The food was great, the atmosphere was festive, and we all had a lot of fun (sometimes at each other’s expense).
Nobody needed to be asked twice to grab some food. As soon as the kitchen was open, the line formed.
Once everyone was seated and enjoying the food and company, Bud Swenson, our chapter Secretary and self-appointed Master of Ceremonies took the lead, introducing the membership to the Board and then leading the raffle for the Board-sponsored door prizes. This led to a few interesting discoveries with regard to how our Chapter Treasury is operating. Check out the pictures below!
Thank you all for joining us for this event, and for all the other events we’ve had throughout the year. A special thank you to our amazing volunteers that signed up for our pancake breakfasts and other fundraising events, and helped ups clean and prep the hangar. We couldn’t do what we do without you!
As the year draws to a close, from EAA 240’s Board of Directors, have a wonderful holiday season, Happy New Year, and we’ll see you all in 2026 for another round of adventures!
Finally we got a day where the winds died down and a beautiful Saturday for flying appeared! EAA240 made the trek out to Blairstown, NJ to visit the new Wings Restaurant (new because new folks took the place over from the old favorite that used to be there). It was a glorious day over Allentown’s class C and famous omelets and pancakes enjoyed by all.
Our last fly-out of 2025 is scheduled for Saturday, December 13th. We’ll close our fly-out season with a short trip to Reading Airport. We’d love to have you join us!
Smooth air and nice skies greeted us on our fly out to Cape May New Jersey for breakfast and a museum tour. Four aircraft departed New Garden and one from Wilmington with 12 hungry EAA Members to enjoy a great breakfast at the Flight Deck Diner B-25, B-52, P-51 style. Some of our newest young eagle vets got a chance to fly the aircraft and see the coastline view from above. Following full bellies and aviation stories all told at breakfast, we headed to the NAS Wildwood Aviation Museum for a great look back at aviation history. The trip home from Cape May was just as nice! A big thank you goes out to the pilots and planes completing a great morning in aviation!
The Chapter 240 annual deck party held Sept 2nd had over 30 participants enjoying hot dogs and numerous side dishes including salads and desserts. Socializing continued well into the night! A great time was had by all.
On Sunday, we continued our flyout tradition with a short flight to York, PA. After morning rain showers we launched just as the skies were clearing into beautiful weather for a nice flight to York. Three aircraft held a total of nine aviation minded members including three fledgling aviators who got the opportunity to try their skills at flying the airplanes at lower altitudes. A short crew car ride to the Anchor Down Crabhouse led to a tremendous meal of fresh seafood including crab cakes and shrimp. Everyone seemed to really enjoy their meals.
The return flight included a few flyovers of the Mushroom Festival in Kennett Square seeing hundreds of people enjoying themselves. Then it was back to N57 to tackle some tricky winds on runway 24. Overall, it was a great day. I highly recommend more pilots join us on fly outs as they are always fun and educational no matter your skill level.
Well it was a day fraught with white puffies and lower-than-desired ceilings, again, but that did not keep a couple of good instrument pilots down. Despite having a smaller-than-usual turnout, EAA240 took to the wild blue yonder with IFR flight plans in the works and made the gorgeous trek out to Sky Manor, a stunning general aviation field in the hills of Pittsboro, NJ. Cheap gas and nice views aside, what is the allure of N40 you might ask? Why, it is Sky Cafe, the $100 hamburger joint likened by pilots from Connecticut to DC. And boy did they deliver! Your EAA240 aircrew walked out nice and stuff stuffed and flight planning their next meal at the Sky Cafe. Until next time, Sky Manor! We’ll be dreaming of those omelettes and skillets for quite some time!
It was a great day to go flying and exploring! Five airplanes and twelve people waited for the fog to lift over the Shenandoah Valley to make our way to the Luray airport. It was a smooth flight there, and the fantastic people at the Luray airport shuttled us to the caverns.
After a tour of the impressive caverns, we made our way to the café for a lunch before returning to the airport for the flight back. It was a bit bumpier, but still an easy flight back. Two of the younger passengers enjoyed flying, and several of us commented how nice it was to have autopilots. For one, it was his first time on any airplane at all, and he flew most of the way.
Thanks to everyone for another great flyout! We’ll definitely go back to Luray again in the future.
Our next scheduled fly-out is scheduled for Saturday, August 16th, with Eagle’s Mere (4PN7) as the destination. We’ll plan to depart at 9am, and we’ll visit the Air and Auto Museums when we get there.
Saturday was a very eventful day at New Garden Airport!
Despite the overcast and occasional morning showers we were able to get airborne for our Young Eagles event! Nineteen young pilots took to the skies, most as their first experience in an airplane, and all landed excited and energized from the experience. Many were able to experience flying the plane and communicating on the radio. Parents were so thankful that Chapter 240 could offer such a wonderful opportunity to their young and eager children! Our local Civil Air Patrol members were also present to help with safety as excited Young Eagles boarded planes and proud parents snapped pictures.
As an added bonus we fired up our hot dog stand and served a delicious combination of hot dogs, chips, and a drink! That also was our practice run for the New Garden Air/Car/Tractor Show where we will put our culinary skills to the test. New Garden FBO also hosted a Rusty Pilots presentation. Those who participated also saw many excited kids and parents as well as enjoying a delicious hot dog lunch!
Thanks to all who volunteered and brought excitement to a dreary weather day!!
We will be sending out a call for Airshow volunteers in the next few days. We’re looking at a couple really busy days, with breakfasts being served both mornings, and hot dogs served in the afternoons both days and Saturday evening. Consider helping us with that (it’s one of our largest fundraisers of the year) and register using the links that will be provided in the upcoming e-mails and announcements.
Well, the white puffies put up a fight and tried to hold some good men (and one lady) down, but EAA 240 wasn’t having it. Our skilled pilots safely slipped the surly bonds of earth with instrument flight rule (IFR) flight plans and made their way to Frederick, MD to visit one of our esteemed sister chapters: EAA 524.
Despite a delay of a couple of hours, we were just in time for lunch at Airways Inn with our beloved EAA compadres. Following a nice bite and trading flying stories, we were fortunate to tour EAA 524’s facility and their projects. Wow! These guys really don’t like to let an airplane sit on the ground too long!
Thank you, EAA 524, for your hospitality and your service to the flying community. You guys are doing some really cool stuff. We had a blast and are grateful to have a front row seat last Saturday! Hope to see you at one of our pancake breakfasts or another fly out soon.
After a couple weather-related cancellations, the chapter took to the sky again! Despite a forecast that couldn’t seem to make up its mind, and a president that threatened us with a TFR for our initial destination (subsequently canceled), we kept our options open and chose to fly to Tangier Island.
Four aircraft and ten chapter members departed New Garden around 9am, arriving in Tangier after a smooth and pleasant flight. Some of us took advantage of the restricted areas being inactive to climb to higher altitudes, keeping things cool and providing even more spectacular views on the way there.
Tangier Island was a hot place Sunday. Since the restaurant was still closed when we arrived, we decided to do a quick tour of the island first. For the first-timers, they got to experience first-hand the unique nature of the island and the community that it harbors. We were all more than happy to make it back to the restaurant, just in time for it to open and welcome us with its nice, air-conditioned interior.
We all ordered our favorite seafood, sharing stories and re-hydrating while checking the weather for the return trip. A few pop-up thunderstorms were threating us in the afternoon, so we all decided to depart a bit earlier than initially planned, just to be on the safe side. The plates were empty by the time we decided to head back to the airport, though.
The flight back was uneventful. A few fluffy white clouds provided an amazing backdrop as we cruised high, enjoying the natural air conditioning provided by the higher altitudes. An hour and a half later, we were back at New Garden, concluding another successful fly-out. Many thanks to the pilots that joined us for this event – we couldn’t do this without you! We had a few passengers that had never been to Tangier before, and we’re happy we gave them the chance to visit the place.
Our next fly-out is Saturday, July 12th – we are going to Frederick Municipal Airport. Mark your calendars and we hope to see you there!
The changing weather forecast didn’t discourage us! With Saturday weather looking much better, we decided to move the fly-out back to its original date, and we’re glad we did.
Five aircraft carrying a total of fifteen people departed New Garden Saturday morning on the way to Delaware Coastal airport. The ride was smooth despite some stiff headwinds, but nobody complained. It was good flying time. We all arrived at our destination shortly after 11am, and after a group photo we headed to Arena’s for lunch.
(didn’t realize you could fit that many people in a Skylane)
We all arrived at our destination shortly after 11am, and after a group photo we headed to Arena’s for lunch. The staff there was very accommodating, and we were quickly seated in a private seating area, sharing all sorts of aviation stories as we waited for the food to arrive. It’s amazing how quiet things get once the food arrives.
After lunch, we walked over to the Delaware Aviation Museum. Our hosts shared plenty of stories and details about Panchito and the rest of the exhibits, while our group scattered about the hangar, looking at the exhibits. It was nice to hear the story of how Panchito got its name, and how it went from a WWII bomber to a fire bomber, then crop duster (can you believe that??) before being restored to its current appearance. Also, we found out that for less than the cost of a PPL (but you have to have one and a multi-engine rating to start with) you could get type rated as Second-In-Command to fly Panchito. Any takers?
After spending a good amount of time at the museum, we thanked our hosts and their volunteers for their hospitality and their dedication in keeping the museum aircraft flying and we headed back to New Garden. The stiff morning headwind had turned into a moderate tailwind (it’s never the other way around, is it?) and after an uneventful flight we were all back on the ground.
Many thanks to Bob, our flight leader for this event, for organizing it and keeping a close eye on weather, readjusting plans accordingly when the forecast changed. Thank you to all the pilots who joined us for this event – we couldn’t do this without you.
Our next fly-out is Sunday, May 18th – we are going to Gettysburg to visit the battlegrounds and have lunch at the Dobbin House Tavern, a place built “four score and seven years” before President Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address.
