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From its beginnings in the late '50s, Chapter 54 of the Experimental Aircraft Association has served aviation enthusiasts, dreamers, aircraft builders, pilots, would-be pilots, and individuals interested in helping young people become aviators in the East Metro of Minnesota's Twin Cities. Please come to our next meeting or event as our guest. Let us know you're coming so you can be properly greeted and introduced to the chapter. In the meantime, please explore this site to learn about the many programs and benefits we offer. Select the dropdown menu to the left to learn our history, find out how young people can get a free flight, and the latest chapter news. You can also find flight planning and airplane-watching tools. Find all the details here. |
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We meet on the second Monday of each month at the 
Our next meeting is the annual Holiday Party on Monday December 16 at 6 p.m. at the Chapter House at Lake Elmo Airport. The Cinema 54 movie is a new Kevin Szalapski creationThis year's annual EAA Chapter 54 Holiday Party on Monday December 16 is going to be packed with good food, fun, and people. All 45 seats in the Chapter House have been spoken for and there's no room left at the inn. We'll be celebrating 2024, which was a fantastic year for Chapter 54 in the first year of president Marlon Gunderson's term. Chapter awards will be presented, and we'll hold the world premiere of a new movie from Kevin Szalapski. We'll have pizza, salad, appetizers, and plenty of desserts. A $10 donation bucket will be available to help defray expenses.
To those of you who've volunteered to bring desserts, sides, or salads, thank you!
If anyone is bringing someone with mobility issues, we have a wheelchair available (courtesy of Stan Ross). Let me know ahead of time and we'll have someone greet you in the parking lot and get you into the chapter house safely.
Also, at the chapter house, you'll find four bags of Sturdiwheat pancake mix, each with 10 cups of mix, which is mixed 1:1 with water. Help yourself to it as well as the frozen sausage in the freezer. All of it needs to go by the end of the month. Such a deal!
More fundraisers? Board of Directors considers it
The trend of people coming to EAA Chapter 54 is changing. More are looking for ways and help to learn to fly. Part of this is the natural result of a robust Young Eagles program, but what's next and what is Chapter 54's mission going forward? At its regular meeting on Monday evening, the chapter's board of directors briefly considered what demands on the chapter will be in this new era, and whether our current one-fundraiser-a- year is sufficient. Could we do regular monthly breakfasts as other area chapter's do? Can we retool for such a thing? If we had more scholarship opportunities, what would that look like? As part of this process, the Board voted to develop a plan to better organize the Air Academy scholarship process between now and September so that applicants know exactly what role Chapter 54 can play -- if any -- underwriting the cost. In other business, the Board also voted to express our willingness to Oshkosh to host the Ford TriMotor at Lake Elmo in April 2025. See the minutes of the meeting.
Can you spare 2 minutes to improve chapter life?
The EAA National Satisfaction Survey is now available. Frankly, our track record isn't very good over the last few years. We usually get about 25-30 people who take the time to click a link and answer a few questions. With a chapter our size, that's probably in line with an expected response rate, but that doesn't mean it's a good response rate. The national headquarters will separate the Chapter 54 responses out and send them to us and we often try to glean what they mean, but taking any action based on them with a minority of members participating is a dicey proposition. So, here's a better idea. Just click the link and take the survey. I timed it. It takes 2:30 to complete. That's two minutes and 30 seconds for you to invest in making the chapter better and improving your enjoyment of it. Or maybe you're perfectly happy with things. That's important feedback for our chapter's leaders, too. Take the time.
December Chapter Video
In this month’s Chapter Video Magazine:
1.) Homebuilding week
2.) Tool crib reimbursement program
3.) UW Oshkosh getting rid of a dorm used for AirVenture
4.) VW bug donated
5.) Last call for Young Eagle credits and chapter renewal
6.) Chapter leadership training available
7.) Scholarship programs go beyond Ray Scholarship
8.) Huey exhibit at Museum
9.) Christmas in the Air
