Winter, no time to hibernate.

Winter is here, we will continue to fly on weekends and Wednesday’s so long as the weather and field conditions support it. if you are looking for instruction check with your favorite instructor to see if they are available. Plus we have some new winter activities planned. And of course we will be flying New Years Day.

The Hilltown Supervisors met on Monday December 13th and signed the agreement of sale for the conservation easement. Steve Devine signed for PGC. The next step is the township will contract to have a Base-line document created. This document is very important as it documents how we have been using the land up to this point. It will record existing structures on the eased area as well as the un-eased area. It will also document our flights over the past several years. As we understand more we may need your help to fill in some blanks. Please co-operate as this will be critical as to how we use the land in the future!

With this easement comes new problems. We have engaged Cheshire Law group to help us understand our tax issues with this income and how to deal with it. The bad news is this is taxable income. The good news is Cheshire Law has some ideas on how to deal with that tax bill. It is going to be a long road, but we have taken the first steps. We will keep you informed.

There is a new “From the Back Seat” every member must read and it includes a new assignment for everybody. This is a follow up on the Kiting instances we had this year. Please read. We need to think about and understand our responsibility as glider pilots to the tow pilot.

Sixteen members took two gliders and and a tow plate to Beltzville for a safari. Launch was delayed because of frost, but altogether they had fifteen flights. Randy Rickert, who must of us know as the area Designated Examiner is based at Beltzville and helped co-ordinate the event. Our team met some new soaring friends, got to fly at a different airport and experience extend tows. They had a great time and all were home by sunset.

Wurtsboro – We are going to relocate a 103 to Wurtsboro for the winter months. Wurtsboro has a paved runway that is plowed during the winter and has tow pilots all year round. It is an opportunity to fly when we may be shutdown due to field conditions, experience a different airport and maybe try some simple ridge flying. The price will be a bit different from home base. First you will have to buy tows from Wurtsboro, currently $60 for a 2500 ft tow. We need to cover some fixed cost such as hanger rent and transpiration of the glider so we will be charging $20 to use the glider for up to 30 minutes or $40/hour. We expect there will be expeditions of people planning trips. It is a new experience and new opportunities. We are working on requirement and limitations to fly and these will be published soon.

QD has been moved into the club house for repair. Jack needs a temperature controlled environment for the fiberglass to cure property. We hope to have QD out and the clubhouse cleaned up by early January. We really need a heated shop where work like this can be done. That is high of the priority list for next year’s projects.

A request from our treasury team: We have had several checks returned from the bank as unreadable. You would not make unreadable entries in you logbook, why would you write a check that is unreadable? Also, you do not need to include a printed statement with your check. Those just get recycled. If you want a particular invoice credited, note in the memo of the check.

We have a lot of new members and some of you have expressed frustration with trying to understand the “rules” that don’t appear in the by-laws. I understand your frustration, we are an eighty year old institution and many rules have been passed by either the board or the membership. Many of these are documented only in minutes of decades ago. What we need is a central place where all these resolutions are collected and available for new members. We have a members handbook. It is good as far as it goes, but needs to be updated and expanded. It is an excellent place to have all of the rules collected. Lukas has volunteered to lead the update of the hand book. So I am asking all “seasoned” members, please have a look at the handbook, if you see something that needs to be documented or even just information that would be good for members to know drop Lukas a note and we will get it in.