Surprise Retirement Party for Vic Johnston

•At 2:00pm on Sunday November 5, 2006

•There will be a surprise party for Vic Johnston in John Gill’s hanger.

•It will be a potluck so please bring a dish to pass.

•You will need to bring your own service (plates etc.)

•Drinks will be provided.

•Please invite those you think may want to come celebrate with us.

•Remember, it is a surprise so don't say anything to Vic if you see him

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

Attention all chapter members:

There is a pot luck gathering scheduled for Sunday Nov. 5th at 2:00pm in the Gill Aviation hanger.
It will be a great time and we are hoping for a large turn out.

Our next meeting is at 7 PM on Monday the 13th of November. It's election time!!!!

Our chapter is growing and we look forward to another fun and informative year with a group of new officers.

If you have people you would like to nominate, please encourage them to accept a nomination.

Your Pres.
John Gill

8D4 Runway Pics

October (2006) Meeting Minutes

Meeting Minutes October 9, 2006

The meeting was called to order by President Gill. Visitors were David Gibson and Rob Quick. Mr. Quick of Greenville stated that he was building a GN1 and that he had brought part of his wing rib to show.

There were no minutes to approve due to the lack of an actual meeting when we met last month (a picnic was organized instead of the meeting). The Treasury report was unavailable.

New business included a thanks to Dan Bauman for his demonstration of kneeling, as one of our members had used the technique that Dan had shown the group in a previous meeting.

Bill stated that he was working on his M4-Maul which is getting closer to being completed.

It was asked that if any members would like to be an officer in 2007, to mention it to President Gill by next month.

The Sparta Area Pilot's Association (SAPA) President, Paul Kovalak, suggested that the SAPA and EAA704 join together to arrange a Potluck Dinner for November.

It was noted that the runway project was closer to completion and that it was possible that it may be available for daytime usage near the end of October (but not confirmed).

Rob Quick talked about the wing rib that he brought from his GN-1. He spoke of how he had the main ribs completed and was starting on the ribs near the ailerons.

The meeting was adjourned and the members had a coffee break.

After the break, Dan Bauman presented a slide show and gave commentary about the PA-12 that he had been restoring.

Respectfully Submitted,

P.J. Bevelacqua, Newsletter & Website
(Substitute Secretary)

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

Fellow Members,

As I write this note to you, the runway at Sparta is receiving the final coat of black top. We should be able to fly from this great airport shortly.

Thanks to everyone who made our end of summer picnic a wonderful success.

Our next meeting is Oct. 9th, so please plan on attending and bring any project pieces or important news to share with everyone.

Your president,

John Gill

Picnic Photos

END OF SUMMER PICNIC - Sunday September 10th, 2006

END OF SUMMER
PICNIC
FOR EAA CHAPTER 704 MEMBERS AND FAMILY

Sunday September 10th, 2006
at 5:00 pm

Grilled Hamburgers and Brats provided by the Chapter

Please bring a dish to pass and your own beverages/table service

PLEASE NOTE THAT
THIS MEANS THAT THE NEXT MEETING TIME IS CHANGED!!
The picnic has been scheduled in place of our next meeting.

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

Members & Significant others:

A picnic has been scheduled in place of our next meeting. It will be at the airport on Sunday the 10th at 5:00 PM.

The chapter will grill hamburgers and brats and members are asked to bring a dish to pass and your own beverages and table service.

We can view the progress being made on the new runway and make plans for some flying in the future.

No agenda, just a good time.

Please talk this up with other members. See you there.

Your president,

John Gill

“Step Up” and Become a EAA Chapter 704 Officer in 2007, by P.J.

The election for the 2007 officers is right around the corner. Are you interested in taking charge of one of these positions. All of the positions are available for nominations. If you are interested, please nominate yourself and take the opportunity to lead us in one of our many great roles. Most importantly the Chapter will need someone to take over the positions of Newsletter Editor and Website Adminstrator in 2007. After 3 years, I will be stepping down from these duties to make room for something fresh and new. So if any of the resposibilities of our Chapter sound good to you, now is the time to step up!

August (2006) Meeting Minutes

Meeting Minutes August 14, 2006

Minutes of August 2006 EAA Chapter 704

EAA Chapter 704 met for their regular monthly meeting on Monday, August 14, 2006 at the Sparta Paul C Miller Airport.

There were 27 present at the meeting including several guests.

President John Gill called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and introduced several guests.
Glenn Holt had visited several times before and decided to join the chapter at this meeting. Mr Raleigh Smith was present representing his son-in law who has acquired a Starduster project in pieces and was asking for any help he could get in assembling this aircraft.

Kevin Flemming and his friend, Kim Miedema were also present and later in the evening Kevin presented a very good program and demonstration on various welding techniques with steel and aluminum. He had a trailer set up with equipment to do any sort of welding you might require and offered to let any of the members test their skill which several did.

President Gill presented a check for $500.00 to the club. He had received this from the Sparta Lion's Club as the chapter share in the profits from the pancake breakfast in July. It was noted that the Lion's Club had donated a sum to the Boy Scout group for their assistance and the chapter voted to do the same.

President Gill then brought up the idea of a chapter picnic and it was decided to hold a potluck picnic on Sunday, September 10 at 5:00 pm. This is the day before the regular September meeting so it was decided to make this the regular meeting of EAA chapter 704.

The meeting was adjourned to the program mentioned above.

Respectfully submitted,

Jay Dean, Sec/Prop Tem

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

Members,

The excitement of air venture has come and gone. I spent three day's looking at all the new and expensive gadget's and airplanes in all the displays. The Honda display was most impressive with their new jet and all the other toy's.

It was awesome to get a first hand look at the B1 bomber.

On Wednesday evening, Ford hosted the chapter President's with drinks and food. It was a pleasure talking with Caroll Shelby, Jack Rouch, and Edsel Ford.

The program for our meeting is Lincoln Electric demonstrating their welders. If you have any extra pieces of 4130 steel, or any small project, please bring it along and try out the new machines.

Looking forward to seeing all of you.

Your president,

John Gill

July (2006) Meeting Minutes

Meeting Minutes July 10, 2006

The regular monthly meeting of EAA Chapter 704 was held on July 10 at the Sparta Paul C Miller Airport pilot’s lounge. There were 16 members and 2 guests present. Secretary Kathy Hakeem was absent and Jay Dean was appointed secretary pro tern.

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by President John Gill. The minutes of the previous meeting were approved as printed in the newsletter. In the absence of Treasurer Hakeem there was no treasurers report.

Old business concerned the pending closing of the runway so reconstruction could begin. The proposed closing date is on or about August 1 (2006).

President Gill held a discussion on possible programs for future meeting. Touring some local industries was suggested along with a chapter picnic.

Larry Bauer has been appointed chapter Flight Advisor. The flight Advisor would, amongst other things, assist in preparing students for upcoming check rides. Larry reports having assisted several pilots in achieving their floatplane ratings.

He also described a recent flight where he helped Dan Carlson take delivery of a float plane over in Wisconsin and accompanied him on his flight back to Michigan. He spoke of flying across Lake Michigan staying close to the surface of the water in order to maintain visual awareness of the horizon —there being no artificial horizon in the panel. Having no Wisconsin Flight Chart they flew East from their departure location knowing they would eventually encounter Lake Michigan and then continued East across Lake Michigan knowing that Michigan had to be there somewhere. They made landfall and were able to identify the sand dunes in the Hart/Shelby area.

President Gill brought up the Pancake Fly in to be held this coming Sunday in conjunction with the Sparta Town and Country Days. Chapter 704 along with the Sparta Lion’s Club will provide the breakfast. 704 will do the set up —tables, chairs, etc — and the Lions’ Club will do the cooking.

Again, as in times past, Paramount Aviation is graciously providing their hangar to house the event.. Our thanks goes out to Tom Owens and his organization for this kind gesture as it provides a most pleasant and impressive site for townspeople and visiting pilots to enjoy a nice breakfast.

President Gill also reminded pilots to be aware of local TFR’s that pop up around the area in this season of air shows and special events. He noted that violation of a TFR could result in serio1JS consequences. In this regard the chapter is attempting to notify all local pilots via e-mail whenever a restricted area is created in and around Michigan.

After a break for snacks, a couple of aviation related videos were shown

Meeting adjourned 8:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Jay Dean, See pro tern

Addendum to the minutes of July 10, 2006 meeting of EAA Chapter 704.

Tech Counselor, Dan Bauman, held a discussion and demonstrated the construction of hydraulic hose end fittings showing how to correctly accomplish this at a cost much less than those commercially available. If one is faced with having to do this, Dan is available to assist as needed.