Newsletter
Issue #105 USUA Club #66
Richard E. Miller Chapter
March/April 2003
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The next
meeting of USUA Club #66 will be held 1pm, Saturday, April 19th at Tom Hettig’s
place.
February
Meeting:
President Al
Osterhout presided over the meeting with 20 members in attendance.
George Smith suggested that someone with a camera be available to photograph
fields for the pocket directory.
The work bee at Tom Hettig’s house might be delayed. Call to find out.
The $40 per meeting for the host will be left as is until the fall.
Phyllis Miller has donated some Rotax parts, which Tom with be appraising for
value.
Mel McKinney will be the cook for our next meeting.
New Item: a bus trip to Rhinebeck to be
discussed at a later meeting.
May 9th is the Faggen Flyers fly in breakfast.
Unfortunately, Al Osterhout had to step down as chapter president. Al provided great leadership in his short
term as President. We have, however, a
competent replacement in Matt Wightman.
Matt was nominated, voted on and approved as the new President. Ray Osterhout was elected as Vice President.
March
Meeting:
Meeting started
at 1 PM on March 15, 2003. Eight members attended. Meeting took
place at Tom Hettig's place. Gil Atchison was the cook and provided a
great meal while we were gathering. This meeting was held at the last
minute as no meeting was scheduled for March since we were going to have the
dinner at the Lodge in Windsor, however the dinner was canceled due to
lack of attendance. Only 15 people signed up which wasn't enough for the
lodge to have the dinner.
- The
meeting started with the pledge of allegiance to the United States Flag.
- Matt
brought a projector connected to a laptop to show the website for Old
Rhinebeck http://www.oldrhinebeck.org/ this
included some video from the website and indication of group prices. The
price for an adult individual is $12.00, while a group rate (for 15 or more
people) is $10.00 per person. The standard rate for seniors (65yrs
and older) is also $10.00 per person. Air Shows are every
Saturday and Sunday 2:00pm - 4:00pm (Weather Permitting) starting June 14 -
ending October 12, 2003. Every Saturday is "History of
flight air show" while every Sunday is "World War I Air
Show". More interest was shown toward the Saturday show due to a
larger variety of aircraft is shown and not just limited to world war 1 as
Sunday would be.
A couple
items to think about for the next meeting:
1) Should
we plan to go to old rhinebeck this summer?
2) Which
day should we plan to go (Saturday or Sunday)?
3) What
date should we plan on attending?
Safety was
discussed, We should watch for flocks of migratory birds as we dust off our
wings. Be sure to check over everything carefully and make a
new mix of fresh fuel and oil. Even chain saw manufacturers are
recommending that fuel should not be used if it was mixed 15 to 30 days
ago.
SPECIAL
NOTICE:
There
is much news to share about current situations with USUA. Please plan to
attend as we will hear why so many people are dropping their membership and why
people who have been very active for 21 years have resigned from the USUA
due to some recent events. The April meeting is one meeting you won't
want to miss.
Tom Hettig
received $40.00 for having the March meeting at his place.
The April
meeting is scheduled for April 19 at Tom Hettig's place. The meeting will
begin at 1:00 PM. Please come around noon to partake in a wonderful meal
that will be prepared by this month's volunteer (again) Chef Gil Atchison.
Let us pray
for the brave men and women fighting for freedom in the Middle East
Matt Wightman
Will we be flying?
That’s the question. I am sorry
to hear of the controversy at USUA. I
have read all the emails that Matt Wightman sent me, and I cannot come to a
conclusion as to who did what to who, how the organization was being run, how
it is being run now etc. I don’t know
the individuals involved; maybe that’s a plus so I can be objective. I believe everyone and I disbelieve
everyone.
Maybe that’s really not important. What
I really believe is that we need a USUA organization to speak out for
Ultralight enthusiasts. Ultralights
are their primary and only mission. The
EAA is a strong organization but it is not devoted solely to Ultralights. We
need a voice to keep the wolves (read FAA) from our doors and I believe that
voice could be the USUA if they can get their act together. It is going to be difficult because of the
financial strain that they are facing.
These are my editorial comments. I will
be interested in the discussion that you will have at your next meeting. Sorry I can’t make it; I’ll be at the beach.
Tom Lewis