E-Beacon March 17, 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.

Chapter members hear from the Sonex president; remember Moore, Zahler

About three dozen people at the chapter house and a handful online heard from the president of Sonex at the monthly meeting Monday evening. Mark Schaible described his company's effort to keep aviation affordable. He said an introduction to experimental aviation should cost more than a nice, new car. Earlier in the meeting, members had a chance to reflect on their friends, Mitch Zahler and Pat Moore, who were killed on March 2 when their plane crashed in Afton. And the chapter announced this year's recipient of the Ray Scholarship for flight training. Read more >>

Chapter 54 event culminates Learn to Fly Week
On May 18, EAA Chapter 54 will be hosting a Flying Start Day at the Lake Elmo Chapter House as part of the EAA's Learn to Fly Week, a national campaign to help aspiring pilots take flight. Leading up to the Flying Start event, individuals interested in learning to fly can participate in variety of free interactive webinars hosted live. These webinars will run May 15 through May 19, and cover topics ranging from getting started in flight training, how to save time and money, and other flight training tips. Webinars are free to attend, but pre-registration is required. Events for Chapter 54 are being coordinated by Evangelos Savvas. At this point, the chapter is not intending to offer Eagle Flights unless mentor pilot members volunteer, but we may need volunteers to help at the chapter house. Flying Start Day is consistent with the chapter members' interests in attracting new faces to aviation and our chapter. Read more >> 

Pancake Breakfast on the horizon
Chapter 54 has not had a fundraiser since the pandemic started but we continue to provide education programs. Fundraisers are the only method we have of providng the underpinning of the chapter's mission and even attract new members to our ranks. The chapter intended to provide a corn feed last August but it was scuttled because of  the lack of volunteers. We're going to give it another try in August with a pancake breakfast and fly-in. This will be an all-hands-on-deck production, but probably not quite as ambitious as some previous fly-ins as we dip our toes back into the fundraising water. Be looking for details soon from Marlon Gunderson and Jay Schrankler and please be thinking about the various ways you will help.

Observation area opens for the season

The EAA Chapter 54 fly-in calendar: It's alive!!!
Spring must be here because the Chapter 54 fly-in calendar is being populated with possibiiities again. The website has two calendars: one is for Chapter 54 and EAA programs and events; and one is a detailed list of fly-ins in our region; a veritable smörgåsbord of (mostly) weekend aviation goodness. Member Paul Hove is in charge of the fly-in calendar and if you have fly-ins you think others should know about, please email Paul.

Emma Gaustad earns instrument rating

(March 15) - Congratulations are in order for Emma Gaustad, Chapter 54's treasurer, who received her instrument rating on Friday, finishing up a checkride from earlier in the week. On Tuesday, she passed most of her checkride with flying colors but because of wind shear concerns, the checkride completion was pushed to Friday. Emma received her private pilot certificate in 2022.

Why is this man smiling?
Because at least 30 members of EAA Chapter 54 have taken a short online survey that's absolutely critical to the future of Chapter 54.   But there are currently 104 names listed as "current" on the chapter roster and the chapter very much needs the input of those remaining 74 people to ensure that the chapter is meeting your needs now and -- perhaps more important -- moves into the near future in ways that you'll support. In short, it's much more efficient to weigh in before something happens than after. It's not hard. All you have to do is click here.

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.