Long time FASF member and Founding President of Chapter 1570 of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), John Keithly, (at left) decided to retire from the helm of this relatively new yet top-performing EAA unit.
The chapter is located at the Doña Ana County International Jetport (KDNA) in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, and meets at least once each month, at 11:00 AM, on the second Saturday at the War Eagles Air Museum (WEAM) at the Jetport.
Although a relatively new chapter among almost 1,000 chapters across the globe, the 1570 has already set some notable records: At their first promotional visit of the Ford Tri-Motor 1920’s Airliner, for instance, the new chapter set an all-time high number of rides, even compared to major cities across the U.S. The FASF had a post with videos of this event in April two years ago, right here.
The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. Since its inception it has grown internationally with over 200,000 members, and hosts the largest aviation gathering of its kind in the world, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.
Any photos in this post may be seen in full-size and high resolution by simply clicking on them.
At yesterday’s meeting, an election was held for the new officers for the coming year. Here are the results:
- New President: Rick King
- Vice President: John Signorino
- Secretary: Andy Werner
- Treasurer: Jorge Vielledent
- Asst. Treasurer: Bob Dockendorf
- Young Eagles Dir: Tomás Peralta
- Scholarship Dir: Melissa Keithly
- Membership Dr: Laura Ditlevson
- Newsletter Editor: Kathleen Whelen
Before hearing from the guest speaker at the meeting, Melissa Keithly made an announcement about the progress of the EAA Chapter’s new Scholarship recipient flight students:
Name of Scholarship Student Original Grant Spent to date Balance Remaining
- Jesse Tsougas $ 3,000 (2,914-) –
- Laura Ditlevson 10,000 (6,930-) 3,070
- Caleb Molinar 3,000 (2,472-) –
- Sergio Olague 4,000 (3,851-) 149
- Ava Moreno 10,000 (10,098-) (98)
- Robert Lopez Valazquez 10,000 (8,734- ) 1,266
Melissa reported that a total of $40,000 had already been granted for student Flight Training Scholarships. After sharing the above Scholarship Award Students’ financial status report with the members, she then announced that Robert Lopez (below 2 photos) had already soloed, and had also completed his solo cross-country flight.
After the election for new officers was held and various reports made, as that of Ms. Keithly’s Scholarship Program, the speaker for the day, Terence “Mike” Epp was introduced by President Keithly, who described Mike’s colorful work history and explained that Mike had done some important work on both of John’s airplanes, as his official A & P (FAA Certified Airframe and Powerplant technician).