Gary Vacin

Changes are forthcoming for Sun Lakes Aero Club gatherings beginning in November, according to Club President Cannon Hill.

Beginning with its Nov. 27 gathering, the group will get together on the fourth Monday of each month from November of 2023 through April of 2024. The location will be the Lecture Hall located at the Cottonwood Country Club, formerly home of the gymnasium before the new Recreation Center was completed. Previously, the club’s gatherings were held on the third Monday, November through April, in the Sun Lakes Country Club Navajo Room.

The Sun Lakes Aero Club is an official Sun Lakes organization whose members include active and retired general aviation and military pilots and numerous other Sun Lakes residents who have an interest in aviation.

Monthly gatherings feature speakers on a wide range of aviation-related topics. The speaker for the Nov. 27 gathering will be Joe Bookwalter who will talk about his U.S. Air Force career, including several years as a refueling aircraft boom operator on KC-135 and other aerial tankers.

The April speaker will be Aero Club member John Philp who will review his 30-plus-year career as a commercial pilot, including many years flying for JetBlue Airlines. Philp plans to retire in March of 2024.

The public is invited to attend all Aero Club gatherings. Speakers for the remaining club events will be announced in future issues of the Sun Lakes Splash.

Additional information on the Aero Club is available from Cannon Hill at 509-539-7857 or Gary Vacin at 480-298-7017.