January 2025 Membership Meeting

Happy New Year! Our January Membership Meeting will be held on January 14 starting at 6:30 PM at Hangar 15 at Harvey Airfield. Please note the new starting time! Social hour will still begin around 6:00 PM. Many thanks to David Weber for bringing our refreshments!

The University of Washington team for the Design Build and Fly Competition will be our speakers for January. We will also collect donations for the team to help in their 2025 competition efforts. The Chapter 84 Board has approved a matching donation up to $300 total of member donations.

Chief Engineer Ryan Fidelis, Project Manager Alejandro Santana and other team members will tell us about their entry in the 2024 Design Build and Fly (DBF) competition. The Design Build and Fly Team at the UW dedicates itself to excellence in both educating its members from across the University and in its performance at the AIAA’s International Design Build Fly competition every April. Among the team’s annual activities, students of any discipline, engineering or not, and of any degree of experience have the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution. Aircraft design is a multi-disciplinary art and a student competition is a vital education opportunity for upper- and lowe-classmen alike.

The UW’s DBF team reached unprecendented heights in 2024, securing an impressive 3rd pace finish at the 2024 AIAA DBF Competition in Wichita, Kansas, with their aircraft “Orca.” This remarkable achievement marks the team’s best performance to date and serves as a testament to their dedication, innovative thinking, and collaborative spirit.

December 7 Holiday Party; No Membership Meeting this Month!

In lieu of our normal membership meeting in December, we will have our annual Holiday Party on December 7, beginning at 5:00 PM in Hangar 15 at Harvey Field. Dinner will be served at about 6:00 PM. After dinner, we will hand out chapter awards/recognition and hold our white elephant gift exchange. Dress is festive casual.

The dinner is potluck. Please bring an entree, side dish, or dessert. The chapter will provide drinks and two entrees, one meat-based and one vegetarian.

The gift exchange is optional. Please bring a gift if you wish to participate. Suggested gift cost is under $20, and you may bring a used item or gag gift. Please wrap your gift or place it in a gift bag. There will be two separate gift tables, one for pilots/aviators and one for non-aviators. You may choose a gift from either table regardless of what type of gift you bring.

If you would like to help with setup, please arrive around 4:30 PM.

I hope to see many of you there!

November 12 Membership Meeting Recap

Our November membership meeting was held on November 12 starting at 7:00 PM at Harvey Field’s Hangar 15. Many thanks to Gerry Bartosh for bringing the snacks!

Our November speaker was Jeff Schans, Director of Business Development at Tempest Aero Group. Tempest Aero Group is a leading general aviation company supporting a portfolio of independent brands including Tempest®, Alcor®, Marvel-Schebler®, Precision Airmotive®, Consolidated Fuel Systems™ and Stratus Tool Technologies™. Jeff gave a very interesting presentation about the theory, operation, and maintenance of aircraft engine spark plugs.

October 8 Membership Meeting Recap

Our October membership meeting was held on October 8 starting at 7:00 PM at Harvey Field’s Hangar 15, preceded by a Burger Burn at the Chapter House starting at 5:30 PM. Many thanks to Glenn Torgerson for doing the Burger Burn! Our original October speaker had to cancel at the last minute, but Chapter 84 member Mike Henderson stepped in to provide an informative presentation on lessons learned from an incident he had involving a flat tire during a landing at Paine Field.

September Membership Meeting Recap

Our September general membership meeting was held on September 10 starting at 7:00 PM at Harvey Field’s Hangar 15. We had a Burger Burn at the Chapter House starting at 5:30 PM. Many thanks to David Weber for doing the Burger Burn and to others who chipped in to help with setup and cleaning.

Our September speaker was chapter member and secretary, Mike Zyskowski, who gave a very interesting presentation on his trip to Oshkosh and what it’s like to have your aircraft inspected by EAA judges.

July 9 Meeting Recap

Our July speaker was George Steed, who is Bonanza pilot and EAA Technical Counselor with Chapter 406 in Bremerton. He holds BA and MA degrees, is an A&P and private pilot, was an A-6 bombardier/navigator with the Navy, and is a member of EAA, WPA, and BPA. He is also a “raconteur and all around good guy.” George gave a very interesting and educaitonal presentation on how engine valves work and tips on preventive maintenance and troubleshooting.

Prior to the meeting, we also had a great Burger Burn and got off to a good start at inventorying and organizing our supplies in the Chapter House. Thank you to all who helped!

June 11 Meeting Recap

Our June speaker was Tim Talen from the Oregon Aviation Historical Society. Tim talked about one of the museum’s stars, Wimpy, which has a remarkable place in the history of experimental aircraft. The Wimpy design was modified several times to create an entire lineage of early homebuilt aircraft and inspired Pete Bowers, a local Seattle designer, to create his popular Fly Baby design. You can read more about Wimpy and other historical aircraft at https://oregonaviation.org/

Please also join us if you can at 5:30 pm for a burger burn and social hour at the chapter hangar (at the end of the row of hangars past Skydive Snohomish). $5 donation suggested.

MAY 14 MEETING RECAP

Our May general membership meeting took place at Skydive Snohomish at Harvey Airfield on Tuesday, May 14th, starting at 7:00 PM. The weather was great, and we had a fun burger burn before the meeting.

Our May speaker was Bill Quistorf, chief pilot for the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Helicopter Team, along with one of his volunteer pilots. They gave a fascinating look at what’s involved in search & rescue, particularly in the mountains and around high-rise buildings. They also gave a good pitch on the type of survival equipment they carry to encourage private pilots to develop a similar set of gear. The recommended using a fishing vest to stash critical gear, and sometimes things attached to your person are the only things you get out of a crash with! Here’s their suggested list:

April 9 Meeting Recap

Our April speaker was Lawrence Doan, owner and designer of Whistle Pig Toys. Lawrence is a UW grad in Aeronautical Engineering with years of experience in aviation and competitive glider competition. Lawrence, along with his daughter, decided to start a boutique toy company selling balsa gliders that he has designed. Wrapped up in all of this fun is a great learning experience for both youth and adults including construction techniques, weight and balance and trimming for flight characteristics. Lawrence gave a very interesting talk about the details of the engineering process involved in the design of his gliders. Currently Whistle Pig Toys has almost a dozen different designs available for purchase and more coming. Go to whistlepigtoys.com to check them out.