Twenty-one Sun Lakes Aero Club members and guests turned out for the club’s annual year-end potluck gathering April 21 at Sisk Park. The group enjoyed brats and hamburgers cooked by Bob Walch and Steve Perkins, plus a delicious assortment of salads, desserts and other extras contributed by members. Those attending were Gary and Dorothy Vacin,…
Tag: Aero Club
Clubs & Classes, May 2017
Aero Club hears from aircraft homebuilder
Gary Vacin Sun Lakes Aero Club members and guests witnessed a PowerPoint presentation by an aviation enthusiast who built a ¾-scale P-51 fighter plane. The talk took place at the club’s monthly gathering on March 20 at the Sun Lakes Country Club Mirror Room. Mike Still said he devoted six years to the project, beginning…
Clubs & Classes, May 2017
Aero Club visits helicopter plant
Twenty Sun Lakes Aero Club members and guests participated in a field trip to the MD Helicopers facility at Falcon Field on March 23. Ten members of the group then convened for an enjoyable lunch at nearby Monestery Restaurant. MD Helicopters is often called “The House that Hughes built,” referring to legendary aviator Howard Hughes,…
Clubs & Classes, March 2017
Searcher briefs SLAC audience on Amelia Earhart’s disappearance
Gary Vacin “This is one of the most desolate places on earth.” That’s how Sun Lakes resident Karl Kern described Nikumaroro, the island Amelia Earhart possibly landed on during a presentation to a record crowd at a Sun Lakes Aero Club gathering January 16. Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific on…
Clubs & Classes, March 2017
Aero Club members visit ASU Aviation Program
Gary Vacin Twenty-four Sun Lakes Aero Club members and guests attended a field trip to the Arizona State University Aviation Program at the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport on January 27. The group visited specialized classrooms and saw first-hand the flight simulators and aircraft used in pilot training. The aviation program has three parts: air traffic control,…
Clubs & Classes, January 2017
WWII veteran briefs Aero Club
Gary Vacin “The sky was full of flak and I could hear it banging against the aircraft.” That’s how Sun Lakes resident Sid Singer described his first mission as a 21-year-old top turret B-24 gunner on a mission over BlackHammer, Germany in 1944. Singer spoke to a crowd of 96 persons attending a Sun Lakes…
Clubs & Classes, January 2017
Aero Club heads to Ryan Field, ends up at Marana Airport
Gary Vacin Five aircraft carrying 11 Sun Lakes Aero Club (SLAC) members headed for Ryan Field west of Tucson for breakfast December 9, but ended up at Marana when they learned the restaurant at Ryan Field was closed. Pilots and their passengers: Tom Howard in his Cessna 180 with passengers Doc Bricco and Vince Sciberras;…
Clubs & Classes, December 2016
Admiral to speak at Aero Club
Gary Vacin A retired U. S. Navy Rear Admiral who commanded the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier will be guest speaker at the Sun Lakes Aero Club (SLAC) gathering Monday, December 19 at the Sun Lakes Country Club Mirror Room. The session begins with coffee and camaraderie at 6:30 p.m., followed by the presentation at…
Clubs & Classes, November 2016
B-24 top turret gunner to speak at Aero Club meeting
Gary Vacin A Sun Lakes resident who served as a top turret gunner on a B-24 bomber during World War II will be featured speaker at the Sun Lakes Aero Club gathering on Monday, November 21 at the Sun Lakes Country Club Mirror Room. The session begins at 6:30 p.m. with coffee and camaraderie, followed…
Clubs & Classes, May 2016
Aero Club hears about drones
Doug Andriuk, President of the Phoenix Area Drone Users Group, was the featured speaker at the Sun Lakes Aero Club gathering March 21. Here he is shown with a giant drone he built from a kit (photo by J.R. Scheidereiter) Gary Vacin The president of the Phoenix Area Drone Users Group addressed a Sun Lakes…