The Beacon June 20, 2024

June 20, 2024

This is the semimonthly email newsletter from the Experimental Aircraft Association of Lake Elmo, MN.  If you have difficulty reading this information, view it on the chapter website.

BREAKING: Anna Chase solos!

From Bruce Olson comes breaking news: "This morning (June 20th), Anna Chase flew her first solo. I was there to watch with her dad Donavan and her mom and her brother. We waited patiently while she went around the pattern multiple times before she taxied back and dropped off her instructor. Then 3 times around the patch with near perfect landings." Anna is Chapter 54's second Ray Scholarship recipient, which is administered by Bruce. Through the program, EAA is able to provide deserving youths up to $11,000 to help cover flight training expenses.  She was officially named the chapter's scholarship recipient on May 13, 2024. See photos >>

From the Flight Deck
Summer has arrived, which means great event destinations are available every weekend (see our website’s Regional FlyIn Calendar maintained by director Paul Hove). On June 9th, I headed to the Rush City Flight Breakfast in my Cozy, despite high and gusty winds, to enjoy the free breakfast offered to visiting PICs. A squadron of CAP Cadets from ANE were doing a fantastic job of marshaling aircraft there, and on their recommendation, I’ve reached out to our local 21D CAP wing to see if they could do the same for us at our August 11th Flight Breakfast. The parking squad saw fit to park me at show center between the B-25 and the SkyRaider (flown by a veteran and farmer from eastern Iowa). Read Marlon's President's Letter >>

Free stuff for your hangar!
For a limited time, find some goodies for your hangar and airplane in the entryway of the EAA Chapter 54 house. Vicky Moore is cleaning out their hangar and she's offered multiple things to you for free. We don't have the space to store anything, so please be stop and pick what you want as soon as possible. Sorry, the floor jack has already been claimed (me!).  There are hoses and clamps and greases and a lifetime supply for Marvel Mystery Oil still available.

Now, THAT was a picnic

Take a thriving chapter, add in a perfect early summer (almost!) evening and non-stop food and you've got the makings of a perfect picnic. Dozens of members, families and guests (from as far away at New Hampshire!) made their way to the big top at the base of the Lake Elmo Airport beacon to renew and sometimes make acquaintances.  Following the picnic, members visited the hangar of several members with stories to tell. We need to do this more often!  The chapter really came together to pull this off so it's difficult to cite individuals for making it happen, but we do want to extend particular appreciation for Tent Captain Gregg Adler, Jim Pearsal and their work gang for putting up the tent, Dale Seitzer for the music, Bruce Olson for the cooking, Marlon Gunderson for the catering, and Jay Schrankler for organizing the tour. We've got pictures, if not clever captions. Find them all here.

Saturday coffee and Wings

The last Saturday coffee and safety seminar at the Chapter House until August will be held this Saturday (June 22) when we'll jump into electrical system basics. I had hoped to provide the session about flying into Oshkosh the following Saturday , but, alas, I'll be driving to Vermont. The Chapter House opens at 8:45. Coffee is served. Bring your own snacks.  There will be no meetings in July and, hopefully, by August, attendance on Saturday will be awarded credits in the FAA's Wings Program.

 

How to fly to Oshkosh
Although we won't be able to provide the Wings seminar on flying to Oshkosh next week, the presenter is providing a tomorrow night at 7 p.m. (June 19). Oshkosh resident Fred Stadler, chairman of the Notice group will go over the 2024 AirVenture NOTICE arrival procedures. He'll describe FAA required procedures and shares useful tips for reducing pilot workload when flying into Oshkosh for AirVenture 2024. Qualifies for FAA WINGS credit.  Register here. And don't be "that person." Read the NOTICE; procedures are not what they used to be. There is a new Fisk holding procedure.  Find it here.

Hey Buddy, can you give a hand!
Your facilities director will be out of state for two weeks starting late this month, but the activities of EAA Chapter 54 go on. So we may need your help. There is a Young Eagles Day on Saturday July 13 and a membership meeting on July 8.   The Chapter House will be configured for the membership meeting before I leave but will have to be reconfigured for Leif Erickson's "What's Next" program on the 13th. All but about 10 chairs need to be stacked in the "office". The older soft chairs need to be pushed back to the west wall and two tables should be put along the north and south walls. Two of the older chairs should be placed next to each table on each side.  And someone will need to clean up after the membership meeting and keep things presentable. Who'd like to volunteer for that duty? Also, I won't be able to be a photographer for Young Eagles nor put the images on the website. I will be in an area with little Internet access. But if you can act as photographer and document an ID for each picture and then upload them to Google Photos, I will post them when I return on July 14. Also, if you have a string trimmer,  please consider stopping over and tidying up what the mowers are unable  to cut - basically, around the trees and along the border gardens.

Also this housekeeping note: Do not use the air conditioner on the south wall nearest to the front of the room. It is popping the circuit breaker. I suspect birds and other vermin have attacked its innards and it will need to be replaced or removed.

Next meeting: Monday July 8
The topic is the August pancake breakfast. As this is a critical fundraiser for the Chapter, and the first one since pandemic, we expect all members to be available to assist in the event and attend this meeting, which starts with a social hour at 7 and the program at 7:30. There will be no Cinema 54 showing in July, as the projectionist is on vacation.

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.