Great Tur
nout – 93 in attendance and 61 breakfasts were sold. A balmy morning with low broken clouds prevented anyone flying in. The guys were manning the pancake grill, cranking out scrambled eggs, and grilling the sausage links. The ladies on the line were serving the customers with a smile.
Call to Order – Dick Keyt called the meeting to order and invited any guests to introduce themselves. Tanner Boucher from Glen Rose is working toward becoming an Ag Pilot. He is training with Eagle Vistas in Florida and trying to build up more tailwheel time. Tammy Smith who works as a server at Pecan is interested in getting a pilot’s license.
Updates were provided for 2 members experiencing difficult medical conditions. Dave Smith had a bad reaction to one of his cancer treatments and is in the hospital getting stabilized. Chip Mull is also in the hospital getting dialysis treatment. Our thoughts and prayers are with both of them for a speedy recovery!
Safety Minute – A ground accident occurred at 0TX1 where a Sonex fast taxiing to get off runway did not see an AutoGyro on the runway and collided. There were no injuries but both aircraft experienced significant damage. Dick reminded the crowd of similar accidents that have occurred at Oshkosh with lots of aircraft taxiing out for departures. Tailwheel aircraft with restrictive visibility elevates the required vigilance and adherence to procedures.
Sid Tucker reminded everyone that operating protocol at Pecan Plantation airports require aircraft to 7 click the lights on whenever taxiing on the runway. This also alerts any maintenance workers near the runway to clear the area.
Project Reports
- Dick Keyt – Reported the winds have made it difficult to conduct glider flight operations so the group have been putting their time into completing the single place, higher performance glider. It is currently in Jordan Normark’s hanger. They are currently rigging the wings to final drill the mount holes.
- John Bowen – Completed his 5 hours of Bonanza training with Mike Hustak to satisfy insurance requirements so he can get his in the air after 2 years of restoration.
- Don Christiansen – Reported the Granbury High School Eagles Nest project (S-21) is in Kevin Ross’ hanger getting final installations for flight. This S-21 is a tricycle gear configuration. The high school received another S-21 kit to begin assembly and it will be a conventional gear. Don was highly complementary of the Rans technical support with Randy Schlitter actually visiting the project.
September Fly-In – Bill Eslick reported that the Fly In committee continues organizing and holding to the date of September 23rd. He noted that Karen Woodward and Deanna Thibault have stepped up to lead a chapter prepared lunch service instead of food trucks which failed to provide the chapter any cut on the sales. Geneva McJunkin offered her experience with food trucks at her previous chapter that is worthy of consideration. Her chapter collected $300 up front from each food truck. Bill passed around a list of committees and volunteer signup opportunities. Dick emphasized that members should not wait to sign up. If the volunteer develops a conflict, substitutes will be found to cover.
EAA Leadership Bootcamp – Dick reported on the one-day training held at the Chapter 59 where a lot was learned on how to run a highly successful chapter. He was impressed with the facilities at Chapter 59 in McGregor, TX. Several takeaways from the training are worthy of pursuing for our chapter;
- Good chapters have a strategic plan looking ahead 5 years
- Good chapters have succession plans for future officers/chapter leaders
- Chapters should strive for a positive vibe and not whine about how good flying was in the old days
- Monthly membership meetings minimize business aspects – address in monthly board meetings
Dick noted that 983 is currently rated as Bronze in chapter recognition and feels we should be higher. One criterion that would boost the score is having a VMC or IMC club. He would like to see an IMC club created with the large number of IFR pilots in the chapter. This will be discussed at future Board meetings.
Young Eagles – John Bowen reported on another successful event March 4th where 8 pilots flew 28 youth from around the Metroplex. He was very appreciative of the pilots and ground crew who consistently support the event and give back. Next up for Young Eagles is a special event with students from Meridian in April followed by a Flying Start event on May 20th.
Tom Woodward explained what the Flying Start event is as a part of the EAA Learn to Fly week May 15-20. It is intended to inspire future aviators by giving them an introductory flight and provide information on the steps to becoming a licensed pilot. Besides the flying part, Tom intends to setup short talks on different aspects of general aviation (powered airplanes, rotorcraft, sailplanes, etc.).
Wright Brothers Master Pilot – Tom Woodward has about 30 names who would like to be considered for the Master Pilot Award (50 years of piloting experience). He has enough names for the FAA to do an in-person award ceremony. His FAA contact indicated it will take some time to get all the candidates processed for the award.
Featured Speaker – Following a short break, Scott Perdue led off describing his experience in aviation. Following high school Scott met with recruiters from the Coast Guard and Marine Corps. The Coast Guard told him it would six months before they could get him a slot. The Marine Corp took him right away and he was in San Diego at training in two days! While in the Marines he was able to take ground school and learn to fly at the Paris Island Aero Club. After leaving the Marine Corp he enrolled at UT and received a degree in Physics. He then pursued becoming an Air Force pilot by just barely meeting the age 27 limit. He went on to fly the F-4 Phantom and F-15E Strike Eagle.
Scott’s talk described what it takes to become a good pilot. Due to the intense amount of training required Motivation is key and described it as “Want To”. He played an inspiring Air Force video on the F-15 Strike Eagle. He explained the difference between a Job Title versus a Professional Mindset. The military pilots spend 97% training and 3% in operation. He related that to the GA accidents he currently analyzes. In many instances training and mental preparedness could have resulted in a more positive outcome. The final punch line was what he calls Pilot’s Rule #1. After several very good guesses from the audience, he said it is “Pull Your Head Out of Your A$$.” Being always on your game mentally is what may save your life someday.
Scott wrote a book called Pale Moon Rising which focuses on US armed forces fighting terror in the mountainous terrain of the Middle East. The story draws from his experience as an Air Liasion Officer in the Air Force and his role protecting those on the ground. He is working on getting a second printing but in the meantime, it is available on Kindle.
Scott explained the approach to his FlyWire YouTube channel. He is not interested in the actual root cause of an aircraft or engine failure during an accident – he focuses on how the pilot handled the situation. He extracts the incident pilot’s decision making and actions toward educating his viewers. He has been doing the channel for 2 1/2 years and has 51,000 subscribers.
