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More on Air CamHere is a great article on the origin of Phil Lockwood's Air Cam. On the right is a typical landing strip for this plane: 600 feet long (you don't even need brakes! ) This plane will be featured in the January issue of Flying Magazine. |
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This will be a great show, with live internet analysis of on-line tools for weather decision-making. Chris has flown his C-210 all over the east for business and pleasure and presents an often humorous view of "getting there" and why you sometimes should just park it and enjoy the local scenery! Please register on the FAA site for a seat and Wings credit.
Joanne has a wonderful place for a party and we are lucky she is again our hostess (a natural!) This is a dish-to-pass event and signing up helps to avoid duplication. The event starts at 6pm and 9 Waterview Circle is west off of East Shore Drive by "The Rink" on a right base for 14 [MAP]. If you need a ride, let us know there will be drivers from the club.
In addition to the festivities this gathering functions as our annual member meeting. We will be voting on NEW By-Laws [html or pdf] and electing our board members. Get togethers like this allow us a quorum of 15 members (necessary to legally conduct business...we will try to keep this quick) Please read through these changes, we have been working on them with the lawyer for four months! To facilitate this process, if you have questions before the meeting please contact a current board member.
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| The two photos above are by Bob Chiang and linked to larger images (click!) | |
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| The Cessna Skycatcher has been the big buzz in the sport plane market since Cessna announced its production. Cessna is the "400 pound gorilla" in the light plane manufacturing market and the Skycatcher validated the whole sport airplane concept and brought lots of investors into the market. . Though Cessna currently makes most of it's money from jets now, the decision to build the Skycatcher was seen as a choice to support the GA training market which initially built Cessna into the successful company it is now. It also was viewed as significant support for the flight training market and addressing the diminishing pilot population. There are now over 100 models of light sport planes flying in the US. Ironically, Cessna's sport plane entry is just now coming to market. This is one of the first Skycatchers flying in the US...42 people came to see this plane at East Hill Flying Club Sunday. | |
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This beautiful WACO Mystery Ship showed up at East Hill this Sunday in the middle of a snow storm! The pilot took refuge for a while then caught a ride westbound. The model was a YMF-5C, powered by a Jacobs radial engine. |
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| Here is our new credit card terminal. Our new service should save us somewhere in the neighborhood of $3,600 by current estimates based on our annual charges. We always prefer checks and paying at time of service is wonderful for the club. We do not need the large slip anymore but please sign your thermal receipt. This machine will also print a copy on request. | ![]() |
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Thanks to everyone that donated to the Cancer Resource Center 5K on October 23rd. There were 700+ participants and 67 teams. We hope to have a team running next year. We raised over $100K right here in Ithaca in a single morning to combat this vicious disease. |

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Thanks to Justin for a Great Presentation!We had a good crowd for the risk management talk from Justin Maas. These airline guys really earn their pay with the continuous challenges of 16 hour days! Many techniques of the airlines can be applied to our everyday flying! Join us for Dave Parkins' talk on the risk of icing flight November 19th! |
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| Takeaway message for all pilots: More careful preparation and continuous awareness through self-briefing leads to a safer flight through situational awareness. The level of detail the airlines bring to accomplishing a safe flight is unbelievable. The greatest risk area in any flight is the take-off and landing. These areas of flight must be carefully planned and always contain "what if" contingency planning. It is especially important to plan and manage the descent phase of flight to "control the energy" on approach and achieve a stabilized final. If you are not stabilized (on speed and altitude) by a predetermined "approach gate" (1/2 mile for GA) a go-around is mandatory for safety. In the airline world this is required procedure; just go around! We can all be safer through incorporating these techniques into our everyday flying! | ||
Aspen EFD1000 Replaced With a New UnitThe Aspen EFD 1000 in N97266 has been replaced under warranty with a new unit (Thanks Jerry!) We were out of warranty on this unit but the gracious people at Aspen agreed to cover the swap. Please make sure that you read the correct operation of this unit here and treat it with care. Having nice toys requires the pilot to be responsible and careful with the operation of the unit.
The auto pilot in N97266 was broken due to pilot abuse. To actuate the auto pilot you have to PUSH the button on the turn-coordinator (gently). Twice now this unit has been ruined by pilots who have PULLED the knob. This totally screws up the inner workings and it has to be refurbished. This costs the club money and that means your flying just got more expensive.
Tonight: Justin Maas, Airline Pilot (and former EHFC CFI) On Safety We will be hosting an FAA Safety Seminar on October 29th featuring Justin Maas. Justin learned to fly in Ithaca (even getting high school credit for his flying through the WISE program). He earned his CFI at East Hill and worked at the club before getting hired by Air Wisconsin. He now splits his time between teaching in the training center, analyzing safety data, and flying the 50-seat Canadair Regional Jet.
Justin will explain the airline approach to safety and how an aggressive system of risk management leads to the amazing airline safety record. Join us for this program and learn risk mitigation skills that can help make your operation in general aviation aircraft safer. Justin also has some fun stories about what flying for an airline is really like...you will enjoy this show. Please register here: http://bit.ly/dk5Ayh This will fill up for sure and you want a seat. We are also looking for volunteers to bake goodies and contribute snacks (or we will fire up a grill and do some pancakes!) Please write me if you can help.
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| Eknath Belbase works in financial services and telecommutes to his job in NYC. He is starting as a student pilot at East Hill | Lemil Cordero is a freshman at Cornell in Engineering. He obtained his private certificate 2 days before coming to Cornell. |
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Mark Finkelstein trying on a Diamond DA-40 for size at the factory in London, Ontario. In the background you can see our Mooney that carried us through the cold front up north: first snow and ice on that plane! The tour of the factory alone was worth the trip...might be a good club adventure. Everyone could have fun with the eAPIS and customs. |
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Congrats to Glenn Cobb!Glenn Cobb demonstrated his independent aviation skills on Monday and flew all alone in N25028. He doesn't seem to mind that big piece missing from his shirt! Five New Members!Please welcome five new members since the breakfast! Doudou is from China and at Cornell as a visiting scholar in the Johnson School getting her MBA. We are trying to convince her to stay for a PHd!
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Great Breakfast: Thanks!We had great weather, super organization (thanks to Peter and Joanne) and wonderful helpers: great time had by all! We had an amazing number of fly-ins (including a Beech 18) Too bad no one could tour these planes. Please send your pictures or post them on the member blog. Thanks to everyone that helped make this a special day. Watch for more photos soon.
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| Morning shift has it's advantages | 1929 Curtiss Robin | |
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| It's good to be busy! | Welcome new member Dimitri Starostin | Mike Meador's "pancake art" |
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⇐ Book SigningThis local author will be signing books at our breakfast. Quite a story here...though I have not read the book. This is a local farm boy who attended the Air Force Academy then had quite a colorful career. Check the website! Curtiss Robin Coming ⇒Please hang up your posters and sell those tickets! |
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Clean Up: Spotless Planes!We had a good turn-out for the plane cleaning event and everything was washed, waxed, and vacuumed out. (Club president, Mario, did two planes all by himself in the morning. Doug Bright cleaned every window in every plane.) If you fly these planes it is important to help maintain them! Thank-you to everyone that showed up. (We polished off quite a few hamburgers and beers too) Saturday morning at the hangar 9am for table and chair pick-up and 9:45 at the club for set-up. The more hands on deck and the easier this goes! Thanks for helping. Write Joanne for a job on Sunday: joannet457@gmail.com |
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Here is our display at the Tompkins Trust Company on the Commons. If anyone wants to stand down there at lunch and talk with people, that would help too!
Getting the word out about our breakfast is vital for the success of this event. Please hang up your poster and sell/donate those tickets to your friends.
We will have the Lightning LSA from Columbia County and a Curtiss Robin (1928 aircraft) as well as the Cornell Raptor Program...lots to see and do in addition to wonderful food!
East Hill Has a Member Blog and Twitter FeedThis is simple stuff: YOU can upload your flying story and pictures with little difficulty (surf for some of the really insipid stories of daily life here) This site allows members to share their flying stories and pictures and hopefully encourages others to break the "50nm barrier" they developed intheir student pilot days. Flying is fun! Share that excitement. Read about Brent Chidsey's flight in a P-51 or see how Mike Meador recently flew down the Hudson Corridor with his daughter on a business trip. Check this out. There is a poll question posted!
We also now have a Twitter feed for the digitally inclined. The idea is to provide more current information to those who look for instant updates. (A suggestion from member Justin Maas. They use it at Air Wisconsin to convey safety information) At EHFC this may be safety or dispatch information but basically very timely and perhaps annoying to those that may be inactive or currently not flying for some reason (We DO try to keep down the number of e-mails). You can view the page on the web here and sign up to follow it here (this will generate messages to your mobile device by web, SMS or email).
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| Try a quick day trip or overnight to a nearby resort! Peter Brodsky just got back from Fisher's Island off the Connecticut coast in our Light Sport Plane. This is a simple flight and only 211nm away. Enjoy the island ease and resort atmosphere. | |
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Visit our Blog for EHFC Member Flying Adventures!Brent Chidsey discovered a P-51 in Kansas while taking his daughter to college orientation...well what would you do? Let's go fly! See more pictures on our member blog. Michael Meador had a business trip to the NYC area so he combined it with a little sightseeing down the Hudson Corridor. See more pictures on our member blog. |
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Congratulations Guy: New Pilot!After three attempts at completing a test despite wind and clouds, Guy prevailed and earned his private pilot certificate. Congratulations also to his hard-working flight instructor Adam Dein! Adam has prepared every pilot this year. TSA Earns the Paperwork Award!Of all the federal agencies we deal with, TSA wins the award for meticulous/ridiculous paperwork and regulations. Four hours sorting through paper and we did not find one error (or terrorist!) Thanks to all members who carefully filled in their profiles (we checked them all!) |
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Jack Henion will present a show on his recent flight to Alaska in his Cessna 210 covering planning and precautions. This is particularly valuable with the recent aviation accident killing Senator Ted Stevens.
Friday, 5PM; (Sept 10th) Fly-In Picnic at Henion's: Map HereThe following day, Friday, we will have our "tailwheel picnic" over at Jack Henion's airstrip in Enfield. ALL MEMBERS INVITED (even you Bob) this Friday at 5 pm. If you want to fly and are qualified, please talk with Jack. We will have our Citabria there giving rides! There is a sign-up sheet posted at the club. This is a "dish-to-pass" format with the club supplying the grillables and beverages. This photo was taken by member Mike Cirri years ago before he joined the club!
Bob Chiang took pictures at previous events that may inspire you...click here.
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Lightning Was Here!Thanks to everyone for showing up to see the Lightning Light Sport. This was flown in by Dave Jalanti from Ghent, NY. This is a unique and still fairly new kit-built LSA. This plane has the same Jabiru engine as Mark's plane but is quite fast due to the streamlined design. We might have this plane on the ramp for our breakfast if the details can be worked out: seems popular! Pictured on the right is our new junior member Nile Gossa with Bob Earle who is learning to fly the CT-LSA at East Hill⇒ |
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Weekend Trips: Maine to Michigan!Here are a couple weekend trips our members flew. George Urist left Friday for Michigan to attend his high school reunion (and some great golf)! This was a one tank trip. IFR currency required however for the 800' and 1/2 mile return! Brent flew up to Maine for a Cirrus owner's gathering (and some great lobsters)! This restaurant is easy walking distance from the airport and a dinner is under $20! |
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East Hill is Now Approved for Veterans Benefits!We received approval from the NYS Approving Agency to accept veterans' benefits on Wednesday. We attempted this once before but the paperwork jungle proved too immense. This time, after eight months of haggling, we prevailed and have been blessed. This is a complicated process but basically we qualify under Chapter 30 (Montgomery Bill) to accept 60% reimbursement for all flight training past private. Under our Aviation Degree program with SUNY veterans qualify under Chapter 33 and can get all their training (including private) paid and even a housing allowance. This second option is coordinated through our affiliated college program.
To start you must fill out the VA form 22-1990; you can download the application from the VA’s Website and file it electronically. If you are currently enrolled in another school, such as a college or tech school and receiving benefits, file VA Form 22-1995. Once you have completed the form, bring a copy of the filed form into the school along with your DD-214, if you are in the Guard or Reserves a copy of your NOBE (Notice of Basic Eligibility).
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Avoid Wingtip DamageIt makes little sense to fix up and paint planes if members keep running them into the walls! There is a newly painted "safe box" in front of the hangar. If the doors are fully open and you stay in this area it should be impossible to hit the wingtips! Please be careful moving the planes and get help from other members when attempting this. Students should not move planes in the hangar alone. |
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Thanks Cornell ROTC: A Flying Great Day!We flew 10 separate cadet flights for the Cornell ROTC. A great group of people, very motivated and talented. Thanks to Cadet Campbell (air traffic controller Scott's son) for arranging this event. Thanks to Eric Hummel for delaying his trip and saving the day!
FAA Fun: School and Testing Center Approved
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You have to love a polite and eager young person ready to learn about flying. Here, Ginny Stromberg is pre-flighting with our newest club member, Nile Gossa. For those that do not know, we have a "junior membership" at a lower rate for young people that are too young to solo. Three individuals have transitioned from juniors to full members in the last year so they can solo at the club. Nile picked right up on this opportunity and joined to be part of aviation at East Hill. Her uncle is a senior check airman with the national airline in Ethiopia.Fly-out dinner this Friday to Hamilton!⇒
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Dinner Friday! Meet at East Hill at 5PM: VJ's is a short walk from the KVGC Airport |
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Doug has the right idea; all your friends will enjoy a flight. Weather is great and a Skyhawk accommodates four so take them all flying.
The Mooney is currently at Finger Lakes Flying Service for annual inspection but all the Cessnas are available as well as the LSA for local sight seeing. The Citabria needs some company too if you feel like learning a new way of flying! The grass runway has been open lately for the adventurous pilots (dual only except tail wheel).
Please Copy (all) Numbers Carefully
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We had a wonderful trip to Oshkosh in the Aerostar. John Hrubos flew out in his Skyhawk and joined us. There is always too much to see and do and you can never capture the whole experience in words and pictures or even videos. I would encourage any pilot to add this to their "bucket list," it's educational, motivational and lots of fun too. Accommodations for everyone were at the "Waucau Stalag" and the return was at flight level 210 and took only a little over two hours. Highlights: »How to increase the TBO of our Rotax engine for $40 in parts (this saves our club $5,000) »EAA "Next Step" program which pays flight schools (like us) to fly the Young Eagles on their next flight and continue their training. |
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| The front office of the AeroStar with new Aspen 1000 | KFDL was jammed with planes and the crew adds oil | |
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| The crew heading to Airventure | New amphibious floats approved for the CT (this is the only pair in existence) | Ballooning on the cheap (sit on the tank) |
Oshkosh Warm-UpHere are a few inspirational videos to persuade you to get to Wisconsin one of these summers. Something like seven East Hill members will be flying out there this week. You can follow the daily events on the EAA Website and plan for next year! ⇐ Here is a plane you can drive on the road when you arrive. Hopefully if there is an easy internet connection so we will post some photos of club members at the show. This guy flew a single seat helicopter all the way from France ⇒ |
Fun Gathering on the Lake: Thank-You Tim and Betsy Fallon!
East Hill On Line Ads Showing Up
There are efficient ways to display VFR sectionals or IFR approach plates without the "pile of paper." The new iPad or the Kindle display aviation data with different apps and success. The legal aspects are discussed in a recent article in FAA Safety Briefing. What would you think of the club getting a couple iPads with subscriptions instead of the "piles of paper?"
This weekend we will tour Elmira ATC, meeting at the club at 9. Glider rides will also be available from the Elmira Soaring School if you are interested in powerless flight.
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Great Vacation: Back at the East Hill Monday!If anyone wants a hint on where to vacation far away from civilization, this would be the place. Up by Queens University Biological Research Station in Ontario there are 1000s of acres where your only neighbors are the loons and bears (and bugs!). |
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New Pilot: David Solomon!You just gotta believe! The first big step for David was to retire. When you are as talented and competent as David, that takes time...they keep hiring you back! Then you have to make space in that newly busy retired lifestylle...yeah! We finally had to just push him into taking the test. But he did it and now can go out and scare his friends too. As you can see, it was about the hottest day you can even get a C-152 airborne...Congratulations David.
Congratulations Gary Schultz: New Private Pilot!Great news: we have another pilot in the club. Gary got interested in flying with RC models and flying with his employer (and EH club member) Jack Henion. Then he came to a seminar at the club and got interested in our simulator...the rest is history. Gary will soon be checking out in the Skyhawks so he can take the whole family flying; congratulations Gary!
Here is a fun little video from our recent breakfast. One of the people on a breakfast flight posted this last week. Some good narration and scenery. Fortunately Mike had a good landing too!
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| Landing well is important to a safe flight. Staying current and practicing (this area and all your maneuvers) regularly is essential to safety. If your landings are getting flat or unpredictable, please get some dual. An annual check might not be enough if you are not flying regularly. This is money well spent. Fortunately nobody was hurt in this incident but we have an expensive insurance claim and a plane out of service for a month or more. We will all end up paying for this incident! Our annual focus on landings this year was meant to address the deteriorating skills in this area of operation we were observing. We will meet to decide on new initiatives to increase safety and your input is encouraged to make us all better pilots. | |
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| Thanks for making this a wonderful breakfast experience; lots of smiles! Peter and Joanne deserve a lot of thanks for all the effort making this run so smoothly. You members deserve the thanks for putting in the work (and doing it so joyfully) It was fun, we made new friends and some $$. See: Mark's Picasa Album | ||
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The View from AirNav |
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| The Runway Cafe in Blairstown, NJ is a great destination for food or a fun stop on the way south. The food here is exceptional and you can't beat the service. If you are lucky, Jennie Novack will be your waitress. She makes breakfast a fun experience! The Cafe is open 7 days a week 7am-4:30 pm and menus are available at the club. The airport has a dedicated website and fuel is currently $3.96 a gallon. | ||
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Plane Crash: Pat Jessup, CFI +2Something went wrong on approach to Lock Haven and we lost a very nice guy and talented flight instructor at Hornell, Pat Jessup. Pat recently married Lise Lemeland and was starting a new life. More details will emerge regarding the crash but apparently something went wrong with the plane on approach from initial reports. |
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We are inviting guests over to our place and we want it to look nice. Please come by and give a hand even if you can just push a broom for a little while. We will be washing the aircraft, sweeping out the hangar and general tidying up the place.
Joanne has promised to fire up the grill with some burgers and dogs so please come by for some food and beverages too. Tomorrow we go get the tables and chairs to have the "diner" set up for Sunday!
We were required to obtain a food permit this year so there are some new food handling considerations you should be aware of if you are cooking.

Great hot dogs, burgers AND RIBS and thanks to members for all the side dishes. We had a good turn out and can you believe it was wonderful weather? July BBQ will be at Joanne's house on Friday July 9th. Get ready for the breakfast this Sunday, June 20th. Still some slots to fill. More calendar items here.

Tom is off to a job in Boston after five years at Cornell, but not without his instrument rating! Tom flew a great test, mostly in the clouds (we just missed the t-storms that rolled through Ithaca) Tom has been a great member and helper at all our events, he will be missed; best of luck in Boston!
Perfectionist Tendencies Anyone?Pilots often are self-confessed perfectionists. This article points out some of the negative implications of this personality trait (doomed to a lifetime of doubt and depression) Maybe strive for excellence?
This study came largely as a result of the Colgin 3407 crash in Buffalo NY in the winter of 2009. The investigation of that crash strongly implicated the flight crew actions and lack of training as causal factors. After years of burying their head in the sand and ignoring the root cause of accidents (deficient prefunctory pilot training), some action is finally being demanded by the flying public.
At every level, superficial training leads to pilot deviations and ultimately safety issues. We have a mandate as pilots to train thoroughly and maintain our currency to be safe. Download this document here.
The Aviation Safety Reporting System is well known for its monthly on-line bulletin "Callback." This short, two-page publication treats the diverse collected reports from pilots and crew seeking immunity from prosecution for safety deviations. NASA also organizes these disparate incidents into subject matter areas and issues reports pertaining to specific operations. Download these excellent guides here.

We had a great fly-out to Melony's Landing with seven planes darkening the skies headed north. Syracuse Radar was busy keeping everyone separated. The dinner was fabulous and we even found three guys from Cortland that came up for dinner also (they were reading our web page) There are more pictures on the member's blog shot by Richard Rand. Thanks to everyone that participated! I would encourage every member to use this convenient airport restaurant so we keep this vital service available.
There are two breakfasts this Sunday: Perry-Warsaw and Wellsboro, PA. This is real "bee hive flying" with lots of planes and lousy radio calls to confuse you; bring another set of eyes and go have fun!

Thursday was a beautiful day to fly and we have a new pilot at East Hill! Julian flew a great test and earned his private pilot rating. For those preparing for the test, please consult this ppt on the FAA IACRA system; our biggest problem was getting the on line application process to function smoothly. More information is available on preparing for your flight test here.
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EAA Young Eagles: A Great Experience at East HillWe flew over 80 new pilots at East Hill Saturday. Thank-you to the many members that donated their day and exposed these fliers and their families to aviation and our flight operation. Special thanks to Tim Fallon for organizing and attending to every detail. Especially missed next year will be Tom Weber and Eric Estey who are graduating from Cornell this spring. Link to Mark Sanford's photos on Picassa <here> |
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Thanks to John, Theodore and Carlos for stuffing the breakfast mailing while waiting to fly. Enclosed in this mailing are your four tickets to sell or give away to prospective pilots (or hungry friends) and a poster to display prominently. We need to really publicize this event and have a good turn-out. Please let us know if you need more tickets.
Also enclosed in this mailing is a reminder about our next BBQ on June 11th at the club. This is a great time to meet fellow members and the grass strip is open for some tail wheel rides (open to everyone) There is a printed calendar of events for the whole summer to post on your fridge; the updated online version is <here>

Johnny Neno, owner of many businesses in Ithaca and perhaps known to most for his airfield on Rt 79 west, was a club member and board president many years ago. His bright yellow J-3 Cub taught many pilots the basics of flying and was generously donated for exhibition in our 40th anniversary celebration in 1994.
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Mike Brown, club member and local attorney gave a very interesting and thorough talk about the battle of Gettysburg at East Hill. It is an amazing feeling to hold the rifle that an actual soldier took into the battle. Mike has swords, rifles, actual bullets from the battlefield and all the NY Regimental insignias. The weekend weather looks terrible for our planned trip so watch for a future date to be announced for our group fly-out to Gettysburg. |
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We had a wonderful evening gathering at the Wings of Eagles in Elmira. Corning Catering provided a superb dinner in the shadow of restored war birds (this is the last time this facility will be available unfortunately). Tom Benenson senior editor with Flying Magazine gave a great talk about his aviation history mixed with safety tips and humorous anecdotes from his past. Thanks to all that attended and helped with the logistics. Thanks especially to Brent Chidsey for providing the transportation for our speaker from Albany in his beautiful Cirrus. <more pix> |
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| Thanks to the dedicated "CT Plane Moving Team" and all who came to talk to the potential pilots. We have quite a few names on a list and passed out lots of information. It was fun watching people stare and point as we drove the plane down there. Brent probably has enough rigging equipment to transport our whole fleet (we're not asking!) These events are what make us visible and continue to bring people into our club. We invited the Radio Control Society to our banquet May 1st. | ||