September: For the first meeting of our new year, we wemt to Spruce Creek Airport. Heidi Klein, our Vice Chairman, told us about the Civil Air Patrol. Heidi and another of our members, Sandra Steffensen, are very active in the local wing of the CAP.
October found us at Orlando Executive Airport where we laid out and painted a new compass rose. Members of the Embry Riddel 99s and EAA 74 were a tremendous help. The Orange County Sheriff's helicopter hovered overhead and took a picture of the finished product.
In November we went back to Sprue Creek where Virginia Gallenberger told us about her flying career as a commercial and then an airline pilot.
December 4th was a day for Scouts and Aviation merit badges at Florida Institute of of Technology (FIT). The Boy Scouts were there in the morning and the Girl Scouts arrived at 1pm for the afternoon. Carol Gosling and Bobbi Lasher talked to more than 100 girls about women in the history of aviation. Each girl needed to go home and research 3 of these women and find out specific information about each one. There were 7 other tables set up, each covering another requirement of the badge. The girls were interested and attentive. Hopefully, the day inspired a few girls about flying.
Our project in February was repainting the compass rose at New Smyrna Beach Airport. The 12th of February was a great day, temperatures in the 80s. We had lots of helpers from Spaceport chapter, ERAU chapter and friends of Spaceport from Spruce Creek. Layout and painting of the white went well and we were done in time for a delicious lunch provided by the Airport Authority. The blue paint was not so cooperative - it was thick and got thicker as the temperature rose. It was difficult to apply. Then we came to the black paint - for filling in the center circle around the 99 logo. This paint was awful and close to unspreadable! We ran out of paint about 3 - just before a rain storm decended on us. Since we hadn't finished painting the black, we agreed to come back the following Saturday to finish.
February 19th was VERY cold and VERY windy. Temperatures were in the 40s. Not so many volunteers today - just 7 hearty souls from Spaceport and ERAU. The new black paint was much better and went on smoothly. However, it was so windy that the paint would blow off the rollers and brushes so we had to develop a special technique.
However, we were greatly rewared for our dedication. The Goodyear Blimp was moored on the other side of the taxiway where we were painting. We walked over and introduced ourselves to Vigo, the young crew member who was assigned to stay with the blimp for the day. There is a crew member with the ship 24/7, even in her home hangar in Ft. Lauderdale. Vigo told us a great deal about the ship and allowed us to get a close up look inside the gondola, even tho we could not actually get into it. That's Vigo in the picture, 2nd person from the left.
