Presidents Column
Hello Everyone
Well, we had very good attendance at the March meeting especially since there were a few snowbirds missing. I reported on the memorial service for Paul Streng that was held at Chemung Hills Banquet Center on March 1st. Paul was an integral part of our club by donating several items to enhance our clubhouse as well as his electrical expertise. He is sorely missed. Our club will be remembering him with a donation to the Howell Carnegie Library in Howell per his wishes.
I'm looking to expanding our presence in the area once again by participating in a "Flying Start" program on May 17th which is the International Learn to Fly Day. Also, I am checking out the possibility of hosting a Zenith Rudder Build Workshop in October. These programs will hopefully expand our membership and contribute to our aviation footprint in Livingston County.
See you next month on the 3rd of April at Livingston County Airport.
March 2025 EAA Chapter 1056 Newsletter
Respectfully submitted by Kurt Immekus
Chapter 1056 Secretary
President Steve Aupperle opened the meeting at 6:50 with the reminder that chapter dues of $40.00 are due. Please submit your dues payment to Rick Hubert either by mail or at the next meeting.
A memorial service was held for Chapter Member Paul Streng at Chemung Hills Golf Club in Howell on March 1st. He was well liked in the Howell community where he served as mayor. There was a large turn-out. We miss him also. He was a very active member of our chapter.
2024 Service Awards presented to Four of Our Chapter Members.
Rick Hubert - Chapter Treasurer. A job he has performed since our chapter beginnings in 1993.
Carl Franz - Flight Advisor and Technical Counselor for 22 years.
Anthony Muldoon - for his participation as an Eagle Pilot in the 2024 “Flying Start” program.
And Me - for Secretarial duties which I took over from Paul Streng in 2024 “Thanks Paul.”
Flying Start Program
Speaking of Flying Start, we plan to it again this year. Mark your calendars for May 17th. A short EAA video was shown explaining the program. e 
Zenith Workshop
We talked about teaming up with Zenith Aircraft to host a rudder building workshop. This is something that Zenith Aircraft started at their headquarters in Mexico, Missouri. They now want to offer regional sessions and Steve offered for us to host one. He’s a Zenith owner and advocate. The idea is to offer this rudder building workshop to generate interest for potential Zenith builders. We would host the event at our club house. Zenith would provide materials, instructors and everything else. It would be a three-day event, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We thought that October would be a good month for this to happen.
Presentations
We had three presentations this month.
The first was from Dan Green.
As many of you know, our chapter was gifted a nearly new Zenith 650 by a chapter member. You may also know that due to liability concerns, a chapter cannot own an airplane. So, an LLC has to be set up to own it. Our plan was to set up a flying club to give interested parties an ability to fly for a more reasonable cost.
Dan has experience in setting up flying clubs and has agreed along with Chapter member Chris Peretto to set this up. If someone is a licensed pilot who is building an experimental aircraft and wants to remain flying or someone who wants to get current again, this would be a great opportunity. The club is limited to 5 members so as to keep insurance costs down. There is also an entry fee along with monthly dues. These costs are yet to be determined. In addition, there is a Zenith flight instructor available located in Zeeland, Michigan to provide transition training. Currently there are 3 pilots that want to participate so 2 slots are now open. If someone is interested, they can contact Steve Aupperle or Dan Green. This aircraft will notbe available to student pilots. Sorry
The next presentation was from Dar Howard.
He and a group of friends flew their powered parachutes across the Florida peninsula. From the Massey Air Ranch in Edgewater Fla. on the Atlantic side to the Gulf coast. They had 15 powered parachutes that made the trip. They had a 20 MPH tail wind, and it only took an hour and a half. (imagine if they had a headwind how long it would take!) They normally fly at about 60 mph without wind. The pictures he took were spectacular. He is considering a similar event for Michigan, flying from Standish to Silver Lake. 
Our last presentation was from Monty Morgan from Ultra-Prop.
They are a lightweight propeller manufacturer located in Holly, Michigan www.ultra-prop.com. They offer the Ultra-Prop I and II, high performance composite propellers designed for use on ultralight aircraft including ultralight trikes, gyrocopters, and powered parachutes. Monty brought one of their Composite propellers that was 60” and only weighed 6 pounds! They have 2,3 4, and 6 blade designs. Very interesting. They are working on additional applications for their products. What I thought was interesting is when someone asked about different blade lengths. He answered that all Ultra-Prop does is cut them to length. It’s all the same blade! Talk about inventory control. They use carbon fiber pitch blocks for various pitch requirements. Pitch options are from 6 to 18 degrees. Their props are good up to 100-120 hp power-plant applications that are using a reduction drive. Impressive!
After the presentations,
Jeff Kemph showed us some pictures of the ultra-light he is building. It is his own design (yet to be named) and is coming along nicely. He also owns an RV-7A.
Future Events
We are planning a trip to the Gilmore Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan. It is a spectacular automotive museum that is well worth a visit. We hope to do this in mid-April, probably on a Wednesday.The weekends are quite busy, so they are challenged to support large groups then. An additional plus is our past chapter president, Jim Smith now serves as a Docent there on Wednesdays. We would love to have him show us around. More news to come. Tickets are $20 for adults, $12 for ages 11-17 and free for children 10 and under. If you are interested, please send me a note at kurtimmekus@yahoo.com. Thanks.
Next meeting on April 3rd
We are excited to have chapter member Anthony Muldoon talk about his role as flight engineer on the 727. He flies for IFL, an air freight company out of Willow Run airport in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
EAA 1056 Leadership
President: Steve Aupperle
(248) 830-8448
Vice President: Tom Evanoff
(517) 294-2538
Secretary: Kurt Immekus
(810) 287-8295
Treasurer: Rick Hubert
(517) 294-1393
Chapter at Large Officers:
Greg Lask
(810) 599-8653
Gary Konrad
(810) 923-3326
Jim Nye
(517) 294-2815
Newsletter Editor:
Kurt Immekus
(810) 287-8295
Technical and Flight Advisor
Technical Counselor:
Carl Franz
(586) 337-2229
Joe Skone
(517) 546-9916
Gary Konrad
(810) 923-3326
Flight Advisor:
Carl Franz
(586) 337-2229
