May 15, 2008 Fishers' Train Station In This Issue:

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April 2008 Volume 7, Issue 4 NEXT MEETING: May 15, 2008 7pm @ Fishers' Train

Duane Knotts As well, as a word from George in our President's Corner, a word from

1 April 2008 Volume 7, Issue 4 NEXT MEETING: May 15, 2008 Fishers' Train Station In This Issue: George Saunders accepting the deed to the airport from Duane Knotts As well, as a word from George in our President's Corner, a word from Ron Clarke about fundraising, and a few more words from Nyal about the history of the airport.

2 Calendar April 19 6:00 pm Homecoming Our New Home! May 08 7:00 pm Board Metting 15 7:00 pm Club Fishers' Train Station June Women's Soaring Pilot's Association seminar at Alexandria Winter Storage Is OVER! Grab yourself a glider and GO FLY! NOW! You know you want to! YOU MADE IT HAPPEN The first phase of the "Field of Dreams" campaign to raise funds for our down payment has been very successful thanks to the generous members of our club. The Capital Campaign Committee would like to say THANK YOU to each and every club member who stepped up to help us raise sufficient funds to complete the purchase of the field. At the time of writing this update no less than 62% of members contacted have sent in contributions to the drive - that's exceptional support and speaks we believe to the intense interest and love of soaring that our members hold. As a result of this generosity each member will enjoy both immediate benefits like being able to have full use of the airport facilities but also have helped establish a permanent home for what will continue to be the premier glider club in Indiana. Our club is almost 50 years old and finally we will have our own home! By the way - It's never too late, and for those of you who have been thinking about giving but not gotten around to it we would love to include you on the list of contributors that will go up in the club house this year. If you are able to help us in the final week of phase one of the fund raising drive give Scot Ortman or Ron Clarke a call and we'll send you a package which you can review and decide how best to help our campaign. Every single contribution will be gratefully accepted. As we move into phase two of the campaign, we hope to raise additional funds to reduce our mortgage over the next three years and keep our flying affordable. Again, THANKS! YOU ARE THE BEST! ~ Ron Clarke

3 Historic Airport Sold! Alexandria s Knotts Airfield has been purchased by the Central Indiana Soaring Society, a gliding club of approximately 65 members who are spread out across the state and come here every weekend to fly their gliders. The club intends to keep the airport open to the public as a public-use facility, and to welcome air traffic to the Alexandria area. CISS has three members from the Alexandria area and a half-dozen from Muncie and Yorktown. Most of the members come from the Indianapolis area, but some live as far away as Kokomo, Bringhurst, and Jeffersonville down by the Ohio River. The club owns two crop-duster tow-planes to pull its gliders aloft, and four gliders used primarily for training purposes. Individual members own another fifteen or sixteen single-seat gliders, which they assemble and fly on weekends during the Spring, Summer, and Fall seasons. CISS has been operating at Knotts Field since 2003, when it moved here from Terry Field, near Westfield, and where it had operated more than forty years. The move was made to be at an airport away from the high-density air traffic into Indianapolis. Knotts Field was owned by Duane Knotts, local farmer, commercial pilot, and fixed-base operator. The airport was started in 1948 on the Knotts family farm about two miles southeast of Alexandria, where Duane s parents had moved when he was one year old, and where he lives today. Duane had begun flying in 1946, at the age of 16, as a student of Don Orbaugh in Elwood. He bought an Aeronca Champ in 1948 and brought it to the farm after he got his pilot s license. He had a north/south sod runway, and later on another runway running east/west on the south side of his house. He did some commercial flying for the next several years and his wife set out flares to mark the runway for night landings when he arrived late in the evening. Duane had the first T-hangars built in and the office built in The present runway was paved and lighted in 1975; Knotts Field was now established as a public use airport. He built his large hangar in 1977, later added a second one, and continued to operate a commercial charter service, a flight training program, and a fixed-base operation for other pilots who based their airplanes at Knotts Field. He also added a Beechcraft Dealership to his operations, and finally a helicopter charter service. Knotts flew charter service for U.S. Engineering, Duffy Tool, Delco-Remy, Brittany Investments in Cleveland, and for several private individuals in this area. He has owned at various times the Aeronca Champ, a Stearman, a Beechcraft KingAir, a Cessna 310, a military surplus T-28, and a Brantley Helicopter. And, of course, he has owned and sold several other models of Beechcraft airplanes. Duane says that the highlight of his career was flying the helicopter. In 2005, the FAA gave Duane Knotts the Wilbur Wright Master Pilot Award for 50 years service in aviation. During the 1970s, the hey-day of this airport, there were 17 airplanes based here. Central Indiana Soaring Society intends to be a good citizen of Alexandria and Madison County with its stewardship of this airport. Visitors are always welcome. Come and fly!

4 President s Corner HOME AT LAST! After 48 years wandering in the wilderness, CISS finally has a home to call its own. Today, April 16, 2008, Scot Ortman, Dan Dewitt, Don Taylor and George Saunders met with Airport owner Duane Knotts and landowner Keith Kelich at the Rowland Title Company in Anderson to sign the final papers for the purchase of Alexandria Airport and 80 feet of additional land along the south boarder of the airport. Our Bank, Old National, provided the loan and our members very generously provided the cash for the down payment. Report on our Field of Dreams Capital Campaign: As of April 15, 29 members have pledged $90,600 toward our Field of Dreams! We have already received $44, of it to help us with our down payment! Here s a list of those who have already given or pledged. Anonymous The Beckages Ron Clarke Pete Detore Dan Dewitt Tom Eaton Charlie Epperson Ed Escallon Bob Gillan John Haynes Marty Hudson Charlie Hunter Dick Hutchinson Lynn Joyce Mario Lazaga Jeff Melin John Morrical Dave Newill Mike Nichols Scot Ortman Larry Pennington Todd Rutledge George Saunders Don Taylor Olaf Tessaryk Mike Warren John Weber Jim White Terry Wools Thank you for your generous support! Because of you, we now have a place to call home! VISION: Be sure to make our next Club meeting, Thursday, May 15 th from 7-9 pm at Fishers Train Station. We plan to spend our first hour brainstorming our vision for our new gilderport. We plan to spend the second hour talking about the details of owning and operating this new facility: What is your vision for Alexandria Airport? I see lovely waitresses serving us lunch

around the swimming pool with palm trees waving overhead. Ok, a bit far fetched, I admit. But let your imagination run. Come May 15 and share your vision with the Club.

5 around the swimming pool with palm trees waving overhead. Ok, a bit far fetched, I admit. But let your imagination run. Come May 15 and share your vision with the Club. We will be forming a long range planning committee for our new facility. Let me (George Saunders) know if you would like to be on the LRPC. NEW MEMBERS NEEDED! New members are the life-blood of every glider club. Students fly more often and provide more income for the Club s equipment. New members pay an initiation fee that will help pay down our debt. We are asking new members to pay a $1000 initiation fee, $500 the first year and $250 each in their second and third year of membership. We feel this is fair since these new members will be buying access to far greater assets than before: not only to $250,000 worth of club equipment but also to a $500,000 airport. Other clubs who own airports require the purchase of stock in the airport. Since we own the airport as a non-profit group, we cannot sell stock. So the drive is on. Recruit new members. Share the gift of flight, build our Club and keep the cost of flying affordable. George Saunders President George accepting the keys to the airport from Duane Celebration! To celebrate we are gong to have BBQ pork ribs Saturday April 19th at about 6pm at the Airport. We are asking a $5 donation for the meat. Bring something to share that goes with pork ribs. Bring your own meat to BBQ if you like. Bring the family! Bring your friends! Let's celebrate our Homeconing!

6 Learning to Pre-flight a Glider by Nyal Williams The problem for all of us while doing a pre-flight check is that we tend to look for things to be in order and it is easy to see what we expect rather than what is actually before our eyes. Teaching students to do a proper pre-flight is time-consuming and it is all to easy just to show the proper setup without actually discussing what might be wrong or how to examine for faults. Further, the Pilot s Operating Handbook for the L-23 has the most perfunctory pre-flight check-list I have ever seen in any airplane. I have made a more complete checklist for use in teaching students. It lists each item in turn in a walk-around fashion and tells what to look for. You will find a laminated copy in the front cockpit s side-pocket of each of the Blaniks. I encourage the use of these in instructing and also for anyone doing the first inspection of the day. Here is the checklist I made and I welcome any critique of this list as a way of improving it. Thank you! L-23 Prefiggt geeckiit Statui Board in gangar: gkider grounded? Batt.: Initakked, Power On Radio: on and Worcing POH, Regiitrationi (2), ert of Airwortgineii FAA Metak Pkate Exemption Letter & Exteniioni Initrumenti: no breacage, aktimeter iet Bakkait: in or out Seat: (adjuit), uigioni, Bekti, Harneii ontroki: movement tgrougg akk axei Wgeek Bracei: operate Pitot over: Off and in Side Poecet Pitot Tube: open & ekear of obitruetion Noie Surfaeei: denti, wrinckei, gokei Yaw String: in pkaee and frmkl attaeged anopl: dirt, eraeci, kategei, ginge wiring Statie Port Botg Sidei: open & ekear Left Fuiekage Scin: denti, wrinckei, gokei Main Wgeek: damage, infation Left Wing Scin: denti, wrinckei, gokei Left Airbrace: gingei, tie rodi, itatie itrapi Left Wingtip Fairing: icid, riveti, attaegment Left Aikeron: eondition & movement Left Rear Fuiekage: denti, wrinckei, gokei Taik Wgeek: eondition Fin: eondition, TE probe mounted Stabikizer: eondition, pin mounted & iafetied Rudder: eondition & movement Ekevator: eondition & movement Ekevator trim: eondition & poiition Riggt Rear Fuiekage: denti, wrinckei, gokei Riggt Wing Scin: denti, wrinckei. Hokei Riggt Airbrace: gingei, tie rodi, itatie itrapi Riggt Aikeron: eondition & movement Riggt Wingtip Fairing: icid, riveti, attaegment (Don t forget keading edge of tgii wing)

The Photos Page Bob Wander during our Spring Safety

Nathan Herrli and Larry Pennington ready for the

signing the paperwork to pay for our new home Got

Write it up and send it to our Wing Tips editor,

7 The Photos Page Bob Wander during our Spring Safety Meeting Opening Day of the 2008 Flying Season Nathan Herrli and Larry Pennington ready for the first flight of the season Treasurer Scott Ortman signing the paperwork to pay for our new home Got an idea for a Wing Tips article? Don't be shy! Write it up and send it to our Wing Tips editor, Chris Hall at bestbrain@aol.com. Deadline for our May issue is May 6.

A Perfect June Day with CISS Picture by Dave Newill

July, 2006 Volume 5, Issue 6 NEXT MEETING: 7:00 PM JULY 20 AT MCL CAFETERIA, CASTLETON, IN. www.centralindianasoaringsociety.org A Perfect June Day with CISS Picture by Dave Newill CLUB MEETING Thursday