This is a quick update as to what’s going on in the chapter right now. First of all, we have our annual post-Holiday party this coming Friday (February 4th). As we did last year we will be dinning at the VAA hangar at the Gardner Airport at 6pm and be catered by Johnny’s BBQ. If your planning on attending and haven’t done so already please let Grant Wittenborn know today so we can get a proper head count. We will be providing the food, but please bring a dessert. And if you wish to bring some special beverage to share with the group it will of course be welcomed as well!
The next event we have coming up is our Judges school to be held February 26-27 at the CAF meeting room at IXD. I will be teaching it this year and we already have a few people coming in from out of town so we’re hoping it will be well attended. Cost will be $75 for both days or $50 for the Sunday only recurrent portion of the school with lunch provided both days. I will also organize a dinner meeting for Saturday night so even if you don’t plan on attending the class please come out and join us for dinner and drinks.
Planning for the 2022 Harold Neumann Barnstormer has begun. We had to move out date back to June 24-25 due to scheduling conflicts but that will put us 2 weeks off of the 50th Seward aerobatic contest that promises to be a big deal. I attended the Ottawa Airport Board meeting last night and am happy to report that they are excited to have us back! Also the Air Explorers want to cook lunch for us again. If you remember last year their food was great and they went above and beyond afterward by helping on the judge’s line. We still need volunteers so if you helped last year or are wanting to help this year please let me know! All positions are open right now so if you have something specific in mind we can work that out! The contest waiver is sitting on my desk waiting for the weather to break so I can UPS it to the FSDO. It’ll be here before you know it!
John Ostmeyer
Chapter President
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Good morning, I am writing today to let you know what’s going on with the club. We will not be having a chapter meeting in December due to the busy time of year. However, we will be having a meeting Feb 4th. This will be our annual Holiday Party so bring your significant other and your appetite! As usual we will meet at the VAA hangar located at the Gardner Airport at 6pm. Dinner will be catered in, and I will be sending out more information as we get closer.
Contest planning has begun. Due to a conflict with another contest we must move our contest date. Earlier in the year would run us into historically rainy weather so we had to push it back and we’ve picked June 24-25 as the dates. I am looking for volunteers to help so if you are interested, please let me know.
Also, for 2022 we will be hosting a judge’s school Feb 26-27. The Heart of America Wing of the CAF has graciously allowed us to once again use their facilities. If you’ve ever been to their meeting room, you know what a fantastic venue this is for our school. The price will be $75 for the full 2 day school and $50 for the recurrent only portion on Sunday with lunch provided both days. For more information see the IAC website.
Fly Safe and enjoy the holidays,
John Ostmeyer
Chapter President
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Good morning. Dave Lutes, Phillip Gragg and Craig Fitzgerald flew for Chapter 15 at the contest and Craig finished 3rd in Intermediate behind Michael Lents (in a Decathalon!) and Tom Rhodes. Phillip Gragg also flew under the Chapter 15 banner and took home the 3rd place trophy in Sportsman
This Saturday (October 2nd) will be our last scheduled Play Day for the year. I will be out of town, but I filed the NOTAM for IXD from 10am-5pm. Plan on getting together on the CAF ramp on the north side of the field. I wish I could be there but work calls. I hope everyone has a good time.
October is also a meeting month, and we will be meeting Friday Oct 15th at our normal spot in the VAA hangar at the Gardner Airport at 6pm. Everyone is welcome to come out and talk aerobatics. We will plan to recap the Nationals as well as start setting up for next year’s contest and judge’s school. Also, we will need to set a date for our Christmas party in December.
Now go out and enjoy the best time of year to fly in the Midwest!
John
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We didn’t make it last year but the Kansas City Aerobatic Club is dedicated to having the funnest contest of 2021 to make up for it! Come on out June 4-5 for a great 5 category contest in the middle of the country.
We have secured a rate at the Ottawa Comfort Inn for $85.00 a night. Use the link below and use the code Aerobatic Club with your reservation:
https://www.choicehotels.com/reservations/groups/GA76P5(link is external)
There is also a brand new Holiday Inn Express close by and they can be reached at 855-797-6733.
Rental cars available from Enterprise at 785-242-0300.
Practice will begin on Thursday June 3rd.
The contest will begin on Friday June 4th with briefing at 0730. Dinner that night will be pizza.
Flying will resume on Saturday and we will fly until we are done! The banquet will at the airport at 1930 and food will be catered. And of course there will be a party when we’re done!
Lunch for Friday and Saturday will be provided by Aviation Explorers Post 8000.
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I happy to announce that after an officers meeting of the Kansas City Aerobatic Club, the 2020 Harold Neumann Barnstormer is a GO! We are excited to see all our aerobatic friends on June 5-6 at the Ottawa Municipal Airport (KOWI).
By the time of our contest Kansas, and Franklin County, should be in Phase 3 of their reopening plan. This will mean bars and restaurants will be open and we are allowed gatherings of up to 90 people. It was asked for me to point out that Ottawa, being in Franklin County, is just far enough outside of KC that they are using the state schedule and not the KC metro schedule which is roughly a week behind.
There is a lot of work left to do but the chapter officers and myself feel that the time is right to finally start flying. I will be meeting with the Ottawa Airport to finalize the setup, working with hotels and rental cars, and making sure the food is good to go. Please watch the IAC Contest Calendar page for updates on hotels and rental cars. Grant Wittenborn has offered to make sure our tables and chairs on the judges line are in good shape and transport them to Ottawa. Dave Maine is working on the T shirts, although this year we will be taking orders at the contest and mailing your t shirt to you afterwards. Paul Thomson has the trophy’s ready to go. Closer in we will need help setting the box, judges line and all the little things that pop up last minute. Linda Meyers Morrissey has offered to be our very capable Chief Judge.
I would like to thank everyone that has helped up to this point and who has volunteered to help out in the coming days and weeks. This is a community effort and could not happen with out your support. If you would like to help out or have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch with me. And finally if you are a chapter leader please let your chapter know that the contest is going ahead as planned, we would love to have a great showing for what may turn out to be the first contest of the year. Now go start practicing!!
Fly Safe,
John Ostmeyer
Chapter President
Contests, Uncategorized
Happy Holidays! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Santa treated you well. Maybe a new headset or ADS-B under the tree?
I am giving everyone a quick update on the goings on in the chapter. The Judges school set for Feb 22-23 is proceeding along nicely. I have had a few phone calls and emails from people that plan on coming in from out of town to join us. As a reminder it will be held in the CAF meeting room at IXD and the price is $85 for the full two days and $65 for the Sunday only refresher. Lunch will be provided both days and we are planning a dinner for Saturday night.
Our contest set for June 5-6 is also coming together. I have practice waivers in hand for both Ottawa and Coffee County airports that the chapter can use. There are a couple of typo’s that still need to be fixed but I’m not anticipating that to be any problem. I would like to hold a Play Day at Ottawa early in the spring to work out any bugs between us and the airport before the contest, and another at Coffee Country mid summer for the same reasons. Besides, it will give us on opportunity to fly out somewhere.
Also, John Morrissey has confirmed that he will be our Chief Judge and Ellyn Robinson has offered to be our Volunteer Coordinator. Both of these people bring a lot of experience at Regional and National contest levels and we are lucky that they have offered their time. In addition our Treasurer Dave Maine will be designing this years shirts.
After the New Year I expect things to progress rapidly for both the Judges School and Contest and will be sending out regular emails to keep everyone up to date.
Finally don’t forget our next meeting will be our annual Holiday Party on Feb 8th, at 6pm and will be hosted once again by John and Beverly Wittenborn. Please plan on joining us for a meal, drinks and fellowship.
Fly Safe,
John Ostmeyer
Chapter President
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I am sorry to report the passing, on September 25th, of Roy Thorton. Roy was a great supporter of our sport and particularly the Kansas City Aerobatic Club. He was a wonderful inspiration and mentor to all who knew him. Roy’s obituary can be found in the September 28th edition of the Kansas City Star and on the McGilley Funeral Home website. Our hearts and prayers are with his wife, Jan and family.
Below is a short letter from Roy’s wife, Jan.
John Wittenborn, Kansas City Aerobatic Club
It is with great sadness that I have to tell you of Roy’s passing on Sunday, the 25th of September, at St. Joseph Hospital. He fought a short but critical battle with congestive heart failure for the last couple of months but he was not able to overcome the odds against him. He passed quietly Sunday afternoon.
The obituary will be in the Kansas City Star on Thursday, September 28th. The visitation will be on Saturday, September 30th at 1:00 p.m. at McGilley’s Funeral Home followed by the service at 2:00. There will be a graveside service at Mt. Moriah Cemetery following the visitation and service and a reception at McGilley’s Funeral Home following the graveside service. There will be plenty of food and everyone is invited. Roy loved a good time with his friends and family and we hope to visit with as many of you as possible who can attend.
Love to you all,
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Just a quick note to remind you of the IAC15 meeting this evening, 7 pm at Signature Flight Support New Century Air Center. Looking forward to seeing you there
John Wittenborn, IAC 15
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Hello everyone. A few notes about upcoming events this month. VAA Chapter 16 would like to invite IAC Chapter 15 to their annual fly-in this weekend on June 23-24, at the Gardner Municipal Airport (K34) in Gardner, KS. Friday, June 23rd will feature a pot-luck dinner and movies on the field. Saturday the 24th, enjoy breakfast from 08:00 – 10:00 am; pilots eat free. Burgers and dogs for lunch and a shrimp boil in the evening.
Sounds like a fun weekend for sure.
There will be an IAC15 chapter meeting June 26th at 7 pm at the Signature Flight Support FBO on the West side of New Century Air Center. We’ll get an update on everyone’s flying activities and ask for interest in using the aerobatic box in the future this Summer.
Plan to attend the meeting and we’ll see you there.
John Wittenborn, IAC15
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It is with great sadness that I report the passing yesterday, April 28th, of our long-time IAC and chapter 15 member, Jim Forman. Our prayers and condolences go out to the Forman family and friends.
Further information will be forthcoming.
John Wittenborn, IAC15 president
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