Bill Batesole Awarded Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award at NESA Annual Meeting

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

Annual Meeting Reminder: 3pm Saturday 1/15/22

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.

https://www.freeconferencecall.com/wall/flynesa

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.

See everyone (on-line) Saturday.

Happy New Year

Wishing all our members and friends a safe, healthy and Happy New Year.

2021 was a fairly positive year club wise. Let’s work for an even better 2022. So, start planning your 2022 soaring goals now.

We will see everyone at the Airport in the Spring and of course on-line for the annual meeting on January 15th.

Happy New Year.

Annual Meeting Announcement: 1-15-2022

Dear NESA members and friends.

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.

Larry.

Gliders are in hibernation until spring

A big THANK YOU! to everyone who turned out to help with the annual inspections, disassembly and put away of the club ships yesterday.

At the risk of missing someone, the put away staff included club members Bill Batesole, Greg Hunter, Mark Farley, Ben Berg and dad Tim, Sebastian, Colby von Kannewurff and his grandfather, Larry and friend John Bruno, Erik Nelson, plus Rick Sheppe from Post Mills.

Another big THANK YOU! to Andy Gelston who did the annual inspections on the 1-26 and yellow 2-33. All club gliders are good to go at the start of the 2022 season.