Hicks Airfield Pilots Association FLAPPINGS Serving the owners and tenants of Hicks Airfield, Fort Worth Texas (T67) January/February 2012 Rusty Morris’ beautiful Cessna 170. All original and looking like new, this project is almost complete. Rusty has logged hundreds of hours buffing and polishing! President’s Corner…..………………………………………………………..…Page 2 Editorial…….……………………..………………………………………………..Page 3 Financial Reports………………………………………………………………...Page 6 Classified Ads……………………………………………………………………..Page 12 Hicks Contacts…………………………………………………………………….Page 19 1 VOLUME 28 ISSUE 1 president’s Corner By Gene de Bullet Dear members and families, We had a well attended election of in-coming board members last Saturday (December 10, 2011). There was an un- usual number of candidates and I felt you should know the vote tally per candidate as the top three will be your repre- sentatives for the next two years along with the balance of the Board. They are Ted Kelso with 145 votes, Tom Mar- tin with 229 votes, Roy Geer 183 votes, Kurt Berchert 51 votes, Bob Samson 45 votes, Paul Blakely 13 votes, Carey Spivey 17 votes, Jim Partington 3 votes. I applaud all of these candidates for taking an active role in our Hicks Air- port elected government. Those of you that were able to attend were brought up to date on current projects, problem areas and the improve- ments that we like to brag about, such as airport security, drainage project and runway taxiway improvements. Although 2011 has been an outstanding year, those officers and board members hope to have a less contentious 2012 where we have no more super-glued locks, abusive e-mails or on-going slander/libel that only serves to divide our community and set up a second class of membership with an agenda which is arguably ill conceived and promotes negativity. I realize that “boys will be boys” and that some of us have a lot of time on our hands but I ask each of you to think in terms of what’s best for the airport generally. We will be publishing a list of officers and HAPA’s budget 2012 along with other up-dates in the next Flappings. Lastly, personal thanks to the Avery’s for continuing to host our HAPA functions and to P.M.G. for a splendid han- dling of the election process. On behalf of our Board of Directors and from me personally let me wish each of you a Happy New Year. Gene Board of Directors Next meetings: Thursday, January 12, February 9, Hangar 111 6:30 PM To have your concern placed on the agenda please contact your local board member. 2 VOLUME 28 ISSUE 1 Editorial By Mike Bruno Well, thanks to all who took the time to vote in the recent The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and HAPA BOD election, and congratulations to Ted Kelso, Tom enlarge freedom. John Locke Martin, and Roy Geer. Flappings believes that the HAPA Board has been well run and effective in the last few years, and It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or that the current board makeup will endeavor to continue improv- the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to ing the situation here at Hicks. their own interest. Adam Smith It’s raining as I write, and not much is going on, so I think I’ll Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little allow myself a few random musings this month. First, as many temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. of you surely know, we are into an election year. Assuming Benjamin Franklin that despite the ending of the Mayan calendar and the aligning of the planets with the plane of the ecliptic on December 21st, I think the best way of doing good to the poor is not making the world will continue to exist through 2013. Here is what we them easy IN poverty, but leading or driving them OUT of it. need to think about, because I do believe that although the pun- Benjamin Franklin dits say it every time, this will truly be a pivotal election. When the people find that they can vote themselves money, Do you believe that the money you earn is yours? What does that will herald the end of the Republic. the Constitution of the United States of America say about who Benjamin Franklin can take it from you, and for what purpose? What are the enu- merated powers of the Federal government? Has Socialism ever I am aware that the origin of some of the quotes I have men- worked? How much money has been spent on the New Deal and tioned is disputed. However, I believe they are pure genius the Great Society, and have they been a success? Is the problem nonetheless. And disregard their intent if you wish, but just really that we just haven’t spent enough? remember that this great country, the greatest there has ever been on this earth, is the brainchild of men like them. On a much smaller scale, but along the same lines, please look carefully at the pictures on pages 10-11. You will see what hap- Thanks..I feel better now. But I do have one final question…. pened to the original Hicks Field . How did that happen? Could it happen again? Who is John Galt? Mike I remember sitting in History class in high school and wonder- ing why learning about the past is important. Now, I realize that it’s not so much learning about the past that is so important as it The “old Hicks” in its heyday..Taliaferro field c.WWI. is learning from the past. Because I truly believe that George Santayana was right: Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Whether considering the future of Hicks Field or of our great country, I urge you to keep the past in mind. The last great Fed- eral Republic on earth was ancient Rome...where is it now, and why? England once ruled the western world..what happened? (Hint: read our Declaration of Independence) Why did the So- viet Union crumble? Would you really want to live in China or North Korea? Why is the Euro teetering on the brink? Could our Hicks become another industrial park? So, when listening to the babble coming out of Washington and through your favorite media filter, I offer the following quotes that may help you determine what you are actually for, and what you are actually against: 3 VOLUME 28 ISSUE 1 HICK’S AIRFIELD PILOTS ASSOCIATION Minutes from Board Meeting December 16, 2011 At the meeting of the Board of Directors on December 16, 2011 the Board of Directors elected the following officers to wit: Gene de Bullet - President Ted Kelso - Vice President Jim Usher - Treasurer Roy Geer - Secretary Further the 2012 Budget was considered and approved. Further, Committee Chairs are Taxi-way/Runway - Mike Olson Maintenance Phase II Drainage - Ted Kelso N. Gates/Security - Don Browning Jim Usher Septic Maintenance - Bob Avery P.M.G. will continue as the management company for HAPA. Ninfa Cruz Report suspicious activity: call 866-GA-SECURE (866-427-3287) If danger is imminent, call 911 first. 4 VOLUME 28 ISSUE 1 EAA Chapter 670 by Bob Read accompanied by audio/visual presentations. EAA Chapter 670 is the local EAA chapter based In addition, our chapter sponsors a Young Eagles pro- right here at Hicks Airfield. The Chapter meets the gram two or three times a year. This program consists third Wednesday of each month. In the summer, the of a short ground school followed by an actual flight meetings usually take place in one of the member’s for young enthusiasts, enabling them to get some hangars for a project presentation. In the winter, the valuable aviation experience. This provides a fun Chapter usually meets at the Colonial House Restau- way for aircraft owners and pilots to give back to the rant for a project and or speaker presentation. Chap- profession and the community, and hopefully will ter president Ben Morrison works diligently to sched- help in the continuation of our passion by the next ule a great program for each meeting. For example, in generation. the past, we’ve had: Please call us for more information, and drop in and see us at the next meeting! A pilot who had an engine failure shortly after takeoff (with a successful recovery!) Ben Morrison (817) 988-7879 A very interesting presentation by Mike Bruno on the colorful history, design philosophy, and han- Bob Read (817) 439-0757 Hangar 413 dling characteristics of Russian aircraft Radio controlled model jet aircraft demonstration. Ongoing progress reports by members building their own aircraft. So, if you are even mildly interested in aviation re- lated topics, come on out on the third Wednesday of the month and join the fun! Presently, our chapter has approximately 75 members composed of folks just like you. An average of about 35 members attend each meeting. We usually meet at 1800 to tell lies and war stories, and then eat dinner. The meeting officially starts at 1900, usually lasts all of ten minutes, and then the featured program begins, involving display aircraft or components and often Submittal Policy: The deadline for submission of articles, advertisements, min- utes, and reports will be the 15th of the month. This should provide sufficient time to edit the layout of the newsletter so that it can be mailed & posted to www.t67.org by the first of the following month.