Message from the President

We’re finalizing the lease with the MLAA board. Right now, we’ve submitted our counterproposal with changes from the initial lease review. I can tell you from all of us on the board, we’re ready to get this behind us, so that we can concentrate on managing the Chapter.

February’s meeting went well, and I can’t wait to see further progress on Chris’ design. If you were able to attend his presentation, then share that information with other Chapter members. His website for that new experimental design is www.intrepidaircraft.com. It will prompt you for a password, and if you attended the meeting then you should have that password. He has not released the website’s access to the general public yet, so I will not post that password here for any bot crawlers to find. Talk to another attendee

and you can get that password via word of mouth.

We’ve got Young Eagles and Coffee & Donuts this comingweekend, on the 14 th. And we’ve got our anniversary dinner scheduled for the 21st , at The Spaghetti Factory. Right now, we only have 22 people signed up. So, let’s get at least another 16 tickets sold to beat our attendance from last year. Tickets are only $35 per person and the cutoff for sales will be on the 18th of this month. If you come to Coffee & Donuts this coming weekend, then you can get your ticket at that time. Any board member can take your payment if it’s check or cash. If you need to use your CC, then Patty is your best bet.

Quick reminder that we’re looking to build out the “Events and social media committee,” and we need someone to run that committee. Please consider this opportunity to help your fellow Chapter members.

Next month is our April Fly Market event on 11 Apr 2026. It will be held from 9-noon, to coincide with Coffee & Donuts, and the Young Eagles event. Bring whatever you’re ready to part with and don’t forget your checkbook and wallet, you never know what you’ll find. Last year, we had a couple of airplanes for sale. Our April meeting will be held on 18 Apr 2026 from 11-noon, and we will be discussing the Phase 1 process. Basically, what happens once you’ve finished your airplane. So come to the meeting and learn what’s next.

It’s getting close to Ray Scholarship submission time, so start getting those packages ready. Announcements will be made next month for a due date and where to submit those packages. We also have $5k in scholarship money dedicated to maintenance. So, start getting those packages ready as well. If you want to have more input on these scholarship decisions, then join the committee. Details will be provided next month.

15 May will be our next Learn to Fly event. Spread the word to your neighbors and co-workers. Why hide all this fun?

Check the contact information on the last page of this newsletter, and you’ll see we now have specific email addresses for everyone. My new email address is president@eaa72.org. Send me an email if you have ideas for our chapter.

We just got word from EAA National that we were awarded silver level status for 2025. We only missed Gold by one point. We got Gold for 2024, so let’s do it again this year! Thank you for your support and dedication to this chapter.

Thank you,
Bill Epperson Jr.
President
Bruce McCombs EAA Chapter 72

Chapter Recognition Criteria

Here is the breakdown from EAA National for that Silver Chapter status:

There are three levels of recognition: bronze (7 out of 13), silver (8 out of 13), and gold (at least 9 out of 13).

Below are the qualifying Chapter Recognition criteria, along with your chapter’s points. A one (1) indicates that your chapter earned credit for the associated criteria. Note: All points based on calendar year 2025.

• Attends a chapter leadership training session: 1.
• Growing or steady membership: 1
• Offers IMC or VMC Club programs: 1.
• Participates in Young Eagle or Flying Start programs: 1.
• Has EAA-approved Flight Advisor or Technical Counselor: 1
• Participates in EAA's Annual Chapter Member survey: 0.
• Participates in Young Eagles Build and Fly, Young Eagles Workshops, Ray Aviation Scholarship program, or sends a youth to EAA’s Air Academy: 1
• Requests an EAA Chapter Blast email: 0.
• Hosts at least two public events each year: 1
• Owns/leases a facility: 1.
• Extra credit activity, such as a chapter build project, youth build project, chapter scholarship, a chapter tool crib, IAC competition, etc.: 0.
• EAA Chapter 72, Inc.’s 2025 Chapter Recognition total is 8 out of 11.

Young Eagles

Welcome to the start of a new Young Eagles flying year! I hope everyone has been doing well. Our first Young Eagles rally of 2026 will be held on March 14th at the MLAA Hangar. The event will run from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

As many of you know, the EAA aims to fly 2.5 million Young Eagles by June 2026. With 2.4 million flown since 1992, we are close to this milestone but cannot reach it without our dedicated volunteers. We are always looking for new help to support these events. If you would like to participate, please reach out to the following coordinators:

• Pilot Volunteers: Doug Dal Soglio at 719-640-8268
• Ground Volunteers: Adam Pendleton at 719-323-0960

The upcoming rally is shaping up to be a full event. Please also remember that the chapter will be hosting its monthly coffee and donuts upstairs at the same time.

Adam Pendleton, Young Eagles Coordinator

Annual Spaghetti Anniversary Dinner

When: Saturday, March 21

Time: 6:00PM to 8:00PM

Where: Old Spaghetti Factory, 3101 New Center Point

Cost: $35.00 Must pay in advance, no later than Tuesday, March 17.

Entrée choices: Spaghetti w/ Meat Sauce, Lasagna, or Chicken Parmesan. Gluten Free option available.

Includes: Garlic Cheese Bread, Main Entrée, Salad, Dessert (Spumoni), Coffee, Tea, Soda, & Gratuity, *cash bar available

Hope to see you there!

Pay at a meeting, mail a check, or call with a credit card#.

Know your numbers

By Tom Slavonik - CFI/CFII/MEI/IGI

Had you going there for a second or two, didn’t I? Bet you thought I was talking about Medical stuff! Indeed, important as your personal health numbers are, knowing your airplane numbers will keep you alive a lot longer as opposed to the former (at least in many cases). So what’s the big deal about aircraft numbers you ask? Well just about everything. Let’s pull this thing apart and take a closer look at how those numbers impact YOU and your passengers. Inasmuch as I’m essentially speaking about (and to) Pilot’s that operate aircraft in and out of high elevation Airports (4000’ and above), my real purpose is to discuss the effects of Density Altitude and how it impacts performance of light General Aviation Aircraft. My hope is that this article will positively influence some to pay attention to those numbers and in doing so prevent a catastrophic event from occurring. Specifically, loss of life and/or damaged aircraft. Spring is right around the corner and with that comes warmer temperatures and higher risks of DA related accidents.

So, allow me, if you will, to “Don my CFI hat for a spell” and discuss this very important topic. Let’s start with 14 CFR 91.103 - Required Preflight Actions.

Take notice that the noun “Actions” is plural, meaning more than one. Think of it as your “Due Diligence” or Duty to Perform! It’s Non-negotiable and Absolute! In plain English is means “you have no choice in the matter; you must do it! To make it easy, consider the acronym NWKRAFT which stands for:

• NOTAMS (Notices to Airmen)
• Weather Reports and Forecasts
• Known ATC Delays
• Runway Lengths of Intended Use
• Alternatives Available (if the flight cannot be completed)
• Fuel Requirements
• Takeoff and Landing Performance Data

To stay on topic and “on point,” our discussion will focus on three items from the list above. The first: Weather, the second: Runway Lengths of Intended Use, and third: Takeoff and Landing Performance Data.

Moving forward, what’s important with Weather other than everything? Glad you asked. While the wind direction and velocity will help us determine the proper Runway to depart from (or if we should even depart at all), I’m really drilling down on Temperature, Dewpoint, Altimeter (Barometric Pressure), and Density Altitude. Those are the “Fab Four.” They’ll make you or break you “if you let them.” Density Altitude is Pressure Altitude corrected for Non-Standard Temperature. What’s standard? For temperature it’s 59°F/15°C, and for Pressure it’s 29.92hg or 1013.2Mb, all at Sea Level and considered a “Standard Day.” Because we’re not at Sea Level we have to correct for nonstandard conditions. The bottom line is this, if the Barometric Pressure or Altimeter falls below 29.92hg your Pressure Altitude increases by 100’ for every tenth of an inch below 29.92. Example: If the current altimeter setting is 29.12 you would add 800 feet (29.92 - 29.12 = 0.8 X 1000) to the Airport Elevation to arrive at Pressure Altitude.

Setting 29.92 in the Kollsman window should net a similar result . Adding 800 feet to the Airport Elevation of 6878’ (KFLY) gives you a Pressure Altitude of 7678’. Now for the fun part. Remember back to what Density Altitude was? DA = PA corrected for non-standard temperature (59°F/15°C). Let’s say the current temperature is 82°F/28°C. The formula is DA = PA + {120 X (OAT - ISA Temp)}. It’s pretty straightforward, other than figuring out ISA Temp. ISA is called International Standard Atmosphere which is the Standard Temperature of 59°F/15°C at Sea Level. Our airport elevation is way above Sea Level at 6878’ so ISA temperature decreases by 3.5°F/2°C for every 1000’ above Sea Level. If we take our Field Elevation of 6878’ and divide by 1000 we get 6.878. We can round that up to 6.9 and multiply that by 2 (remember, the temperature decreases by 2°C for every 1000’ of elevation) which equals 13.8.

Now subtract 13.8° from 15°C (standard temperature) to arrive at your ISA Temperature of 1.2°C. Now we can solve Density Altitude. DA = PA [7678] + {120 X (OAT [28°C] - ISA Temp [1.2°C]). So, 28°C - 1.2 = 26.8°C X 120 = 3216. If you’re wondering where the 120 in that equation came from it means that for every additional 1°C increase in temperature, the Density Altitude increases by 120 feet. Remember, as the air temperature heats up it becomes thinner and less dense. Engines make less power, wings produce less lift, and propellers are less efficient. Now add that 3216’ to your PA of 7678’ and your Density Altitude is a whopping 10,894,feet!!! Now try plugging that number into your Aircraft’s performance chart, and after performing your Weight and Balance calculations see how much Runway you’ll require for takeoff. Chances are your POH doesn’t even calculate Density Altitude that high. I essentially showed you how to calculate Density Altitude the “old fashioned way;” you can get that same number easily from any number of Aviation Weather resources.

By taking the Density Altitude and incorporating it into Runway Lengths of Intended Use, and Takeoff and Landing Performance Data you now have all the information you need to make an informed “Go - No Go” Decision. But always remember this, those charts were developed using factory new aircraft that were being flown by Test Pilots. Our 40 to 60 year old airplanes may not perform as well, especially in high elevations. The solution, add a “fudge factor” in. I’ve heard of some adding a 50% margin to those performance charts! After reviewing the remaining NWKRAFT items you’ve satisfied the requirements of 14 CFR 91.103. In comparison to the PA/DA calculations it may seem like I’ve “glossed over” the Runway Lengths and Takeoff and Landing Performance Data. Perhaps, but Pressure Altitude and Density Altitude are the real “drivers” in terms of extrapolating the correct performance numbers for YOUR particular aircraft. Without knowing PA or DA you essentially know nothing. It’s nothing but a guess. Do the homework, pull out the POH and plug the numbers in where they belong. It’s that easy. In closing let me say this. Every single year there are several fatal accidents resulting from high Density Altitude and decreased Aircraft Performance.

Remember - Density Altitude is a killer! Your passengers are trusting you to make the right decision! Know your numbers, know your aircraft, and know your limitations! It’s better to be on the ground wishing you were flying than being in the air wishing you were still on the ground! Fly safe!