November Meeting - Lexington County Airport (6J0) - 11/18/18

 
Group photo of TTF members and guests on November 18th, 2018

     We had a large, active, talkative, and fun group at our November meeting ... probably the largest we've ever had to attend a chapter meeting. They enjoyed grilled hamburgers and brats with various "fixings", baked beans, chips, several delicious desserts, tea and other beverages. After lunch, president, Randy Berry conducted the business meeting. Since there was not an "official" meeting in October, we had no October minutes. Treasurer, Leon Strock, gave a financial report, which indicated that we'll be finishing 2018 financially solvent and well into the black. Randy reported that our fall fly-in was a huge success, probably the best one we've had thus far, and we actually made a small "profit" from donations. See below for further information about our 2018 Fall Fly-in. Randy also reported on the "unofficial drop in" at Buckeye Farms back on 10/21/18, for which you can find further information below also. He further mentioned that Allendale Airport (KAQX) will be hosting a Christmas "reindeer round-up" fly-in on Saturday, December 8th from 11am until 2pm.

     Then, Randy turned the meeting over to the nominations committee chairman, Don Schmotzer, to conduct the 2019 chapter election. The following officers and directors were elected and appointments made for 2019:

President: Randy Berry
Vice President: Larry Philbin
Secretary: Kevin Wallace
Treasurer: Leon Strock
Directors: Larry Maner, Al Strickland, Glenn Temples
Safety Advisor: Don Schmotzer
Photographer: Eddie Price
Webmaster: Randy Berry

     Congratulations to those elected/appointed members. Due to the upcoming holidays, this was our last meeting of 2018. Thanks for making 2018 a great year for our chapter. We feel sure that we'll have another great year coming up in 2019, so stay tuned. Our first meeting of 2019 will likely be on Sunday, January 20th, 2019. Until then, we wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year! For photos of the meeting from Eddie Price, click the photo above.

2018 Fall Fly-in - Gilbert Airpark (SC45) - 11/3/18

      
Photo #1: Don Bell's Stearman N3N; Photo #2: GIA members/cooks - Debbie, Sonja, Sue, Mardon; Photo #3: Kent Ingram's R44 Robinson Helicopter

     Our Fall Fly-in for 2018 was a huge success, probably the best one we've had yet. After experiencing an active cold front with thunderstorms, lots of rain, and wind on Friday, we were worried about the weather on Saturday, but Saturday's weather turned out to be absolutely beautiful and near perfect. We could not have asked for better weather. The temperatures were comfortable, the winds were light, almost no chance of rain, and not a cloud in the bright blue fall sky. Some 35 fixed wing aircraft and one helicopter (at last count) flew in. We had over 100 guests (we stopped counting after that) for lunch. The folks at Gilbert Airpark (four of them shown above), served up a delicious meal of BBQ, sloppy joes, fried chicken, hot dogs, various vegetable dishes, casseroles, desserts, and beverages. Everyone came away well fed and happy. After lunch, we had a cash drawing, which was won by Kathy Self of Wexford Airpark. Then, we sat around watching planes depart, socializing, and relaxing. Kids enjoyed running and playing outside as well. By all indications, everyone had a great time, and we had many positive comments on the fly-in. The grand finale was Mr. Don Bell flying in from his private "Farm Airport" in his Stearman N3N WWII Naval warbird and ending the fly-in by showering the airpark with smoke. Two new members joined our chapter during the fly-in: Ray Sheffield and Rob Bridgers. Welcome to our chapter, guys. Thank you all for coming and making it a great day. Click on either of the 3 photos at top to view photos of the fly-in compliments of Eddie Price.

October "Drop-In" - Buckeye Farms - 10/21/18

Dave & Tammy Gardner's "Buckeye Farms" from Above, Located Near Williston, SC

     We did not have an official chapter meeting in October, 2018 because we had essentially cancelled the meeting due to forecast high winds. Consequently, we did not have a member quorum in attendance, so we did not conduct a meeting nor take any minutes. We had planned to hold the chapter meeting at Dave and Tammy Gardner's "Buckeye Farms" near Williston, SC, but on the preceding Friday evening, the wind forecast for Sunday was 11-13mph from the north, which promised to be a 50-60 degree crosswind on their runway 31. In fact, that forecast turned out to be fairly accurate. However, Dave and Tammy still indicated their intentions to cook "caribou chili" and had invited several friends from the local Barnwell/Williston area, so they invited us to still come on down anyway, if we wished. Consequently, we left it to the discretion of individual TTF members as to whether they wished to drive in, fly in, or not come at all. Except for the wind, it turned out to be a nice day, so several members drove in. One member, Dennis Perry, rode his motorcycle down with his young grandson as a passenger. A few hearty souls did, in fact, fly in after all, including Eddie Price (along with Kevin Wallace), Leonard Self, and Jason Christofi. Eddie commented that his 100mph Cessna 140 had a 26mph tailwind on the way down. Congratulations guys! All in all. It turned out to be a nice event after all, and a pretty good crowd of around 30 people showed up. We thank Dave and Tammy for inviting us and making it a great day. For photos taken at the event, click the photo above.

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