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Western North Carolina Pilots Association

General Membership Meeting

19 February 2016

Lacy Griffin Building

Asheville Regional Airport

 

I.  Call to Order by President Tim Anderson at 7:00 PM

 

Tim began the meeting thanking everyone for braving the inclement weather to attend the meeting, and thanked those that contributed their favorite chili dish and those that provided the supporting dishes for the Chili Cook-Off dinner.

Several guests were acknowledged and introduced:

Wayne and Karen Bork, new to the area, from Kansas City, Mo.  Both are pilots and live in Flat Rock.

Josh Wilcox, a native of Asheville and an aspiring pilot.

Leilani Roberts, wife of member Alan Roberts.  They have lived in the area for 13 years and she is originally from Maine.

 

II. Reports:

Secretary: (Tim Fox) The minutes for the last general membership meeting of 19 January 2016 was approved.

Treasurer: (Don Short) The current balance is $17,448.28.

Membership: (Dave Bolser) had new Member Certificates to hand out to the Hammonds and Bruce MacDonald.  He asked everyone to get their membership renewals submitted if they had not done so already.

Programs: (Susan VanFleet) the March program will be a presentation by Chris Hudson who formally worked for AOPA.  He now resides in Charlotte, NC.  He will talk about legal issues affecting general aviation.

Monthly Fly-Out:  The February fly-out is to Hickory, NC (KHKY).  Lunch will be at The Crosswind Café located on the field.  The restaurant will prepare a lunch of Chicken Wraps, homemade potato chips and iced tea for $6.00 dollars a person. Susan advised that if you refuel at HKY you will receive a coupon for a free lunch at the Crosswind Café on your next visit.   The fly-out for March will be to Greenville Downtown Airport (KGMU) with lunch at the Runway Cafe.  As always fly-outs are weather permitting, and the pilot’s call.

 

III. New Business:

Educational Foundation:  (Arnie Andersen) The WNCPA EF Grant application will be ready soon with a deadline for submission of 1 April.

Medical:  (Dr. Ruffin Benton) Ruffin had 2 topics to share with the members.  Firstly the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force which is associated with the government but not employed by the government and they offer recommendations for things that your AME or health care provider should look for during a routine screening exam.  You can go to their web site where there is a plethora of information available.  He highlighted lung cancer which is one of the top killers of adults.  There is now a new CAT-Scan available which affords early detection of lung cancer.  The earlier it is detected the better the prognosis.  The CAT-Scan is available in Asheville and Greenville.  Secondly, related to the chili cook-off.  Beans cause gas.  The gas is produced by sugars in the beans that the body can’t digest.  You can reduce this gaseous effect of beans by eating vegetables, seaweed and the spices ginger and turmeric among other items and also to completely chew and savor the beans.

WNCPA Aviation Historian (Gil Carlson) Gil gave a very informative and entertaining presentation on the early history of aviation in “The First to Fly” State of North Carolina.  Items of note from his presentation were that in 1911 there were 511 fatalities in aviation out of a relatively small population of pilots and a poetry contest from 1911 at Greensboro, with the winner getting a free ride in an airplane.  The winning entry:

Suppose I should get in one of those things,

With rudders, a motor and curious wings.

When they’ve gone up, say, 50 feet, the crazy gas engine would start to heat, or something got out of gear just a bit,

Could be alright when you’re flying, but hell when you hit.

Cindy Carter announced that there would be an AOPA Air Safety Institute seminar at the Greenville Marriott in Greenville, SC on Monday 29 Feb titled “Emergencies, Getting it right when things go wrong”. Steve Frahm will be the presenter.

John Gaitskill announced that effective on 1 April the FAA will begin a new process for issuing student pilot certificates.  Student pilots will no longer get their student pilot certificate from the AME that does their physical.  The new procedure is once a student pilot successfully completes his/her physical they must then apply to the FAA FSDO or an FAA examiner (David Shields).  The FAA passes the application to TSA who will then vet the applicant and then advise the FAA whether or not they can issue the applicant a student pilot certificate.  The process will take upwards of 6 weeks before the applicant receives a plastic student pilot certificate from the FAA’s Airman Certification Office in Oklahoma City. This does not bode well for general aviation.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 PM.

Feature Program:  Susan VanFleet introduced the guest speaker for the evening Glenn Gonzales of Honda Jet, who provided a very interesting and informative presentation on the newly FAA certified Honda Jet.

Submitted by: Tim Fox, Secretary


Western North Carolina Pilots Association General Meeting – Lacy Griffin Building

Mar 15, 2016

The meeting was prefaced by a 95th birthday tribute to member, Billy Welsh. A slideshow highlighting Billy’s military flight career and last summer’s trip to Oshkosh was presented and narrated by Anthony Pretorius.

Called to order by President Tim Anderson: 7:11 p.m.

About 60 present.

Two visitors were introduced and welcomed.

There was thanks expressed to Frank and Elizabeth Henry and Nancy Marstall for setting up the food.

Patrick Reynolds was congratulated as a new father of a son as well as a new owner of a J3.

Secretary’s report (Tim Fox): The Minutes of the last meeting were submitted and approved. Treasurer’s report (Donald Short): $17,374.34.

Membership report (Donald Short): Some new name tags and certificates have come in and new members may pick these up. There are WNCPA shirts and caps for sale.

Tower report (Corbin Clauser): The reconstruction of the runway will begin soon. There will be construction vehicles running the length of the old runway with crossing guards at the taxiway intersections. Expect to have communication with Ground Control. Things will be different for awhile, so stay vigilant.

Fly-outs report (Tim Anderson): Mar 19 – GMU, Runway Cafe, Greenville, SC; Apr 16 – CUB, Columbia, SC.

Programs report (Susan Van Fleet): Apr – Automation and Pilot Performance, Thomas Freeman, NC Department of Transportation, a WINGS program.

Signature Flight Support report (Chuck Buckland): To stay in touch, call or Email the front desk to be placed on the newsletter list if you are not already receiving it. A new hose reel motor is soon to be installed on the self service pump. Reminder of fire safety rules: pump fuel only into aircraft at the pump; don’t pump fuel into containers; and don’t fuel aircraft inside of a hanger. There will be new Signature signage up soon. There will be a BBQ at Signature tomorrow, catered by Luella’s BBQ. There will be light refreshments served on St Patrick’s Day.

Educational Foundation (Arnie Andresen): There have been some significant donations to the Foundation. Applications for this year’s grants are due by April 1. Now is an effective time to donate as the annual grants will soon be awarded.

Medical Report (Ruffin Benton): Dr. Benton discussed sleeping medication, FAA, and piloting.

WNC Flight School Report (David Shields): The first of the A-B Tech Flight Program students are beginning to take their pilot check rides. Atlanta paper charts are available. A book was passed around for all that know Cindy Carter to express farewells as she will soon be moving.

Adjourned 7:32 p.m.

Submitted by Gil Carlson substituting for Secretary Tim Fox.

Aviation attorney, Chris Hudson from Carolina Aero Club presented the program entitled Aviation Law Issues.


Western North Carolina Pilots Association

General Membership Meeting

19 April 2016

Lacy Griffin Building

Asheville Regional Airport

 

I.  Call to Order by President Tim Anderson at 6:40 PM

 

Tim began the meeting by acknowledging several new members and visitors.  Debasish Banerjee (goes by “DB”) lives in Sylva, NC and flies a Cessna 182.   Ron Scheinman is a former pilot who hasn’t flown is 8 years.  He enjoys the aviation community and that’s why he decided to attend the meeting.  New member and A-B Tech Aviation student, John Hart just successfully completed his Private Pilot check ride on 18 March.

 

II. Reports:

Secretary: (Tim Fox) The minutes for the last general membership meeting of 15 March 2016 were approved.  The minutes were compiled and submitted by Gil Carlson.

Treasurer: (Don Short) Don was home recuperating from knee surgery, so John Mitchell submitted the report on Don’s behalf. The current balance is $17,910.25.

Membership: (Dave Bolser) He has several name tags to distribute.  He also has WNCPA logo polo shirts and hats for sale.

Programs: (Susan VanFleet) The May program will be on aging aircraft and presented by Eddie Shields, of the Charlotte FSDO.  It will be a Wings program.  The Hickory airport will welcome the latest addition to their aviation museum inventory, a Grumman E6B Prowler on Saturday 14 May.  The aircraft will arrive sometime between 10:00 am and noon.

Fly-Outs:  Tim stated that the May fly-out will to Beaufort, NC (KMRH) and will be in conjunction with the AOPA Southeast Region Fly-In to Beaufort, NC.  The June fly-out will be to London, KY (KLOZ).

WNC Aviation Update: David Shields advised that he had given the 7th successful check ride to an AB Tech Aviation student.  He is scheduled to check ride the 8th student next week.  Some of the students will begin instrument training next week.

 

III. New Business:

Educational Foundation:  (Arnie Andresen) The Foundation has received 17 grant applications.  The quality is excellent.  Seven of the applicants are AB Tech Aviation students.  The selection meeting is in two weeks.

Medical:  (Dr. Ruffin Benton) Ruffin spoke about noise reduction headsets.  The noise level in a single engine airplane is 70-90 db.  Noise levels above 90 dbs. will accelerate hearing loss.  Perhaps the biggest effect of high cockpit noise levels is fatigue and distraction. He also indicated that the use of hearing protection applies to such mundane tasks as mowing the lawn or using other gas powered equipment. He stressed the importance of a properly fitted headset with serviceable ear cup cushions plus the use of ear plugs in conjunction with your headset or to consider the purchase of a good ANR headset.

WNCPA Historian Gil Carlson gave an informative, amusing and entertaining safety presentation dealing with aircraft tie-downs.  He also posed a thought provoking question:  On what street in Asheville can you find, in less than the length of the Hendersonville airport runway, four cross streets named after certified aircraft? Off of Bear Creek Road and Johnstown Blvd in less than 1,200 feet are Sky Hawk Lane, Cessna Way, Kodiak Court and Cub Road.

The Western North Carolina Air Museum will have its annual air fair, fly-in and open house 4-5 June.  The WNCPA will staff a booth to support the Air Museum.  This is also the same weekend as a Triple Tree, SC fly-in event.

WNCPA member Mark Stepp of GFI Construction briefed that they have won the contract to demolish the old KAVL runway and they are looking for people who are familiar with airport and aircraft operations to act as flagmen to ensure the flow of construction vehicles do not impact the flow of arriving, departing and taxiing aircraft.  The work is expected to last from the beginning of May to the end of October.  Tim offered that this is an excellent opportunity for AB Tech Aviation students to earn extra money for flying.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:10 PM.

Feature Program:  Susan VanFleet introduced the guest speaker for the evening Tom Freeman who is an Aviation Safety Specialist with the NC Department of Transportation, Aviation Division.  Tom presented an interesting and informative presentation on several aspects of aviation related topics including flying with advanced avionics systems.  Tom’s contact info at the NCDOT is: TFreeman@ncdot.gov.

Submitted by: Tim Fox, Secretary


Western North Carolina Pilots Association

General Membership Meeting

Lacy Griffin Building

Asheville Regional Airport

17 May 2016

 

I.  Call to Order by President Tim Anderson at 6:50 PM

 

Tim began the meeting by thanking Frank and Elizabeth Henry for organizing the food for the meeting.  Tim also congratulated Mike Wheeler on his first solo. Tim also welcomed the return of former WNCPA member Stan Beech from Spruce Pines.

Secretary: (Tim Fox) The minutes of the last general membership meeting of 19 April 2016 was approved.

Treasurer: (Don Short) The current balance is $17,279.67.

Membership: (Dave Bolser) He has several name tags to distribute.  He also has WNCPA logo polo shirts and hats for sale. The Association has 180 members.

Programs: (Susan VanFleet) The June program will be our annual Education Foundation Grant award program.  Education Foundation President Arnie Andresen will host the program.  Susan thanked all those who attended the arrival, at Hickory airport, of the USN/USMC Grumman E6B Prowler on Saturday 14 May.  Over 1,000 of the general public attended the arrival ceremony.

Fly-Outs:  Tim asked who would be attending this weekends’ fly-out to Beaufort, NC for the AOPA Regional Fly-in.  The June fly-out will be to London, KY (KLOZ). It is their annual open house and fly-in.

Tim introduced Sherman Sparks, the Operations Supervisor of the Asheville Airport Authority to give an update on the status of the KAVL runway replacement project.  The project consists of four phases and has been on-going for 5 years.  On 9 December 2015 the Authority closed the old runway and by the morning of 10 December the new runway (future new taxiway Bravo) was opened with no effect on arriving or departing aircraft, thanks to the efforts of over 100 people.  In April the Authority began the demolition of the old runway (34/16) surface and the removal of all lighting and navaids associated with that runway.  The contractor for this phase has until 9 November to complete this phase of the project.  The entire runway replacement project is expected to be complete by August of 2019 at a cost of $75 million ($49 Million federal funds, the remainder NCDOT funds).

 

II. New Business:

Education Foundation:  (Arnie Andresen) The Education Foundation has completed its work and has awarded a total of $14K to 12 grant awardees, which is twice as much as was awarded last year and four times as much as the initial year of the Foundation.  Seven of the grantees are AB Tech Aviation students.  The notification letters have gone out and most have responded.  The awardees are: Joshua Billings, Rob Bruner, Dan Gurin, Katherine Harris, Greg Larson, Gwen Lassez, Bruce McDonald, Baylor Manning, Melena Mullens, Zach Smith, Jacob Tallent and Michael Wheeler.  Arnie encouraged the members to attend the award presentation at next month’s and to meet the grantees.

Medical:  (Dr. Ruffin Benton) Ruffin spoke about the AOPA Third Class Medical reform.  He noted that the Senate version of the bill is the only version that has been passed. The House has yet to pass the legislation.  In the Senate version, passed 19 April, if you have completed a regular or an FAA physical in the last 10 years, you no longer will have to complete a Third Class FAA physical.  You will have to visit your personal physician once every four years and note it in your log book as well as retain a letter from your physician attesting to the fact.  If you develop certain cardiac, mental health and/or neurological conditions they will require a FAA special issuance medical certificate only once.  This medical reform only applies to the Third Class Medical Certificate.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:26 PM.

Feature Program:  Susan VanFleet introduced the guest speaker for the evening Eddie Shields of York, SC. Eddie is an FAA Wings Program Manager and has been with the FAA for over 19 years. Eddie presented a very interesting and informative presentation on several aspects of maintaining aging general aviation aircraft including suggested additions to pre-flight checks that might not be included in a normal pre-flight checklist. His program is a Wings eligible presentation.

Submitted by: Tim Fox, Secretary


Western North Carolina Pilots Association

General Membership Meeting

Lacy Griffin Building

Asheville Regional Airport

21 June 2016

 

I.  Call to Order by President Tim Anderson at 6:45 PM

Tim began the meeting by thanking Frank and Elizabeth Henry for organizing the food for the meeting.  Tim also welcomed Charles and Amy Thomas, WNCPA Corporate members and owners of WNC Aviation.  Tim passed around a sign-up sheet for any visitors to provide their email address if they wish to receive periodic emails on WNCPA events.

Secretary: (Tim Fox) The minutes of the last general membership meeting of 17 May 2016 was approved.

Treasurer: (Don Short) Don was absent due to traveling and therefore there was no Treasurer’s report given.

Membership: (Dave Bolser) He has several name tags to distribute.  He also has WNCPA logo polo shirts and hats for sale.

Programs: (Susan VanFleet) There will be no program in July due to our annual cook-out; however Susan is hoping that Just Aircraft will attend with their STOL aircraft and give a demo flight.  Chuck Buckland of Signature Flight Support has provided their Hangar 13 for us to use for the cook-out.  The hangar will provide more room for members to socialize.  Also the hangar has restrooms and provides some shelter in case of any inclement weather.

Fly-Outs:  The June fly-out will be to London, KY (KLOZ). It is their annual open house and fly-in.

Gil Carlson gave an entertaining and informative presentation on a recent event in the area and also on some famous North Carolina aviators.  Last Saturday (18 June) at the Greenville Downtown Airport (GMU) a group of aviation enthusiasts in period costume reenacted the 1931 visit to Greenville of Amelia Earhart.  Back in 1931 Amelia Earhart arrived at the then Greenville Airport in a Beech Gyro and had lunch at the Poinsett Hotel.  Gil also chronicled the life and ill-fated aircraft design exploits of Dr. William W. Christmas (1865-1960) of Warrenton, NC.  Dr. Christmas designed an airframe called the “Bullet”.  The U.S. Army gave him a Liberty 6 engine to put in his new airframe and test.  Two flight tests were conducted and both times the aircraft crashed, fatally injuring both pilots.  Gil also related the story of Georgia “Tiny” Broadwick of Oxford, NC, who was the first woman to parachute from a balloon and the first person to free fall from an aircraft and deploy their parachute.  This event was quite by accident as she and her husband (Charles Broadwick) and Glen Martin (of Lockheed-Martin fame) were demonstrating parachuting to some U.S. Army officers.  While exiting the airplane using a static line exit technique she got hung up and had to cut herself free and freefall while frantically looking for the ripcord to pull and deploy the parachute. She was successful!

 

II. New Business:

Christmas Dinner:  The Association has secured the commitment of Ralph Hood to be the guest speaker at the Christmas dinner on 6 December

Tim Anderson has accepted the Chairperson position of the A-B Tech (Aviation) Department.  Tim will be taking over this department for R.J. Corman who will return to his management position with A-B Tech.

Tim also offered that there would be an Open House for anyone interested in aviation as a career on Monday 27 June from 5:00 to 7:00 PM at the Lacy Griffin building.

The meeting adjourned at 7:15 PM

Feature Program: Arnie Andresen and Don Watson of the Educational Foundation presented the 2016 grant awardees to the WNCPA members and the awardees family and friends who were present.  Each awardee present gave a brief synopsis of how he/she became interested in aviation and what his/her goals and aspirations are for the future.  The awardees are: Joshua Billings, Rob Bruner, Dan Gurin, Katherine Harris, Greg Larson, Gwen Lassez, Bruce McDonald, Baylor Manning, Melena Mullens, Zach Smith, Jacob Tallent and Michael Wheeler.

Submitted by: Tim Fox, Secretary


Western North Carolina Pilots Association

General Membership Meeting

Signature Flight Services, Hanger 13

Asheville Regional Airport

19 July 2016

 

I.  Call to Order by President Tim Anderson at 6:55 PM

 

The July general membership meeting was the occasion of the WNCPA Annual Cook-Out.  The cook-out was held in the Signature Flight Services hanger #13.  The event was very well attended by the membership.

The formal portion of a general membership meeting was dispensed with as Tim Anderson welcomed everyone to the cook-out.

 

II. New Business: None

Feature Program: Just Aircraft of Walhalla, SC flew in 3 of their STOL aircraft for a static display for the membership and provided a flight demonstration as well.  Prior to the flight demonstration, Gary Schmidt, President of Just Aircraft, gave a briefing on the capabilities of the STOL aircraft.

The cook-out concluded around 8:30 PM.

Submitted by: Tim Fox, Secretary


Western North Carolina Pilots Association

General Membership Meeting

Lacy Griffin Building

Asheville Regional Airport

16 August 2016

 

I.  Call to Order by President Tim Anderson at 7:00 PM

Tim welcomed several visitors and new members including William Tinsely, Tim Brooks and Michael Violette.

 

II. Reports

Secretary: (Tim Fox) The Association had their annual cook-out at the July meeting and a formal meeting was not conducted. The minutes of the June general membership meeting were approved.

Treasurer: (Don Short) Don was out of town visiting family.  No Treasurer’s report was given.

Membership: (Dave Bolser) He has several name tags to distribute.  He also has WNCPA logo polo shirts and hats for sale.

Programs: (Susan VanFleet) The program for the September meeting will be a presentation by Mike Everhart from Bell Aircraft concerning aircraft maintenance, safety wiring and pre-flight.  Tim also thanked Susan for her efforts in organizing our monthly programs.  It takes a tremendous effort to get the commitment from the speakers and getting them to Asheville.

Fly-Outs:  Our August Fly-out will be to Asheboro, NC.  It will be a joint venture with the Spartanburg Pilots Association (SPA).  We will eat lunch in the on-airport Carolina Aviation Museum and Hall of Fame.  Marvin, from the SPA briefed the concept.  Those interested in going please advise Tim.  An accurate headcount is requested as the SPA will be ordering pizza for the lunch.  This will be the first joint fly-out with the SPA.

Education Foundation: (Arnie Andresen)  Arnie announced that R.J Corman has agreed to join the Ed Foundation.  Tim added that the Aviation program at AB Tech has been a very successful start-up program for AB Tech.  They have 30 retuning students from the seoncd  semester of last school year and just under 30 new students starting with this new school year.  Tim acknowledged the WNCPA members who are involved in the program at AB Tech: Arnie Andresen, Skip Capone, Susan Van Fleet, and Jeff Moore and.  Also Mike Doornbus is involved with the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle program.

 

III. New Business:

Lew Bleweis from the Asheville Airport Authority announced that the local EAA chapter is organizing the visit to Asheville of “Aluminum Overcast” a restored World War II Boeing B-17 warbird.  It will be here 12 – 16 October.  There will be paid flights and tours of the aircraft 14-16 October.  Lew also updated everyone on the airport upgrade (Project Soar).  Despite recent weather delays the project is still on schedule.  The project will be starting night operations soon and they anticipate several airport closures during certain evenings primarily from 11:30 pm to 5:30 am.  Check NOTAMs.  Lastly they will be starting a $22M parking garage project in the near future.  It will provide 1,100 public spaces and 200 for rental car spaces (1,300 spaces total) and take about a year to complete.

Tim thanked Chuck Buckland and Signature Flight Services for their support to the WNCPA annual cook-out.  Allowing us to use hanger 13 directly influenced the record attendance at the cook-out.

Dr. Ruffin Benton updated the members on the passage of the new Pilot Bill of Rights by which the Class III FAA physical is not required.  The new requirements will burden the pilot with more logbook entries and many general physicians may not want to take the risk to certify a pilot fit to fly.  If you would like to read the bill, you can go to www.congress.gov to view the legislation. (HR 636, Section 2307 pages 42 – 63).  Basically, there are many “unintended consequences” as a result of this bill.  The FAA has a year to implement the program.

Jim Tyson announced that he has been asked to give a lecture on X-planes and experimental aircraft at the University of North Carolina – Asheville Reuters Center on Wednesday 7 September at 4:30 pm.  It is part of the Science Technology Engineering & Math (STEM) Program.  The lecture is open to the public and Jim offered that he would welcome our attendance.  The lecture hall has seats for 100.

There is a new flight school over at Rutherford County.  They have one airplane, a Cessna 172.

The meeting adjourned at 7:25 PM

Feature Program:  Susan Van Fleet introduced WNCPA member John Gaitskill.  John presented a Wings eligible program on Lockheed Martin‘s Online Flight Planning and Weather services available to pilots.

 

Submitted by: Tim Fox, Secretary


Western North Carolina Pilots Association

General Membership Meeting

Lacy Griffin Building

Asheville Regional Airport

20 September 2016

 

I.  Call to Order by President Tim Anderson at 6:45 PM

Tim acknowledged guest George Wells (Karen Bork’s Dad) who flew F-100’s and F-104’s in the Air Force and had a successful career with American Airlines.  A very familiar face was welcomed back to Asheville and the WNCPA: Cindy Carter.  Susan VanFleet introduced several students from AB-Tech and asked the members to volunteer to mentor these students as they begin their quest for a career in aviation.  The students: Paul Reed, Doug Chadduck, Nicki Riddle and Malena Modirzadeh.  Tim also acknowledged Frank and Elizabeth Henry and thanked them for organizing the food for tonight’s meeting.

 

II. Reports

Secretary: (Tim Fox) The minutes of the August general membership meeting were approved.

Treasurer: (Don Short) The Association has $15,972.93.  The Treasurer’s report was approved.

Membership: (Dave Bolser) He has several name tags to distribute.  He also has WNCPA logo polo shirts and hats for sale as well.

Programs: (Susan VanFleet) The program for the October meeting will be a presentation by Corbin Clouser from the Asheville ATCT will brief those in attendance on ATC procedures at Asheville and the procedures for the Association’s Leaf Flight fund raiser flights (22-23 October).

Fly-Outs:  Our August Fly-out with the Spartanburg Pilots Association (ASPA) to Asheboro, NC was cancelled due to weather.  In conversation with Terry Connerton of the SPA we will reschedule the fly-out to Asheboro for the first Saturday in November (5 Nov).  Tim proposed that for the upcoming weekend ((24 Sep) that we fly-out to Spartanburg Downtown Airport (KSPA) with lunch at the Beacon Drive-In.  Tim will arrange transportation from the airport to the Beacon and will put the information out via email.  The October fly-out will be to Hickory, NC (KHKY) to support the first ever seaplane fly-in.  More information concerning the Hickory seaplane fly-in is posted to our web site and includes links to VanFleet Aviation’s web site.

Tim introduced Corbin Clouser and Clint Harris of the Asheville ATC and John Kuntz, the Director of Operations for the Asheville Airport Authority, who together gave a short briefing about the new FAA Take-off and Landing Performance Assessment (TALPA) protocols that go into effect 1 October.  These new procedure came as a result of a Southwest Airlines overrun on December 8, 2005.  It was determined that runway braking condition reporting needed to be revamped. The outcome of these new procedures will change the way airports communicate to pilots about airport conditions.  The communication media will be primarily through the NOTAM and the airport ATIS.  If anyone would like additional information, the reference is FAA JO 7110.65W paragraphs 3-3-4 and 3-3-5, and FAA JO 7110.720 Takeoff and Landing Performance Assessment and these documents can be found on the FAAs web site www.faa.gov, or contact the Asheville ATCT (Corbin Clouser or Clint Harris).

Chuck Buckland from Signature Aviation Services thanked everyone for their patience and tolerance in dealing with the changes in procedures brought about by the transition from Landmark Aviation to Signature Aviation.  Chuck also requested that users provide a copy of their insurance.  Anyone who uses the tie-down service can expect a Tie-Down Agreement to be forthcoming soon.  Lastly, he indicated that they will be hiring three new positions soon; a customer service representative and 2 flight line positions.  All three positions will be full time with the corresponding benefits package.

Arnie Andresen, wearing his Civil Air Patrol (CAP) hat, announced that the local CAP unit will hold an open house Thursday, 29 September in Hanger #4.  They will be offering hamburgers and hot dogs and assorted condiments.  The open house will begin at 6:30 PM.  Arnie invited everyone to come out and meet the outstanding young members of the local CAP.  The cadets will be practicing a formal parade demonstration.

Hermann Gucinski announced that he will be teaching a course for seniors titled “Flying Without an Engine – What Makes Them Stay Up?” at the UNC Asheville campus. The course begins January 13, 2017.  The course will meet every Friday from 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM and will run for six weeks.  Anyone interested please sign-up.  Additional information can be found on the WNCPA web-site.

Tim reminded everyone that October 22 & 23 will be the annual Leaf/Scenic flight program.  It is the Association’s major fund raising effort.  We can use more pilots, but the deadline to get your information to the FAA FSDO is fast approaching.  We can also use more ground crew.  Contact Dave Belser if you can help.

 

III. New Business:

Tim announced the Board recommended ballot for the upcoming Board of Directors election.  Three at-large members will be rotating off the Board.  They are: Bill Roe, Richard Feeman and Jim Martin. Jim is leaving prior to the end of his term of service.  Cindy Carter has agreed to serve the remainder of Jim’s term.  The other candidates on the ballot are: Jeff Moore and Bruce MacDonald.  Also, Don Short, our Treasurer will be leaving as well.  Elizabeth Henry has agreed to serve as the Association’s Treasurer.

The restored WWII B-17 Flying Fortress “Aluminum Overcast” will be at Signature Aviation 14-16 October.

The meeting adjourned at 7:30 PM

Feature Program:  Susan Van Fleet introduced Mike Everhardt of Bell Aircraft.  Mike presented a Wings eligible program on preflight procedures, safety wiring and other maintenance “good to know” information.

Submitted by: Tim Fox, Secretary


Western North Carolina Pilots Association

Annual Membership Meeting

Lacy Griffin Building

Asheville Regional Airport

18 October 2016

 

I.  Call to Order by President Tim Anderson at 7:00 PM

Tim thanked Chuck Buckland of Signature Aviation Services for providing the bar-b-que for the meeting and he also acknowledged Frank and Elizabeth Henry and thanked them for procuring the food and setting up for tonight’s meeting.  Tim introduced several students from A-B Tech: Jacob McFerrin, Doug Chaduck and Chad Buckingham.

 

II. Reports

Secretary: (Tim Fox) The minutes of the September general membership meeting were presented and a motion to approve the minutes as written was seconded and the motion was approved unanimously.

Treasurer: John Gaitskill gave the Treasurer’s for Don Short. The Association has $16,163.93.  The Treasurer’s report was approved.

Membership: (Dave Bolser) Dave presented examples of the two styles of light-weight jackets with the Association’s logo sewn on the jacket.  The Association will offer these to members for purchase.  Depending on the style the jacket the cost will be either $28.00 or $38.00.

Programs: (Susan VanFleet) The program for the November meeting will be a presentation by Don Short on his experiences as a Mississippi River Pilot.

Fly-Outs:  Susan VanFleet gave a brief synopsis of the first ever Sea Plane Fly-In to Hickory, NC.  The event was very successful. Eight sea planes participated and over 2000 people attended the event.  Our November Fly-out will be with the Spartanburg Pilots Association (SPA) to Asheboro, NC (KHBI) which will be on November 19th.

Tim introduced Lew Bleweis who updated everyone on the progress of the runway replacement project.  The old runway is completely gone and the project remains on schedule for completion in December of 2017.  Construction of the new parking garage for the terminal has begun and should be completed within a year.

The visit to Asheville by the restored WWII B-17 “Aluminum Overcast” was a success.  The aircraft flew 13 flights and 7 WWII veterans were able to fly as well.

Herman Kazinsky announced that he will be teaching a course for seniors titled “Flying Without an Engine – What Makes Them Stay Up?” at the UNC Asheville campus. The course begins January 13, 2017.  The course will meet every Friday from 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM and will run for six weeks.  Anyone interested please sign-up.  Additional information can be found on the WNCPA web-site.

Tim reminded everyone that October 22 & 23 will be the annual Leaf/Scenic flight program.  It is the Association’s major fund raising effort.  There will be a briefing for ground crew volunteers at 9:30 AM and for pilots at 9:00 AM in the Lacy Griffin Bldg.

 

III. New Business:

Election of Officers and Directors for the WNCPA for Calendar year 2017.

Tim announced that three members will be rotating off the Board.  They are: Richard Feeman, Bill Roe and Jim Martin. Tim thanked them for their service to the Association.  Also leaving is Donald Short who has served with distinction as the Association’s Treasurer for the last four years.

The nominees on the ballot are: Jeff Moore, Bruce MacDonald, Cindy Carter and Elizabeth Henry, who has agreed to serve as the Association’s Treasurer.

Tim opened the floor for nominations.  There being none, Tim asked for a motion to close the nominations.  The motion to close the nominations was proposed and seconded and the motion was approved unanimously.  Congratulations to the 2017 WNCPA Board of Directors.

The WNCPA Board of Directors for 2017:

President – Tim Anderson, Immediate Past President – Nancy Marstall, Secretary – Tim Fox, Treasurer – Elizabeth Henry, Membership – Dave Bolser

Members-At-Large: Susan VanFleet, Cindy Carter, Rocky Fleming, Mark Lancaster, Jeff Moore, and Bruce MacDonald.

The meeting adjourned at 7:25 PM

Feature Program:  Susan Van Fleet introduced Corbin Clouser.  Corbin is the Front Line Manager of the Asheville Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) and Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON).  Corbin gave a very informative briefing on air traffic control procedures and recommended phraseology and terminology to be used when interacting with ATC.  Corbin also discussed the special procedures for the Association’s upcoming Scenic/Leaf fights fund raiser.

Arnie Andresen gave a short brief on the role of the local Civil Air Patrol (CAP) in assisting the NC Emergency Management Agency and FEMA in assessing damage to the eastern half of North Carolina from the effects of Hurricane Matthew.

Submitted by: Tim Fox, Secretary


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