Here is the link to the recording of today’s meeting. sorry – was 10 minutes in when I remembered to start recording: https://fccdl.in/26YgcDx7jM
What a great turn out – we had roughly 24 in-person and about the same again on-line.
Thanks to all attendees. Apologies for the initial technical difficulties but a very engaged group and some great discussion. It was nice to see some new and some prospective new members too.
After lunch we assembled one of the 2-33’s and the 1-26, so starting to get the club fleet put together. Club member spring check-flights will be available starting next weekend.
The winds were strong and roily, but that didn’t stop Bill Batesole from launching Tim Chow for the first flight of the 2022 season. Tim reported that it was pretty turbulent and returned to mother earth after a short flight.
If weather looks cooperative for our April 2nd Safety Meeting, we’ll conduct the meeting from the VSF terminal building via freeconferencecall.com and in-person (for those able to attend) and assemble club gliders following the meeting. Expect us to make the call about a hybrid/virtual meeting on Wednesday, March 30.
Our special guest at NESA’s Annual Meeting was John Wood, FAA Safety Team Program Manager at the Portland, Maine FSDO, who presented Bill Batesole with the prestigious Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award, recognizing Bill’s 50+ years of support and promotion of aviation safety and accident and incident free flying.
Bill first soloed at Johnnycake Airport in CT in 1971 and received his CFI-G rating in 1975, instructing first near Waterbury, CT and later at the Schweitzer Soaring School in Elmira, NY. He graduated from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida in 1978, and began flying Piper Navajo’s and DeHaviland Twin Otters for Precision Airlines, a commuter airline based here in Springfield. In 1983 Bill was one of the early pilot hires for Federal Express, now FedEx, where over his 36 year career he flew the Airbus 310, Boeing 727, 757, 767, and 777. He has remained involved in soaring at Harris Hill, as a member of the Vintage Glider Club and long time National Soaring Museum Trustee and current Board President. Bill is a long time NESA member and has held nearly every club position. Thank you, Bill for your many years of service and volunteerism in support of soaring and aviation!
Annual Meeting presentations will be posted to flynesa.com
You can access the agenda, get instructions for the on-line meeting tool, add the meeting to your calendar (.ics) and access the Absentee ballot form (please use only if not attending in person) from the following link.
Everyone should have received a meeting notification a few weeks ago. Email invites with a direct connect link to the on-line meeting will be sent this week. If for any reason you do not receive an email invite you can alternatively use the above link to join.
What a difference a few weeks makes. At the Board meeting seven weeks ago, the vote was to hold an in-person dinner meeting. Last week it became apparent that with the increasing COVID rates and the new Omicron variant people were no longer comfortable attending a traditional large group dinner meeting.
Instead we have scheduled an online meeting for Saturday, January 15, 2022 at 3:00pm. We hope everyone will be able to join us.
Details to follow by email. Please be on the lookout for absentee ballots and meeting invites which will be emailed soon.
