President's Message

Sam Evans

The month of October made for some excellent flying weather and resulted in numerous activities in the Chapter.  The big event was the shindig Rotan held out at their airport on the 15^th and our chapter showed-up big for some Young Eagle flying.  Bobby Nichols tells me that we flew around 58 youngsters during the event.  471 members attending were Wes Hays, Charlotte Rhodes, Don Bledsoe, David Bradshaw, Tim McMurray, Steve West, Robert Landrith, Bobby Nichols, Harold Cannon, Mark Reed and yours truly.  A big THANKS to ya'!

Then, on the 22^nd, David Bradshaw and Steve Krazer flew over to East Texas for the annual Reklaw Fly-in.  Rek what?   Well, I'd never heard of it, but evidently it's a big event.  David has an article about it in this newsletter, so I'll let him do the explanin'.  I did find out that Reklaw, the name of the town, is "Walker" spelled backwards.  Walker is the name of one of the town's founding fathers.

It's been good to see some increased activity around the hangars: folks working on their planes, cleaning & fix'in-up hangars and of course flying.

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An update on Hangar 3:  The 471 board members reviewed the initial lease agreement submitted by the City and made several change requests.  The lease agreement was then returned to Dan Weber for consideration.  The City attorneys are currently reviewing the requests. 

Stay tuned.

471 Monthly Breakfast set for November 12^th

Our outstanding and nationally renowned monthly Chapter Breakfast will again be held at the Pride Hangar on Saturday, November 12^th at 9:00am. Come on over for some great food and conversation.  Set-up will be at 5:15pm on Friday.  Volunteers are always needed and welcome.

Chapter Officers Elections Set For December

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Nominations Being Solicited

Several Chapter officer positions will be up for grabs this year.  Currently, the following positions will need to be filled by election:     President, Vice President, Treasurer and one Board of Directors chair.

Serving as a Chapter officer can be a rewarding experience.  There are many chapter members that are certainly qualified to help guide and direct our chapter.  This is your opportunity to make a difference.  If you are interested in serving in any of the above positions, or you know of a chapter member that would make a good fit, please see Charlotte Rhodes.

YOUNG EAGLES COORDINATOR NEEDED

A few months back, Wes Hays was asked to help with the Young Eagles.  Wes answered the call and jumped right in. However, Wes agreed to help out to just the end of the year due to several commitments that will be taking-up a lot of his time.  Now, we will need someone to fill the slot.  The

job requires the coordination of Young Eagle events both locally and the surrounding areas.  It often requires contacting other EAA chapter YE coordinators for setting-up events and "getting the word out".  There is a great deal of information, resources and assistance from the national YE folks.  So, be assured that there is a good level of help out there.  Yes, it will take a commitment and some time.  But it is certainly rewarding to see those smiles on those Young Eagle faces.  If you are interested in filling the job, please see Sam Evans.

Chapter 471 Christmas Party On for December 17th

Mark you calendars for EAA Chapter 471's annual Christmas Party!  The party will be held at Fairway Oaks Country Club on December 17^th at 7:00pm.  Another fine video production by Gray Bridwell will be shown beginning at 7:15.  Additionally, election of Chapter officers will be held.  The buffet dinner will be served at a cost of $18.00 per person.  RSVP to Gray Bridwell by December 9^th.  325-537-2496.

Airfest Young Eagles Numbers In

The following information was provided by Bobby Nichols: Airfest ‘05 is over and the Young Eagles operation went very well, many Thanks to some helpful  volunteers.  David Arrighi and Mark Reed handled the flight line.  Harold Cannon and Becky Hays worked the registration table.  Debbie Ulibarri kept the certificates organized and Darla Mawson did the computer Key entry.  Kim Bosher of "Star Dodge" handed out small size T-shirts to the first 100 Young-Eagles.  All these helpers are greatly appreciated as they made their position go very smoothly.    We flew a total of 121 young eagles.  Here are the numbers by pilot:

Brian Bauries                     6

Seymore Beitsher              23

Don Bledsoe                      5

Mick Hammond                  3

Steve Johnson                   6

Ken Keef                            5

Robert Landrith                  15

Wayne McCormick            16

Steve West                        14

Greg Wilhite                       15

Tim McMurray                    13

            Total                      121

Gray Bridwell has reported the following information regarding AirFest proceeds:

Total Income  ~  $13,061

Total Expenses ~ $9,018

Net Proceeds ~    $4,043

Of the proceeds, $1200 will go to Ben Richey Boys Ranch.

471 Members Make Air Trek to Reklaw Fly-in

by David Bradshaw

On Saturday October 22, Steve Krazer and I attended the annual Reklaw fly-in in Reklaw, Texas.  The Flying M Ranch is the host for this event.  It is a 4000 ft grass strip carved from the piney woods of East Texas, just southeast of Tyler.  It looks pretty good on paper, but there are trees everywhere, and a big dip in the runway that really caught me off guard. The runway though is in good shape and smooth. I met two of my good friends from Graham there.  They go every year, and camp. That's how you get the best parking spot, right up front on the runway.  The weather that day was about as good as it can get for a fly-in.  Very little wind, clear skies, and not too hot.  I have never seen so many airplanes in one place.  The number going around was about 300, parked in every corner of the strip, and in the surrounding woods.  The largest airplane there was an Antonov AN-2, the big Russian Bi-plane.  The smallest was a Volksplane.  There was an endless variety of homebuilts, antiques, at least 10 Stearmans, and the usual Cessnas and Pipers.  I'll bet that airport had more operations that morning than DFW.  After Steve and I toured the flight line, I sat down to observe the operations in the touchdown zone, and watch the semi-low passes. Steve was out taking photos, I think he went through 3 camera batteries that day.  They served a good breakfast and lunch.  We got a close look at the new Legend Cub.  They were giving demo rides, but I did not take one out of fear that I might place an order! We departed about 3PM, and after a semi-low pass, headed for home.  I needed fuel so we stopped in Stephenville for gas, and as an extra bonus, had dinner at Hard 8 Barbeque! It was a long, but fun day.  I plan to do it again next year.

~ David ~

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO 471 HANGAR TENANTS

 Due to increasing electrical costs and a 2005 deficit, it has become necessary to raise T-hangar rent to $625.  The new rate will go into effect January 1, 2006.

Who Won the Leather Flight Jacket?

 The nice leather flight jacket being raffled by Chapter 471 was won by Walter Fish.  Walter is a controller at our own Abilene Regional Airport.  The leather jacket raffle brought-in nearly $300 for the chapter.   And, in case you see Lew Jones wearing it, he made an un-disclosed offer to purchase it from Walter. He accepted the offer.

Bridwells Take To The Air For LOE

By Sam Evans

  Gray and his good wife, Teresa crossed the barren wastelands of far West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico in their RV6-A to attend the annual LOE Fly-in.   LOE stands for "land of enchantment".  (From the photos I've seen, it doesn't look so enchanting to me; but then again, I've never been there.)  The fly-in, held in Santa Teresa, New Mexico is actually an RV fly-in.  The folks out there really know how to put on an event.  Along with the near-by air museum and scenic mountains, there were plenty of RV-flying friends and lots of food.  The Bridwells departed their strip on Friday, October 14^th.  Although it rained on Saturday morning, the clouds cleared out revealing a big blue sky.  Gray reports that he and Teresa had a great time.  I've heard a lot about the LOE fly-in and one of these days, after I get my RV finished, you can bet it will be on my list of places to go.   ~ Sam ~