The Businessmen's Flying Club held its monthly meeting on Tuesday, September 5, 2000 at the Naper Aero clubhouse. Flying members Bryan Barus, Tom Braid, Hubert Elsen, Matt Forsberg, Harris Hooker, Lonnie Horn, John Jurek, Matt Kenner, Ray Kvietkus, Mike Leavy, Jack Lindquist, Munesh Makhija,, Marc Olson, Don Patterson, Carl Price, Jim Russell, Don Schumann (who had to leave early), Bert Toppel, Ed Vogler, Joe Weston, Jim Williams and Reza Zarafhsar attended the meeting. Social member Floyd Moore, and guest, Marty Schekel, were also able to be with us. Diane Milmont, formerly of the Naperville Flying Club, was inducted into membership during the meeting.

The meeting was called to order by Operations Officer Matt Kenner at 7:30 PM. The newsletter was approved as the minutes of the last meeting.

The details of the Treasurer’s Report for August may be found at the end of this newsletter.

SMOH -- engine time since major overhaul

TBO -- engine time between overhauls

TMOH -- engine time to major overhaul

N739TU: Every pilot needs to be aware on an emergency AD on this aircraft. Apparently there was some change to the gasket materials used after April 1999 and they just don’t have the same useful life as earlier versions enjoyed. As the gasket breaks down, severe and sudden oil loss can cause engine failure and potentially, a fire. Originally, we were concerned that we may not be able to get new gaskets but Lumanair has found some and we will change gaskets at the next oil change. Matt Kenner will create a placard for the aircraft to remind pilots that this gasket must be changed every 50 hours. At some point, only a visual inspection may be required, but for now, if the aircraft goes beyond the service interval, the pilot will be in violation of the FARs and could have his certificate suspended.

There have been numerous reports of problems for the last several months with both radios. Interestingly, Lonnie Horn was one of the only pilots that reported no problems when he used the handheld microphone. Exploring this in greater depth, we discovered problems in the push-to-talk switch on the pilot’s yoke. This switch has now been replaced and there have been no more reports of problems with these radios. If this change puts the issue behind us, we may choose not to go ahead with our plans to spend a significant sum of money on new Bendix King radios.

John Jurek reported that the shimmy damper was loose.

N388ES: Matt warned all pilots to be cognizant of tire pressure in this plane. The POH recommends a tire pressure of 28 p.s.i. in the mains and 34 p.s.i. in the nose wheel. We keep a pressure gage on the cross member of the 182 hanger near the compressor. It is easiest to add air to this plane’s tires if you just turn it into the 182 connecting driveway and push it back after you’ve used the compressor.

Reza Zarafshar mentioned that the reset button for the Marker Beacon does not work.
 
 

415 RC: The annual inspection was successfully completed at a cost of $2332.78 but just after the plane returned to service (and passed the warranty period) the boost pump seals failed. The boost pump was leaking fuel at an alarming rate so inspecting this area during your pre-flight inspection is critical.

Jim Russell took the plane to Lumanair to have the pump removed and then drove with the pump over to All Point in Addison and waited half a day while they replaced the bearings. Leaking fuel flushed out the grease in the fittings and then the leak was flowing in earnest. Jim warned us that the fuel leaks are seen from the centerline of the quick drain at the gascolator on the right side. If you see leaking fuel the pump is potentially bad. The 172R (388ES) has the same system so always be on the lookout. A pump could run 500 hours without a problem or it could fail tomorrow without warning.

This same fuel pump is also used on Beech and Mooney aircraft as well as Cessna, so at least the problem is well understood. To exchange a pump is a $600 expense. Mike Leavy brought up the point that we had barely passed the warranty period and we shouldn’t have to bear the brunt of this expense ourselves. For that matter, why wasn’t the problem noted at the annual? We now suspect that the plane was leaking fuel for a while before we noticed the problem. Matt promised to contact Lumanair to see if Cessna’s warranty could be extended slightly.

No old business was presented at the meeting.

Because of the problems with the 172 radios, there was a groundswell of enthusiasm for replacing the Michaels radios in 9TU with the same Bendix King radios that are in our other aircraft. Bert Toppel even mentioned that we should get the same audio panel installed to make aircraft transition easier for student pilots.

Some preliminary work was done to determine the costs of such a move and we estimate that to re-wire the entire stack and purchase the new equipment that we need, the total cost would be on the order of $12,000.00.

There were several options given for financing this project. Option 1 was an assessment of $267.00 to each member on a one-time basis. Option 2 was to increase the dues by $20 per month for one year and increase the hourly rate on the airplane from $40 to $45. Option 3 was in the same vein – Increase dues by $10 a month for two years and raise the hourly rate for the plane to $45.00. Jim Russell proposed a fourth alternative and that is that we just increase our buy in by an additional $250. Rather than a one-time assessment, you would get the money back if you ever left the club.

Ray Kveitkus put the proposal in the form of a Motion as follows:

Motion to spend $12,000 to upgrade the radios in N739TU to the same Bendix King suite we have in our other aircraft to be paid for in one of the following ways:

1. One-time assessment of $267 per member.
2. A $250 increase to the membership deposit would be required of each new and current member.
3. Increase dues by $20 per month for one year and increase the hourly rate of the aircraft to $45.
4. Increase dues by $10 per month for 2 years and raise the hourly rate of the airplane to $45.

After publication in the newsletter, we could vote on this motion at any time. Naturally, I think we’d all like to see how effective the repair of the push-to- talk switch was to eliminating our concerns.

The 2001 slate of officers was put forward and we will vote at the October meeting. The recommendation of the board was for the following candidates:

President Mark Clements

Vice-President Nick Davis

Treasurer Ray Kvietkus

Secretary Jim Williams

Maintenance Officer &

N415RC Mother Mike Pastore

Member at Large Matt Kenner

N388ES Mother Hubert Elsen

N739TU Mother Reza Zarafshar

Ex-President Bert Toppel

Christmas Party

I noticed that when I was last in the mall that the Christmas decorations are already for sale in the major department stores. Just because it still seems like summer, in reality, Christmas is just around the corner. Be sure to reserve December 3^rd on your burgeoning calendars now for the BFC Christmas Party and White Elephant Gift Exchange.

Since Nick was departing to Vienna, Austria on his honeymoon, Bert and Leona graciously accepted the task of making reservations for this year’s gala at Costa’s Greek Restaurant at 1S130 Summit Avenue in Oakbrook Terrace. Costa’s is located just south of Roosevelt on Summit Avenue (Midwest Road.)
 
 

2000 BFC Christmas Gala

Date: Sunday December 3, 2000

Place: Costa’s Greek Restaurant

1S130 Summit Avenue

Oakbrook Terrace

Time: Cocktails 5:00 PM

Dinner 6:00PM

Oopa!

All our friends, extended families and lovers of flight are invited to join us. In fact, for Ted Voss – Your wife promised that you would come if I sent you a newsletter, so I'll be expecting you both.

Captain and Mrs. Nick Davis were married to on Sunday September 24^th at Christ Church in Oakbrook, Congratulations to Nick and Terri!

Ray Kvietkus passed his CFI Written Exam, Part II.

Ed Vogler has passed his CFI Written Exam, Parts I and II.

Jim Barna 1

Tom Braid 2

Mark Clements 4

Nick Davis 3

Hubert Elsen 5

Matt Forsberg 3

Lonnie Horn 3

Andrea Hoyt 2

Matt Kenner 2

Mike Leavy 7

Tom Lechner 1

Jack Linquist 5

Tom Mooncotch 1

Mike Pastore 1

Don Patterson 3

Carl Price 3

Chris Sims 1

Munesh Makhija 2

Mark Olson 2

Bert Toppel 5

Ed Vogler 3

Joe Weston 3

Jim Williams 4

Jim Waugh 1

The BFC refreshment list was created as another way of recognizing special achievements. Criteria for membership vary with the length of the list. The person scheduled for refreshments should bring beverages and desert to the club meeting. If unable to attend, he or she should arrange to trade meeting dates with someone else (preferably poor Bob Betyoumaran) on the list.

Bob Betyoumaran October 2000

Bob Betyoumaran November 2000

Bob Betyoumaran January 2001

Bob Betyoumaran February 2001

Bob Betyoumaran March 2001

Bob Betyoumaran April 2001

Bob Betyoumaran May 2001

Mike Pastore June 2001

Matt Kenner August 2001

Bert Toppel September 2001

Nick Davis October 2001

Ed Vogler November 2001

Ray Kvietkus January 2002

Ed Vogler February 2002

Ray Kvietkus March 2002

We added one new member in September allowing Jay Mooncotch to resign. Welcome to Diane Milmont, formerly of the Naperville Flying Club. Diane is instrument rated and will join as a Class II member. She got her private ticket years ago but just started flying again 5 years ago after a nearly 20-year hiatus.

Marty Scheckel of Lucent Technologies expressed an interest in joining our waiting list. He is a student pilot with no experience as yet and wants to join as a Class II member.

Ray Kvietkus called our attention to an article in AOPA Pilot detailing how the FAA held a renter responsible for a plane being 10 days outside its annual inspection, not the FBO.

For my electronic subscribers, I’d like to point you to the print edition where I’ve copied Nick Davis’ Never Again article entitled "Snow Bound" from the March, 1983 edition of Flying Magazine.

The Businessmen's Flying Club will hold its next business meeting, work night and cookout on Tuesday, October 3, 2000. Work night activities for our last gathering during daylight savings time will start at 4:30 PM (or as soon as anyone can get there.) The business meeting will start at 7:30 PM at the Naper Aero clubhouse.

August Treasurer’s Report

Receipts

Equity $996.75

Dues and Flying $8,652.07

Interest

MBNA $216.80

Total $9,865.62

Credits to Members

Fuel Away $205.44

Treasurer $50.00

Copy Costs $45.00

Postage $33.00

Work Night Food $82.30

Total $415.74

Payments

Ameritech

Answering System -$14.43

Lumanair

8ES Annual & Tannis -$2,225.78

5RC Annual -$2,332.78

9TU Oil Change -$157.08

9TU Manuals -$261.27

Avemco

Insurance -$2,259.41

Fuel at LL10 -$1,879.09

Naper Aero

Hanger & Tie Down -$439.00

Brilliantize Cleaner -$42.28

Harris Bank

Aircraft Loan -$8,032.04

Total -$17,628.73

Balances

Cash

MBNA $39,208.33

Security Bank $6,478.27

Total $45,686.60

Reserves

739TU Engine -$3,267.90

388ES Engine -$3,738.00

415RC Engine -$4621.00

Insurance -$4,000.00

Annuals -$1,500.00

Ll10 Dues -$2,100.00

Inactive -$4,977.00

Loan Reserve -$15,000.00

Total -$39,203.90

Reserve Surplus $6,482.70

C182 Loan Balance Remaining $134,000