The next meeting will be Saturday, May 17^th at Giffin Airport , Paul Nulton's new airport.  We need to make this a special event; he needs a few airplanes there to honor all his effort and work for having the runways properly cut and rolled for a nice smooth landing.   Hopefully the weather will be in our favor.  The info below will help us to get to Giffin.

 Sectional map- 3 PA 4 is the locator.

OR from the north  I 81 south to 17 west to Vestal , NY- South on Route  26 which will change to 267 in PA . to Lawton , Pa .Right turn on 706 West-- 5 miles to strip and you will see the windsock in the field on the left.

From route 11 south to New Milford - 706 west to Montrose  -15 miles from the traffic light in Montrose , PA -- 12 miles West from Husky Haven Airport South Montrose,

41-46-40.2710N
076-08-13.7420W

    We had 18 people show at the last meeting.  Baron's food was enjoyed by everyone as usual.              

    The meeting was started by Mel Wightman at 1:06 PM and the flag or our country was presented and respectfully saluted. 

    We have an update to report from the previous meeting.  An amount of 45 dollars will be sent to the USUA to keep our standing with USUA.  Many of us are still Ultralight Pilots and it wouldn't be fair to be completely LSA even if most are declared as LSA because of fat ultralights.  One thing we have to do is to be careful about weight in this class.  We don't want the Feds to nose around and get concerned.  So if you fly at fat ultralight status, stay out of the feds way and keep it safe (safe flying as well as your craft standards).  If safety is an issue to be fat, be fat but stay clear of federal activity and chances are things can remain the same as they have been.  Very illegal but safe!!      Mind you this is only my opinion.

      George Kilpatrick was my guest and he told what he had done in his aviation past.  He has time in a Bell 47D and other helicopters. He also has experience in fixed wings such as C-172's, C-150's, PA-28 Cherokee 140 (03Whisky). He has his Glider Private Pilot's License.  His LSA certificate is on its way back from Albany any time now.  His LSA was obtained from a J-3 Piper Cub1946 model in Tunkhannock , Pa.  George is also a General Ham Radio Operator.  He is a retired Fireman and is enjoying flight as well as his Harley in his retirement.  If you should need to have excellent pictures taken by air or otherwise he has access to a helicopter for that purpose as well.  George and his friend Ed Aswad  and Guy House, who owns a Bell 47D (Mash helicopter) helped put together a  picture album on the last great flood disaster 2006.  I have a copy and it was very well done.  I'm sure if you want one, for a light fee of 25 dollars he probably could find one for you as well. 

    Pete Fish Jr. is having problems trying to get his engine to run.  It is a Rotax 277.

    Dan Fiske just got back from South Carolina and plans on getting his aircraft home, tie the tail down and fire up his engine.  He wants to keep it at Gil's place until he gets ready to fly it. 

    He said, while he was putting on a nice tan he was near a twister that was 2 miles in diameter at 140 mph that did billions of dollars damage in 30 minutes.

    Allen Huntley flew his Hawk Thursday for 1 hour and another at night for 30 minutes after chores.

    Tom Parkhurst  Is at Norwich taking Flight Instruction in a 160 Warrior Piper Low Wing.  He is thinking of going as a Recreational Pilot.  He has a Kolb ELSA and has his N numbers,  Ron Jones did it in Eaton.

    Gil Aitchison our treasurer gave us a report of $1,717.60 plus 100 dollars in cash.  We are getting new hats and they will say the Southern Tier Flying Club 66.  Our internet web site will still say the Richard Miller Club #66.  In regards to Gil's analysis last time he made further tests and found his engine to be ok.  He took another check on the compression test and with a new gauge found his cylinders to be 170 lbs each.  He also took both carburetors apart and checked the float.  The idle was off 31/2 it was suppose to be 11/2. He adjusted the float and put everything back together and everything is now working fine.  Originally he thought he had engine damage because the gasoline and oil was getting mixed together in a 4 cycle engine. 

    Jim FitzSimmons is buying Scott Potter's aircraft (who had passed away) and is getting it ready to fly.

    Art Cap picked up a new trailer and is getting ready for the season for flight.

    Todd Capwell is at the lake fishing with his grand parents, I hope they have a real good fish fry for dinner.   

    Dave Thomas has been very sick and finally felt good enough to come to a meeting.  He had to buy another car and computer.  He can't fly until his health and resources get back to some state of normalcy.  He has been doing some experimenting with Hydrogen for fuel and it has been a real challenge for him as it can be very explosive.  He has found that one has to be very careful in making the gas. 

    Matt Garbett hasn't been doing much flying.  His jobs have been taking up much of his time.  He also said, Dan's wife, Don's wife and Matt's wife have been busy watching over their creations.  A new aircraft is out and could be as high as 25 K.  I believe this is without the engine, It could be viewed on  Justaircraft.com.

    John Torta said he has been working hard on the job and recently has been looking at the Highlander aircraft.  It has folding wings and is a 2 place aircraft.  He said it is 21K less an engine.  He also said he has been busy re-modeling his home.

    Mel Wightman Would like to improve his property so he can buy the right craft to fly off his own property,  His neighbor has property to add on to make a good strip - still working on possibilities.

    Lou Palombo said, he knows of a Kitfox1 with a 503 2-seater that was overhauled 100 hours ago.  It is located in Sangerfield towards Utica .  For around 10,000 dollars one could buy it and have a decent craft.  It is white and has Tundra Tires.  It holds 8 gallons in the wing tank and 5 in the nose tank.  He wants to go to Texas to see about a Gyrocopter.  He also showed us a video of a Mosquito Helicopter.  The craft looked very maneuverable.

    Jim Leonard is still taking flying lessons with Joe Rizzo at the rate of 2 lessons per week in a C-172 with a 180 hp engine.  He has experienced how a gust of wind can really move a person.

    Don Hollister has been very busy working on his home near the Susquehanna River in the Oquaga, area.  He was flooded out during the flood of 2006.  Matt Garbett has been helping him  get his pieces back together.  It has been tough working at his Hardware Store in Greene and keeping pace with his projects at home.

    Duane Ross has flown his Hawk for about 21/2 hours.

    The meeting was adjourned at 2:15 PM everyone had a good time with the fellowship and propwash.

        Your Secretary,

                Mel Wightman