desertflyers

Desert Flyers 

by Cathy Paradee 

 

The Scottsdale Breakfast Club has been putting together interesting monthly events for the past 23 years. Every November, the committee has met to put together an itinerary for the following year. The most recent committee members have been Austin Erwin, Paul Fortune, and Richard Azimov, all faithfully led by Warren McIlvoy. Simply having a list of fabulous destinations for the year is the start of what we have been able to expect from the Breakfast Club. Warren would then make the plans, including research the destinations for places to eat and stay, and to organize transportation. Having amassed the arrangements, he would then send out the information for members to act on. On the website, he would post a story about the fly-in, titled “The Knife and Fork.” 

After years of faithful service, Warren has passed on the torch. Assuming leadership is Travis Kenyon. He describes himself as follows: “My name is Travis Kenyon and along with being an Arizona native I have been flying around the state my entire life as my mom was a GA pilot way back in the days of Aero Mech at SDL and the old (and very short) Glendale airport.  After owning my polished Cessna 150 for 23 years we recently traded up for a 73 Piper Challenger and I have both SE COM/INST and ME as well as glider and about 1900 hours.  I have been on several BC trips over the past 15 or so years along with many group trips with the Phoenix Pilots Group.”

Both the Scottsdale Breakfast Club and the Phoenix Pilots Group have seen a steady decline in membership and participation. After some great conversations with members from both groups, it has been decided that re-branding is in order. The two groups are being combined into one, with a new name, Desert Flyers.

Travis offers an invitation to all current members and those interested in becoming members, “Do you like flying? Well let’s go then! This is your group… I see us doing more than just breakfast runs. How about getting night current with a dinner trip to Eloy?  Or perhaps a weekend getaway to Monument Valley, Mexico, or Palm Springs. Who knows what we will come up with? It is a big job, so Travis will need help in planning, organizing, and participating in activities. 

The first activity is the 2018 Kick-Off Hangar Party. It is scheduled for Saturday, Nov 18th, at 5:30pm on the North Side of DVT. Jen and Travis will provide appetizers, so please feel free to bring any beverage of your choice and a chair. Plan to fly or drive. Meet some old friends and make some new ones. 

I know that you are already wondering how to get or stay involved? It really is easy. Go to the www.meetup.com/desertflyers site. It is very interactive and for you as a member it is totally free. Create a new account and get started with your member experience. This includes seeing the calendar at a glance, RSVP for events, email the organizers (or each other), and a forum for group discussions to help your fellow aviators. They are also on Facebook and have a regular webpage www.desertflyers.org. Sean is the graphic artist working on new logos and images. If you already have a BC# (a call sign used to identify folks in the air), let Travis know so you can keep the same one. 

We look forward to seeing longstanding members as well as new faces in the Desert Flyers!

 

 

Our Spring Social at Harold’s Corral in Cave Creek on Thursday, April 28th was loaded with fun, food, and lots of stories! We hosted sixty-eight pilots, spouses, aviation enthusiasts, and honored military people. Guests came from all over the Valley and even from Tucson. It was wonderful to see old friends chatting and new friendships forming. Tables were set with red, white, and blue flowers, toy and wind-up airplanes, flags, and more. APA President, Tommy Thomason, welcomed everyone and helped announce the winners of the Question Board Raffle. Two questions were posed and Question #1 had 6 correct answers. Tommy drew from these 6 and congratulations went out to Tim Greer for correctly answering the question of who founded the Arizona Air National Guard – Barry Goldwater. Tim and his wife Lynell took home a liter and a half of Maker’s Mark Bourbon as their prize. Question #2 had 3 correct answers and kudos to Robin Gerblick for her winning answer to the question of who owns the Gray Ghost – Tommy Thomason. Robin and her husband Jim walked away with a fifth of Glenfiddich Scotch. Way to go, Tim and Robin! The party went on well past our 7 pm ending time! It was a great way to welcome in the Double Circle Ranch Fly-In scheduled for April 29-30.

Organizers Susan Wearly and Mary James wish to thank Tommy and all of the APA staff for allowing them to run with their party planning and for helping. $140 was raised toward our Scholarship Program. We had a great showing of just how impressive the APA is as a volunteer organization.

Watch for news of a Fall social later this summer – this could be habit forming!!

 

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