The Businessmen's Flying Club held its monthly meeting, which also was our first work night for this year, on Tuesday, April 2, 2001 at the Naper Aero clubhouse. After taking a brief consensus by all members present, it was agreed to start the meeting early. Thus, the meeting was brought to order at 7:05 PM by the club’s president Mark Clements. The following members attended the meeting:
 

Bryan	Barus
Ken	Best
Tom	Braid
Mark	Clements
Hubert	Elsen
Lonnie	Horn
Ray	Kvietkus
Tom	Lechner
Jack	Lindquist
Munesh	Makhija
Diane	Milmont
Don	Patterson
Mike	Pastore
Saeed	Razfar
Bert	Toppel
Reza	Zarafshar
Guests
Rick	Patelski
Bryan	Totten
Pat	Wager

Since the paper mailing of the newsletter apparently had not reached all members in time, Mark made a motion to accept the electronic version of our newsletter as minutes of the last meeting. Bert Toppel seconded the motion and the minutes were accepted without amendment.

	388ES	739TU	415RC
FLYING	25.7	20.3	28.4
SMOH	570.3	502	621.2
TBO	2000	2000	2000
TMOH	1429.7	1498	1378.8
CLUB	2.2	2.3	0.5
GAL/HR.	10.3	8.0	11.5

SMOH -- engine time since major overhaul
TBO -- engine time between overhauls
TMOH -- engine time to major overhaul

N739TU: The fuel drain on the left wing is leaking. (Don’t light up under the wing!)

Mark complimented Mike Pastore on the great job he did installing new carpeting in 9TU. Mark said he looked out his window and saw Mike working on 9TU, doors open all seats removed, stuff all over the place…. It reminded him of a crash scene! Mike put in 9 hours of hard labor (for which he will get a work night credit…or three!) to get the job done. It looks great-check it out!

Reza commented that Luman had put a warning label next to the filler neck on one of the wing tanks, which reminds everyone not to rest the hose on the wing or the tank opening. Reza thought we should have these on all the planes, which prompted Mark to remind everyone how to properly fuel the aircraft: Put the hose over your shoulder to keep it off the wings!

After the meeting, Ray sent an e-mail detailing the annual inspection costs for 9TU:

• Basic Inspection (includes oil change and compression test) - $1, 080.00
• Replace intake gaskets and rocker cover gaskets and replace baffle - $150.00
• Replace air filter - remove & reinstall magneto - $168.00
• Replace cabin vent knob and static wick on rudder - $36.00
• Remove fuel tank - $216.00
• Test ELT - reinstall fuel tank - install new drain and gaskets - $792.00
• Install new brake pads - service wheel bearings - replace pilot's side door

• Inspect seat rails and rollers - $192.00
• Magneto inspection - $280.00
• Carpet - $343.00
• Fuel tank repair - $35.00
• Parts - $620.00 (including 8 quarts of oil - can this aircraft use that much??)
• Freight - $75.00
• Tax - $83.00
• Total Cost $4,370

Reza and Ray said that they had problems again with the seat belts. We also still seem to have a problem with the rotating beacon, which tends to work intermittently. All of these issues will be addressed during the next trip to Luman.

Unfortunately, we have one of those intermittent electrical problems with the

GPS/NAV switch. Several pilots have reported a failure to track the GPS CDI with the autopilot but its worked fine for others.

JA did not replace the switch originally. They thought the problem was a loose wire. We had subsequent reports of problems so JA put one of their switches in our plane until a replacement is available from Cessna.

Angie McHale took a ride with me in 388ES on Saturday and found only 17psi in the mains an d20 psi in the nose wheel tire. Ed Vogler had a portable compressor with him so using cigarette lighter power we soon had 34 psi in the nose wheel tire and 28 psi in the mains as specified in the POH. As the temperatures change, please make tire pressure a part of your pre-flight examination.

415 RC: No squawks. Except for the seat cable repair in November, this has been our most reliable aircraft.

Nick and Terry have cancelled their proposed 3-week flight to Alaska so please feel free to reserve the aircraft in May!

We need to have a better turnout for our work night in order to get all airplanes washed and waxed. Whoever arrives first (around 4:30 PM) should kick off the event by bringing down the ladders, buckets etc. If need be, the planes can be "driven’ to the pump area. Our turnout for the first meeting was rather meager and we only managed to wash and wax 388ES. Mark pointed out that this is a good time for our newcomers and students to get to know the airplanes and your fellow pilots.

Special kudos to guest Pat Wager who came early and helped with the cleaning of the aircraft. (Doesn’t that move you up one notch on the waiting list?)

Mark asked for some help to buy and prepare the food for our work nights. Ray volunteered to do the job. We are all looking forward to see what Chef Raymond can serve up! Food critics beware that any negative comments may land you the job!!

Mark brought us up to speed in regards to our by-laws. The board had wanted to get a complete set to the membership prior to this meeting. Since all the previous changes were approved by the membership, the board thought that Mike Pastore could just incorporate all of the most recent changes and post the up-dated version on the web without having to vote on it again. However, Mike had to make some more changes to make the new bylaws ‘politically correct’. The revised by-laws will now be mailed to every member for review. At the next meeting we will vote and after acceptance they will be posted on our Web Site.

At the last meeting Matt had told us about a cell phone tower possibly being built on Book and 87t^h. On April 18^th, just before the scheduled meeting at Naperville City Hall, Sprint responded to our lobbying effort to cancel construction of a cell tower near Naper Aero. This tower would have posed a significant hazard to operations on Rwy 18.
 
 

In case you haven’t noticed, there is also a cell phone tower about 1/2 Mile south of the airport on Rte 59!!

According to Mark a Cosco superstore will be built on the southeast corner of 75 and Rte 59. Runways 9/27 will not be affected by the building.

Some members complained about the hangar doors for 415RC. Mark said major upgrades would be coming in the next few years. First on the list, slated for this year, is the replacement of the pumps. The grounding wire reels will be replaced (hallelujah) and will be electric (no kidding). The hangar doors will be replaced in 2004 with bi-fold doors and garage door type openers. (Wow, imagine being able to open the hangar doors while on final!)

A Federal court dismissed the Brach lawsuit, however, their lawyers have now filed an appeal with the Federal Appeals Court. The verdict is still out – it will probably take at least 6 months to reach.

Mark reported on a Aero Estates resident pilot who came in at night (flying a C-210), lined up with what he thought was 36, but instead he found himself lined up with Aero Drive. Mark tried to simulate the approach the following night, and yes it is quite possible to confuse Aero Drive with 36. The lights in front of the bank can easily be mistaken for the lights around the pumps, and the streetlights can give the illusion of runway lights. Apparently Naper is looking into the possibility of installing a small rotating beacon on top of the clubhouse to help with situational awareness at night. All the streets were designed to be winding – please see the aerial photograph in the clubhouse.) You should also see VASI lights when you are aligned with 18/36.

We had no change in membership for several months and now we have seven people eager pilots on our waiting list. Ray raised the question if we should approach the non-flying members in the club to see if they wanted to go inactive. (We have a number of folks who have not flown at all during the last year.) Inactive members move to the top of the waiting list if they want to return to full roster status and it saves $660 a year in dues.

Bert reported that this topic has come up several times in the past, but in the end it was always left up to the individual member to make that decision. Do we have any active, non-flying members out there that want to change their status to inactive? If so, please contact Ray Kvietkus.

Naperville Flying Club has offered to help by providing our waitlist folks a provisional membership. Ray Kvietkus has been checked out to provide flight instruction in NFC airplanes while you are waiting for an opening in the BFC. Pat Wager is the first person to take advantage of this generous offer and will be taking lessons from Ray.

Ed "The Eagle" Vogler passed his CFI check ride and is now truly certified! Ed reported that the check ride was rather intensive; but after a 4 hour oral, a one hour flight, and several meals in between, Ed passed with flying colors!

Mark received a nice recognition from the local EAA chapter in Schaumburg for helping out with their Young Eagles program.

Congratulations to both of you!

Don Patterson has changed jobs recently moving to MCL, an engineering oriented company closer to his home. MCL makes microwave amplifiers for satellite communications, but Don reports that most of the design work is power supplies and control and communications electronics.

This e-mail was sent in by our newest professional pilot in training, Matt Kenner. He is out in California at a ratings farm

Well, everyone said they wanted to be updated. Here is update 1.

I arrived without many hassles, other than having to get up at 3:15 in the morning to catch my flight, last Saturday (3/31). That day I met two of my three apartment mates. Both started the program within a month of me. One has about 500 hours, an MEL rating, but no instrument rating. The other has a private with about 150 hours.

My training partner (whom I will be paired with the entire time I am here) arrived on Sunday. Sam has about 120 hours and a private. He also is married, has 3 kids, is 41 and took a voluntary lay-off from Boeing where he worked on structural analysis (FEA, the same thing I did in a former life). Sam’s a good training partner and we seem to work well together.

So, I know you all want to know how much flying I have been doing. None so far. The program is designed to begin with a lot of simulator work and studying. On top of that, our instructor has been very busy getting his other students ready for their instrument check rides. Suffice it to say we have only been able to imagine what it must be like to be in the wild blue (or gray, as the case may be.) The sim has been very frustrating, as it doesn’t seem to be simulating an airplane (maybe I am no good at simulating a pilot?). It will make me a better instrument pilot and I am adjusting to its idiosyncrasies.

By the way, I am the youngest in my apartment (didn't expect that), but am older than my instructor. When we first met, I had more total time than my instructor, but not by much. He has probably passed me at this writing. That means he has slightly more than 400 hours -- all in the last 8 months. Quite a pace! Seems like a very competent guy and should be a good instructor.

MatthewKenner@netscape.net

The BFC refreshment list was created as another way of recognizing special aeronautical 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 on the list.

Nick Davis May 2001
Ed Vogler June 2001
Ray Kvietkus August 2001
Ed Vogler September 2001
Ray Kvietkus October 2001
Hubert Elsen November 2001
Tom Lechner January 2002
Bryan Barus February 2002
Ray Kvietkus March 2002

Work Night Credits
Tom Braid 1
Bryan Barus 1
Mark Clements 1
Hubert Elsen 1
Ray Kvietkus 1
Tom Lechner 1
Jack Lindquist 1
Munesh Makhija 1
Mike Pastore 3
Saeed Razfar 1
Bert Toppel 1
Pat Wager (guest) 1

The Businessmen's Flying Club will hold its next business meeting on Tuesday, May 8 2001 at the Naper Aero clubhouse, at 7:30pm. Preceding the meeting will be our second work night. Please try to make it early. We need all the help we can get.