November 10 2014
Valley Fliers November Board Meeting
Meeting Commenced at: 6:40
Present: Botezatu, Lawton, DeWitt, Patrick, Vader, plus seven members and one guest.
Excused: Bryce
Approval of October Meeting Minutes
Florin moves for approval, Alan seconded. Minutes approved unanimously.
Treasurer’s Report
See Alan’s handout. 88L was re-registered. Immaculate flight did credit us for the extra wash charge. Fuel deposit for winter months reduced to $7500. Maintenance supplies includes a number of filters and quite a bit of oil. We still expect charges for 88L’s annual to come in. Fuel price is now $5.39/Gal. We are in great financial condition. Sales tax payable may be erroneous. Alan believes he did not correctly record B&O tax paid. He will check and correct. Alan notes his monthly statements are interim. Only the annual reports are club records.
Maintenance Officer’s Report
See Tom’s handout.
88L: no rude surprises in the annual inspection.
9MA New R. main tire & both brakes. The vacuum pump is past its recommended rebuild interval and Tom may get that done at its annual in the next month or two.
34H: DG precessing – Tom lost track of that, but will work it.
63S old radio for 34H – Alan asks who paid for 63S’s radio work as we’ve not yet seen a bill. Tom says they are supposed to bill us. There was one issue while setting up the radio: it is not wired to be connected to the altitude encoder. We don’t know if that is a requirement for the new radio. Tom will call Garmin to check. If that is required, we will have more work and expense. Jon Gunnarsson suggests it is not required unless we have ADS-B. Tom mentions we may be purchasing Gerry Coon’s old radio. Gerry has been in the hospital. Based on these developments he may not want to sell his gear.
Question from the floor: is the preheater out for use? The weather this weekend will be cold. Tom says he will get it down and briefly described its use.
Florin suggests we need both the oil and the cylinders need to be heated prior to flight. He suggests installing tannis heaters may be a good solution to do that heating. Alan notes his club in Montana used them on timers. They also can be used when the planes travel. The timer solution would be bad if the planes are not flown regularly, but that shouldn’t be a problem for our planes. Jameson says the heaters are relatively inexpensive, do not require an STC, and the cords can be left on.
Tom notes that the winter oil we are using is 50% synthetic, and is not a good fit for our leaded gas engines because it has less detergent effect. We are changing to a more appropriate oil, but will use the oil we have unless we can trade our supplier for the new mixture. The appropriate oil should be in each plane. If it is not there, look on the board in the office to know what oil is appropriate.
Alan notes he just received the re-registration form for 63S. He will be doing that soon.
Safety Officer’s Report
88L: LED Light bar guidance (installed by Jon Gunnarson)
We really like it and Florin asks that we install them in all the hangars.
Old Business
Wash Company Reimbursement for Transponder Antenna – still being worked.
34H Elevator Skin – not done yet. See Tom’s handout.
Oil Collection Container – the old container has been picked up, but we are looking for a drum.
9MA Luggage Compartment Panels, 9MA baggage compartment plastic – Florin believes Mike has ordered the rear panels. The front panels are very thin and fragile.
Office Condition – Florin threw out some junk, but the papers should potentially be evaluated. Alan and Tim should meet to go through the pile.
Simulator Shipping Box – Still there, but Florin will use some of the plywood to replace an office desk top.
$2500 deductible – Eric confirms it is done. Savings are ~$1300/year.
New Business
Avemco – Eric called them regarding instructor coverage. Instructors instructing in our planes are not covered, but the airplanes are always covered. Florin suggests we write all of the instructors a memo ensuring they are aware of that fact.
Parking Aircraft – Eric will be sending out a reminder that people need to put the airplanes away correctly. The memo will note that if any damage results from a member’s negligence, that member will be liable for that damage. This is in response to several member complaints about the state several planes have been left in.
Question from the floor: One member would like his Dad to become club member as a surprise gift. That member would be willing to pay extra to cut a private deal with another member, bypassing the waiting list. The board notes that it has always been OK to arrange a private sale. The potential member was described and the board approved the member if and or when a sale can be arranged.
Drawing
Free flight hour won by Bob Schaper
Meeting adjourned at: 7:44