April 15, 2025

This is the semimonthly email newsletter from the Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 54 of Lake Elmo, Minn.  If you have difficulty reading this information, view it on the chapter website. Unless otherwise noted, all events occur at the Chapter House, at the south entrance of Lake Elmo Airport off Manning Avenue. Find fly-in and drive-in information here.

At its regular members’ meeting on Monday April 15, Carl Ziegler demonstrated several techniques of non-destructive inspection (NDI), the process of evaluating the properties of a material, component or system without causing damage. For the general aviation crowd, for example, this often involves searching for the source of an oil leak around the engine case and determining the presence of a crack.

Carl has close to 50 years continuous experience working as an aircraft mechanic including 38 years as an IA. In addition to GA, over 38 years of airline experience with Northwest and most recently with Delta, finishing his last 13 years of airline service as an aircraft inspector. Has owned a PA28 Challenger, Alon Aircoupe and presently Cessna 172N.

Among the more impressive demonstrations Carl gave was one of particular interest to aircraft owners of composite aircraft or parts. He demonstrated how a bump might appear to cause little damage to a fiberglass surface, but underneath is likely multiple places where the fiberglass has become delaminated, the layers of glass pulled apart from each other.

In the business portion of the meeting, President Marlon Gunderson welcomed newer members, including Joe Connolly, Jon Pierce-Ruhland, and Mustafa Mustafa. He announced the chapter has once again been awarded Gold Status by EAA; and announced that WoonYi Hanson has now received a chapter scholarship to attend the Air Academy this summer after being on EAA's waiting list. Chapter 54 is involved this year in three people attending the summer program. Gunderson again urged volunteers to renew their Youth Protection Program certification before the first Young Eagles Day of our season on May 10 (you can find out how to do so here). He also urged people to sign up for volunteer roles for the August fly-in breakfast as the number of volunteers so far is far below last year's level and we need to decide soon whether to proceed. You can sign up here. The president also noted that there are three critical roles needing to be filled for the continuation of the chapter: vice president, facilities director, and newsletter/web editor. Contact him to learn more. Young Eagles coordinator Dale Seitzer outlined the upcoming Young Eagles Day. He said young people are already signing up, and he needs pilot volunteers. "Just fly once," he said, indicating most volunteers realize the good feeling that helping a young person see their world from a different perspective provides.

Air Academy Scholarships
Chapter providing help with aviation dreams

Three young people with ties to EAA Chapter 54 will be getting a tremendous week immersed in aviation this summer. The Chapter 54 Board of Directors unanimously approved a scholarship last week for member WoonYi Hanson after a slot became available for the EAA Air Academy.  He'll join two other Chapter 54'ers at the Academy this year. The chapter had already provided a scholarship for Ellory Berniard, and David Phernetton received a campership via the EAA.

At the same time, Chapter 54 is improving and streamlining its aviation scholarship process. Under the plan approved by the Board of Directors, the chapter will be reaching out to young people, primarily through the chapter's Young Eagles What's Next program, to encourage them to apply for chapter scholarships, worth about $1,200. By mid-summer, the board will decide how many scholarships to provide, based on the results of its major fundraising initiative, the August pancake breakfast fly-in.

Young people interested in attending the summer 2026 Air Academy, would need to either apply directly to EAA by September or apply for a "slot" that Chapter 54 would reserve.  Would-be recipients would be required to contact the chapter first in order to be eligible for its financial assistance.  The Chapter is in the process of setting up a section on its website to facilitate not only Air Academy assistance, but other aviation-related youth activities.

The more successful the August pancake breakfast is, the more we can help young people achieve their aviation dreams. That's why it's important for chapter members (you!) to sign up to volunteer on August 10. We do not yet have the minimum number of volunteers to hold the fundraiser and we must make a go/no-go decision soon.  Please take a moment to answer the call by signing up here.

EAA Chapter Recognition
We're gold again!
EAA Oshkosh has announced that Chapter 54 is once again a Gold status chapter. "This program was developed and measured in partnership with EAA’s Chapter Advisory Council and is based on 10 criteria that are consistently found in active and highly engaged chapters," according to the announcement. "In addition to the 10 criteria measured, EAA offered chapters to submit additional chapter activities to earn up to three more extra credit points to boost their base score, resulting in the potential to earn up to 13 points."

Chapter 54 nearly ran the table in the scoring:

1. Attends a chapter leadership training session: 1
   Bob Collins attended the session in October. Find his story here.
2. Growing or steady membership: 1
   As of the beginning of April, 86 members are listed as active and we've added 11 new members
3. Offers IMC or VMC Club programs: 1
   We offer the VMC presentation as part of the Saturday morning open house, usually on the first Saturday of the month.
4. Participates in Young Eagle or Flying Start programs: 1
   Although weather canceled a lot of our plans in 2024, we maintain a strong Young Eagles program under coordinator Dale Seitzer.
5. Has EAA-approved Flight Advisor or Technical Counselor: 1
   Bob Collins joined the tech counselor program in 2024, joining Roger Westerberg and Dale Seitzer. Learn more about the program.
6. Participates in EAA's Annual Chapter Member survey: 0
   Don't ask me why at least 20 percent of chapter members can't be bothered clicking a link and answering a few questions that would make their aviation experience more enjoyable and relevant. But they can't.
7. Participates in Young Eagles Build and Fly, Young Eagles Workshops, Ray Aviation Scholarship program, or sends a youth to EAA’s Air Academy: 0
   We have no idea why we didn't get Ray Scholarship credit because clearly we deserved it thanks to the very hard work of Bruce Olson.
8. Requests an EAA ChapterBlast email: 1
   We issued a Chapter Blast (emails to all EAA members in our area) for the 2024 pancake breakfast.
9. Hosts at least two public events each year: 1
   We hosted the pancake breakfast last August
10. Owns/leases a facility: 1
    We have a spiffy Chapter House.
11. Extra credit activity, such as a chapter build project, youth build project, chapter scholarship, a chapter tool crib, IAC competition, etc.: 2
    We're not sure what the points were but the Air Academy Scholarship seems obvious. Technically we have a tool crib although it hasn't yet been well publicized. By the way, did you know EAA will donate up to $300 reimbursement for tools the chapter buys for its tool crib? Didn't think so.

Congratulations to all Chapter 54 members who did their part in 2024 to achieve chapter excellence!

Board of Directors
Pancakes dominate monthly Board meeting

EAA Chapter 54’s Board of Directors made relatively quick work of its meeting agenda on Monday April 7, owing perhaps to the absence of items under New Business. No matter, there were plenty of things to tackle on the remaining agenda.  The Directors briefly considered the results of the EAA national survey (see below) before Treasurer Emma Hanson issued her monthly report, noting the chapter received over $650 in donations in the last month. The net cash flow as off about $1,200, as over $2,000 for group camping was sent to Oshkosh. At month’s end, the chapter had a little over $15,000.  The facilities report brought good news as tests on crumbling ceiling tile showed no traces of asbestos. Dave Syverson cut down the remaining part of the storm-damaged tree on lawn on the East side of the chapter house. The remaining stump will dig out in warmer weather to prevent resprouting. Directors also considered the air conditioner replacement on the south wall. A donated air conditioner from Scott Hanson didn’t quite fit as configured. We’ll figure out how to make it fit within a month or so. The bulk of the remaining session was taken up with a discussion of the pancake breakfast fly-in, in particular the anticipated production cost per meal, the need for aircraft marshals, and public advertising. Directors also briefly discussed the tool crib. By the way, did you know that EAA Oshkosh will reimburse chapters up to $300 per year for any tool purchased for a chapter tool crib? Now you do. See Ed Trudeau's minutes of the meeting >>

Volunteer Opportunities
Pancake Update

As indicated elsewhere, a planning meeting for the August pancake fly-in will be held on Saturday April 19 at the Chapter House at Lake Elmo Airport. Initial volunteer assignments are being made. Initially, returning volunteers are (mostly) assigned where they were last year if the volunteer included that area in their list of acceptable posts. Here, then, is the current list:

If you're on this list but would rather be somewhere else, let us know ASAP. If you're not on the list, please sign up now.  We are in need of coordinators for each of these categories, which involves attending a monthly planning meeting and setting up on Saturday as well as communicating ahead of time with your volunteers.

The above list is for day-of assignments only, with the exception of the breakdown assignments. They, along with the PR and Saturday setup volunteers will be posted on The Pancake Breakfast page, which is now live on the website.

Annual EAA survey
Survey response rate too small to be useful

The results of the national EAA survey have been released and the participation of chapter 54 members was not particularly insightful so the results aren't really being used for anything. EAA sent the survey by email to its members in late November. Links to it were provided in the December 3, 2024 edition of The Beacon. Only 12 Chapter 54 members took the survey with their results being sent to the individual chapter. While the chapter scored relatively high marks, there were a few concerning responses. For example, one respondent said that the chapter can be intimidating for younger members. This is in spite of the chapter's efforts in recent years to be more welcoming. At the same time another respondent indicated that they felt the chapter was very welcoming. "We have been members of other chapters and EAA 54 is the best," one said. Not surprisingly, the chapter's Young Eagles program was near unanimously indicated as one of the most important chapter efforts. Pancake and fly-in breakfasts were listed as very important by more than 80 per cent of those responding. At the other end of the scale, building restoration and aircraft building projects were listed as among the important parts of the chapter, which offset other responses in the survey that seemed to indicate that people wanted more presentations and focus on aircraft building. Among the recommendations was a chapter bathroom (not going to happen), more participation at the Oshkosh group camping site (the limits on participants works to exactly the opposite), and more member recruiting. So what does a board of directors do with the survey's seeming contradictions? Nothing the data is too small. 

Ostrem's musings
The most popular homebuilt

Ever wonder why you can have three Van’s aircraft in the Lake Elmo pattern at the same time?  Perhaps the answer is that 30 percent of the homebuilt aircraft in the USA are Van’s!  That amounts to over 12,000 planes from the company in Aurora, Oregon.  It was started in 1973 by Richard Van Grunsven and now has 110 employees producing kits for the  RV models.  Builders, including many from Lake Elmo,  are turning out Van’s aircraft at an amazing 1.5 completions per day!  They have designed many configurations from two to four seats in front to back and side by side models.  Some are for back country flying and some are tremendous speedsters for cross country adventures.  Each of the models has a number starting with the RV-3 which is a single seater designed in 1973.  From there the numbers include RV’s 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (the four-seat model) 12, and 14.  Interestingly, the missing numbers were constructed as factory test models and not put into production. Their fastest model, the RV-8, has a cruise speed of 220 mph and is fully aerobatic with a sleek slider canopy making it look like a small fighter.  It has a 210 hp Lycoming IO 360 which is easy to service, very reliable and can be built as either a tricycle or conventional tail dragger.  The RV-8 model is even used by some countries as a military trainer. Read more >>

From the Flight Deck - April 2025
Marlon's newest project

I've pretty much wrapped up retirement project #1, which was to update my personal hangar space to an insulated and heated workspace.  My next aviation project is to resurrect my SkyRaider eLSA which has been grounded without ADSB since 2020. I want to get it back into flight worthy status by next year so I have something to fly while I do a bunch of work on my Cozy starting next fall.  The SkyRaider is a STOL aircraft and I also want to make it convertible into an amphibious seaplane using a pair of light fiberglass LSA floats that I picked up when I came across a deal too good to pass up about 15 years ago.  I've long thought the lake I live on, the many lakes nearby, and the St.Croix and Mississippi rivers near us offer hundreds of miles of runway that would be really fun to explore.  Starting with a visit to Coremark Metals in N. Minneapolis, I've begun working on building the float rigging which I'm designing to be capable of changing quickly and easily between land plane and sea plane configuration with just 5 simple attach points, like this one at the rear float fitting.  Read more >>

Open House
Sick passengers, lift principles on tap for Saturday Open House

On most Saturday mornings, the EAA Chapter 54 house is open for coffee, fellowship, and a Wings-credit-eligible safety seminar. The chapter house opens at 8:30 with the program starting at 9. On the first Saturday of the month, we'll begin with the VMC Club, a what-would-you-do scenario presented by EAA. Those will start at 8:45. Saturday morning is the perfect time for new or recently joined members to stop by and meet a couple of other members in a less intimidating environment.  Here's the current lineup.

Saturday 4/19 - No Open House. Pancake planning meeting at 10 am

Saturday 4/26 -  My Passenger Is Turning Blue What Should I Do? Are you prepared, and would you know what to do in a medical emergency while airborne?  This presentation shows how to respond to life-threatening medical emergencies before EMS arrives.  What first aid equipment should be carried on board your aircraft. What formal first aid training should I consider 

Saturday 5/3 - Prof. Dr. Nihad Daidzic, Minnesota State University Mankato, talks with us about the basic theory, design, structural and operational limitations of various High Lift Devices (HLD).High Lift Devices use the principles of passive and/or active Boundary-Layer Control (BLC) to achieve high lift-coefficients thus reducing stalling speeds and making takeoffs and landings more manageable and safer by enabling reduced runway distances and slower liftoff and touchdown speeds.  Increase of the coefficient-of-drag with HLD deployment is favorable during approaches and landings as it allows for steeper glidepaths and/or keeping turbine engines in T-category jets spooled up. (VMC club begins at 8:45 a.m.)

Chapter video magazine
April chapter news

In this month’s Chapter Video Magazine, Charlie Becker discusses the EAA Sport Aviation Hall of Fame, AirVenture News, Virtual Boot Camp recording available, International Young Eagles Day, and an EAA Aviation Museum Update. Watch video.

AirVenture 2025
Oshkosh mass arrival schedule set

If you're planning on flying into AirVenture in July, there are certain times you'll want to avoid. Many of these surround mass arrivals, when groups of like-minded pilots with similar model airplanes fly in as a single community.  Again in 2025, a number of aircraft type groups will be arriving at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh together, continuing a tradition that has been part of Oshkosh for many years. So will the headaches for the rest of us. EAA has now set the arrival times. These arrivals are organized by individual groups in consultation with the FAA and are part of a unique tradition at the World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration. Read more › 

Getting around
2025 MN Department of Aeronautics Airport Guide Now Available

The Minnesota Airport Directory and Travel Guide is designed to serve as valuable resources. Packed with information on airports, their essential services, and local attractions, these guides aim to facilitate a great experience at MN public airports.

Order a Paper Copy

Please complete the order form to request a hard copy of the Minnesota Airport Directory and Travel Guide be sent to you by mail. To ensure delivery, requests must have been submitted by January 31st. Please note that due to limited additional stock, requests submitted after January 31st may not be fulfilled.

• Order Form: Minnesota Airport Directory and Travel Guide

ForeFlight App Content Pack

MnDOT has created a custom content pack to integrate the Minnesota Airport Directory and Travel Guide into the ForeFlight mobile app. You can now access individual airport information pages directly through ForeFlight. To save the content pack in your ForeFlight account, follow the directions on the Foreflight website.

• 2025 Airport Directory ForeFlight Content Pack (ZIP 19.3 MB)
• 2025 Seaplane Base Directory ForeFlight Content Pack (ZIP 2.33 MB)
• Seaplane Water Depth Contours Content Pack (ZIP 32 MB)

To access Airport Directory and Travel Guide general information for the content packs (state map, contact information, a legend, and information for seaplane pilots) download this PDF and import it into Foreflight as a document.

• 2025 Airport Directory General Information (PDF)
  

View a PDF on your iPad or Tablet

The Minnesota Airport Directory and Travel Guide PDF files can be viewed on your computer, iPad or other mobile device and includes links to help you find airports, area information and contact information for airport managers. To save it as a PDF on your computer or device click on the appropriate link and save the PDF or click "Open in iBooks" on your iPad.

• 2025 Minnesota Airport Directory and Travel Guide (PDF)
• 2025 Minnesota Airport Directory and Travel Guide (PDF - Low Resolution)

From Midwest Flyer
Iceport 2025: Cold but beautiful

The annual “Iceport Fly-In Brunch” on Lake Mille Lacs in northcentral Minnesota was held Saturday, March 1, 2025, along the eastern shoreline at Da Boathouse in Da Bay, Mac’s Twin Bay in Isle, Minnesota.

A go/no-go decision was reached this year the Thursday prior, based on the weather, temperature, wind and the thickness of the ice. One hundred thirty-nine (139) aircraft, including aircraft on wheels and skis, taildraggers and tricycles, factory-built singles and twins, and homebuilts, flew in between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. to master landing on ice without using braking action to slow their aircraft on the 1-mile-long runway, visit with fellow pilots, and enjoy brunch! Pilots monitored 122.9 MHz. 

The organizer, Mark Priglmeier of Brainerd, Minn., grew up near the Mississippi River north of Sartell, Minnesota, and remembers seeing his father’s Piper Cherokee 140 parked on the frozen Mississippi River in front of their home.

It wasn’t until Mark won $1,000.00 in a contest at the local radio station that he started taking flying lessons, but it would be 10 years later until he got his private pilot certificate and bought his first airplane. His interest in flying led to him leaving his IT position to become a full-time flight instructor and charter pilot. Read more and view pictures >>

Next meeting May 12
Sebastien Heintz on the Zenith Aircraft

Sebastien Heintz of Mexico, Missouri, known worldwide as the owner and president of Zenith Aircraft Co., a leading aircraft kit manufacturer, was honored by the Experimental Aircraft Association on October 16, 2024 with his induction to the EAA Homebuilders Hall of Fame.

Heintz was one of six individuals to be honored that evening with various EAA halls of fame inductions.

Heintz, founded Zenith Aircraft Co. in 1992 in Mexico, Missouri with the goal of making aircraft ownership affordable and accessible.

With the support of demo pilot Roger Dubbert and Production Manager Travis Kobush, Zenith has continuously grown in popularity amongst homebuilt aircraft enthusiasts.

The company also hosts monthly workshops to introduce new aviators to the world of homebuilt aircraft.

Heintz was the 2017 recipient of EAA’s Freedom of Flight Award for his contributions to aviation and the recipient of the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association’s 2017 President’s Award.

He continues to be an active sport pilot and enjoys sharing the joys of homebuilt aircraft. Listen to the Green Dot podcast with Heintz >>

The E-Beacon is a semimonthly newsletter highlighting news items from Chapter 54. If you no longer wish to receive the email, you can unsubscribe by sending an mail to facilities@eaa54.org.