EAA Chapter 430 Membership Gathering Minutes

Date: July 26, 2025

• Chapter President Ray Ballantyne called the Membership Gathering to order at 1005, hangar #15 at Sequim Valley Airport.
• Ray led The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag with 41 members and 1 guest attending.
• Guests - Chapter member Jay Pearlman introduced his brother, Richard
• June Gathering Minutes were approved as written.
• Correspondence - EAA HQ sent our banner, Gold for 2024. There have been ongoing exchanges between our Building Committee and Sequim Valley Airport board and also the Port Of Port Angeles (Fairchild Airport) about leases and other building topics.

Old Business

• Treasury Tracy Halsted - (Ray) reported funds of approximately $5500 for scholarship, $2870 operating and just about $220,000 in our building fund. The majority of the building fund money is in CDs, earning interest.
• Membership Tracy Halsted - Paid membership now stands at 110.
• Scholarship Dave Miller - (Ray and Dave) noted that we’ve two of our kids attending EAA Air Academy this year. Nathan Nelson has just returned home. Jazmin Stamper has just arrived at Oshkosh with EAA AirVenture running at full power.
• Build and Fly Richard Howell - (Richard) has initiated a small email campaign to share plans about our next Build and Fly event. The mailing targeted only parents (and kids) who have indicated interest during our Radio Control Simulator sessions at a couple of Young Eagles events last year. Richard showed the plans for a small hand launched glider “Jr’s Pride”, built from balsa, that we can use to explore and learn model building skills. We’ll also have our “Silly Stick” R/C trainer to give attending kids a hands-on flight experience. We’re waiting for responses to decide next steps.
• Young Eagles Bud Davies - (Bud) lead off with a request for volunteer pilots. We already have 38 kids signed up for our August event in Port Angeles. Young Eagles flight experiences that our volunteers provide, have repeatedly demonstrated to be significant moments of inspiration for kids to build on - not only learning to fly, but also as they continue on with their education and career tracks.
• Fly-out Barry Halsted - (Barry) reported that the July fly-out to Mears Field (3W5), Concrete, WA was unfortunately canceled, due to weather - low cloud ceilings. Nevertheless, a few folks ventured out on their own, as Concrete was hosting its annual fly-in event. Look for Friday Harbor (KFHR) to be our alternate destination for July.
• Poker Run Scholarship Fundraiser - August and September will be the time to get five (5) Washington Pilots Association (WPA) Passport Stamps on your entry form. 17 airports are listed. Stamps on your form from any 5 of the listed airports, plus your $20 scholarship donation, will put you in the game to be held at our September gathering.
• A few printed forms are available today at the sign-in table. Expect to receive an email soon with an entry form and all of the details.
• Building Committee Report - (Barry) brought us up-to-date with what’s going on regarding a few topics.
• Port of Port Angeles (airport) - could there possibly be a property lease rate reduction? No. Likely not. We would anticipate a $0.10 to $0.12 per sq. -., per month (x 12 months) annual expense.
• Sequim Valley Airport (SVA)
• The lease proposal that had been on the table, was withdrawn.
• A new lease proposal has been offered by SVA and is currently under review by our building committee.
• Ray led a shout-out for Ernie Hansen and Harry Cook for successfully managing and completing the sales of Rick Vaux’s ultra-lite airplanes w/engines donations.
• MOSAIC - (Erik Petersen) gave his take on the newly approved rules and highlighted a few of the most welcome changes we can expect for Sport Pilot privileges and many aircraft.

New Business

• Diamond Point Airport Appreciation Day - Gordon Tubesing reminded us about their event on Saturday August 9th. Pilots planning to fly in, should please submit the Prior Permission Request (PPR) form and agreement online - prior to arrival. https://2wa1.org/arrival-ppr-2/
• Unity of Effort - (Linda Priddle) told us a bit about what to expect for the event - also on August 9th. Olympic Silent Flyers hopes to have a booth and to offer R/C simulator sessions to kids.
• Sequim Valley Airport, Air Affaire - Emily Wescott reminded us about the Saturday, August 30 event on Labor Day weekend. http://olympicpeninsulaairaffaire.com/
• Port Townsend will host their Airport Day on Saturday, August 2.
• Aviation Swap Meet - August 9th is also the day for a swap meet at Bremerton Airport, hosted by several local EAA Chapters, including EAA 406, EAA 84 and EAA 430. Activities are also expected to include Valve Cover Races, food deals at Amelia’s Hangar restaurant – and airplane camping, for those so inclined.
• No August EAA 430 Membership Gathering. Enjoy AirAffaire.
• Chapter Elections - The nominating committee, Tracy Halsted and Richard Howell, will be assembling the slate of candidates for our board and director positions. The election will be conducted in November. Please take the step of being involved. It’s fun and rewarding. Let Tracy, Richard or any board member know that you’d like to take part. (Expect a list of all positions to be made available soon.)
• Ground School Discussion Group - Ray will lead a session on Thursday, July 31 at 7:00pm in the Port Angeles Airport terminal conference room. The key topic of the evening will be air traffic control (ATC).
• Projects
• Dava McNutt - C-182 repairs and finally having her airplane back in the air.
• James Russell - Cozy Mk IV, James was pleased to acquire a hard-to-find retractable nose gear assembly for his project.
• The Business portion of the gathering was adjourned.
• Deanna Bender shared her riveting account of the 48th annual Air Race Classic (ARC) (women only), where she piloted her 1957, C-180 Skywagon from start to finish of the challenging 2,400 mile route - Fairhope, AL to Spokane, WA . The Sky Waggin’ Chicks, Deanna along with her friend Michaela Johnson, flew the only tail-dragger aircraft in the race!
• Once again, Kevin and Charlie and a cast of volunteers, hosted another wonderful burger lunch. Respectfully submitted, Richard Howell, EAA 430 Secretary