Message from the President

We’re in the final stages of the lease with the MLAA board. We’ll be signing the lease this upcoming week and will begin our effective lease on 1 May 2026. We’ll no longer be leasing the entire building, and we’ll become a lessee at the same level as Aerolab, CAP, and the Boy Scouts. We will no longer be responsible for managing the building or scheduling the use of the building. This is a huge weight off the board, and it will allow us to better concentrate on making this the best chapter that

we can.

If you were unable to attend the Spaghetti dinner and Pat Kelly’s birthday celebration, then you truly missed out on a fun night. Everyone that I spoke with enjoyed themselves and we were able to get to know a few of our new members.

We’ve got our April Fly Market event coming up soon on 11 Apr 2026; from 9 – noon. We’ve also got our Coffee & Donuts from 9 – 11am, and the Young Eagles from 9 – noon as well. This will be a busy morning. Don’t forget your wallet, I’m sure you’ll find something you like at the Fly Market. Just a reminder that last year there were two airplanes for sale. So, who knows what could be available this year. Our April meeting is going to be focused on Phase 1 and all the steps involved with that. It will be held on 18Apr 2026 from 11-noon, with lunch following. We’re going to have sandwiches again from Costco.

We’re still looking for an Event Coordinator, and we’re trying to build out that “Events and Social Media committee,” so please consider this opportunity.

We’re ready to announce that it’s Ray Scholarship submission time and interviews will be scheduled at the end of May. An event will be scheduled later this month, as a conference call, using Google Meet. We’ll be recording that meeting for anyone that has questions on how to submit their Ray Scholarship application. Start getting those recommendation letters together and plan to either attend that Google Meet or watch it afterwards. We also have $5k in scholarship money dedicated to maintenance. That scholarship will be ready to submit next month with interviews in June. So, continue getting those packages ready as well. If you want to have more input on these scholarship decisions, then join that committee.

Our next Learn to Fly event will be held on 16 May 2026 from 9 – noon. The airport will be hosting their own activities that day on the ramp. The EAA Chapter will be inside the hangar focusing on classes and what it takes to get that pilot’s license. We’re also planning to be flying some adults that morning. We need volunteers to help us accomplish these flights; so, we need both Pilots (with an aircraft) and ground crew. Contact me if you’re willing to assist with this function. If you haven’t had a chance to fly and you’re looking for an opportunity to see what it’s like, then join us. Also, advertise this to your neighbors. It’s a good way to break the ice and meet any new neighbors you haven’t talked to yet. Or maybe it’s another chance to connect with them; either way, get the word out. If you want to fly and haven’t had a chance yet, then I’ll do everything I can to get you in the cockpit that day. And if I can’t do it that day, then we’ll find another day that works for everyone.

20 June 2026 is our annual project tour, and MLAA will be hosting another event that same day. The tour schedule will begin at 9AM at the MLAA hangar where we’ll be handing out the tour schedule. We’ll begin our tour by visiting the aircraft on the airfield from 9 – noon. We’ll take a break for lunch around noon and pick up our schedule at 1pm for our offsite tours. I’m told that there will be food trucks available that day. The off-airfield project tours will be at our members’ homes and garages. You will need to be at the MLAA building that morning to get the schedule for all the project tour locations and times. If you miss the 9AM handout of the project tour schedule, then you will be responsible for coordinating with someone that has that schedule. This could be a long day if you choose to visit all the projects on the list. Please contact me to get your project added to our tour schedule

Thank you,
Bill Epperson Jr.

Pat Kelly’s Birthday Celebration at the 64th Annual Chapter 72 Anniversary, March 21, 2026. The Old Spaghetti
Factory.

Young Eagles

Running the Young Eagles Program has been both rewarding and challenging. The program has many behind-the-scenes actions to make sure the operation is a success. The first part is to file for insurance and post the event to the public for parents to begin signing up their 8-17 year-old young eagles. At ten days before the event, a quick estimation of young eagles expected to attend is made, and recruiting for volunteer pilots and ground personnel begins. At day five before the rally, I start looking at weather models to get a better idea of possible weather issues that may arise in order to make a sound judgment. By day three, things get busy from answering questions and looking up the estimated young eagles to attend. By day two, verify who is coming, and send a personal email for those who have yet to confirm by Thursday. On Friday, a final weather projection is reviewed, and if favorable to flight, the event will continue.

On the day of the Young Eagles rally, I retrieve the bagels & coffee for the volunteers, and donuts for the kids, then arrive at the MLAA hangar to start setting up for the event with the help from Doug Dal Soglio. At 8:30 am the pilots and ground volunteers show up and the pilots get a pre-flight brief from Doug. Ground volunteers set up tables, boundary cones, and the computer system for the check-in desk. We install the Young Eagles’ welcome sign outside the hangar. The ground volunteers get ready for their positions from check-in, marshalling, or escort. At 9 am the Young Eagles Rally officially starts. The young eagles are signed in on the system and placed in the queue to be flown. We invite them to check out the hangar and full motion flight simulator as they wait. During the event, a young eagle coordinator answers questions and takes phone calls from the public and provide directions to the hangar, if needed. At the same time, we have digital tracking for which pilot flew which young eagle. At 12 pm the event is over and clean up begins. After all is cleaned up, we verify the final count of young eagles flown and submit that information to EAA headquarters. By next month it starts over again.

Adam Pendleton, Young Eagles Coordinator
Young Eagles | EAA Chapter 72

Chapter 72.5 Activity

Richard Martin and Hank Bartlett arranged two events almost back-to-back for March to take advantage of spring break. The
first outing was to the Discovery Center where the kids were able to do experiments, fly drones, drive Mars rovers, and learn
about 3-D printing.

The second outing was scheduled for March 23 and it included a tour of the Springs TRACON and Control Tower. Fourteen
kids and 6 parents attended and they really enjoyed the visit. Since space is limited, the group was divided in half so that one
group toured TRACON while the other group toured the tower. A highlight was two F-18s approaching and the controller
mentioned there were a few kids in the tower, so they performed a fly-by around the tower before landing.