Six Chuter West LLC

Six Chuters Flying Near Bend Oregon

It is hard to believe we are half way through the season on this 4th of July weekend!  We have had a wet Spring that has slowed activity some, however, we have lots of great flying and events ahead.

This Year We are Joined by Pacific N.W. Weight Shift Coalition

Check out our updated Flying Events 2010 page for more specific information on upcoming club rallies and training in 2010.

We have made a few scheduling changes to the Memorial Day Rally to adjust to the crowd. 

If you have not preregistered, but are considering attending this rally, please take a few minutes to go to www.sixchuterwest.com find the Memorial Day 2010 page http://sixchuterwest.com/?page_id=547 and fill out the preregistration form.  No cost…just helps with planning efforts.

A few notes:

1. Wednesday is set up day for volunteers.  Please no early arrivals without checking with me first at maas0755@comcast.net We are not prepared that day to register and manage campground camping etc.
2. Registration will generally be open each morning and then again in the early evening.  You must register and attend a flight briefing (held each morning 6 a.m., and evening 5 p.m., BEFORE YOU FLY. If you arrive after the briefing it will likely be the next briefing before you will be able to fly.
3. If you arrive at the site in the evening after registration is closed….or we are ALL Sleeping…, we encourage you to park on the grass parallel to the entrance road until you are contacted by parking volunteer or registration.  We will have signs indicating where to park or stop. We do not want you trying to locate a parking spot after dark.  Too many sprinklers and potential hazards to do that safely.
4. When you arrive we will have signs at where to STOP and pull over…until you are contacted by parking volunteer.  DON’T pull in all the way to the registration tent.  This just “gums” up center stage and makes it difficult if we have to back you up.
5. Registration is FREE to EAA UL Chapter 127 members who are current on their dues.  Non-Club members will be charged $35 for the event.  Non-club members will have the option of course to join the chapter for $35 which makes them eligible to attend ALL chapter events free for the rest of the year.  Each registration also provides for TWO free potluck tickets (for the grilled stuff).  If you have additional guests, the cost for the grill is $5 each.
6. The event has been extended one full day so that we actually are there on Memorial Day!  The raffle and closing ceremony will be Sunday morning, after our morning lanuch, but the field will remain open until noon on Memorial Day.
7. Note that the Saturday wine country tour is full.  We have still had no takers for the Sunday one.
8. Note that the EAA UL Chapter 127 meeting will be Saturday at 3 p.m.  This is an important meeting as we will be discussing, among other things, the expansion of the club with our weight shift coalition.
9. Note that the club “potluck” will be Saturday at around 5 p.m.  The vendor will do the grilling and then we supplement our meal by encouraging everyone to bring a favorite salad, casserole dish or other item to supplement.

10.  Note on the forum schedule that Friday at noon to 1 p.m. will be GROUND TRAINING session for all those who require Flight Review.  Due to the numbers we have who need flight review we are going to try to do the ground portion as a group in forum style.  From 1 p.m.-2 p.m., Friday, after the Flight Review ground training will be the safety seminar.  This seminar also qualifies as ground training for those who will be taking flight review.  Be SURE and attend these sessions if you expect a current Flight Review.

1. We are still seeking any and all donations of cools stuff for the club raffle. Proceeds from the raffle go right back to the community.  Email me at maas0755@comcast.net if you have something to contribute to the cause.

Education and Forum Schedule

20^th Annual Memorial Day

Powered Parachute Rally

Best of the Best!

Memorial Day 2010 marks the 20^th consecutive year for one of the most popular powered parachute rallies in the U.S. This Pacific Northwest event also mirrors the evolution of the sport in the region, and this year promises to be the best ever.

The Pacific Northwest Memorial Day Powered Parachute Rally was born by Six Chuter Powered Parachute’s Dan Bailey in 1991 near their factory on the outskirts of Yakima Washington. The flying event was staged from a leased open field and provided open flying in some of the most beautiful countryside anywhere.   And the event was probably the first of its kind in this region, catering only to the small, but growing flock of powered parachute pilots.

By year 2000 the participation was starting to overcrowd the field.  And after nearly ten years other organizations such as the Western Powered Parachute Association and the Northwest Powered Parachute Coalition emerged to help support the expanding event. The Northwest Powered Parachute Coalition is now the largest EAA powered parachute chapter in the United States, partly thanks to the networking that occurred through the years at the Six Chuter Memorial Day Rally.

Six Chuter lost access to the field and leadership in the club decided to try to move the popular rally around the Northwest to various locations.  The idea was to provide club members with the opportunity to fly and enjoy other locales in the Pacific Northwest.  For several years we enjoyed the hospitality of Basin Sod farm owners just north of Pasco Washington.  We also moved the rally for one year to the Madras Airport.

In 2009 thanks to Tim Vedder of Central Washington Powered Parachutes we discovered Twin Firs Turf Farm in Quincy, Washington.  Owners of this incredible turf farm Kim and Kent Bacon were gracious in allowing us to stage the event at their location without charging the club anything for that privilege.  We discovered that Kim and Kent are extremely community oriented and their only condition on use was that we allow the community to be involved.  That worked well because that is a core interest and value of the club.

The farm is located just east of George Washington near the Columbia River.  The location provides wide open and safe flying over open farm country, along with some incredible views of the Cascade Mountains and rugged country near Wenatchee Washington.  The 2009 event worked so well for the club and the owners that we have been invited back in 2010.

The Powered Parachute Coalition manages several rallies each year now.  The Memorial Day Rally is considered the “season opener” and as such is usually results in one of the largest turnouts.  This year we can expect sixty or more pilots and their families.

Because this is the opener each year it is also the most structured event for the club.  In addition to open flying there will be hosted cross country flights and perhaps some fun type competitions.  Forums for club members usually consume afternoons when the winds can exceed our safe limits.  The forums cover a variety of topics including safety, pilot proficiency and aircraft maintenance.  Last year the club provided over seventy five “discovery flights” to the general public.  Public participation was also enhanced with the addition of a “kite” rally for families and the kids.  In 2010 we will expand forms to include topics for the general public, focused on introducing them to the sport.

Hanging out under the tent with Kim Bacon, Owner, Parties on the Green

The club holds a general membership meeting and hosts a potluck and barbecue on the Saturday afternoon of the event.  We will repeat an ever popular raffle that raises money that is contributed to the property owners for community support. And we are adding a hosted wine country tour for club members to participate in.

The event this year, by popular demand, will be extended through Memorial Day.  The event is free to members of The Powered Parachute Coalition or $35 for non club members.  Dry camping is available on site. We will have a food vendor on site again this year throughout the event.  We will have a nightly “gathering” around the fire pit and invite the musically inclined to bring your instruments and entertain!

Watch for the latest information on this year’s event at www.sixchuterwest.com and on the coalition club form http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nwpoweredparachutecoalition/ or contact the event flight lead Doug Maas at maas0755@comcast.net 360 771-4047. Check out more about the location at Parties on the Green www.partiesonthegreen.com . If you plan to book a hotel in Quincy or nearby Ephrata you need to do that soon.  These rooms book up Memorial Day weekend because this is also the opening of the Gorge at George Amphitheatre. Search for rooms at http://local.yahoo.com/WA/Quincy/Travel+Lodging/Hotels+Lodging/Hotels+Motels

January 3, 2010

EAA UL Chapter 127 N.W. POWERED PARACHUTE COALITION

This email is being sent to many of our newest powered parachute pilots, aspiring powered parachute pilots and others who may not be aware of the N.W. Powered Parachute Coalition.  The Coalition is an EAA Chapter and is the largest powered parachute chapter in the United States! So if you are now actively involved in the sport or thinking about getting involved you need to seriously consider joining.  With over 100 members we are able to develop a budget that provides a lot to our members for only $35 for initial membership and $25 a year after that.

The season “kick off” event will be the 20^th Annual Memorial Day Rally held again this year at Twin Firs Turf Farm in Quincy, Washington.  That is followed by five other key events and club activities through the 2010 season.  Non members are very welcome to join us at these events but pay $35 to help pay for the costs involved in hosting the event.  So your membership will essentially pay for itself by attending only one event!  And if you are like most club members, once you have attended one, you will want to attend them all!

To join the chapter simply download the attached application, fill it out and return to us with $35 first year membership.  If you intend to join you can email me at maas0755@comcast.net and I will sign you into the club forum immediately.  We hope to see you as a member of our club and certainly look forward to flying with you in 2010.

MEMBERSHIP PRIVELAGES

Just a few reminders of why we think the club membership is a great deal.

• Membership provides you with free admittance to five major ppc rallies in the Pacific N.W.  These events are scheduled around the regional and are all structured slightly differently to provide you with range of opportunities from total lay back no rules, to more structured with educational forums, entertainment etc.
• Your spouse is automatically a member too and invited free to the same events.
• You have free access to the club forum throughout the year.
• Club members are not charged for educational forums and activities.
• Club members are extended considerable discounts from various business members.  The discount on a practical test or a biennial flight review is worth more than the membership!
• Club members, IF YOU ARE AN EAA MEMBER, have third party liability insurance at all club sponsored events.  I will send a separate email on this because the EAA membership is important.
• All that aside, the best reason to join is to meet new friends and fly with the best powered parachute pilots anywhere!

We know that there remain “a few” powered parachute pilots in the Northwest who for one reason or another don’t want to participate with the club.  Many, however, just don’t know about it yet.  So if you are flying with one of the non members, please encourage them to check us out.

Email me directly with any questions or concerns regarding the budget or dues.

Contact Art with EVERY OTHER problem!

Recent Messages on the Coalition Club Forum

THE ELECTION

Checking the voting polls it appears that we only had about 11 folks participate in the vote for annual budget and for officers.  Thats a bit dissappointing given that we have 138 members on the books.  Must be the time of the year thing.

Nonetheless, the majority of votes supported “re-election” of current officers for 2010.  We had one “write-in”, but never received the name.  Art of course is anxiously waiting for that name!

And the proposed budget was adopted.  The budget provides for no cost attendance at five rallies this year and some club support to proposed western regional competition tentatively scheduled in August. Note that there may be some small fees at some of the events depending on additional features such as catered food, entertainment etc.  Those local plans are left to our Regional Coordinators.

ANNUAL DUES

Our membership dues are what drive such a strong and active organization so we hope that you will all decide to “re-up” for another year of fun and comradarie.

I have “booked” the dues invoices and they will be sent out early next week via email.  Take note of the pay pal option when you get the invoice.  Just email me and I will set you up for payment that way.  Saves the club and you stamps and envelopes.

A few notes regarding your dues invoice:

1. The dues for new members is set at $35 this year.  This is the same fee that will be charged to non-members to attend each club event.
2. The annual membership dues are maintained at $25 this year and provides each member with free attendance at five rallies.
3. The annual membership fee is sent to each club pilot and allows for membership and admittance of spouse.
   • If the event serves no cost food or other activities the spouse is also no cost, but additional family members may be charged a small fee to help pay for the extra “stuff”.
4. Read your invoice carefully.  They are not necessarily all the same.  Some members have credits on the books and I applied them to this year’s dues.  Other members (a few) did not pay last year and may therefore have a double payment on the books.
5. We are sending invoices to ALL club members including those who may have had a complimentary membership on the books in 2009.  If you wish to remain a member of the N.W. PPC Coalition with access to our group forum, or if you plan on travelling back this way for even one event your membership dues are worth it.  If the membership was a one time thing just email me that you would like to discontinue your membership.
6. We are setting a tentative deadline for payment of dues as March 1, 2010.  After that date your membership will be marked inactive and “re-upping” will require payment of “new member” fee of $35.

EAA Membership

You do not need to be an EAA member to join the N.W. Powered Parachute Coalition (that us).

However, if you want to be an official member of EAA UL Chapter 127 “The N.W. Powered Parachute Coalition” (that us and them), you must first join the EAA and keep your membership up to date.

The primary reason you may want to consider this is that only EAA Chapter members are covered during club events by the third party liability insurance policy.  We know from recent experience how important that can be.

The EAA also has a lot of other benefits that you will want to consider.  You can join on line at http://www.eaa.org/membership/benefits.asp

I have uploaded a membership report dated today.  If you open that report and find your eaa membership and date blank then we do not have official record of your eaa membership.  If you are a member and we do not have your data please email me maas0755@comcast.net with your membership number and expiration date. 

EAA Ultralight Chapter 127

Doug Maas, Treasurer

maas0755@comcast.net

360 771-4047