Message from the President

We’ve begun final discussions on the lease with the MLAA board. Here’s the basic gist of where we are for EAA 72’s portion. We’re no longer going to be the main lessee and then sub-lease to Aerolab, Civil Air Patrol, and the Boy Scouts. We’re all going to be the lessees directly under the MLAA board. Right now, it is my understanding that the Airport Manager will be managing the building going forward. So, we’re no longer going to be in the business of operating and managing the building. That takes a lot off the chapter and board’s plate. Our costs per month will stabilize from month to month, and we’ll no longer worry about having to pay utility bills or any other unknown operational costs. Our monthly cost might go up slightly, but it’ll be more stable overall and much easier to manage.

January’s meeting on the Wings Program went well and we had a particularly good turnout. As you’re all aware we had Vaugh Hansen, from our Denver FSDO office, speak about this program. Here’s a quick overview in case you missed it or would like a quick rehash of what was taught during this class:

• WINGS Pilot Proficiency Program: https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/2022-01/WINGS%20Pilot%20Proficiency%20Program.pdf
• Login to the Wings Portal in the top right of this link. Sign in or create your own account: https://www.faasafety.gov/wings/pub/learn_more.aspx
• If you need assistance in getting your own individual account, then see me and I’ll be glad to assist you.

February’s meeting is still scheduled for Chris Guarente to talk about his flight experience, and he’ll be showing off his new experimental aircraft design. I look forward to seeing you all there on 21 Feb 2026, from 11 to noon. Lunch will be immediately after.

We’ve already opened the signup page to begin our 2026 year for the Young Eagles program. That will be starting at 9AM on 14 Mar 2026. Get ready for our next wave of young aviators. Remember, EAA National is pushing for our biggest milestone yet, 2.5 million Young Eagles flown by July 20 this year. Our anniversary dinner is scheduled for 21 March 2026 from 6 - 8PM at The Spaghetti Factory. We’ve begun selling tickets for $35 per person.

Right now, any board member and I can take your payment if it’s check or cash. If you need to use your credit card, then Patty would be your best bet. This brings me back to our volunteer position(s) we’re looking to fulfill. We’d like to create new committees to oversee some of the most important parts of this chapter. The board discussed this and there are three committees we’d like to field this year:

• Scholarship committee (already have volunteers, but could use more)
• Youth Program committee (already have volunteers, but could use more)
• Events and social media committee (we need volunteers)

Remember to clean out those garages and hangars for our April Fly Market event on 11 Apr 2026; that will be from 9 - noon. This will coincide with our Young Eagles event (9 - noon), and Coffee & Donuts (9 - 11AM). Come join us for at least coffee and donuts and a few good stories. Bring pictures of your project so we can all share in your building adventure.

For our April meeting. 11 - noon on 18 Apr 2026, we will be discussing the Phase 1 process. Basically, what happens once you’ve finished your airplane; what do I do now? If you’re not sure, come to our meeting and learn.

I just wanted to share some great news; we were awarded two Ray Scholarships this year. You’ll be seeing more information about that application and award process soon. We’re also looking at $5k in scholarship(s) for maintenance. This might be one scholarship or two. That is a decision for our Scholarship committee. If you want to have more input on those decisions, then join the committee. Again, these will be awarded sometime this spring, details will be coming very soon.

I look forward to talking to each of you as we meet this year. Thank you for your support and dedication to this chapter. We would not be as successful if it were not for every one of you.

Thank you,

Bill Epperson Jr.
President
Bruce McCombs EAA Chapter 72

Message from the Secretary

If you have not paid your membership dues for 2026, it’s time to pay now!

As a reminder, membership dues cover the period from Jan 1 to Dec 31. Dues are $35 for one year or $90 for 3 years, at a savings of $15.

You can pay this to me at Coffee & Donuts (the 2nd Sat of each month), the IMC/VMC Meeting (2nd Wed of the month), at our general meeting (the 3rd Sat of each month), you can call me at 719-238-7080 with your credit card information, or send a check to my address (call me for the address).

If you were a member in 2025, you have until Mar 31 to pay your dues before you are removed from our membership roster.

Board elects Jim Steward as Honorary Member

On February 5, 2026, the Chapter 72 Board decided to name Jim Steward as an honorary member of the chapter. Jim has been a key leader for many accomplishments in his recent years as President of the chapter. Jim held that position from 2014-2015, then again from 2018-2025. During his tenure he recommended that we name our chapter after its founder, Bruce McCombs, who was also one of the founders of Meadowlake Airport. Bruce’s son, Eric, is the only other Honorary Member of Chapter 72 today.

Jim has seen this airport and chapter develop over his many years in this area. He is one of the only members who knows all the history and the people who made it what it is today. Jim was a local flight instructor in his spare time and began building his Skybolt experimental airplane, which took almost 30 years to complete. It won a Bronze Lindy Award at Oshkosh in 2001. He and Scott Benger began the restoration of Bruce McComb’s L2 several years ago. And Jim flies his own Decathlon and gave many Young Eagles their first flight in it.

Several years ago, President Jim was contacted by Ken Hendrickson about the possibility of Ken donating his Ran’s S-19 Project to the Chapter. Ken had already built most of the airframe in the basement of his home. The two of them developed a close relationship and arranged a Chapter Visit to Ken’s home to see the Project in Work. That visit motivated many of the Chapter members through Jim’s leadership to accept the Project, transport it to Meadowlake, and complete the build. It required removing a window from Ken’s basement to get the wings and fuselage out of the house, loading it on a trailer, and transporting it to KFLY. Ken was excited about the donation because now he had room to begin his next build, a Ran’s S-21, which was completed later and flown by Ken and his adult children. Meanwhile, Jim had to find hangar space and chapter volunteers for completing the S-19. As the airframe neared completion, it was obvious that it needed an engine and propeller. Jim relayed the status to Ken Hendrickson, and Ken stepped up to purchase and donate a new engine and propeller.

While the airplane was nearing completion, Jim led the Chapter in deciding what to do with it after it becomes an airplane. There were many options; use it as a training tool, form a flying club, sell it, auction it off, raffle it off. We soon realized that the Chapter could not own the airplane due to our non-profit status. After long days and months of agonizing, it was finally decided to Raffle off the airplane and use the Proceeds to fund aviation scholarships and purchase a Redbird Simulator.

Jim encouraged the Chapter members to form a committee to oversee the Raffle, which took a couple of years to bring it to fruition. As that was going on, the Young Eagles Program was growing rapidly, and the Chapter won several Silver Awards from EAA National and most recently, a Gold Award.

Another major project was the construction of a room for the Redbird Simulator, followed by the acceptance of the Simulator and accommodating the environmental requirements for it. Jim was instrumental in acquiring donations from members to install heating, insulation repairs, and good lighting in the MLAA Hangar.

Jim demonstrated how important it is to develop good relationships with our members and how to best utilize their talents and skills to get things done!

The IMC/VMC club was established during Jim’s reign and continues to grow through volunteer members taking on the task of the coordination required.

The semi-establishment of Chapter 72.5 was a thought that began with Jim sharing ideas with our Young Eagles. That is still in the early development stage but holds real potential.

Many are familiar with the accomplishments of Jim’s son, Mark, with his numerous accomplishments in his Aviation career. Mark is very proud to be the son of the one who started it all many years ago with the Skybolt Project.

Well done, Jim. The Chapter is lucky to have you, and you deserve all the recognition we can provide. You’re a Trooper!

Randy Loyd
EAA Chapter 72 Newsletter Editor

Aircraft feature of the month

This month features the engine overhaul of Ken Johnson’s RV-6A. Ken wrote several pages detailing his experiences with the overhaul. Read all about it here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Bb_XLGn_JK1VqOFy8SWtYDLw-fmmBBMA6ILnG2lmrVk/edit?usp=sharing