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St. Louis Flying Club Newsletter - 31 April 2026

From The President - By Steve

Dear Members,

Our Spring meeting is set for May 17th at 11:30 with lunch provided. The meeting includes a safety briefing applicable to general aviation and we are still looking for a volunteer. Please let me know if unable to attend and who you choose as proxy. I look forward to seeing everyone at our meeting.

Our members are regularly using the planes for Young Eagles flights as well as monthly lunch flights with other EAA members. Good to see all the activity.

Steve

Treasurer's Report - by T.J

BILLING STATEMENT

Comments:

  • Thanks for the receipts! Please keep it up.
  • A note on Signature Fuel Bills...Note this is a repeat comment from last Month - Our credit card was compromised and while obtaining a new one, we had a time where we had no card on file at Signature. As such, for any fuel purchases in Jan/Feb/Mar/Apr, I have provided the member with a fuel credit if they purchased fuel. I've received at least one note from a member that they did not pay for the fuel. Please know that I have provided our new card to Signature and discussed with them and they said they would work out any deficiencies. As of today, that has not happened, so I'm leaving the credits for the member and if the club card does ultimately get charged, then I will reverse the credit in a future month. It is small dollars, but I wanted to advantage the members.
  • Fuel Prices - Fuel has been stable for quite some time but has begun to rise significantly. The officers anticipate that there is plenty of cash and fund cushion to hold rates steady for the time being.
  • Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

BALANCE SHEET

  • The funds are tracking nicely.
  • Cash is sufficient for the foreseeable future.
  • Thanks and please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Maintenance - by John

N202CR RV-7A

  • Condition Inspection - On May 4th, we started the condition inspection on the RV. Compression check #1-79, #2-76, #3-77, #4-77. Changed oil and filter with 7 qts Phillips X/C 20W50 oil, Tempest AA48110-2 Filter, and 11 oz Camguard. Checked oil screen and oil filter and no metal particles found. Replaced LH and RH brake pads with new RA66-106 brake pads. Cleaned, gapped and rotated spark plug. Installed new Tempest UREM37BY spark plug in #1 cylinder bottom. We plan to finish the Condition inspection by 8 May.

N20843 Cessna 172M

  • AD-2011-10-09 On March 4, complied with AD 2011-10-09 Seat Track and seat inspection.

N2242N Piper Arrow IV

  • Gear Retract issue - On a flight on April 24th, after several practice approaches and successful gear extensions and retractions, the gear failed to retract after the last practice approach. Several additional attempts were made to retract the gear but when the gear handle was moved to the up position, the three green lights remained on and the gear unsafe light came on. The plane flew back to Spirit with the gear extended. We put the airplane on jacks and swung the gear multiple times and they successfully retracted and extended each time. Since we could not duplicate the issue on the ground, we decided to replace the Gear Position Selector switch as the internal contacts could be working intermittently. We did a test flight and the gear retracted normally multiple times and we returned the aircraft to service. On May 2nd, Kirk took off on a trip and was unable to raise the gear. He returned to Spirit with the gear down. We placed the aircraft on jacks and were finally able to duplicate the problem. We were able to trace the problem to the Weight on Wheels switch which was on the edge of adjustment where it would work sometimes and not the next. We adjusted the switch position and it now works every time.


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