The meeting in Pocatello on March 24 had a big turnout of 33, and was a rousing success despite a late program change.

 Tom and Carol Strong came in their new RV-9A, but would not allow me on board as a stowaway. Sherman Butler came in his Bonanza, accompanied by Glenace Habbershaw who provided excellent refreshments. Our intended speaker was hospitalized with pneumonia, so Richard Neves filled in at the last minute with a presentation about light sport aircraft and about a Pinch Hitter Pilot course he is teaching. He told a story about a Bonanza landing at Blackfoot with a pilot suffering severely from food poisoning. His wife and daughters were OK, but not of much help handling the plane. I have been in circumstances recently [electrical failure] in which a capable pilot in the right seat would have been welcome. In a crisis you can't have too many capable people on hand. The pinch hitter pilot course also helps reduce the routine pilot workload and helps involve the passengers in the process of flying, radio communications, and chart reading. Richard and Jim Wolper were both eager to relate the story of Richard’s most harrowing experience, involving a vacuum and electrical system failure a week after an IFR flight. Jim Wolper drove home the point that your logbook is yours to record flight information as you see fit. There is no requirement to limit a flight to a single line, so use as much space as you want to tell your story.

 I presented a question for the bring-a-buck contest that was not hard enough since half the people got it right.

 Our chapter will be flying in to Driggs on June 2 at 9 AM for breakfast and a special tour, and we have Young Eagle events coming up in Blackfoot on April 21 and at the Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind at Gooding on May 9.

 The formal meeting was followed by an abundance of hangar flying and general camaraderie.

 

Dale Cresap, Secretary