The November Annual Meeting was brought to order by new club president Bill O’Donnell.
... Bill started the meeting by taking a moment to say a few words of thanks to Jim McCoy for his service as president and to those who helped out at the Milford Demo Day event.
... A motion to accept the October secretary’s report as stated in the November 2007 Yankee Flyer was made and seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
... The treasurer’s report was read by Dave Seale.  Dave also reviewed income and expenses for 2007. The checkbook balance is $706 higher than at the same time last year. The November balance was $3030.27 with income at $1182.00 and expenses of $1435.16. A motion to accept the treasurer’s report was made and seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
... Jack Squier mentioned that he had had a conversation with Frank Strange. Frank has some planes and balsa that he would like to unload from his hangar. If you are interested in what Frank has to offer please contact Frank directly at 508-376-8123.
... Jack Squier also gave an update on club member Charlie Neville. Charlie is recovering from cancer surgery. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Charlie and his family, and we wish him a speedy recovery.

Outgoing MMAC president, Jim McCoy, presents the 2007 Tom Kempf Founder's award to Jack Squier.

... Jim McCoy presented Jack Squier with the Tom Kempf Founders Award. This award recognizes an individual’s exceptional dedication and effort on behalf of the club. Jack has been a club member for 27 years. During those 27 years, Jack has taken on many tasks and positions within the club including: grounds keeper, Winter Projects Night organizer, Annual Banquet organizer, flight instructor, American Legion liaison, club secretary, and flying field development committee member. The club thanks Jack for his many years of dedicated service to the club.
... Bill O’Donnell announced that Scott Annis has obtained his full scale pilot’s license.  Congratulations Scott.
... The club has met the requirements for AMA Leader Club gold level status. Jim McCoy will be submitting the application to the AMA.
... There was a very short discussion about dues for 2008. A motion was made and seconded to keep the dues at the same amount for 2008. The motion passed unanimously. Dues for an individual adult membership are $50 with a $5 discount if dues are paid on or before the January meeting. January’s meeting is on the 29th.
There was also a very short discussion about the membership cap for 2008. A motion was made and seconded not to change the membership cap for 2008. The motion passed unanimously. The cap is 150 members.
... Bill O’Donnell raised the idea of having a tri-club fun fly with the South Shore and Wingbusters clubs in the June ’08 timeframe. No negative concerns were raised by the members present at the meeting. Bill will pursue this idea with the other clubs and report back at a future meeting.
... Bill O’Donnell raised the idea of renting a port a-potty for the flying field during the summer months. Concerns raised were vandalism and cost. Bill will inquire into the details of renting to determine cost and risk to the club if it is damaged.
... Sales of tickets for the new raffle are off to a brisk start. The club is raffling a World Models Chipmunk 90-S ARF. Tickets are 1 for $3 or 2 for $5. Contact Brad Kaye at flyn3d@yahoo.com if you want to purchase tickets. The winner will be drawn at the Winter Project Night in April. The model was generously donated to the club by Joe Candela at Creative Hobbies in Mendon (www.creativehobbies.net).
... David Ohanian raised a concern about frequency interference on channel 39. If anyone else has been experiencing interference, please send me an email with the details.
... The meeting adjourned at 8:25 and was followed by the raffle. The next meeting is January 29, 2008 at the American Legion Hall in Millis.

Regards,
Roger Gilman
MMAC Secretary

Club Gear for Sale!

MMAC still has a few club hats available for members to purchase. These sturdy caps have a colorful club logo embroidered on the front and an adjustable strap in the back. They can be purchased for $15 each (plus $1.50 for shipping if necessary)
... Also, don't forget that MMAC offers high quality logo stickers for your car, flight box, aircraft or spouse. Available in two sizes, the small size (3" x 1.875") is $1 and the large size (4.75" x 3") is $1.50. They can be purchased at club meetings or by mail by adding .50 for postage.
... For either hats or stickers, please order by contacting Jim McCoy at 508-478-6617 or email at mccoygroup@comcast.net.

MMAC member Dave O'Hanian recently reported interference with channel 39 at Bill Martin Airfield. Although he did not seriously damage his aircraft, his did temporarily lose control while on the ground. We've had reports of issues with lower-end channels in the past (12 and 13) and occasionally channels in the low 40s. If any member experiences radio interference (sorry, dumb thumbs do not count!), please be sure to report any instances to a MMAC board member as soon as possible. Also, please remember that channels 20 and 21 are not allowed to operate at Bill Martin due to known interference.
... With winter flying now in full swing, please be sure to exercise caution while driving into and out of the site as the snow may be deeper than you think. Do not fly alone, and under no circumstances should you attempt to recover a downed aircraft by yourself if it crashes beyond the site clearing. Dress warmly and use common sense about how long you are out in the open. As harmless as it may seem, please do not light a camp fire for warmth as it damages the turf and has the potential of getting out of control and landing us in hot water with the State. Lastly, please do not use a plow or snow blower to clear the road, parking area, pits or runway. This was done a couple of winters ago, and left some serious turf divots for us to repair come springtime.
... Have fun out there...and don't forget to snap a few photos and send them along to me at mccoygroup@comcast.net so I can include the winter field happenings in future columns.

Better Late than Never...
By Scott Annis

I really need to start this off with an apology. In November 2006 I completed a major step in fulfilling a life goal of becoming a pilot. In Sterling, off grass, in a 1946 Piper cub I completed the required 3 circuits of the field by myself and advanced to the stage of solo student pilot. Huge day. When I told Jim about this he asked me to write about the experience for the newsletter. Sure I said, no problem. As there has clearly not been an article since that time there was certainly a problem, me! Jim, this took way longer than it should have but here it is, finally.
... It is hard to describe the feelings of that day. I knew that I was close to soloing, I was ready, we just couldn't seem to get the weather. Ed, my instructor, makes the first solo as easy as possible, no wind, clear skies, you get the idea. I have been doing my training at Spencer, and when I started with Ed, I told him that I was giving up a couple of things that I wanted to do. I wanted to solo in a military cub, off grass and as Ed's J3 is post war, and Spencer is paved, that wasn't going to happen. My primary desire was to solo in the cub and that was going to be good enough for me.
... So here we are, I show up at Spencer and we have a 3 to 5 knot crosswind going. Clearly we are not going to solo today. So Ed has me plan a cross country to Sterling about 12 miles to the north. Part of the license requirements is cross country training so we could still make good use of the day. So off we go, stick into the wind, full power, and happy cub feet, keeping her on the centerline. Boy I love this stuff! So we work on pilotage, picking out landmarks, figuring out wind correction and before I know it there is Sterling off to the left. Now as we are going up there Ed tells me that the sight picture on landing is going to be a bit different. It seems that I190 is about 100 yards from the end of the runway and it is 30 feet or so above the elevation of the runway. This first approach is going to be interesting! Now the other thing that Ed told me as we approach is that I have a choice. I can land on the runway as normal, or I can land in grass beside the runway. Well that wasn't much of the choice and into the grass we went. Other than feeling like I was going to land on I190 it was a normal landing, not only that, with the layout at Sterling rather than having a 5 knot crosswind, I have a 5 knot headwind.
... So we start to back taxi back to the runway when Ed says stop here. He grabs a radio and jumps out with a big grin on his face and says give me three. Well this was unexpected. At an airport that I have never taken off from, and only landed once on, with a 5 knot wind I am off to solo. I know that the experience is different for everybody, and more than one person has told me that they were thinking OMG, I gotta do this and there is no one there to bail me out, but for me it was totally different. First I could see the instruments. You solo a Cub from the rear seat, and train from the rear seat, so the instructor is up front blocking the view. Second, and weird, was the fact that I could see the stick in the front seat moving all by itself. Third, and most exciting was without the 185 pounds in the front seat the airplane is lively, and I was off the ground before I knew it. What a rush, there I am flying an airplane all by myself, off grass and screaming my damn fool head off!
... Turning base to final I see a school building below and it is recess. Gotta wag the wings at the kids. Not sure if they noticed or not but I was glad that they were there. So in we go for the first solo landing. Trim is a little different but other than that it was follow procedures, pull the stick all the way back and bring her in. Not a word out of Ed until I had turned around and was taxiing back for the next one, when I hear a "You can stop now if you want too". My reply ... just try to stop me! As I taxi past Ed he has a couple of people with him and they are clapping and carrying on. It seems that they saw the Cub, and as they were pilots as well that had flown the Cub they stopped by and found out I was soloing, so I had an audience as well. So what do I do, I bounce the second landing. Not much, 6 inches or so but not what I wanted to do. Murphy is alive and well.
... Fast forward a year almost to the day, and there I am at Spencer, getting the oral exam and practical exam from the FAA examiner. An hour later, he is filling out the temporary pilots license, I have passed the test. So if you happen to be out and about and you see a bright yellow cub overhead you might want to consider taking cover, it might be me.