A quarterly meeting of membership of the Omaha Soaring Club was held on July 18 at the OSCI clubhouse at Blair Municipal Airport. Thirteen members were in attendance.
The meeting was held at the OSCI clubhouse at BTA as introduction of the new clubhouse to all, and to thank to all who made it happen.
The recent history of the club’s board of directors was reviewed, with Jay’s resignation, Bob A.’s assumption of the Presidency as a result, and John’s acceptance of the role of interim vice-president. Thanks were
expressed to Bob and John for stepping up to help us through this.
Jeff reviewed the status of the L-33 and it’s insurance claim. The glider and its trailer were declared a total loss by the insurance company. The glider was picked up by their representative, and we have received a check for approximately $17,000 for the glider and $2,000 for the trailer. This claim will increase our insurance rates by $3700 over 3 years, with a $2000 increase this year.
Bob D. reviewed the maintenance status of the club’s aircraft. There are no significant issues, but our ground equipment is in need some TLC and volunteers are requested to help with some minor maintenance.
Jeff reviewed the status of the club’s finances, focusing on our income statement and the status of the maintenance fund. We continue to lose money on the relationship between monthly dues and fixed costs, and make up much of it on the relationship between flying fees and variable costs. The increases in fuel costs this year have been a concern. We have resisted raising tow fees to address this, but continue to monitor
it. The general conclusion was that we are in good financial shape.
There was a discussion of the need for quarterly meetings. This is required by the club’s by-laws, but we will investigate modifying the wording of the by-laws to make quarterly meetings a norm, but not required.
There was discussion of the proper relationship between club gliders and trips to other soaring sites. The issues involved were discussed, but no conclusion reached.
It was announced that we have been offered use of Bill’s Schweizer 2-22 in exchange for storing it in a hanger, paying its insurance, and allowing free use by Bill and his son. This presents a unique opportunity to fill a
need for another two seat glider for the club without a capital expense. We anticipate having the glider in a couple of weeks. A similar arrangement for Bill’s Schweizer 1-26 is also in the works.
In general discussion, it was noted that we continue to see very good interest from the community and are giving many rides. CAP flights are down slightly from last year due to the weather this spring, but continue doing well. We hope to eventually have some of the CAP Cadets join the club as a result of their glider orientation flights.
Meeting adjourned.
David Leslie
Secretary, Omaha Soaring Club
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