Our next meeting will be held at the Baton's Inn in Greene , N.Y. to celebrate Christmas. Your wives and girl friends are invited.  This is to take place on the 17th of December at 12 noon.  I made reservations today.  Baton’s Inn needs an accurate count of the number of people that will attend.  So you may either e-mail me giving a number or give me a call.  For now we are picking from the menu.  The chief waitress In Charge is going to give me another call and let me know if there will be a selection type of dish for instance:  Turkey , Fish or Roast Beef.   She is talking to the chef and will call back later in the day.

Please contact me by phone 607-648-9028 or my e-mail address [email protected].  If you can't bring your wife or girl friend think about bringing another friend.  Remember visitors are always welcome.  There will be 6 choices to pick from and the meals can go from 5 to 10 dollars depending what you want.  Hot turkey, hot roast beef,  fried fish, hamburg with french fries,  Rubin, and a salad will be available.  

    Our November meeting in Susquehanna was a real success for the first time in many meetings we had two guys able to fly-in;  Gil Aitchison and Duane Ross were able to fly their Hawks.  Mel McKinney had pizza and about four varieties of wings to serve.  The meal and hospitality was great and for that we say thanks to Mel for having us at his home along the mighty Susquehanna.  We had twelve men show it was a little on the cool side but the air density was great for lift. Inside, of course, we were warm and enjoyed each others company and fellowship.

    The meeting started at near 1 PM with our President with the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.  Our round table review started off with Lance Bunker who needs to sell his MX and other aircraft parts etc. 

    Dave Thomas hasn't done too much with his jet propelled lawn mower.  He has his aircraft for sale.  He considers himself fortunate to have been able to fly and is still wondering about all the mysteries of the landings.  He would sell his craft to someone in the club for 5 thousand but outside it would be more.  I believe he said he has 8 to 10 thousand invested.  He has a Rotax 447 and put 25 hours on it this last summer.

    Mel McKinney went to Florida and enjoyed the warm weather.  He also had a chance to visit with another ultralight group in Porta Gorda.   He said they were very accommodating, hospitable good folks enjoying the sport of ultralighting.  While there this time he purchased an ultralight and said it was a good one.  Maybe next time we'll know more about it but he said it was a good one to fly.  He gave the name but I failed to get it down.  Being a General Aviation guy myself, I'm not familiar with all the new craft names in ultralights. 

    Dave Schwartz gave us a run down on the latest with his engine.  It is pretty sick and would require a new casting; the old one was badly worn out.   So for Christmas all he wants is a new engine and he'll be in business.   He's not asking too much, only around 15 K plus or minus and he'll be back in business with purple.  He is spending a share of his time right now trying to figure the best economical and still be safe way to go with his dilemma.  Fortunately he didn't keep flying.  He knew something wasn't right and pulled the plug before something bad happened.  This is important, if it doesn't sound right you must investigate or it could mean your life.

    Gil Aitchison has been doing a lot of flying with Duane Ross and he burns approximately 2 gallons per hour with his 60 hp HKS in his Hawk. 

    Paul Mulig has had a business venture with his son in Dallas , Texas and is trying to get himself in a better situation so he can spend some money in flying or building a kit. 

    George Smith has been busy working on his furnace this past month instead of his flying machine.  The cold weather has been trying to catch him off guard with the lack of heat. 

    John Finn has been working on his aircraft.  He almost got a chance to do some flying in Florida but his plans got changed with the hurricane activity. 

    Harry Henderson flies everyday that is suitable for flying and has enjoyed his aircraft.

    Paul Nutton has been running up and down the East coast going to the various antique shows.  He also recently lost his mom; she passed away at the age of 91.  Our condolences to Paul for the loss of his mom.  He has been antsy about flight and wants to get back into the air as soon as practical.  Right now he is busy making a living and enjoying his work.  If he could just get the customers off his back he could get more work done.  He needs someone to handle the customers so he can continue working, maybe he needs a GIRL friend to help out? **(())__^^%%$$##@!!. 

    Duane Ross has put in 80 hours this year.  He said, the outside air temperature was around 21 degrees when they flew into Susquehanna to the meeting. 

    I spoke about my Wooden Cherokee and how the electrical was done and heat was added and that the rug will soon be put down along with the addition of furniture.  I think I'm done with remodeling for now.  I'd rather be flying my Cherokee instead.  I will say Sandy has been delighted to finally get it done!  

    Jim Croisant has been hunting during this last meeting and has some more parts to put on his Phantom.  

Your Secretary,

Mel Wightman