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 Tom
Botsford
Tom is
the current chapter vice president. He owns and maintains a beautiful
1946 Cessna 140.
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Kyle
Bradford
Kyle has
completed two Pietenpols, a Sky Scout and an Air Camper. He is
great source of information on lots of classic and antique aircraft.
After serving in both the US Navy and Air Force he flew for commercial
airlines.
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Lloyd & Joyce
Brown
Lloyd
is a member of Spartan Wings and more importantly to many of us
and our airplanes he rents hangars at KTEW
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Lynn
Brown
Lynn worked on building
the Mini-Max here and just enjoys being in group related to aviation.
He was C.A.P. Cadet at Mason High School when we picked up first
stones on east/west runway at Mason Airport under construction
1945/46. Lynn spent 38 years in the insurance industry.
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Dale
Buttermore
Dale owns a Ercoupe
and is an active member of the Ercoupe Owners Group.
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Pete
Chestnut
Pete has restored a
rare1941 Stearman A75-L3. This is one of a few civilian Stearmans.
It left the factory on the March 26, 1941, for Parks Air College,
East St. Louis IL where it was flown until 1964. Pete's restoration
won the Deed Levy Award at the National Stearman Fly-In at Galesburg
IL. Pete ferries DC-9s from California to Romania.
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Gregg Cornell
Gregg
is a past chapter treasurer and served in the U.S. Air Force for
11 years as an F-111 pilot and T38 IP (Instructor Pilot). His
10 year project, a Glasair Super-IIS (N434GC), is completed and
flying. He also owns the Piper Seneca (pictured below).
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Carl
Dalrymple
Carl was in the 8th
Photo Tech Squadron in Germany. He processed film from planes
that were photographing all of Northern Africa and he was the
payroll clerk for his outfit of 300 people. Carl loves flying
with the other members
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Ken
& Betty Drewyor
Ken began
flying in 1974 at Lansing Community College in the Aviation Technology
program, where he earned his Commercial, Instrument and Flight
Instructor certificates and ratings. He is now a 757/767 Captain
for United Parcel Service flying domestically in the overnight
package industry, and does some occasional flight instructing.
Ken's first airplane was a 1952 Piper Pacer, which he owned for
8 years. He currently owns a 1980 Mooney 201 and has recently
begun building his first homebuilt airplane, a Kitfox Series 7.
Ken's wife, Betty, is also a private pilot. Ken is a contributing
editor to this web page.
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Lou Farhood
Here's
Lou from Fowlerville and his 2001 completed RV-8, which first
flew on May 20. It is Lou's first home building project, and he
is currently assisting the building of two other airplanes. Lou
worked 15-20 hours per week over 23 months to complete this beautiful
airplane. When asked about why an RV, Lou liked the performance
numbers that the airplane had to offer and Van's reputation of
being both a stable company and supportive to their customers.
"I found the construction straight forward. When a difficult
area arose, it was very encouraging and helped to build my confidence
to complete the airplane," Lou said.
Nice job Lou, Congratulations!
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Dave & Debbie
Groh
Dave and
Debbie's current project is a T-28. Their last, a PT-17 Stearman,
was awarded the best PT-17 at the National Stearman Fly-In in
Galesburgh, IL. They were instrumental in getting the crosswind
grass runway added to the KTEW airport master plan, for which
all of us tail wheel pilots are eternally grateful. Debbie was
originally chosen to be an Honorary Member for all the work she
put in at chapter events, along with Dave, she is now a chapter
member.
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Chuck
& Sharron Hacker
Chuck completed his
Zenith CH701-SP in 2003. He flies a Cessna 175 Skylark on floats
with a huge Lycoming O-470. Chuck says he always has time to talk
about flying and projects. Sharron currently serves as chapter
treasurer.
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Max
Hall
Max is a long time
member and has held several leadership positions in the chapter.
He currently flies a Piper Cherokee 140.
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Gordon
Hempstone
Gordon
owns 3 Cobra ultralights and is looking for more. He is also looking
for a “real” airplane project.
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Russ
Hilding
Russ has
had a facinating flying career from B-17s to a Citabria 7ECA.
Read more about his military service in the veterans profiles.
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Leo
Holmes
Leo plans to become
a sport pilot.
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Steve
Houghton
Steve is a member of
Sparton Wings. He is very interested in learning more about building,
etc..
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Greg
Hover
Greg is working on
an RV-6A. He is getting ready for the finish kit. A Mazda 13-B
will power the plane. Greg works very hard behinds the scenes
making all the chapter function operate smoothly. He is responsible
for making sure our chapter hanger is always in perfect condition,
making it a pleasant place to meet!
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David
James
Dave has a Piper Pathfinder
(Cherokee) 235.
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Delbert
Johnson
Delbert is the current
chapter secretary. He owns a Glastar with a Mazda (rotary engine).
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John
Kingsbury
John is currentlly
building a Zenith 701.
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Doug
Koons
Doug,
builder extraordinaire, joined the chapter in 2000 and readily
donates his time and skills to the chapter, making himself indispensable.
Doug first
flew when he was 16, and had 3 lessons before he ran out of money,
but he made a promise to himself that when he turned 40 he would
get his pilots license. Keeping his promise he now is charter
member of Spartan Wings, and flies a Cessna 172 and Piper Archer.
Doug lives near Mason with his wife Mary who he met a college
in 1978., and he has two sons. Doug works at the Ingham County
Parks Department and is responsible for several parks in the area.
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Ted Lakin
Ted is a co-owner
of a C-172 and an Archer. He has been a chapter member for over
21 years and has held various offices including four years as
our President. He is a member of our Chapter Young Eagles "Century
Club" and continues to hold the record for the largest
Young Eagle rally we have held. He is also very active very
active at chapter breakfasts, meetings & our fly-ins.
Ted is an
Air Force retiree and also retired from State of Michigan, where
he was a data systems analyst supervisor. He began flying at
age 15 and soloed at 16, He got his private license in 1949
and his commercial license in 1959. He served as a weather analyst
for SAC's B-36s. He has been posted at Tachikawa, Japan, Chanute,
Maxwell AFB, Elsworth AFB, Selfridge, Travis AFB, Sondrestrom
AFB during the Cuban missile crisis, and Westover SAC. While
at Westover, he was assigned to the world wide "Mole Hole"
command post. His "toughest" assignment was Kindley
field in Bermuda.
Editors note:
Ted has some really great stories to tell.
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Bill Landucci
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Gary Long
Gary is
a past chapter vice-president. He flys a Challenger Ultralite
and anything else he can get his hands on. He served on the USS
New Jersey and has some very interesting stories about firing
the BIG guns.
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Terry
Lutz
Terry stays busy flying
and training pilots for Northwest Airlines. He also flies a 1940
Luscombe 8A, is building a RV-8, and is restoring a 1941 Luscombe
8B project. Terry is a graduate of the USAF Test Pilot School,
and is the Chapter Flight Advisor and Web Editor.
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Don
McAlister, Jr.
Don is a member of
Spartan Wings. He flies their Cessna Skyhawk and Piper Archer.
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Deanna
McCreary
Deanna is a flight
instructor and member of Spartan Wings.
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Gilbert
McKessy
Gilbert
owns a Ford Model A powered Pietenpol. He is a member of Spartan
Wings and recently completed his first solo flight.
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Warren
& Bonnie Miller
Warren
joined Chapter 55 in 1982 and helped complete the new facility
which was being built at Mason-Jewett airport. He later became
Vice President for two years and then held the office of President
for two years. He is currently the Chapter Newsletter Editor.
In the past twenty two years, Warren has been active in Chapter
projects such as the restoration of a 1948 Champ and construction
of the MiniMax. He was appointed, project manager for construction
of the Chapter builders hangar, where he contracted a builder
for the project and assisted in the construction of the building
and the steel hangar door. Meanwhile, he has been involved with
many activities such as the fly-in breakfast, air shows and young
eagles.
Warren built a modified Fisher 303 ultralight in the mid 80's
and flew it for ten years. The little plane was capable of reaching
a speed of 70 mph and was a joy to fly. As a trade off to this
project, he had to build an in ground swimming pool for his wife
Bonnie, as there would be no flying until it was done!! Warren
later purchased a 1971 Cessna 150, soloed it in 6 hours and flew
it for 12 years.
Being a career State employee, Warren worked 38.5 years in various
departments, DNR, Military Affairs and later retired from the
Dept. of State, Bureau of Automotive Regulation in 1996 where
he was an Investigator in the Compliance Division. He lives in
south Lansing, near Holt, with his wife of 34 years who is also
retired from State employment and they now enjoy riding a new
Harley Soft-tail Classic motorcycle and going to Florida for the
winters.
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George Moore
George
lives in Napoleon, Michigan, where he recently built a new home
with his son, Craig. Now retired, with degrees in science from
Eastern Michigan University and U of M, as well as, an associate
degree in digital electronics, he taught general science and biology
at Lincoln Park, Forsythe and Scarlet middle schools, and Huff
Junior high school in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He later instructed
at Washtenaw Community College teaching botany, zoology, physiology,
earth science, digital electronics, and applied math. He also
worked for the University of Michigan Hospital as a medical transcriptionist.
Since his retirement, George has developed a part-time business
doing medical radiology reports using his home computer.
He learned to fly at the Detroit Wayne Major Airport in 1957 and
holds an instrument rating. A lot of his flying time is in a Mooney,
and much of it was on instruments. On many of the great days we
have at the Mason Airport, you can see George in the air in his
beautiful KIS aircraft, an all-fiberglass design featuring a 135
hp Subaru Legacy 2.2 liter engine. The airplane looks great, has
it's own unique sound as it flies overhead, and really moves through
the sky. George is now an experienced homebuilder and true experimenter,
as he has taken the steps to learn about the Subaru engine and
it's electronic engine control system, and the integration of
an auto engine with the requirements of an airplane.
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Ron
Mudge
Ron has always been
in aviation. He served in the Navy Air Reserves as a non pilot
air crew member. Ron earned his private license in 1984 and is
building a Glasair IIS FT. Currently he flies a Piper Archer II
and a Cherokee 180 that belong to a flying club. Ron is a Instrumentation
group manager for Jacobs Sverdrup Technology.
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Robert
(Bob) Noelp
Robert
is a member of the Spartan Wings Flying Club and pilots both their
Cessna 172 and Piper Archer.
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David
Paul
David currently flies
a Cessna 182 and is restoring an Aeronca Chief.
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Joe Pirch
"Jet
Propelled" were the first words out of Joe Pirch's mouth.
He soloed in a C-150 and got his private pilot license in 1967.
He currently owns a Starduster which he purchased while shopping
around for a Cessna 150. Ask him to tell you about picking the
Starduster up in Texas.
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Bill
Purosky
Bill is
the current Chapter 55 president, is also president of Spartan
Wings and serves on the Great Lakes International Aviation Conference
committee. In his spare time, Bill continues to work on his Glastar
project.
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Steve
Ramey
Steve flys a S-35 Bonanza.
He owns two golf courses in the area and has two sons, Josh and
Matt.
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Tom
Schroeder
Tom has a restored
1947 Luscombe 8-E. He learned to fly in a Champ at the old Davis
airport in East Lansing.
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Tom
Sheehan, Jr.
Tom currently flies
a Cessna 170B and a Piper PA-23-180 Geronimo. His current project
is an EAA Aerosport. Tom lives at the Skyway Estates Airpark.
He taught finance at Embry Riddle University and is an alumnus
Lockheed-Martin. He has performed management consulting for several
airports regarding airport development issues.
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Bartlett
Smith
Bart is
a great source for information regarding our chapter since he
has been involved since the mid-60's. He was made a Lifetime Member
in 2007. Bart has many stories to tell from his military service
as a B-17 pilot during WWII, as a corporate pilot, and about soaring.
He was the airport operator here in Mason from 1947-1950 and can
relate many interesting facts and stories about the early days
of Mason-Jewett Airport. His homebuilt RS-15 sailplane is featured
in our First Flights section.
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Robert (Bob) Smith
Bob,
who is the chapter's Technical Counselor, got his experience working
at WACO Classic Inc. for 3 and ahalf years, when they were based
at Capital City Airport. He learned to fly at Lansing Community
College in 1977. In addition to being a technical counselor for
wood, fabric and composite construction techniques, Bob also has
an associate’s degree in Electronics from the National Institute
of Technology. Currently he is building a Team Z-Max Model 1300
that will be licensed in the soon to be approved Sport Pilot category.
To pay for his flying habits Bob supervises ink-making at DART
Container in Mason. He lives with his wife Kristin and 19-year-old
daughter Michelle.
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Jim
Spry
Jim is building a RV-8.
He has the tail done and is now working on the wings.
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Jack Toman, Jr.
Jack began
flying in 1972 at the Livingston County Airport in Howell. He
currently owns a Mini-Max which he purchased completed, and is
working to attain his PVT certificate by end of summer. Jack has
previously built a Mini-Max to 80% completion prior to selling
the aircraft, and is now working on a Kitfox Series 4-1200 which
he bought already under construction. He was not really looking
to purchase a project airplane, but liked the workmanship the
previous owner had put into the airplane, and the price was right.
"I'm glad I purchased the airplane now that I have it,"
Jack said. "I have had it just over a year now and I am planning
on covering the airplane at the Great Lakes Fly-In, later this
month." Jack says that the building, instructions, and support
from Skystar have been good. The hardest part so far Jack says
is "Dreaming of a paint scheme." Jack still currently
needs an engine package, but really hopes to have the airplane
flying next summer.
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Ken & Vickie Vandenbelt
Ken and
Vickie have recently become members and are active in the chapter.
Ken is starting working on his pilots license and is trying to
make a decision about a plane. He is a carded Metal Model Maker
and good at building things. The have looked at the Avid Magnum
befor the company ran into trouble and a Taylorcraft in a basket,
Perhaps a Aeronca Chief or STOL aircraft built for a big person
will fit the bill.
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Richard Wilke
I started
flying with friends at Iowa State College in the late 40's in
an Aeronca Champ and a Cessna 170. Many years later, shortly after
turning 70 I broke my left shoulder skiing in Colorado, so I decided
to take up a safer sport, and get back into flying. I took instruction
at Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport, dodging airliners
and corporate jets. The second winter I bought my 1977 Cessna
150M and am flying with a retired US Army sergeant major with
13,000 hours out of Wimauma Airpark, a small private grass strip.
I now have over 100 hours, and have made over 300 takeoffs and
landings. Since I have had problems getting my medical approved
by the FAA, I'm building an Experimental aircraft in anticipation
of the Light Sport Aircraft and Sport Pilot proposal.It is a RANS,
Inc. S-6S Coyote II high wing tricycle gear monoplane. I have
the fusilage and tail assembled, an am starting on the wings.
It's a great company, and a great kit. A very rewarding experience!
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