President s Message Board of Directors

Transcription

1 President s Message Kudos/Wow!!! to Jon Wells for 31 straight days of flight. I consider myself to be an active pilot, but I have not flown a total of 31 days in the last 2 years. I wonder if there is anybody else (including military, professional commercial, etc.) who could make the claim to 31 straight days of flight. It is now the time of density altitude, and Jon Wells admirably covered that topic for us at our monthly meeting in July. With a re-scheduled time of this past Saturday (8/1), 7 PAC planes made the trek to Ashe County (Elevation of 3,178 feet) for our Shatley Springs fly-in in order to put Jon Wells' class to practical use. At the approximate time of arrival of 9 AM, the density altitude was not that bad actually. It was only 72 degrees, and it was a beautiful day to be in the NC mountains. At 12:30 though, density altitude was in full effect, as the density altitude was registering at just under 5,000 feet. My plane (Chris Malone, Bob Gentry, and me) departed last, so we saw all of the take-offs. It was interesting to hear the engines winding hard yet see the planes crawl off their departure point. I learned something about aviation yesterday, and we had a great time. If you have not attended a recent fly-in, please stay posted for upcoming events. We would love to have you, and we promise that you will enjoy yourself Board of Directors President: Eric Perdew Vice President: Brandon Potter Treasurer: Chris Werling Secretary: Gorkem Baydar Operations/Events: Ashley Smith Marketing Coordinator: Mike Smith Webmaster: Ramone Hemphill (interim) piedmontaeroclub@gmail.com

2 Simply Thank You Ashley Smith, Page 3 Sharing The Joy of Aviation Ramone D. Hemphill, Page 4 & 5 31 Straight And Counting -Jon Wells, Page 6 Member Spotlight Gorkem Baydar, Page 7 Newest PAC Members, Page 8 Impromptu Pik n Pig Run, Page 9 Pictures from Shatley Springs, Page 10 Virginia Dare Smith Mountain Lake Flyin, Page 11 Pac monthly meeting at Gtcc av3 room 418 Special Guest - To Be Announced

3 Letter from Ashley Smith, Operations/Events Coordinator

4 Spreading the Joy of Aviation By Ramone D. Hemphill A few months ago, I asked Jon Wells if it would be possible to meet my family down in Rock Hill, South Carolina to give some discovery flights during my family reunion. At the time, I was more interested in how much it would cost, not realizing the intent of Young Eagle Flights as a complimentary endeavor. He graciously agreed once he was absolutely sure there were no scheduling conflicts. Of course, there was a hidden agenda on my end; innocent, but hidden. This was my 2nd term as president of the Hemphill Family Reunion Committee, and each elected president serves 2 annual terms (yes, it s that serious). So my goal was to take advantage of the opportunity, and expose the family to my world as much as possible. What better way than to take a few kids up, along with a few parents? What better way than to inspire the minds of a few 4 year olds, 9 year olds, and teenagers? What better way than to earn life-long supporters in the advocacy of General Aviation? The night before flight was the 1st evening of the family reunion. Although I gave the family a heads up earlier that day, I knew it might be a tough sell. Some parents were hesitant, some were extremely excited, and most of the teens were discouraged at the thought of waking up at 6am. But if there s anything I m pretty good at, it s selling an idea I could sell water to a whale! Thirteen folks showed up that morning, half of which were teens who haven t witnessed dawn since school was out. The sky was clear, winds calm, visibility was as clear as the eye could see. Jon Wells and Ashley Smith arrived at least 20 minutes early. They introduced themselves, gave a safety briefing, and the 1st group of eagles took off! Ashley and I stayed on the ground and caught up on club affairs and general hanger talk. Ashley ensured passenger safety prior to each flight. From seatbelts to headsets, she made sure they were not only safe, but comfortable, as this was their 1st experience in a private 4-seater. They made four flights that day within a 2-hour window just in time for us to head straight to the Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte thereafter. One of the kids almost cried because he wanted to go up a 2nd time. Folks were talking about it all day, and the next day. During a reunion meeting later that evening, I ran a slideshow with photos that some of the passengers took, just to rub it in for all of those who missed out. This is what general aviation is all about. I m on a commercial flight back to Albuquerque as I m writing this article, and all I can think about is the impact this weekend had on my family. Continued..

5 Spreading the Joy of Aviation Continued from page 4

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7 Member Spotlight Why I wanted to become a Pilot Gorkem Baydar Just recently, I had to take an impromptu trip to New York for work. As I deplaned and made my way to our company s counter in Terminal 1 JFK, I noticed the Turkish Airlines counter. It was Instant flashback. The last time I had stepped foot on that terminal was when I first came to the United States back in I began to remember my first trip on an airplane from Izmir to Istanbul then non-stop to JFK. I remembered arguing with my sister to sit window-side so I could look out. I remembered seeing mountains with snow on them and soon after the vastness of the ocean. It was a new adventure to me. Most would be afraid to be on a plane for that long, not me. I enjoyed it. Just like Leonardo Da Vinci s saying For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, and I was from that point on. Nonetheless, I took a detour. I discovered girls, fast cars, motorcycles, and I also began chasing the corporate dream. Thus, I pulled the wool over my own eyes. 15 years later, I left my job of 7 years and a comfy salary in pursuit of higher education. While deciding what I wanted to go to school to do, I began looking through GTCC s list of curriculums and ran across their Professional Pilot and Aviation Management degree and I bee-lined for it. I sold the sports car and the motorcycle to have enough money for my private and instrument ratings. I got a job at Landmark -- thought it would be better than selling ladies shoes at Dillard s although I learned a lot about both. To me, it was all about positioning myself for when the opportunities came, and they did. Before I knew it, I was flying with other base tenants at the FBO as their safety pilot. They know (well now we ) how hard it is, they were doing their best to help me seize my moment and I will be forever grateful. Now, I have met all the pre requirements for the commercial pilot rating. I am currently I am slowly preparing for the commercial check-ride. Since word got out at work that I am pursuing my commercial rating, or Director of Operations said once I get my ATP hourly requirement they will put me in the next new-hire class and have the chance to fly 767 s. Looking back, I made some unwise decisions and missed the trees in the forest, but I have started to pay attention to them now. I managed to take picture inside Terminal 1 JFK

8 Newest PAC Members Karen McDermott LeRoy Walker George McPherson

9 Some of us missed out on an impromptu Pik n Pig run earlier in July

10 Pictures from Shatley Springs

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12 Self Serve Has Arrived at Landmark Aviation, GSO Airport The pump is located on the West Corner of the ramp at the MRO (the old Atlantic Aero).

13 Safety Pilot Corner Below is a list of Aviators interested in performing Safety Pilot duties for those who need one. Feel free to reach out to them. If you would like your name added to this list as well please send in your request to gorkembaydar@gmail.com. Let s get the word out! -George McPherson -Ashley Smith

14 Keeping You Informed SkyVector Adds FAA Flight-plan-filing Capability html/ _ _alerts.html Follow The Link

15 Exciting news for 2015! Effective January 1, PAC members who have a flying category membership ($25/mo per individual) will receive 15% off aircraft rental at TAA Flight Training. This expands the membership value to flying members in a number of ways TAA offers a larger fleet of aircraft, a Cessna 150, two Liberty XL2 aircraft, two Cessna 172 s, and a Piper Arrow. With the club discount, you can now get in the air for as little as$92.23/hr (all taxes, fees, surcharges included) in a C150, go get a complex endorsement in the Arrow, or fly a C172 at $121.98/hr all in. Depending on the aircraft, you save the equivalent of your membership dollars as soon as you fly between hours each month. It is our hope that this arrangement will give PAC flying members access to an increased variety and number of aircraft, increase the club s flying member count, and reduce costs to get club members in the air more often! What do I have to do to take advantage of the discount? Just be a flying PAC member on January 1, 2015, active PAC flying members will have discounts already applied to their names in TAA s system, and will automatically be applied when you return the aircraft and pay for your rental. Any members that join as a flying member or switch to flying memberships after the 1st of every month will receive the discounted rate starting on the 1st of the next month. Why is the Fuel Surcharge and/or Sales Tax not discounted on my TAA invoice? PAC members receive a 15% discount on the entire aircraft rental (taxes and fuel surcharge Included), but the way it's calculated may not be completely obvious. Due to the way that TAA's billing system works, fuel surcharges and sales tax are automatically added; therefore, the rate on the aircraft is adjusted even lower than 15% to make it calculate correctly. This is why you may see more than a 15% discount on the aircraft rental rate, but no discount where the additional fees/taxes are concerned. If I become a flying member on January 2, when can I take advantage of the discount? This benefit kicks in on the 1st of the next month cycle so, February 1. Does this apply to instruction as well? No, only aircraft rental. TAA s standard instructor rates apply. For Private Pilot instruction, this works out to be ~$5/hour more on average than what club students currently pay. Based on members feedback on membership value, the Board of Directors voted in favor of providing a larger benefit to the majority of the flying membership base (aircraft renters) with a cost for students that remains close to the same they are paying today. Can I keep my PAC instructor and use TAA aircraft? A grandfathering agreement is in place for current PAC club students who may need additional time beyond 2/28/2015, when the club C172 becomes unavailable. CFI s will need to complete a checkout flight with TAA (for those that haven t already), and PAC will help make that as painless as possible. Can my PAC instructor still provide instruction in my own airplane? Yes, absolutely, these changes only affect those who wish to rent aircraft, and instruction for owners still remains an unchanged club benefit as it has been in the past.