EAA Ch. 66 

President: Scott Blixt (sblixt@bevcomm.net) (507)744-2613 

Treasurer: Bob Powell (ultralightbob@frontiernet.net)(952) 469-2789 

Newsletter: Mike Schweim (weedhopr@myclearwave.net)(507)245-3390 

website: http://www.1rl.com/liteflyers 
Yahoo Group - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EAAUL66 

Jan 10 Lite Flyers meeting 2-4pm Faribault airport 

December meeting: 

We had a disappointing attendance of only 2 members for the meeting, and we both left 
early. Scott had to work, arrived an hour late, to an empty room. 

Club future: 

Please, everyone show up for this month’s meeting! We need to decide on the club’s 
future! After the last meeting, Scott sent an e-mail to all members with e-mail, and 
to the club’s Yahoo group, concerning the future of the club. According to an e-mail 
from Scott last week, 5 members replied to his e-mail stating that they want to keep 
the club going. Club dues for 2010 are also due at this time. The following is Scott’s 
e-mail: 

Hi guys 
Well, I heard back from 5 guys total. I realize we have several on the mailing list 
that haven’t been members in quite some time. So I didn’t expect to hear from any of 
them. What I did hear loud and clear was that everyone would like to see the club 
continue. Yes, we all can’t make every meeting. I understand that. So I will throw 
this out to everyone to think about and see what comes of it. 
We need to look at our meeting time and day. One person asked that we think about 
moving the meeting to Saturday from 1:30 to 3:30 PM. We could keep it the second Sat 
to keep us on the same weekend that we have come to expect. Sundays tend to be church 
and family days. 
So lets think about that. 
Also, should we continue to meet every month? Would every other month be something to 
think about or would it get too confusing as to whether we are meeting this month or 
the next? 
How about winter only and take the summer off? Maybe just getting together for fly 
ins? 
One thing I would like to see is every member who has an email address be added to 
our yahoo group mailing list. The yahoo group list is a great resource that allows 
instant messaging between all members of the list. It tends to be very low volume so 
no one is bombed with constant emails from the list. Its also a way for any of us to 
share last minute messages that are from the club. 
So, I guess we will have a January meeting. It will be the second Sunday at 2PM at 
FBL. I cant make it this month as I will be working. Mike Schweim will be in charge. 
Let me know what the group decides as far as meeting day and time, and feel free to 
post your thoughts back to the group either with a reply to everyone on this email, 
or the SMUF yahoo group list. I’ll include the info for that at the end of this note. 
If you want help getting on the list, Mike Schweim can help. He is the list leader. 
Please pass this around if you don’t see someone on this email list that should have 
it. And please make sure we have your current email address. 
Thanks everyone. Hope to see you at the FEB meeting 
I hope you all had a very merry Xmas & a very happy new year to you all! 
Scott Blixt 
 

Flying report: 

I haven’t heard of any reports of members flying lately. I got my wheels swapped our 
for skis a couple weeks ago, and got in about an hour of ski flying in. I posted a 
video of my winter flight to my YouTube channel. 

You can see it at www.youtube.com/weedhopr. 

Hopefully the temperature warms up a little, and I can get some more ski flying in. 
(It’s -10 here outside now, -30 overnight) 

Too cold to fly? 

If winter flying isn’t your “thing”, or you’re just looking for something to do on 
the days you can’t fly, I found a website for you. It’s a free, online “newspaper” 
covering all forms of “slow, low, affordable, and fun flying“. There’s quite a bit of 
ultralight material there, and more gets added to the site daily. Check it out at: 
http://machnoneflying.com/ 

Feb 14 Lite Flyers meeting 2-4pm Faribault airport 

March 13 Wisconsin Aviation Safety Seminar, Oshkosh, WI 

January meeting: 

We had a good turnout for our last meeting. There were 8 members in attendance. It was decided by those in attendance to keep the club going. There were a few suggestions on ways to improve attendance. One brought up that Saturday’s might work out better, as Sunday is “family” day for many people. Also Sunday afternoons can be difficult for those who drive long distances to the meetings after church. It was also brought up that with our current membership, Faribault may not be the “central” location for the membership as a whole. It was brought up that Waseca, or Mankato might be more central. Larry Olson passed around some photos of his Skyraider on skis, and also Jim Hansen’s Kitfox on skis. Tim Bjork reported that he had wheel penetration skis for his Kolb, but had to remove the wheels, and cover the wheel holes. The wheels extending thru the ski causes too much drag in the snow. With the Kolb’s light tail, it would tip onto its nose. He made a pair of dollies that he puts under the skis when he pushes his plane in and out of his hangar. 

Club future: 

As mentioned in the meeting report, some thought that Mankato or Waseca might be a better location for our meetings, as the location would be more centrally located for the members. 

I think Waseca would be the better of the 2 choices, as Mankato’s airspace can get pretty crowded when the weather is nice, especially when college is in session. I called the Waseca airport manager, Maynard Stensrud about our meeting there. He said he’d be glad to have us meet there and put their conference room to use. I’ve been there several times, and flew there 2 times last summer. The airport has always been “dead” when I’ve been there. Once, the local skydiving club was jumping, but it didn’t cause any difficulty with ultrlalight operations. They had 1 jump plane, making a flight about every ½ hr. Something to consider. 

Paper Airman Certificates anyone? 

If anyone still has a paper pilot’s certificate, it must be replaced with a permanent plastic card by March 31, 2010. After that date, you can no longer fly using your paper “license”. If your certificate has your Social Security number, the FAA will issue a new certificate, with a new number at no charge. If your certificate does not have your SSN, they charge $2 for a replacement. You can download the forms from the FAA website: http://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/airmen_certification/change_certificate_number/ 

Safety Seminar: 

March 13 is the annual Wisconsin Aviation Safety Seminar. There is no charge for the event. If you’re in the FAA WINGS program, it counts toward the program. I went last year, and found it to be a very good event. In the past, it’s been held in Wisconsin Rapids. This year, they’re changing the location to the EAA museum’s Founder’s Wing in Oshkosh, WI. Information is on their website: http://www.av8safe.org/event.html 

Congratulations: 

I just received word that Craig Skunberg recently beat the deadline, and got his experimental light sport airworthiness certificates issued for his 3 planes. Tim Mahoney did the inspections for him. Congratulations Craig! 

It’s finally available: 

I just received word that the new Aeroshell Sport 2 oil is finally available. It’s Shell’s replacement for the Pennzoil 2 cycle oil for air-cooled engines, which was discontinued in the pint bottles 2 years ago. (It’s only available in 8 oz bottles now) It’s the first 2 cycle oil designed specifically for ultralight and light sport aircraft engines. 
 

UPCOMING EVENTS:

March 14 Lite Flyers meeting 2-4pm Faribault airport

July 26-Aug 1 EAA Airventure 2010, Oshkosh, WI

Aug 29 Jewel Ness End of Summer Fly in/Drive in, Wannamingo, MN

February meeting:

We had 4 members in attendance for our February meeting. Our meeting date coincided with Valentine’s day, and there was also blowing snow. Hopefully that is the reason for the poor attendance. I brought it up about talking with Maynard Stensrud, Waseca Airport manager. With only 4 members present, no decision was made as far as meeting there. Jewel Passed out “business” cards advertising his fly in, Sunday, Aug 29, 2010

Club future:

I e-mailed a letter to all club members, asking for opinions on trying to meet at Waseca in the future. So far, I’ve received 6 replies, 4 in favor of meeting at Waseca, 1 with concerns about the skydiving club jumping there, and 1 making note that it would be an extra 35 mile drive for him, but he’s willing to try 1 meeting there, and then discussing our options. We will meet at Faribault for our March meeting, and hopefully will have enough members present to discuss the idea, and make a decision as to our next step.

Aeroshell Sport 2 Oil:

I received word that the new Aeroshell Sport 2 oil is finally available. It’s Shell’s replacement for the Pennzoil 2 cycle oil for air-cooled engines, which was discontinued in the pint bottles 2 years ago. (It’s only available in 8 oz bottles now) It’s the first 2 cycle oil designed specifically for ultralight and light sport aircraft engines. I checked online at oilstore.com, and found it’s priced at $82 for a case of 12 quarts. $80 a case, direct from Shell.

Flight Planning Info:

I got an e-mail telling about a website that is useful for flight planning, although it can’t legally be used for navigation. http://skyvector.com/ It shows an image of a sectional chart for the area you fly in. You can enter the airport identifiers, and your expected groundspeed for a route you want to fly. It then calculates, and shows the route on the chart, and gives direction, distance, and time to each leg, and total distance and time for the flight. I haven’t played with it enough to find out if there’s a way to plot flights to and from locations other than public airports.

Scott Blixt  
EAA UL Chapter 66 president