Newsletter Issue #115 USUA Club #66
Richard E. Miller Chapter
January/February, 2004

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Our next meeting will be on February 21^st at Tom Hettig’s.  From Great Bend, Pa., take route 11 North, just outside of Great Bend, Pa., turn right onto Randolph Road, continue straight on Randolph Road to Honeyhollow Road, and Turn Right.  Continue on Honeyhollow Road a little over two miles, and turn left on Anne Road.  T. Hettig's home is the first house on the right, mailbox number 482.  

Please plan for our March dinner at the Masonic Hall in Windsor as well.  Ray Osterhout said we need at least 16 to 20 people for the prime rib dinner.       

       

    Our January meeting was at Tom & Jill Hettig's place. Thanks to Tom and Jill we have a nice warm place to meet.

 

     Mel McKinney brought our lunch, we had pizza and wings and some finger food.  Great job Mel, we appreciated it.  It was a treat to have pizza and wings.  

 

     Next month Al Osterhout will be supplying the meal.     

 

     Our January meeting started at 11:45 AM with Ray Osterhout as our President.  We started off by giving the pledge of allegiance to the flag.

 

    Thirteen members showed up.  It was too cold for flying and too much snow on the runway but we had lots of hanger flying in progress.   We viewed old movies of previous fly-ins at Mel McKinney's, Ray Osterhout’s, & the late Richard Miller's place. 

 

    Ray Osterhout started our round table review.  Al Osterhout wanted all of us to remember Dave Pender who had died with his dog recently of carbon Monoxide poisoning from his furnace.  Almost everyone kept Dave alive for an hour describing some of the achievements and astonishing events he had survived doing with a cool head.  Everything from flying solo when it wasn't quite time (as per Mel McKinney), to ending up flying on instruments without instruments.  He was flying his Fisher Ultralight maintaining direction and altitude.   He had a choice; take out the Binghamton radio tower or climb and avoid it.  He climbed and promptly got lost in the clouds only to find himself over Ithaca .  He let down and made it back to Chenango Bridge safely with very little fuel left.  I can only imagine what Approach Control might have seen on their radar screen.  An unidentified object flying around without a transponder or radio.  Someone was out there and no one knew who that someone was.  Then again maybe he was too low for the radar, as they say, he probably was flying below the radar so as not to be detected.

 

    I've known Dave Pender personally for about 20 years and I've always thought he was somewhat of a dare devil but he always had my respect and Harm Johnson's.  Harm was there when Dave was trying to get off the ground with a gyro-copter.  He thought for sure he was going to kill himself.  Somehow Dave always had the intelligence of knowing when to quit.  He had that instinct that very few people had to know when enough was enough.  I know for a fact he always wanted his Private Pilot's License but the Dr. wouldn't allow him to pass his physical because he had problems with his eyes and one leg was bothering him from an automobile wreck he had many years ago.   The last time I saw him he was flying his RC-helicopter and an RC battery operated fixed wing.  I remember commenting how quiet the fixed wing was next to the regular noisy gas jobs. 

 

    Dave was a part of the Chenango Bridge Flying Club and always helped out with their RC flying operations.  He helped the Chenango Bridge Pilots with the cooking during their Summer RC flying demonstrations that always lasted for two days.  He will truly be missed by us all, that quick whit, that dry humor, and that all inspiring grin he had especially, when he found out you could do something in a different way and get away with it.

 

    Ray Osterhout reminded us of our annual prime rib dinner at the Masonic Hall in Windsor .  We all need to get our reservations in next month so the Masons can prepare the food quantity and manpower.  So let's all think about that luscious prime rib dinner with our wives and friends.  This will also include our March's Ultralight Club Meeting.  So don't look at it as just a couple pieces of meat done to your satisfaction but also a nice warm place for a meeting.  Talk to your wives and have an afternoon away from home to enjoy with all the other club members.

 

    Dave Schwartz (our treasurer) said it is time again for the payment of our annual dues.  He said he will keep you on the list until April so come to our next meeting and get caught up.   Also Dave Schwartz and Ray Osterhout chose not to hold their offices after April so we need two volunteers for president and treasurer in April so be thinking of our new candidates.

 

    Our meeting was over at around 2 PM and everyone left around 2:30 PM.

 

    Come to our February meeting bring a friend and another chair just in case.  Come and enjoy the food and fellowship.

 

            Your Secretary,

                Mel Wightman