The Businessmen's Flying Club held its monthly meeting on Tuesday, November 7, 2000 at the Naper Aero clubhouse. Flying members Jim Barna, Bryan Barus, Bob Betyoumaran, Tom Braid, Mark Clements, Hubert Elsen, Lonnie Horn, Andrea Hoyt, Ray Kvietkus, Munesh Makhija,, Diane Milmont, Marc Olson, Don Patterson, Mike Pastore, Bert Toppel, Ed Vogler, Jim Williams and Reza Zarafhsar attended the meeting. Guest Bruce Hanson who just moved to Naperville from Maryland joined us at the meeting. With the pressure of relocating he isn’t quite ready to join a club now, but he had been a V.P. at his former club.

The meeting was called to order by President Mark Clements at 7:30 PM. The newsletter was approved as the minutes of the last meeting after several annotations and corrections as follows: Andrea Hoyt was present and Hubert was not. Diane mentioned that her husband Rich was not a surgical nurse. – Sorry Rich, she didn’t say what you really do. I heard that you will be at the Christmas Party on December 3^rd, so I’ll ask you to tell me yourself. Bryan Barus has been flying not with Bert Toppel but with Mark Clements.

Ray mentioned that 739TU flew 401 hours in the last 12 months and 388ES flew 132 hours in the four months since we acquired the plane. The 182 has flown 281 hours in the 10 months since we purchased it in Virginia. The average hours were 33.4 hours per month for 9TU, 33 hours/month for the new 172 and 28.1 hours per month for the 182. I hope that you all will be able to continue flying often through the winter months!

The details of the Treasurer’s Report for October 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: The GPS unit has been returned to service and works great! It seems there was nothing wrong with the unit other than an internal battery that needed replacement. We spent $195 to update the database while we had the unit at the factory. At the meeting it was reported that the landing light was out. This has now been repaired and we have changed the oil and replaced the gasket. Mark Clements learned that there is a permanent fix for the AD that involves a gasket molded onto an adapter plate.

We purchased a case of 24 bottles of oil additive at $15 per bottle. Please be sure to take a bottle of additive to Luman to save the mark-up whenever we have the oil changed.

During the month, the carb heat cable broke. Nick Selig, (our resident Naper Aero A&P) was able to install the new cable we ordered from Lumanair in time for Thanksgiving flying.

The radios are working fine but Hubert Elsen and I found that the VORs were off 10 degrees from NAV 1 to NAV2. This will have to be calibrated before we would recommend the plane for actual IFR.

N388ES: The GPS/NAV switch for the autopilot still does not work and needs to be replaced. We’re waiting for a loaner to become available at JA. They will remove our switch, replace it with the loaner unit and send ours to the manufacturer for repair. This may be an ongoing issue for the next several weeks. In the meantime, the NAV switch will couple the autopilot to the VOR heads or you can use the heading bug to follow the recommended GPS course.

The GPS display blanked out for one of our pilots. I flew the plane yesterday and noticed that the display on the left side appeared to be shimmering but was always visible. If you experience any problems please let Hubert know.

Please put the fuel strainer in the flight bag so the next pilot will always know where it is.

The seatbelt on the pilot’s side is not retracting properly and in fact, locked up completely on Mike Pastore.

There was a complaint that the rear tire block in the hanger is hitting the fairing before the tire. We need to cut this down a little to avoid scuffing the fairing.

The baggage door is still stiff but should loosen with time.

The bottom of the plane is very dirty and covered with oil. When you fill up to oil reservoir, the excess can blow out the breather tubes into the underbelly of the plane. Mike Pastore would like to get a washing crew together for all the planes between Christmas and the New Year – weather permitting. More on this to follow and all volunteers are welcome.

415 RC: Mark Clements received a new data card for the GPS on the day of the meeting and planned to install the card the next day. (Ray Kvietkus has the subscription for 388ES.)

JA had to do our pitot static inspection because the qualified technician at Lumanair has left the company.

There are telephone canvassing operations going on to assure your attendance at the Christmas Party on December 3^rd. Please call Nick Davis at home 630-393-0539 with your reservation and meal choice immediately! We would love to have a great turnout and everyone’s invited - new members, old members, potential members and inactive members, family and friends.

The Christmas Party

Christmas is just around the corner. Be sure to reserve Sunday evening, 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 Mediterranean Dining at 1S130 Summit Avenue in Oakbrook Terrace. Costa’s is located just south of Roosevelt on Summit Avenue (Midwest Road.)

Directions: 1-88 East to Midwest Rd. North. Midwest turns in to Summit and Costa’s is on the west side of the street with free valet parking!

Now Nick and Terri are back and to celebrate her birthday they went to dinner at Costa’s and loved it! We will have a private room of our own up a few stairs from street level. It comes with our own cash bar, fireplace and bathrooms. We will have room for lots of people in these luxurious accommodations so please be sure to invite everyone!

"The cost will be $32 per person for everything including Tax, Tip, Doc Fee and Delivery." - Nick Davis

Appetizers:

Saganaki (Flaming Cheese)
Fried Calamari (Squid)
House Salad: Small Caesar

We will have three menu choices.

1. Classic Athenian Chicken – Marinated Broiled and Basted with Fresh Lemon Juice and Oregano. Potatoes and Green Beans complement the entree.
2. Athenian Filet Mignon – Thick Center Cut, Grilled with Portabello Mushrooms, Basil Potatoes, Asparagus with Athenian Red Wine Demi-Glaze. Green Beans are included as well
3. Salmon – Unaffiliated with any particular city, Nick didn’t tell me how this would be cooked. (Just use your imagination.) Potatoes and Green Beans are side dishes included with this entree as well.

Nick asks that you call him as soon as possible (630-393-0539) with your reservation and menu choices. This is not to say that we cannot tolerate any last minute additions to the guest list (bring ‘em on) but the chef, whose name also happens to be Nick, said that he wanted a rough idea before we arrived. (We have guaranteed a minimum of 45 people but this fabulous room could easily accommodate 70.)

2000 BFC Christmas Gala

Date: Sunday December 3, 2000
Place: Costa’s Greek Restaurant
1S130 Summit Avenue
Oakbrook Terrace
Ph: 630-620-1100
Time: Cocktails 5:00 PM
Dinner 6:00PM

Oopa!

RSVP to Nick Davis at 630-393-0539 by Nov. 24^th with Menu Choices for your party.

All our members, inactive members, former members, social affliates, Naper Aero residents, friends, extended families and lovers of flight are invited to join us. In fact, we’ve already heard from Larry Bothe and he and Pat will be there!

As part of this extravaganza, please plan to bring a White Elephant gift for each person. I have no idea where the name comes from, but the gift should be something that would normally be given away or thrown away. This is not something you should buy, but rather something expendable. Wrap it up in a nice package and bring it along. It does not need to be aviation related. But come to think of it, I do have that little toy plane from two years ago that I could recycle. That was the year that Bert and Andrea got eaten by a Wildcat and Leona gave Bert a 747 for Christmas. Andrea should have finished those Dick Francis novels that she received by now. At the party, each person who brings a gift can also pick one out for themselves. Nick has arranged for a special White Elephant table in our private room.

We’ve been having a number of problems with people cleaning the planes after using them. With two gleaming, new aircraft, we’d like to keep the finish pristine for many years. Often, its as simple as cleaning off the bugs right after you fly so that they don’t interact with the finish. Soda cans, oily paper towels and other trash should also be removed immediately after flight.

I can tell you from personal experience that for one person, it takes 30 minutes to clean off the bugs from every leading edge surface. This includes not only the wings, fairings, struts, and elevator but also the vertical stabalizer, trailing edges of the elevator and pretty far back along the fuselage. (I’ve found bugs on the front of the 182 that were back as far as 14 inches.)

You’ve got to fetch the pail of water from the hanger. (OK, I know it was frozen solid the other night but bugs are not as prevalent when it’s 10 degrees outside.) Please use only the Brilliantize and a soft towel on the Plexiglas of the windscreen. I’m 5’8" and I have to fetch the ladder just to get to the top of the wings of 9TU. You’ll need it too unless you are 7 feet tall according to my calculations. (If you are 7 feet tall, you can’t fit in the 172s anyway.)

Now, just in case you think I’m getting a little preachy here, I’d like you to know that I voted against the proposal for fines that was passed by the membership. I don’t like being a tattletale - it reminds me too much of the teacher’s pet in the second grade. But I also fly a lot. I fly all of the airplanes. I know who the two slobs are in the club. Unfortunately, you two now have the whole club mad at you so the membership voted to fine you if you ever do it again.

Another problem is flying through oil changes. Now this is a double-sided problem. I’ve flown through them and Matt Kenner was very gracious in pointing out my error. I vowed never to do it again. I felt bad. Guilt descended on my consciousness. Jack Lindquist and I changed the oil together (Thanks for helping Jack!) one cold February afternoon after only 12 hours because someone hadn’t changed the placard after the 9TU annual. Now, the placards are much easier to read and better maintained. You will need to be shown how to change the oil. I’ve been shown once and Jack and I had to call Mark twice last time. For the moment, however, we’re faced with an AD on 9TU gasket that requires that it be replaced every 50 hours. We’ve synchronized with the Lumanair oil change and they are now changing the oil every time. Your responsibility now is to call the plane mother and coordinate delivery to Lumanair for maintenance.

I’ll let you know when we have a 50+ hour solution for the gasket problem. Until then, we’ll have all the oil changed at Lumanair.

A Motion was made and carried to change our Rules and Regulations to add a $20 fine for a member’s failure to clean the airplane or fly through an oil change.

We have been very lucky and were able to renew our insurance with no difficulty. However, we must be even more proactive to continue to improve our safety record. The club’s Board of Directors recommends a voluntary check ride for each member on an annual basis. This check ride can also be part of a BFR or Wings certification. Club instructors will charge their normal rates and work with you on the things that they think you need.

Instructors will reserve the right to ask you not to fly the airplanes if they find serious deficiencies until you have received proper remedial training. You should plan to take your check ride in the most sophisticated airplane that you fly.

This requirement would also be satisfied if you attained a new rating or Wings level as well. I will be adding a check ride date to the roster so that you will be able to track your progress.

A motion was made and carried to require an annual check ride for all members with a club instructor.

Hubert shared with us how difficult it had been for him to achieve his CFI rating. The oral exam lasted for 3 ½ hours! Hubert said that the most difficult thing was re-learning what you’ve forgotten during the long months of preparation. "This was the most difficult rating so far. The book work is very challenging." Congratulations to Hubert for his outstanding achievement.

We are hoping to hear at the Holiday Party about Ray Kvietkus’ check ride for his CFI rating.

Tom Lechner soled in the 172 on October 28^th. Congratulations, Tom! Tom had also soloed in the 150 just before we sold the plane.

Marc Olson soloed at Clow International on October 13^th. He had been taking instruction early in the mornings. Marc said he did two landings to a full stop and greased both! Congratulations, Marc!

Mike Pastore writes: "Big kudos to Bryan Barus for volunteering his services as our new Hanger Captain. If you haven’t noticed, the 182 hanger and cabinets are organized and clean! He did this work for us last week. Bryan will keep track of supplies for us, and plans to prepare a "cleaning guide" which will help make sure we know what stuff to use for what, and when."

Ken Leibach just received his Wings Level 6 award on October 31 in order to satisfy BFR requirements and became our most decorated pilot.

The BFC refreshment list was created as another way of recognizing special achievements. Criteria for membership vary with the length of the list. (The list is so long now that you have to become a CFI to be included!) 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 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
Hubert Elsen April 2002
Tom Lechner May 2002

John Jurek has decided to resign and was replaced by Marty Scheckel. Marty is in sales for Lucent Technologies and did his check ride with Bert. Marty is a student pilot and will now learn to fly with Ray Kvietkus as his first primary student. Marty met Ray through his wife Deborah and has a brother who is a pilot. John Jurek was kind enough to offer all of his airplane manuals to Marty to help him get started.

A brochure on Winter Icing was passed out at the meeting to all interested parties.

The Businessmen's Flying Club will hold its next business meeting after the Holiday Banquet at Costa’s in Oakbrook Terrace on December 3^rd. Cocktails are at 5PM and dinner starts at 6:00 PM. A brief business meeting and recognition ceremony will be held at the end of the dinner.

October Treasurer’s Report

Receipts

Equity $1,157.20

Dues and Flying $6,2,04.61

Interest

MBNA $158.61

Total $7,520.42

Credits to Members

Fuel Away $0.00

Treasurer $50.00

Copy Costs $12.50

Postage $33.00

Work Night Food $94.74

415RC Fouled Plugs $92.59

GPS Shipping $49.69

Total $332.52

Payments

Ameritech

Answering System -$15.68

Lumanair

Oil Additive -$373.94

8ES Seat Rail -$624.81

9TU Nose Strut -$481.66

5RC Oil and Landing

Light -$246.51

Equity Refund

Schumann -$3,750.00

Fuel at LL10 -$1,413.86

Naper Aero

Hanger & Tie Down -$439.00

Annual Dues -$2,025.00

Safe Deposit Box -$40.00

State of IL annual Report -$5.00

8ES Beacon, Oil &Tire -$602.47

Harris Bank

Aircraft Loan -$4,876.92

Total -$17,566.85

Balances

Cash

MBNA $26,249.39

Security Bank $4,818.92

Total $31,068.31

Reserves

739TU Engine -$3,723.30

388ES Engine -$4,333.00

415RC Engine -$5,250.00

Insurance -$2,000.00

Annuals -$2,500.00

Ll10 Dues -$175.00

Inactive -$4,977.00

Loan Reserve -$5,000.00

Total -$27,958.30

Reserve Surplus $3,110.01

C182 Loan Balance Remaining $121,000.00