Gather at 6.30pm at the Chapter Hangar & Meeting Room for coffee, snacks, side-bars, viewing the members projects under construction, and hangar flying.
Monthly Meeting commences promptly at 7pm in the Chapter Meeting Room.
Guest Speaker and topic this month (flight schedule permitting):
EAA240 member Matt Chapman – Matt will present on his experiences as Captain flying 787’s trans-Atlantic for a national carrier, and doing something he said he would NEVER do (ask him!). Those who have heard Matt present before will agree that we’re in for a lively, entertaining and information-packed program. ______
Visitors & guests welcomed. We’ll be complete around 9pm.
Bad weather, and the President is in town, too. Three weeks in a row, talk about a rough time!
We were hoping until the last minute that we would dodge a TFR this weekend, but it wasn’t meant to be. We’re canceling this Saturday’s fly-out (March 11th), but join us at the chapter for coffee and hangar flying, starting at 10am, until noon-ish.
Our next fly-out is scheduled for March 25th, and we’re planning to fly to Millville, NJ – here’s hoping for better weather and no TFRs!
We hope you’ll join us for a funned relaxed hangar event, good foods, information sharing and camaraderie.
With a TFR announced for this weekend the Chapter IMC/VMC Club kicks into action, and we’ll hold a group session Saturday morning at the Chapter, starting at 9am.
Chapter members, pilot-and-non-pilots, are invited to join this informal gathering for a broad discussion on the scenario below. It should be lively, instructional and fun! Coffee and donuts will on-hand (of course!), and we hope to see you there for this first session.
Bob Huxster
Questions?: imcvmcclub@eaa240.org Scenario VMC-006-RR Title: Dances with Banners • Type: VMC Club
• Aircraft: Cessna 172, dual nav/coms, ADS-B, GPS (non-IFR certified) • Circumstances/Plan: Returning from Martha’s Vineyard (MVY) to home base at Westerly, RI (KWST). The weather is clear and the air is smooth, but you avoid a direct route in order to stay within gliding distance of shore. • Weather: Current conditions at WST include sky clear, surface winds 220 at 8 knots, and visibility better than 10 miles. • The flight: o Following a briefing with FSS, you preflight the aircraft and find all systems are in good working order. The airplane has enough fuel onboard to fly two hours, and you estimate just 45 minutes in the air. o Descending into the Westerly area, you listen first to the ASOS for weather conditions, and then the CTAF to find out who is in the pattern. It’s about 3:30 in the afternoon, and banner tow flights are taking off from WST to fly along the beaches. o You overfly the airport, enter the downwind for runway 25, and complete your pre-landing checklist. o While on base to final, you hear a Piper Pawnee tow plane report on downwind. You assume he will follow you in the pattern.
• The problem: o While on short final for runway 25, the Pawnee turns final just ahead of you to make a banner pickup on the grass on the south side of the runway. You are lower, but he is about to make his steep dive for the banner pickup which is near the runway and just ahead of where you expect to touch down. Thinking you have right of way as the lower aircraft on final for landing, you continue toward touchdown. Then you begin to wonder what might go wrong, and begin to consider options.
• What would you do?
Join us Saturday to review and discus. See you then!
Bob
More information about the EAA240 IMC/VMC Group is here
A new season of our regular meetings kicks-off Monday…with a very unique speaker event!
Gather at 6.30pm at the Chapter Hangar & Meeting Room for coffee, snacks, side-bars, membership renewals, and hangar flying.
Monthly Meeting commences promptly at 7pm in the Chapter Meeting Room.
Guest Speaker and topic this month:
Meet Jana Leigh Sheaffer – Professional Wingwalker
Jana Leigh has traveled extensively, performing her daring wing-walking throughout the US. She began her career in early 2004 at the Flying Circus Airshow in Bealeton, VA when a friend took her there to see the show. She was captivated as she watched the agile wingwalker carefully maneuver himself across the wing of a 450 Stearman biplane. Her first reaction was “How can this be legal?” and then she thought to herself, “I want to do that!”. After the show, and out of curiosity, she asked if the Flying Circus was looking for another wingwalker. She was told that they were, in fact, looking for a female wingwalker, and if she was serious, to follow up with an audition. She was serious!
Join us Monday, March 6th to hear Jana Leigh’s stories and learn more about what it takes to make a career in this field. She might even try to convince you to join in, if you’re serious about it.
Visitors & guests welcomed. We’ll be complete around 9pm.
Q: For an IFR flight, the pitot-static system must have been checked within the preceding 24 months. When we set the altimeter on the ground before departure, what accuracy must be observed?
Great question and one of interest to both IFR and VFR pilots I think!
A: TFR’s are going to be with us for some time to come, effecting our ability to fly, join Chapter Fly-Outs etc. So, we’ve been looking for ways to continue to hone our flying skills, be able to address questions like the one above and, as a result, I have a challenge for you!
I’d like to move ‘Hanger Flying’ up a notch. I propose that on TFR Saturdays (900 AM) interested members gather to watch a 3 to 5 minute video that describes a flight scenario. These are real-world scenarios chosen to provoke the question: ‘what would you do”. There will be no ‘right answer’ provided; we get to share our ideas, mistakes, and related experiences. Hopefully, hearing from some of our highly experienced members can keep us out of future trouble. All with ‘Coffee & Cake’ that we’ve recently introduced to soften (sweeten?) the blow of being grounded.
We’ve embraced an EAA National initiative on this topic – the IMC and VMC Club – and will introduce it at Chapter 240 in the weeks ahead.The purpose of EAA Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) Clubs is to promote instrument flying, proficiency, and safety. The intent is to create a community of pilots willing to share information, provide recognition, foster communications, promote safety, and build proficiency in instrument flying. EAA IMC Clubs are extensions to local EAA chapters and offer monthly IMC program meetings where pilots can network and share knowledge and experiences.
Non-instrument rated pilots who want to improve their proficiency have an excellent resource through EAA’s Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC) Clubs. The purpose of EAA VMC Clubs is to build proficiency when flying under visual flight rule conditions.
EAA IMC Clubs are extensions to local EAA chapters and offer monthly meetings in which pilots can network and share knowledge and experience. The meetings use real-world scenarios to engage members, and allow a free exchange of information that improves awareness and skills. The intent is to create a community of pilots willing to share information, provide recognition, foster communications, promote safety, and build proficiency. Through the EAA VMC club programs, visual flight rule pilots have improved their proficiency, and they love it.
Chapter Members (pilots & non-pilots) may join either, or both sessions, as they wish. We plan to experiment with Zoom in future sessions and determine if it is a viable add.
The VMC/IMC Initiative is being coordinated by Chapter members Bob Huxster, Dan Gutierrez and Tom Callahan (CFI), who can be reached via the link below.
Starting very soon, watch for a mid-week announcement following the establishment of a Wilmington weekend TFR, and we look forward to seeing you at the IMC/VMC sessions in the very near future.
Upcoming Classes/Workshops at New Garden Flight Connection:
Call Mary at 610-268-2624 to register.
UNDERSTANDING AIRSPACE: March 25, 2023 – 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
$45 to register. Call 610-268-2624
Airspace is designed to safely and efficiently manage air traffic. Understand how each airspace works and the requirements in that airspace to travel from place to place.
GROUND SCHOOL: March, 2023: Runs for 10 consecutive Wednesday evenings from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Begins March 29 through May 24, 2023.
$450 to register. Class size will be limited; so registration is on a first call, first served basis.
Prepare to take the required Knowledge Test for a Private Pilot Certificate. This is a classroom setting, and the fee includes all textbooks, plotter, E6B, charts, handouts, etc.
