OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE VINTAGE AIRCRAFT GROUP, INC.
As we begin the New Year, I thank all members for their support of Vintage Aircraft Group. A very special thanks to those members who have volunteered to work on restoration projects, mowing the grass, plowing the snow, working in the office and all the other tasks required at VAG. Without this support and your dedication, we could not continue our work.
It has been several months since we’ve published a newsletter and I apologize for the delay. Let's just say that none of the office staff and officers are getting any younger. As many of you know, Steve Zweig has moved to Rochester to live with his elderly mother. We miss having Steve writing the newsletters. If you have never had the job of writing such a publication, please remember that it takes a lot of time and a lot of pushing to get input from others to complete and publish a newsletter. We welcome ideas and stories for the newsletter from our members.
Starting this year we will try sending your newsletter by e-mail to members with Internet addresses. This will save considerable money in printing and postage. We will also be able to include pictures of the work on aircraft and the facilities at Pine Hill. Any one that would like a printed copy can contact VAG and a printed copy will be mailed.
During 2007, we hosted the Pine Hill Fly-In Breakfast in June and September. The June attendance was very good with over 550 attending on a rainy and cold day and about the same number enjoyed the September breakfast. Over the years, these events remain a morning to meet friends and enjoy a great breakfast.
We miss the summer air show, but attendance was dropping, the amount of profit was not justifying the amount of work required and the degree of success each year was weather dependent. We still have a lot of summer visitors that come to watch the skydiving and to enjoy the hometown airport atmosphere. We invite all members to come to the airport and volunteer or just visit. Come on Wednesday and enjoy lunch and discuss the problems of the world and VAG. We solve all types of issues at Pine Hill Airport.
If any member has a suggestion for subject material for our Newsletter, please call or submit a story.
Membership
This is the time of the year when we ask everyone to renew his or her membership. Your dues and hopefully a donation to help with our increased costs should be mailed to the above address.
If you need information on your membership, please send an e-mail to Vintage26@aol.com and we will answer as soon as possible. Changes in e-mail addresses are also important to keep our records up to date. This brings us to the facts of new computers and old software. Our database is on a program 10 years old and it would not work on the newer XP computers. After months of trying out different programs that were too complicated to learn, or would not do the job we wanted, we finally tried Google.com and we found a programmer that had a fix for our old program. We are in the final stages of updating files and will be contacting members with the data we have. If any information is incorrect or incomplete, please advise us by e-mail or letter.
Financial Information
The issue of inflation has been brought home to us with the price of heating fuel ($3.35) and aviation fuel ($4.95). Over the last few years, we have made improvements in the buildings and the heating plant in the old building. They have paid off in major savings in the number of gallons of fuel used to heat the buildings, but with the price increases, we are having trouble keeping up with the increased cost. The Land and School taxes, part of our rent on the airport property, have, also, increased. In addition to these increased costs, we have the expense of paying our part of the airfield improvement grants. To help with all these expenses, we are marketing some of our aircraft and are asking for donations in addition to membership renewals.
Aircraft Sales
In September, VAG started a marketing program to sell aircraft. Our hangar is getting full and it is time to bring in cash to replace the money spent on the restoration of the PT-26 and the Rose PT-19 projects. Selling aircraft is a long process. We have had over 15,000 people look at our Web Site. There have been about 25 contacts asking for more information. The first aircraft sold was the Gibala PT-23 project that Gene Haines had purchased. Vintage received a $2,000.00 "commission" after the sale was complete. In addition, the Emeraude Piel was sold. This was a project that was donated, but we could not find the volunteers, cash and time to complete it.
We will continue to market all aircraft and projects in hope of selling one or two additional aircraft, leaving time and money to move forward with our other restoration projects.
Security
During the last year many changes have been made concerning the security at all airports and Pine Hill Airport is doing its share. The most important has been the installation of a video surveillance system with video cameras located inside and outside the airport buildings. For those with computers you can check on the cameras by going to our web site www.vintageaircraftgroup.org and clicking on the webcam block. You may, also, receive the signals at http://pinehillcam.dyndns.org:8080. At night and in the windowless hangars, you will find the pictures dark. In these areas we have motion lights that turn on if anyone enters the area. Motion causes a recorder to record what action takes place. This allows the video taping of anyone in the building. There had been minor thefts of coffee and pop money, but since the cameras have been installed, we have stopped that problem.
Restoration
Our restoration crew has been busy this summer working on the PT-19 projects. The first PT-19 has the wings covered, painted yellow and the tail surfaces were primed and painted. This aircraft, unlike the Cornell, is painted in one of the U.S. Army Air Corps color schemes. The fuselage is blue and the wings yellow. The rudder stabilizer has red and white stripes with a blue vertical line at the hinge point. John Pratt, Carl Yunker, Roger Townsend, Jim Barney, and Bob Lusk have been working on this project. Final painting on the cowling will be done this winter and, hopefully, the plane will be ready to fly in the Spring.
The L-5G, which belongs to Gene Haines and Jim Kriss, is nearing completion. Gene hired Ed Steuber, a certified aircraft mechanic, Jim Barney and Bob Lusk to help finish the L5 project. Jim Barney and Bob Lusk spent many hours on the fabric and painting process. The metal work is done and the cockpit has been outfitted. The engine was disassembled, inspected, reassembled and was mounted on the fuselage last June. Gene flew the aircraft for the first time since about 1979.
Some work has started on the third PT (Rose PT to identify it from the other PT-19.) This PT-19 is owned by VAG and this work will be completed, as time and money permit. At this time, the fuselage has been cleaned, painted, the wood work on the fuselage completed, the engine cowl fitted and set aside for painting, instrument panels installed and tail wheel parts located for assembly. The center section is nearly ready for the wood cover and the wings have had considerable repair work completed. This is a project that came with many parts missing, but with time, we will either complete the restoration or sell as a project. There were many spare parts included with Gene’s Gibala purchase and he is making these parts available, as donations to VAG.
The PT-26 that we have been flying needs painting and, if it is not sold, will probably be grounded for maintenance when the first PT-19 is flying. We can remove the wing panels and take the aircraft into the shop for a good final coat of paint and we will put on the Canadian insignia.
Buildings and Grounds
The new hanger is closer to completion thanks to the efforts of the Wednesday crew . The furnace is now operational, doors have been installed on the offices and the display cases have been set up with some of our books and WW II items. Please don't concern yourself about how the rug in the new lobby area looks. It was free and since we have very limited funds, we felt a free used rug was better than no rug at all.
We have a new runway surface. This is from a grant from the State of New York DOT, Aviation Division and, of course, VAG has to pay 10%. Our share is about $14,000.00, so you can understand why our budget is totally in the red. There seemed to be little choice about the expenditure, as the runway surface was breaking apart. This could have caused an aircraft accident or damage. We feel the new runway will bring us some additional aircraft parking at Pine Hill and some additional revenue.
Our tractors were busy with the grass. It seems to never stop growing. Fran Cutter, Ron Holzermer, Bob Lusk and Jim Barney were cutting grass a lot. Yes, there were a few others, but none as faithful.
Now that it is Winter, snow removal takes the place of mowing. So far this year we have had little snow at Pine Hill. Oh, how I hate to think of what we will get in the balance of February and then in March.
Our new airport sign has been in place for several months. It is a work of art. Jim Kriss donated the sign. If you have not seen it, take a ride to the airport and look. The old sign that served the airport for 20 + years has been preserved and is mounted on the wall in the new hangar. Carson Bailey donated that sign and to Carson we say another thank you for your work.
VAG still could use a powered floor sweeper and a powered floor polisher. Perhaps, someone knows of such equipment available for donation or possibly with a low enough price so we could purchase it. Also, we can always use tools for the shop. We would be grateful for ANY donations made to VAG and, if you itemize deductions, you would save on your income tax.
Thank you for reading our newsletter. We hope you found it informative and interesting.
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Vintage Aircraft Group, Inc.
4906 Pine Hill Road, Albion, NY 14411