2010 Fall
The Fall Fly-in in Iowa City started out on a somber note as the inbound participants were notified of the fatal crash of Bob and Sarah Bean’s Glasair III. After much anguish it was decided that Bob and Sarah would want us to carry on with our planned weekend events. So after helping the authorities contact Bob and Sarah’s next of kin the arriving participants were greeted at the Iowa City Airport conference room where snacks and refreshments were graciously provided. Greg and Teri Downes and Greg and Rosie Zimmerman hosted the week-end and did a superb job of feeding and entertaining the attendees.
Attendees were:
Jim and Gwenn Cianci
Tony and Beth Crawford
Harry and Paulette Hinckley
Bill and Diane Johns
Tuck McAtee
Stan and Zoe Musick
Dick and Marilyn Paterno
Keith and Linda Phillips
Heinz Peier
Doug and Elli Poli
Jug and Ruylean Revelin
Mike and Jane Smith
John and Melissa Wilson
The weather cooperated nicely with bright blue skies and moderate temperatures. As the planes arrived they were promptly parked leaving the guests free to renew old friendships and meet some new attendees. Later that evening the aircraft were all put to bed in the FBO’s large hanger. All-in-all 7 aircraft flew in and combined with the two Greg’s SX and Harry’s SX there was a total of 9 SX300’s gathered to celebrate the existence of this rare bird.
Once everyone arrived we were all transported to our accommodations for the week-end and then later that afternoon to Greg and Teri’s farm for dinner, drinks and socializing. Teri and Rosie prepared all the wonderful “fixins” for dinner while Greg and Greg grilled the meat. All-in-all it was a great dinner! After dinner the gals gathered to get reacquainted while the guys sat around the kitchen table and told war stories. The night was capped off by Tuck entertaining the crowd with his dislectic fish story!
On Saturday morning everyone met for a “big breakfast” at the local Village Inn Pancake House. we all “TANKED UP” and then the Gals were off to the Amana Colony for some site seeing and shopping while the guys gathered in the airport conference room for a formal SX300 Group Meeting.
The meeting was called to order at 11:00am by current President Greg Downes. There was no old business to discuss and the Treasurer, Jim Vitale was not present to give a financial report. So Greg moved on to new business and the following items were discussed:
- Alaska Trip
- Mike Smith detailed the planned trip scheduled for June 17th, 2010. Wolf Lake is planned as the main lodging point. Day trips will be planned from Wolf Lake. Plan on leaving Bellingham, Calgary above Seattle on the 19th. Flights of 4 will be planned. Proof of Insurance will be required.
- Maintenance Issues
- Jim Vitale’s gear problem was discussed. A broken Hind Joint caused the gear to hang up. Dry latches on down locks may have contributed to problem. The gear was gotten down using the the emergency blow down system. Normal springs may have been sufficient to get gear down and locked.
- Election of 2011 Officers
- Greg Downes nominated Jim Cianci for President and John Wilson for Vice President. The nominations were seconded from the floor and the slate was voted in by acclamation before the nominees could decline.
The meeting was adjourned and everyone returned to Greg’s farm for a fun filled afternoon of driving farm equipment, harvesting corn and shooting cowboy style. Saturday dinner was wonderful grilled chicken done by a local caterer again matched with more great “Fixins” by Teri and Rosie. More socializing followed which made for a relaxing evening. Sunday morning was breakfast again at the Village Inn and then everybody prepared to depart for home. A great time was had by all! Many thanks to our gracious Hosts!
