EAA Chapter 25

You can see from the photo that the canines are once again dressed for Chapter 25’s Holiday party. This year, we are again thankful that Dan Carroll has invited us to his hangar at Anoka.  The party will run from 2:00 to 5:30. Members A-M please bring food, N-Z beverages.  We also plan to have some basic food and hors doevres. Look for the map and directions in the November newsletter.  Dan could also use some volunteers the day before to help get ready for the event.  Don’t worry, the dogs are staying home to have their own party. See you there!

Do you know a young person between the ages of 8 and 17 who would like an introduction to the world of flying? If so, join us at the Chapter Hangar at the Airlake Airport on Saturday, November 15th from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. At that event, our member pilots will provide free airplane rides to these kids. For reservations, contact John Koser at 952-831-5142 or Bill Brown at 952-432-4231.

Sunday, October 5th is fast approaching. Join us at 6:00 pm for another fine dinner at the Eagan Community Center. Our speaker this year is the entertaining Bryan Moon, President of MIA Hunters. MIA Hunters have conducted numerous missions to Pacific and European sites searching for remains of US servicemen lost and missing in action.

Once again the Fund Raiser drawing will take place, with this years Grand Prize being a LCD HD TV.  And remember, just about every attendee gets a door prize at our banquets! See you there.

At our meeting this month Richard Venberg will talk about his hobby of modeling early aircraft in 1/72nd scale.  He will show off his delicate models and reproductions of memorabilia from the pioneer era. Don’t miss this unique program. Please also remember to bring your Fundraiser ticket receipts, and remember it’s time to make your Chapter Banquet reservations. Pat Halligan is also looking for door prizes for that event.  See you at 6:00 pm for grilling, 7:00 pm for the meeting.

Our April 16th chapter meeting was held at SteinAir in Farmington, Minnesota. Stein Bruch and his associates build custom aircraft panels, supply a variety of avionics equipment for experimental aircraft, and advise builders of RV’s. Sharon Sandberg of All Star Warbirds also joined us to talk about some of their latest embroidery products. SteinAir’s facility — at 21170 Eaton Ave in Farmington is a short distance north and east of Airlake AIrport.

Stein started with several other former NWA mechanics in the business several years ago. Now they have 18 employees, who spend the majority of their time building panels for experimental aircraft — especially RV’s. According to Stein, most of the panels incorporate glass screens, and some can take up to a month to complete. SteinAir also does work on certificated aircraft panels, but they get most of their work from new experimental builders, or experimentals that need their panels redone because of amateur work.

SteinAir has also become one of our newsletter sponsors, which we greatly appreciate.

Once again, EAA is beginning preparations of the grounds for Airventure 2008 in Oshkosh. EAA headquarters has invited our chapter members to come to Oshkosh and participate in a Weekend Work Party. Work party weekends will be held May 17-18, May 31-June 1, June 21-22, June 28-29, July 12-13, and July 19-20.

Preparation for Airventure would be impossible without the significant assistance of volunteers. Tasks at these weekends vary, but include carpentry, grass cutting, painting, general maintenance, cleaning, gardening, etc. Volunteers are provided accommodations in the bunkhouse for the weekend as well as meals in the volunteer kitchen.

Several weekends also have special Saturday Evening Programs scheduled:

May 31st — Tour of the Air Academy Lodge and Ice Cream Social

June 21st — Sonex Aircraft, Inc

July 12th — Visit with Paul Poberezny at the Aeroplane Factory

If you are interested in participating, please contact Jon Cumpton by April 23rd.