There are lots of exciting changes happening in the Back 40 these past few months. Please take time to read through this whole blog for details.
First, with regard to our Board – Steve Churchill has recently decided to hang up his accounting vestments and step down from the Board. Steve has been an invaluable part of the Back 40 for many years. He joined the club in 1996, and served as Secretary from 1996 – 2005. He became Treasurer in 2006, and held that position until this month. Steve’s attention to detail and financial stewardship have guided the club for decades. Of all of the Board positions, the Treasurer and the Maintainance Officer demand the most time. Both are significant committments. Steve will continue to be a member of the club, so you will likely see him around the hangar. When you do, please give him a shout-out for all of his years of service.
Colin Gibb (above) has assumed the role of Treasurer, and the Board is appreciative of him stepping in. You will notice a new PO box address for the payment of your invoices. Coming in August – ONLINE BILL PAYMENT! Watch this site for more details. When you send your check, you might want to congratulate Colin. Just this week, he became the newest Instrument Rated Pilot in the entire world!
Hanger 45 has been home to the Back 40 Flying Club since the late 1800’s. (OK…that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but it’s been a long, long time) Recently, the Airport Authority approached us and asked if we would be willing to move to the Aero Center complex on the other side of runway 14/32. After a quick vote by the Board of Directors, we are excited to announce that the club planes will tentatively be moved on Wednesday, July 17th.
Our new home will be Hanger 2040, a large heated hangar on the west ramp, just north of Premier Avionics. It has similar amenities to Hangar 45 (restrooms, new lighting, heat), but does not have a reception area. The ground crew will fuel and tow our planes to the Aero Center for departure, and we can drop them off there when we are finished flying. Or, if we prefer we can simply have them pulled out in front of the hanger like we currently do at Hanger 45, which may be preferable for preflights, grabbing a quart of oil, etc. Just let them know where you want the plane to be located.
You will need to exchange your Hangar 45 keys for the new ones. Sharon is the key goddess, and will be at the Aero Center every weekday after 2PM. (except for Tuesday the 16th) Parking is to the left of the hangar in the photo (or behind the hangar) The entry door is just off the parking lot.
We will be able to use all of the Aero Center amenities for flight briefings, meeting passengers or flight instructors, and free water and cookies! The hangar rent is unchanged. We will still have our 2 lockers (same combination as before) and our air compressor in the hangar. Thanks to Dan Boyle and Bob Kartman for cleaning out and moving the lockers.
And, if all of that isn’t enough, starting August 1 the club will be moving to a new, online scheduling vendor. Flight Circle does just about everything imaginable related to running a Flying Club. We will no longer use the paper logs in the locker. Everything will be entered on the app on your phone or tablet right in the airplane. From reserving the plane, to pre-flight, to checking in and logging your hours, and reporting any squawks, everything will be done on your smartphone.
The Board has been evaluating vendors for months, and are excited to have found Flight Circle. And – best of all – Flight Circle is less expensive than our current vendor. You will all be seeing more detail about this in the next few days as we ramp up the account to go live on August 1, 2019.
Back 40 Flying Club 