Upper Fifteen, Inc.

Meeting Minutes

12/1/99

Upper Fifteen, Inc.

Meeting Minutes

Present: Barnewall, Dorgan, Heslin, McCarthy, Schramm, Thompson

Prez Schramm called the meeting to order at 2005.

Minutes: The last minutes were e-mailed by Thompson, and a reading was waived.

Treasurer: $3,587 in the bank, $500 on hand for deposit. Members are reminded to pay your bills early. Estimate your flying charges and send Barnewall a check, please.

Membership: 15 Sr., 2 Jr., 3 openings

Rules & Publicity: No report

Flight Standards: No report.

Hangar & Grounds: We need to purchase a salamander heater to replace the one lost a couple of years ago. Jim Welch, our mechanic, needs it to work on the aircraft in the winter. A 150k BTU unit will do fine. The new timer switch is in and will be installed shortly.

Log Books: 144 book is in the plane; 75R is up to date.

Aircraft9075R: A nose wheel shimmy severe enough to set off the ELT was reported. Gomez noted that members may be flying the aircraft without fully understanding certain critical pre-flight indicators. In particular, the tire pressures must be maintained at book to help avoid nose wheel shimmy. Also, several other idiosyncrasies exist which Gomez noted should be covered before flight. An extensive discussion of operating procedures followed, including the comment that someone had jammed in the emergency gear extension handle hard enough that the handle could not be extended in flight. Be gentle, gentlemen. Also, Gomez noted that if leaving the plane for any time at all, set the handbrake at least. If leaving it to sit for some time, set the brake, insert the gust lock, and chock it! Joe also noted the numerous minor squawks were scheduled to be fixed, and that volunteers to take the plane to POU for avionics maintenance were needed.

Aircraft55144: Awaiting steering bushing for nose wheel. Re-rigging work underway and partially successful. We seem to have a firm hand on the issues, and just need the mechanicís time to complete the job. He is only available on weekends. 144 still needs more left rudder trim available in cruise. The metal air filter cover hold-down rod is broken and needs replacement. The ADF knob is still on order, and the#2 comm was reported occasionally intermittent.

Old Business: Schramm opened a discussion of the need for computer scheduling system access from the hangar. He proposed to upgrade/replace the computers there to be Web-accessible. Proposal was tabled pending an e-mail to the members outlining the options and costs.

New Business: The Nomination Committee report is due at our 12/15 meeting. The concept of another post-holiday party was raised, with a target of January or February, similar to last yearís bash at Kirkerís. Bob Heslin raised a discussion of the Clubís governance structure, in which he noted that our bylaws impose a substantial amount of checks and balances which we may not need as much today as 50 years ago. A discussion ensued without action. The meeting was adjourned at 2115.

Respectfully submitted,

Tom Thompson, Secretary