Eavesdropping on March 2008 Meeting

We heard the sad news that Sue Kirschner is not planning to return to the office this year, so a contingency plan involving Carol and claire will have to be put into operation,. Mike P. is currently doing every other Saturday and two others are interested in helping gout as well.

The airfield will be run, on another contingency plan, by a full-cat, with Mike P. as course instructor and John Wright as additional help - poor old JW needs every penny he can find. There will also be at least one individual as a paid winch driver, with others interested as well, so it looks like the popular Wednesday and Friday winching days will continue.

The syndicate who bought G-RTUG for the club are the last of those who gave money to get us started who still haven't got their money back. If this tug is sold at a loss to those generous members, the club will reimburse them (with in limits) for the huge loan they have made for over three years now.

Self-insuring the fleet is still under consideration, once the sums have been done. Marie has found even more people to share the shop dragon load, Sarah being the latest recruit. With several friendly helpers now, it will be less of a chore for each of them to give up their time and feed your hungry mouths.

The MT is improving - the first vehicle is back with a new clutch, and the next is ready for fitting - treat them gently, clutches cost money. Purchase of another 4WD in better condition then the present ones was considered, but Ken H said that as his time came for free, repairing the current ones was still a viable option.

Carol reported we'd done more flying than the corresponding period last year, and had sold more trial lessons too, with the online shop making a good contribution. We have gained a few more members again this month, so say hello to any new faces you see at the launch point.

THe large hole in the airfield fence will be repaired very soon, and we hope to have wi-fi working over part of the caravan area soon. Speaking of wi-fi, we are trying to get our broadband upgraded, and as soon as our ISP starts taking new customers again, we will get a better deal (at no extra cost).

Mike P. spent ages and ages of his own free time analyzing costs and checking what we actually make a profit and a loss on, and the committee wished to thank him for his hard work.

Pricing of launching should be researched and discussed in advance of any implementation of a rise (the agreement with OUGC requires they are given some notice, so they can adjust their own fees, for example) . However, avgas rises have meant that an increase is inevitable, given what it costs us to buy, as we are one of the cheapest sources of fuel in the area.