Air Zoo Invitation

EAA Chapter 145 would like to invite your chapter to come with us to the Kalamazoo Air Zoo. A visit is planned for Saturday, January 14, 2006. Chapter 145 invites anyone interested in visiting the Air Zoo to come along. Details are as follows:
Transportation

EAA145 will provide transportation (vans) to and from Kalamazoo

If you would like to drive
(w/4 passengers), EAA145 will pay for fuel.

Schedule:

• Plan to leave Riverview airport at 9AM, arrive Air Zoo about 10AM
• Return to Riverview, time depending on riders in the van, i.e. 2PM, 4PM, 6PM?

Cost of Admission:

• Normal cost of ticket: Adult $19.50, Senior $17.50, Child (6-15) $15.50, Child (<5)>
• Military ID, 20% discount: Adult $15.60, Senior $14.00, Child (6-15) $12.40
• Purchase on-line, 20% discount: Adult $15.60, Senior $14.00, Child (6-15) $12.40

RSVP with number going

Sign up on list in Riverview
lobby or call Dick Foster at
(616) 538-8849

More Information: www.airzoo.org or Air Zoo phone: 866-424-7966

Saturday December 10th, 2005 - Chapter 211/704 Christmas Party

Saturday December 10th, 2005
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.

•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.

A Message From Our Chapter President, Ron Fritz (Dec '05)

Well, looks like this is my last column for the year and my term of president of Chapter 704. It has been a good year and the chapter is in fairly good shape with a healthy treasury. I want to thank all of you for supporting me this past year and I hope you have enjoyed our activities and the programs that we have had over the past eleven months.

We had a very interesting program last month when Ken Fryling gave a very enjoyable account of the restoration of a Ford Trimotor when he was working at Kal Aero in Kalamazoo. The restoration of that Ford set the stage for the restoration of several Trimotors with others still to follow. Last month also saw elections that will see John Gill as your new president. Assisting John will be Paul Spetosky as VP and Kathy Hakeem as your new Sec-Treas. All are very capable people and the chapter should see some growth in 2006. Dan Bauman will remain the chapter’s technical counselor and Kathy will remain Young Eagles coordinator. We’re glad P.J. Bevelacqua will remain our newsletter editor as he has done a magnificent job on the newsletter and chapter website.

This month's program will be Kel DeVries who will be speaking on the Sport Pilot/LSA regulations. Kel did a presentation for Chapter 145 recently and I'm told it was very informative. Kel is an old friend and graciously agreed to come up to see us. I've also asked Hugh Eisen to come along. Most of you know that Hugh is the FAA designated flight examiner for the area.

Don’t forget the Christmas potluck in John Gills hangar on Saturday, December 10. We will be joining Grand Haven Chapter 211 this year and it should be a fun evening. It’s always good when two groups can join to share a nice evening of camaraderie.
So much for now. See you at the meeting.

December (2005) Meeting Minutes

EAA Chapter 704 met for its regular monthly meeting on November, 2005 at the Sparta Airport.

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by president Ron Fritz.
It was brought up that we would need volunteers for setting up tables and chairs for Christmas party to be held in John Gill’s hanger on the 10th of December that we are all invited to with EAA Chapter 211. A dish to pass was also recommended.

Ron Fritz thanked P.J. for great job he was doing with newsletter.

Officers for next year were voted on: John Gill - President, Paul Spetoskey - Vice President, Kathy Hakeem - Secretary/Treasurer/Young Eagles, P.J. Bevelacqua - Newsletter Editor/Website, and Dan Bauman - Tech Counselor.

One new member joined, Don Byers, he flies a C150 that he now keeps on the field.

John Peila won 50/50 raffle donated money back to chapter.

Paul Kovalac donated a computer to the chapter to replace one that was destroyed in lightning storm.

Barry Buchanan (Sparta Flight School) is letting us use his router. Which was also destroyed.

Ken Fryling gave presentation on rebuilding of Island Airways Ford tri-motor.

Meeting adjourned

Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Hakeem, Vice President/Young Eagles
(Secretary Jay Dean was absent)

A Message From Our Chapter President, Ron Fritz (Nov '05)

There is quite a bit of information included in this month's column. First, Chapter 704 has been invited to join two local chapters in their upcoming events.

Chapter 211 in Grand Haven has invited Chapter 704 to join them at their annual Christmas party to be held in John Gill's hangar at the Sparta Airport. For two years now, our chapter has actually provided support to their party and this year they have invited us to join them. The date is Saturday, December 10. More information is contained later in the newsletter and the subject will be brought up at the upcoming meeting.

Chapter 145 in Grand Rapids is planning a group trip down to the Kalamazoo Air Zoo and has invited us to join them. The trip is planned for January 2006 but the actual date hasn't been set yet. I haven't been down to the new museum yet so this might be a good opportunity to check it out. More information will be presented in a future newsletter.

I like to see interaction between the local chapters as it gives the EAA members a chance to see what other groups are doing. For many years I've been a member in other chapters and have enjoyed this opportunity to see what others are doing and if some of their activities might be successful in our chapter. Things can get a little stale limited your EAA contact to one chapter only.

The November program will be very informative and one you should make every effort to see. I've invited long-time friend, Ken Fryling, to bring along his slide show on the restoration of Island Airways' Ford Trimotor. Island Airways owned and flew several Fords to the islands in Lake Erie, off Port Clinton, Ohio. They were all lost to accidents and the one you see in the photo below was taken to Kal-Aero in Kalamazoo and restored to flying condition. It was a monumental task and Ken was instrumental in seeing the plane restored to fly again. As a sidelight, one of the other Fords that was wrecked is now under restoration by the EAA Chapter in the Port Clinton area and will, hopefully, fly again.

Since the year is rapidly coming to a close, I hope all of you have your house chores done. The long, warm fall has allowed us to complete the chores we have put off to the end of the year. With the coming of cold weather we have to give thought to new challenges to flying. Although winter provides us with beautiful, clear flying days, there are new problems to consider before getting the plane out. We may touch on that at the November meeting but will take up the subject in greater detail in December.

I had the opportunity to attend the Fall Board meeting of the Vintage Aircraft Associatiion at Oshkosh in October. You may or may not know that I have the privilege of sitting on the Board of Directors of that association. For your information, the VAA is in very good health and looks forward to great year in 2006. At this annual meeting we all have the opportunity to attend the annual induction ceremonies for those being named to the EAA's Hall of Fame. It is a wonderful time and allows me to see many of my old friends that I've grown to know over the years

See you all at the meeting.

Just Plane Pics...

The following photographs were submitted
by John Smith for your enjoyment...

Aerocomp Turboprop w/ motorcycle
in baggage compartment

Closeup view of Aerocomp Turboprop w/ motorcycle
in baggage compartment

C-150 w/ rubber track gear

Jim Bede Round the World Unrefueled Aircraft

Modified Scwitzer Sailplane

Rocket Powered Long EZ

Attention chapter members, your photographs are welcome too. If you would like to share any aviation photos, please feel free to bring them to the next meeting or submit via email, eaa704@gmail.com

November (2005) Meeting Minutes

EAA Chapter 704 met for its regular monthly meeting on October 10, 2005 at the Sparta Airport.

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by president Ron Fritz. The minutes and treasurers report were approved as printed in the newsletter.

President Fritz conducted a discussion of the feasibility of having a chapter building of its own. It was recalled that Tom Owens of Paramount Aviation had offered $5000.00 toward such a project. The consensus of the discussion was that such a structure would be quite expensive and the ongoing maintenance would be demanding, placing a fmancial burden on the chapter it was not prepared to handle. Though the offer made by Mr. Owens is greatly appreciated, the entire project is not within the financial ability of the chapter at this time.

President Fritz reminded the group that election of officers will be held at the next meeting and interested and/or willing persons should be ready to accept the leadership positions.

Vic Johnston gave an airport update. He stated that a large grant for runway improvement had been approved but the actual money may not be issued due to the unexpected government expenses resulting from the national disasters in the last few months. He sated that if the State of Michigan gets the money -- we will get the money and only time will tell.

A discussion of various members projects was held after which the meeting broke up for refreshments.

Ron Fritz then showed some very interesting old movies showing a number of different airplanes --some of which were his own. The movies may be old but the interest in them never dies. Thanks Ron. Meeting adjourned.

Respectfully submitted
Jay Dean, Secretary/Treasurer

Chapter 211 Christmas Party

Chapter 211 of Grand Haven has invited Chapter 704 members to join them at their annual 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.

•Coffee and beverages will be provided.

•The party will start around 6:00 PM and we will be going through the food line between 6:30 and 7:00 PM.

•Dress is strickly casual and we hope to have a snow free area next to John's hangar to park in.

Aviation Wisdom

•It’s better to be down here wishing you were up there, than to be up there wishing you were down here.

•If the houses are getting bigger lift the pointy bit at the front.

•There is nothing more useless than runway behind you.

•A 'good' landing is one from which you can walk away. A 'great' landing is one after which they can use the plane again.

•When in doubt, hold on to your altitude. No one has ever collided with the sky.

•You’ve never got too much fuel unless you are on fire

A Message From Our Chapter President, Ron Fritz (Oct '05)

Here we are, fall is here and I bet most of you don’t have the chores done that you had hoped to finish before snow flies. That’s the case around my house and I doubt if they will get done before that time.

Our EAA year is winding down and elections are just around the corner. We have a good number of members in the chapter now and one of those lucky people will be your leader next year. I’ll keep this reminder in front of you in the newsletters and during the last three meetings.

Our chicken barbecue was not quite the success we had hoped for. Attendance was not what we would like to have seen. At least, we didn’t lose any money on the event and by selling leftover food, we were able to come a couple bucks to the good. I suppose there were several factors behind the small turnout, one being, that our expectations were a little too optimistic. In years past, we had some fantastic turnouts, one with over 300 people enjoying the food and flying camaraderie. Whatever, we should take a closer look at the circumstances and, perhaps, only plan a day for our chapter alone. That will be up to the 2006 officers.

For those who missed the last meeting, we brought up the possibility of the chapter building its own hangar/meeting place. That would be a tremendous undertaking and would require a huge obligation on the part of the chapter membership. It is something worth looking into. More on this at the October meeting.

See you all at the meeting.

October (2005) Meeting Minutes

EAA Chapter 704 held its regular monthly meeting on Monday September 12th 2005 at the Sparta Paul C. Miller Airport

The minutes and treasurers report from the previous meeting were approved as printed in the newsletter. The current check book balance is $2109.51, with $53.00 in cash on hand.

President Ron Fritz held a short business meeting primarily to discuss the very recent Chicken BBQ held for the club members and a number of friends. It had been hoped that the Club would at least break even financially and the final report indicates that we did just that with $17.14 left over. The total income was $633.00 and expenses came to $615.86. The real profit came in the fun we had getting together with family and friends over a very nice chicken dinner.

As usual there was work involved in getting everything set up and taken down but that all seems to "fall together". Once again a big thank you goes to Paramount Aviation for the use of their facilities. It is indeed the perfect location for such an event.

The program for the evening was put on by Bob Rector telling about the Powered Parachute. He should a factory video and also some slides taken at a group event up in Northern Michigan where they gather annually for a PP Fly-in at a farm offered for just this occasion.

Respectfully submitted
Jay Dean, Secretary/Treasurer

Top 25 Greatest Lies in Aviation

1. I'm from the FAA and I'm here to help you.
2. Me? I've never busted minimums.
3. We will be on time, maybe even early.
4. I've got the field in sight.
5. I have no interest in flying for the airlines.
6. I fixed it right the first time, it must have failed for other reasons.
7. I'm always glad to see the FAA.
8. I've got the traffic in sight.
9. I only need glasses for reading.
10. I broke out right at minimums.
11. The weather is gonna be alright; it's clearing to VFR.
12. Don't worry about the weight and balance -- it'll fly.
13. If we get a little lower I think we'll see the lights.
14. I'm 22, got 6000 hours, a four year degree & 3000 hours in a Lear.
15. We shipped the part yesterday.
16. Your plane will be ready by 2 o'clock.
17. All you have to do is follow the book.
18. Oh sure, no problem, I've got over 2000 hours in that aircraft.
19. It just came out of annual -- how could anything be wrong?
20. We'll be home by lunchtime.
21. I have 5000 hours total time, 3200 are actual instrument.
22. No need to look that up, I've got it all memorized.
23. Sure I can fly it -- it has wings, doesn't it?
24. Of course I know where we are.
25. I'm SURE the gear was down.