Mike Parry

Update – May Membership Meeting

UPDATE: Our May Membership Meeting, TONIGHT – Monday May 3rd – where we had invited FAA and KILG Tower representatives to our regular Chapter meeting (over Zoom) to discuss TFR best practices and to share their operational experiences, has now developed into a public FAASTeam presentation on Presidential TFR’s and includes the Q&A session with the FAA & KILG Tower representatives that we requested.

To join tonight’s meeting, EAA240 members need to register by clicking the link below, which will provide the required passcode and will also log a WINGS credit for your attendance. We suggest you do so 10-15 minutes before the scheduled start time of 7pm, Monday.

Following the Q&A session, EAA240 will update the Chapter membership on current items, including announcing a restart of our Flight Training Scholarships, update on our hangar projects and the date for our first in-person event of 2021 – an Ice Cream Social!

Lots happening! See you tonight!

Join the FAASTeam session by registering here:
https://faavideo.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJIsc-2trjstHwOzfYK64iVsBET32xBDVQQ
Mike Parry
President, EAA Chapter 240
president@eaa240.org

Mike Parry

May Chapter Membership Meeting

We continue our Chapter Monthly Meetings with another special and topical session on Monday, May 3rd, at 7pm.

Presidential TFR’s are proving impactful and disruptive to the commercial and General Aviation communities in our area. Our home base airport N57 is locked-down whenever a TFR is declared and there have already been instances of pilot’s from airports under the TFR designated coverage violating Presidential airspace. The TFR frequency, duration and timing changes provide challenges, not only for pilots but also for the management and staff of New Castle Airport KILG and the local FAA teams.

We have invited both groups to meet with Chapter members and invited guests to describe the operation of a TFR from the KILG operations standpoint, and from the FAA perspective. The teams will share their experiences to-date of TFR operations, recent violations and make recommendations as to how pilots might best deal with the situation and the ‘best practices’ they have observed. From these discussions our hope is that members can have a broader understanding of the operation of TFR’s which should, in turn, help in their flight planning and execution.

The purpose, need for, and impacts of TFR’s is being actively discussed elsewhere and this session is not intended to challenge the merits of TFR’s as they currently stand. TFR’s happen and will be part of our flight experience for the foreseeable future. Again, our goal is that members, through discussion with Tower staff and FAA, can take the opportunity to have a broader understanding of the operation of local TFR’s which should, in turn, help in flight planning, preparation and execution. 

Join your fellow Chapter members, guests and our invited speakers, who include representatives from the New Castle KILG Tower team, the Philadelphia FAASTeam, PHL Air Traffic team, and Joe Lamonaca.

Join using this link:
https://faavideo.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJIsc-2trjstHwOzfYK64iVsBET32xBDVQQ


In addition, we’ll have more information about the Fred Kacena Scholarship Program, which we’re able to restart this month due to a generous donation to the program from an EAA240 member. This is wonderful news and, along with all the improvements we’re making at the Chapter hangar facility, is a strong indicator that the Chapter is emerging from this dark period and is in great shape!

Getting together again! We’ll also announce plans for a Chapter in-person get-together, our first for so many months.

Add this meeting date to your calendar, and we look forward to seeing you on Monday May 3rd, at 7pm, using the link above.

Mike Parry
President, EAA Chapter 240
president@eaa240.org

Mike Parry

Flight Training Scholarships – Restarted


Great news! The Chapter has received a generous financial donation in support of the Fred Kacena Flight Training Scholarship Program from a Chapter member representing the Stott Foundation and, as a result, we are able to restart our program and offer three scholarships in 2021. We will shortly announce this very exciting news in emailings, social media and our web site, inviting applications from regional youth, 16 to 23 years. Our thanks to the Stott Foundation for their generous support and commitment to youth in aviation. 

We have established a new Scholarship Selection & Oversight Committee to manage the process, to work proactively with the Flight School and to report to the Chapter Board and membership on the progress and achievements of the selected awardees. Join me in welcoming the new committee  – Octavian Codreanu (chair), Jeff Vaughn, Bob Huxster, Dan Gutierrez and Barry Stott. 

I would also like to thank our past Scholarship Committee contributors Matt Chapman, Melissa Ortega and Bert Shipman who managed the process for us so capably in recent years. On behalf of the membership, the Board and past awardees – thank you!

Our web site has more information, sets out the history of our Scholarships and offers the Application Form and Scholarship contact information – scholarship@eaa240.org

If you know of a deserving, aviation enthused youngster who would be a good and worthy candidate for an EAA240 scholarship please encourage and support their application.

Excellent and positive news – for the Chapter, for local General Aviation, and for the successful Scholarship awardees! 

Mike Parry
President, EAA Chapter 240
president@eaa240.org

Mike Parry

Volunteer Help Needed – Saturday

Hey – we’re restarting our Volunteer Work Party teams over the next three weekends, building on the work already competed by our volunteer members in the kitchen, bathrooms and shower room refresh  projects.

Starting Saturday we plan – with YOUR help – to finish the work, hang the new doors, replace the trim, complete the repainting of the deck tables, complete the repainting of the external staircase and re-caulk the building windows.

We need volunteer help – please consider joining us, even for an hour or two. Every bit helps – more hands = light work.

Like to help? Great! Sign up below please. We’re limiting volunteers to four persons per shift in order to comply with distancing guidelines. Supplies will be on-hand – including DONUTS!

Join the team! Sign-up, and we’ll see you Saturday 9am to 1pm.

Questions? More info? click here               

Hangar Manager, EAA 240
 
Volunteer Sign-Up Here!

Mike Parry

Tuskegee Airman Presentation

AeroClub of PA invitation to EAA240 Membership

Thursday, April 22nd at 7pm via Zoom

Click here to join:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85874752083?pwd=b05kOTBtcGZtQ1ZGczRZbGljLzFtQT09
During the current restrictive period we’ve been collaborating with the AeorClub of PA, sharing events, inviting both memberships to our sessions, sharing aviation experiences and speakers. The AeroClub membership has joined our monthly meetings, and now we are invited to join a special session of theirs. See the invitation below, the Zoom details will follow in a further emailing. Our thanks to the AeroClub for the invitation.

We had Gene Richardson as a very special speaker at a EAA240 Membership Meeting in 2011. It will be wonderful to hear him speak of his Tuskegee experiences once again and – if you haven’t heard him speak – this is an aviation must! He made a BIG IMPACT on many members when he was with us.

Side Note : this is a Zoom session. For sure, Zoom has its limits and its detractors. But without Zoom we would not have the opportunity to be hearing from Gene Richardson. Nor would we have had our excellent speakers for across the country: January (Aviation Photography – NJ and NY), February (Taildragger CFI – New Mexico) and March (AeroMomentum Aircraft Engines – Florida). Zoom is bringing us new and varied speakers we would likely never have at our in-person sessions. Zoom will never replace our in-person meetings, which we will resume as soon as we can, But, for now, Zoom works well for us. Join us for this session and for our next Monthly Membership Meeting of Monday May 3rd, over Zoom.

Mike Parry

Cancelling Today’s Work Party

Cancelling Today’s Volunteer Work Party Saturday April 10th
The torrential overnight rain and continuing very wet conditions this morning mean the cancellation of our volunteers efforts today. It’s too wet to paint outside and our new kitchen area flooring is still drying and awaiting grouting and not available without risk to it.

Thanks to the three members who volunteered – see you next time.

Now, what am I going to do with all these donuts??

Mike Parry

New Faces Needed!

More Hands Needed – Tomorrow – Saturday
What’s Next?

Hey – we’ve had the same small group of volunteers stop-by on Saturday’s to help keep our Chapter Hangar in great shape. We’re grateful for their efforts but would like to see some NEW FACES and more hands, to get these projects completed. Please consider joining us, even for an hour or two.

For this weekend  we’d like to complete the external staircase painting. Also, we like to repaint our deck picnic tables and have them ready for when we can all gather, hopefully not too far away now.

Like to help? Great! Sign up below please. We’re limiting volunteers to four persons per shift in order to comply with distancing guidelines. Supplies will be on-hand – including DONUTS!

Join the team! Sign-up, and we’ll see you Saturday, April 10th, 9am to 1pm.     CLICK HERE

Questions? More info? click here
 
 
Volunteer Sign-Up Here!
 
Mike Parry

April Membership Meeting Notes

Membership Meeting – April 2021
Monday evening’s April Chapter Membership Meeting attracted our largest Zoom audience to-date, with 53 attendees and a lot of interaction!

We opened the session with a briefing on the Chapter’s overall status, as Melissa (Treasurer) walked us through the state of funds for the Chapter, noting the current bank balance, recent expenditures, upcoming commitments and projects underway (bathrooms and kitchen refresh, repainting and more). We’ve had very limited opportunities for our usual fund-raising activities but, following the sale of the PA-22 Project and very positive 2021 membership renewals and new members, space renters income, plus generous donations from members, we continue in overall good state. We continue to cover our operational costs and to undertake maintenance projects.

Octavian (Chapter VP) described his efforts to organize great topics and speakers for the May and June meetings, inviting the Wilmington Tower team and FAA to present of their TFR experiences and ‘best practices for pilots’, followed in June by  a presentation of Falcon Jet operations. 

I, (for Paul – Membership Director), reported that Chapter membership now stands at 168, with several new members joining in recent months. I commented that, in this very challenging period, this level of membership – while still short of our 2020 membership level – showed a good deal of confidence in the Chapter, it’s direction and value to local pilots and general aviation.

But the main discussion and highly relevant key topic of the evening was Jon Martin’s (Airport Manager and EAA240 member) discussion of recent and significant airport enhancements, plus the response to TFR procedures and the impact to the airport operations. Given the extent of the impact of TFR’s there was much discussion and audience interaction on this topic.

Jon has been very proactive in working to reduce the effect on airport operations and airport users, including  securing temporary places at local airports not affected by the TFR coverage for N57 plane owners. Additionally, Jon is working with other impacted airports to ensure the operational and financial impact is known by the authorities and increasingly considered when TFR’s are planned. There was much discussion on the topic, and the effect on pilots, local aviation and airports was very evident. 

The zoom session wrapped after 85 minutes.  A recording of the meeting is here, for those that couldn’t join us. (it’s incomplete, but covers much of Jon’s discussion). Password is V9z8U1$^ 

There’s lots happening at EAA240! Stay tuned, and join us Monday May 3rd for our next EAA240 Membership Meeting via Zoom….with even more on TFR’s from the team at Wilmington Tower and the FAA. You shouldn’t miss this one!

Fly safe.



Mike Parry
President EAA Chapter 240
President@eaa240.org

www.eaa240.org
Mike Parry

Membership Meeting – April 2021

Membership Monthly MeetingMonday, April 5th, 7pm – Join Us!
The April Chapter Monthly Membership Meeting is Monday, at 7pm, over Zoom.

In addition to catching up on Chapter news we’ll have an opportunity to get an update on the major happenings at our home base – New Garden Flying Field N57.

Our guest speaker for April’s meeting is EAA240 member Jon Martin, New Garden Flying Field’s  Manager. Jon will present the latest improvements to the airport, and discus some of the medium and longer term future plans, as well as the impact of the Presidential TFRs on the airport and the mitigating strategies available to the pilots based on the field. 

Join us for this timely and helpful update, of particular interest to EAA240 members.

See you Monday!

To join the Zoom session click the link below:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84042609873?pwd=dXlCTVhsOGVuUjlHall2NUJ4dm1BQT09
 
More information, or questions? email us

Renew your Chapter Membership for 2021 – click here!
 
Octavian Codreanu
Vice President, EAA Chapter 240