can start the evening/ meeting with every one getting a ride in Larry's fleet of airplanes. In the meantime, if you have anything you would like to share with the rest of us, come prepared and you can easily be "penciled in" on the agenda.

Be sure to come, and bring a friend, significant other, or, what the heck, even your wife. See ya, Vic

-Vic Johnston

March (2007) Meeting Minutes

2007-04-06T10:02:00.000-04:00

The regular monthly meeting of EAA Chapter 704 was held on March 12,2007 at the Sparta Paul C Miller Airport pilot's lounge. There were about 20 members and guests present.

President Vic Johnston called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and opened the discussion with questions about the annual Pancake Breakfast Fly In held in conjunction with the Sparta Town and Country Days celebration. The date needs to be confirmed so announcements can be placed in Michigan Aviation publication.

Paul Zimmer showed some of the tail assemblies of his RV -7 project and discussed the building process he is going through. Other projects were mentioned including Torre Ro's Super Cub restoration.

Paul Spetosky spoke for a while about his time spent many years ago working on Rocket engines for the Titan 3C missiles. He stated he had developed an interest in these engines in the early phases of the "Space Age" and described some of the booster engines used as well as the rocket engines and their control systems. He apparently worked in this field for nearly a year before moving on to other interests.

Meeting adjourned for refreshments and hangar talk

Jay Dean Sec/Treas EAA Chapter 704

President’s Message (March 2007)

2007-03-09T22:04:00.000-05:00

Well, upon my return, I found that I left the care and well being of our chapter in very good hands!....but say, who did I leave in charge of the weather, anyway? Let's thank Paul Spetosky, Doc Dean, PJ (nevermindthelastname), and John Kozal for keeping the meeting "moving forward". I understand we had a real nice attendance.

If anyone has any items they would like to discuss, or have any hard core aircraft projects to show and tell, please let me know, and we will put you on the agenda. This month Paul will be speaking on some of the testing and research projects he was involved in while working at United Technologies on jet engines. I expect it to be a roaring-hot topic.

It will be good to see you all again, and Paul Swett said to say hello to everyone.

-Vic Johnston

February (2007) Meeting Minutes

2007-03-09T22:03:00.000-05:00

EAA Chapter 704 held its regular monthly meeting on Monday, February 12, 2007 at the Sparta Paul C. Miller Airport pilot's lounge.

Vice President Paul Spetosky called the meeting to order in the absence of President Vic Johnston. There were about 30 members and guests present.

The minutes of the previous meeting were approved as printed in the newsletter. The treasurer reported $1621.32 in the check book.

Spetosky read a letter from Vic Johnston addressing some of the issues surrounding a situation that had arisen between one of our members and the owner of a business entity on the field. The details of the issue have been made known amongst the local pilots and do not need to be a part of published records of Chapter 704. Some feelings have been expressed and a desire to resolve the differences was apparent. Several courses of action were proposed but none were pursued with the parties feeling it best to let everything quiet down of its own volition.

Vice President Spetosky handed out several awards given to last year’s officers in appreciation for their service to EAA and Chapter 704 during 2006.

John Gill described the problems he had in installing the sliding canopy on his RV-9. Apparently attaching the sliding rail presented a problem of gaining access to areas in tight surroundings. He showed a special wrench he had designed with a 90 deg angle to facilitate this process.

Glenn Hart agreed to become the Chapter 704 representative to the newly formed Boy Scout troop created under the sponsorship of our chapter. The new Boy Scout troop will carry the same number as our chapter --Troop #704 and will be headed by EAA 704 member, John Kozal. Member Hart's responsibilities will amount to attending some of the troop leadership meetings and relaying information between the two groups.

John Kozal had attended the Light Sport Aviation (LSA) meeting in Sebring, Florida and brought back lots of information concerning LSA which he shared with the group.

Paul Zimmer and Paul Kovalak have both purchased RV-7 kits. Zimmer announced he had done considerable work on the tail assemblies. Kovalak had not actually begun building but was inventorying the kit carefully in anticipation.

Spetosky suggested we give thought to having an American flag in the pilot's lounge saying that some other chapters begin their meeting with the pledge of allegiance to the flag. No action was taken but the idea was received with favor.

There was a discussion prompted by one of the members concerning the reasons why several airplanes have recently gone off the runway while taxiing or on roll out. Were the reasons related to the readjustment of the newly constructed runway direction by 10 degrees? Are the cross winds attacking us slightly different than what we are used to begging more attention given to our crosswind landing techniques? Some factors may involve the fact that the sod off the edge is not yet firmly developed leaving a soft and often uneven surface should we inadvertently exit the runway. One pilot said his airplane did feel a little "squirrelly" at one place on the runway. Caution is advised.

Meeting adjourned

Jay Dean Sec/Treas EAA Chapter 704

President’s Message (February 2007)

2007-02-08T08:48:00.000-05:00

A big howdy to all you 704er's up in balmy and sunny Mich., Gee, why am I torturing myself here in Fla. where the temps soar (aviation term) way up to 76F, and sometimes dive (another aviation term) clear down to 71F.

When you get to the meeting on the 11th, you might look around for a moment and notice that I am not there. In my absence, the gavel will be put in the hands of Paul Spetosky. He will read a summary of the actions taken regarding the issues discussed at the last meeting, and the results of those various actions.

Also, for those of you who were not in attendance last month, we voted to be a sponsor / mentor to a newly formed Boy Scout troop under the leadership of John Kozal. We will need to select a representative as an intermediary to attend an occasional meeting with the Boy Scout leaders (adult) and report back regarding their planned activities and goals.

John Kozal attended the LSA convention in Sebring, Fla. and will make a presentation of his discoveries and adventures at our Feb. meeting.

So, until I see you in March, keep shoveling. I'll say howdy to Paul Swett from all of you.

Vic Johnston

January (2007) Meeting Minutes

2007-02-08T08:40:00.000-05:00

EAA Chapter 704 held its regular monthly meeting on Monday, January 8, 2007 at the Sparta Paul C. Miller Airport pilot's lounge.

The meeting was called to order by newly elected president, Victor Johnston and outgoing president John Gill made an official passing of the gavel although he couldn't locate the gavel at the moment.

There were nearly 30 members and guests present.

The minutes of the previous meeting were approved as printed in the newsletter. The treasurer, Jay Dean, reported there was $1425.32 in the checkbook.

President Johnston asked for project reports and several commented on their progress or lack of it.

There followed a general discussion of items concerning the chapter with nothing requiring any formal action

John Kozal, representing the Boy Scouts of America, presented a proposal regarding the starting of a new Boy Scout troop. He stated they all ready have the required number of participants and leadership personnel but was in need of a sponsor. This is a follow up of a similar presentation a month ago by Dennis Byrne

Tom Mills, Scout District Executive, spoke more particularly of the expectations from and involvements of such a sponsor.

Following the presentations the chapter seemed very much in favor of this idea and a motion by John Gill (seconded by Dan Bauman) was made that chapter 704 assume the responsibilities of being a sponsor to the new troop.

John Kozal commented later that they had selected the number 704 as the number of their new group in keeping with the EAA number of their sponsor.

EAA Chapter 704 now has to select a representative from its membership to attend the monthly meetings of the troop's adult leadership committee. This should be accomplished by the next chapter meeting.

Darrell Yeager showed the gas tank he had welded up for his Sonorai project which is very near completion. He described several aspects of the project telling how he is able to fold the wings and store it in his basement. He said it took him about 20 minutes to attach the wings although he admitted that someone else might do it quicker.

John Kozal announced he was soon going to Sebring near Orlando Florida to attend the Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) show.

Meeting adjourned

Jay Dean Sec/Treas EAA Chapter 704

Introducing a new EAA Member Benefit...

2007-02-08T08:32:00.000-05:00

The following information has been provided by the EAA to be shared with fellow Chapter members regarding an EAA Member Benefit.

Introducing a new EAA Member Benefit launched this year-the EAA Finance Program (administered by AirFleet Capital, Inc.)

The EAA Finance Program was unveiled at Sun-N-Fun and EAA AirVenture Oshkosh during 2006. AirFleet Capital staff was on hand to meet and greet pilots in EAA's Member Village at both events, answering questions and providing information to members. The staff from AirFleet Capital also attended the 2006 NBAA convention in Orlando, Florida, assisting EAA in reaching out to the business aircraft market.

The EAA Finance Program provides a wide array of programs to meet the needs of our members. It's currently able to finance experimental aircraft (kit & airworthy), light-sport aircraft, piston, helicopter, and jet aircraft. With their extensive knowledge, passion, and experience in general aviation, EAA and AirFleet Capital have created a program that offers a variety of options that are constantly changing to meet the needs of members. This was evidenced by a new program launched by the EAA Finance Program that allows for financing of progress payments for the new very light jets (VLJ's) which have recently been certified. There are many pilots looking to purchase an aircraft in this new class, but who have to make payments as the aircraft progresses in its manufacturing process. The EAA Finance Program is able to help those who are in a position to order their VLJ with the progress payments.

The EAA Finance Program has also been aggressively supporting the special light-sport aircraft (S-LSA) market. As this new class has developed, EAA and AirFleet Capital have been right there, rolling up their sleeves, obtaining information and research on the various aircraft, and producing financing options for these aircraft to fit the needs of the sport pilot. As the light-sport aircraft industry continues to develop and change the face of recreational aviation, the EAA Finance Program will continue to review the aircraft entering the market in order to support those aircraft that have been accepted and certified by the FAA. This is all part of EAA's mission to make aviation more attainable and affordable to its current and future members.

To obtain more information on the programs offered by the EAA Finance Program, give them a call at 866-808-6040 and a representative will be happy to speak with you and answer any questions you may have.

Sebring U.S. Sport Aviation Expo Trip (2007)

2007-01-04T20:17:00.000-05:00

Hello EAA 704!

John Kozal (past president of EAA 704) is writing to EAA 704 to see if anyone is interested in joining me in going to the Light Sport Aircraft Show in Sebring, Florida January 2007? My goals are to:

1) Review the costs and performances of planes built under the Light Sport Aircraft standards.
2) Take demonstration rides of planes that pick my interest.
3) Bring back information to EAA 704 and do a presentation at a future meeting.
4) Try to find interested partners to form an Airplane Club to buy a LSA
ready-to-fly airplane.

I would really appreciate it if something can be written in the next newsletter concerning the LSA show. Thank you.

John Kozal
887-8137

President’s Message (January 2007)

2007-01-04T20:03:00.000-05:00

Attention all chapter members:

Happy New Year, fellow aeroplane drivers, fixers, builders, and enthusiastic "wannabes" (like me).

"Out with the old and in with the new" is usually regarded as an optimistic cliche .....but in this case, out with our old (in more ways thanone) chapter president, John Gill, we suffer a great setback. Didn't he do a marvelous job? And of course, if we did adhere to that ol' saying, we would lose most of our membership! I think we all have to agree that the "ol' timers" are the backbone of our local organization. So at the next meeting, seek out an ol' codger and shake his hand and thank him for his contributions.

However, there are some NEW's we can look forward to and appreciate this year. Notice the new runway, PAPI, wind cone, REILs (both ends), and L-M-HIRLs?....we have a new manager that Kathy and the rest of us can abuse.....Dick has done a great job at cleaning up my mess and has given a new, more open look to the lounge. Also we can appreciate the enlistment of a few new 704 members this past year. I think diversity in membership freshens discussions and adds new ideas. So I encourage/challenge each member to recruit ONE person this year, whether friend, relative, wife, or someone you dragged off the street. How about a few more lady members?

Now, to retain our membership, it helps to have fine programs as we have had in the past, such as the last one presented by Larry "Buford" Bauer. So again, we need help from the membership in this regard, as I do not have as large of resource of contacts as John, so I would appreciate any suggestions you have, or projects to share.

Looking forward to a great 2007, Vic Johnston

December (2006) Meeting Minutes

2007-01-04T20:00:00.000-05:00

Meeting Minutes December 11, 2006

EAA Chapter 704 held its regular monthly meeting on Monday, December 11, 2006 at the Sparta Paul C. Miller Airport pilot's lounge.

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by President John Gill and the minutes of the previous meeting were approved as printed in the newsletter.

Dennis Byrne, a guest, spoke on behalf of a group of boys who would like to form a new Boy Scout Troup looking for a sponsor. Dennis described a bit of the responsibilities of a sponsor and asked the chapter to consider taking on this task. There was a general consensus of willingness within the group but the decision was made to take it under advisement until we can check with EAA headquarters to see if this sort of thing is approved by them. A decision will be made at the next meeting.

Dennis was quite fascinated by the chapter and EAA in general and has decided to join our group.

President Gill presented awards to the staff of 2006 who had served in various capacities during the past year.

President Gill also advised us that a new updated roster would be in the making soon and asked the members to be sure we had all their information? EAA numbers etc.

Paul Zimmer announced that he and Paul Kovalak are both purchasing RV7 kits and will be starting to build very soon.

Larry Bauer showed the group a number of aircraft parts he is manufacturing and selling for use on experimental aircraft. He is building a somewhat modified PA17 and showed the firewall he had built for it. He also showed brake assembly he makes as well as a rudder for floats, a nose wheel for floats that pretty well eliminates shimmy on the roll out, some tail wheel springs a gas gauge and a master cylinder for brakes. There was also a carbheat box in his collection, His son, Ben, works with him and does a real fine job of welding on these carbheat boxes.

Larry is very innovative and is able to create and build doggone near anything you want for you experimental project.

Meeting adjourned at 8:30 pm

Jay T. Dean Sec pro tem

Saturday December 9th, 2006 - Chapter 211/704 Christmas Party

2006-12-07T17:24:00.000-05:00

Saturday December 9th, 2006 Chapter 211/704 Christmas Party

Chapter 704 will be joining Chapter 211 of Grand Haven for a Christmas party to be held in John Gill's hangar at the Sparta Airport.

The Christmas party will be a potluck with everyone attending being asked to bring a dish to pass.
Bring a $5.00 Gift to exchange
Coffee and beverages will be provided.
The party will start around 6:00 pm and dinner starts at 6:30 pm
Dress is strickly casual and we hope to have a snow free area next to John's hangar to park in.