March 18, 2023 - Trip to USAF Museum

Our March meeting will be a day trip to the USAF museum in Dayton, OH!  It will be Saturday, March 18. Admission is free. 

For those who wish to fly, Jeff Lumpkin did some research on a nearby airport we can fly into and purchase a shuttle to the museum (details will be added to post when available). 

For those driving, we will meet at Indy Regional Airport and carpool.  We will leave promptly at 8am.  It is a 2 hour drive. Please specify if you will plan on flying or carpooling. If you have any guests who wish to come along, bring them!

RSVP HERE!

This post will be updated with Airport information when we have it.

Welcome to 2023!

I hope you are all well this winter!  Your club leadership is working hard to plan activities & expand our membership.

1. We ordered some nice 14oz highball style glass tumblers with the Aero Club logo.  They look nice!  Those that attended the Christmas Gala will get one, since it was built into the cost of the gala tickets.  As a fund raiser, we will sell these to all for $10 each. There are about 50ish available.

Click HERE to order.  Get yours while they last!

2. Membership.  I believe we have approximately 30 memberships renewed. 

If you haven't done so:

Please don't forget to Renew your membership:  You can do so HERE.

Donations to our Scholarship Fund can be completed HERE.

3. Programs/ activities.  If anyone has ideas on speakers & activities this year, please let us know!  This is YOUR club, so let us know what you wish to see & do.

4. Last but not least, I brought up a plan for a field trip to the USAF museum in Dayton for Saturday, March 25th.  On that day, they will be commemorating Vietnam veterans and highlighting specific aircraft. We NEED to know how many would seriously wish to go.  Depending on the number, we can fly out, carpool out, and/ or rent a charter bus.  That is why it is absolutely important to know who will go. Would love to have as many as possible.  Please email me by the end of January if you are interested so we can plan transportation, which will take some time. 

Look forward to seeing all of you in 2023! 

Christmas Gala, Dec 13, 2022

Come celebrate with your Indianapolis Aero Club!  

Our Christmas Gala will be December 13th at 6pm.  This will be a beautiful evening of dinner & dancing at the Hillcrest Country Club!  6098 Fall Creek Rd, Indianapolis, IN 46220. I am proud to announce we have Larry Boggs and his wonderful band as our extraordinary entertainment!  You may remember them from our picnic.  

The price is $45 pp/ $80 per couple for members, $50 pp/ $85 per couple for guests.  

Please RSVP HERE.  

More information on activities coming!  We hope to see you there! 

Accident at Wings Over Dallas

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the aircrews, families, and warbird community, for the tragic accident at the Wings Over Dallas event this past weekend.

As the IAC President, I am already seeing social media "armchair quarterbacks" posting opinions on causes and speculation.  We at the IAC reserve any opinions or judgments, and only offer our prayers. 

Rodney Davis, President

Indianapolis Aero Club

Dinner November 8, 2022 - Speaker: Kyle Lewis

Our November Speaker will be Kyle Lewis from AOPA.

Kyle Lewis is the Great Lakes Regional Manager.  At AOPA, Kyle works on state legislative issues and works closely with AOPA regulatory staff on airport advocacy issues, airspace, GA security, and safety, and oversees the 400+ network of volunteers as part of the AOPA Airport Support Network, and national aviation issues of interest to AOPA membership.  Kyle is an instrument-rated private pilot, also holding a seaplane rating.  Kyle is a homebuilder, built and flies a Van’s RV-12.  Kyle is a full-time remote employee of AOPA, resides in Ohio, and maintains integral relationships at statehouses and regulatory bodies across Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. 

Location:  Shelbyville Airport KGEZ in the large, new hangar next to the FBO.  It is a heated building in case it is cold.  6pm start. Speaker will begin 6:30-6:45pm.

Check this post for future updates.  We'll post additional updates as they become available.

RSVP Here.

10/28 - Updated with flier.

Dinner Oct 11, 2022 - Speaker: Mark Duffield

 Our October Speaker will be Mark Duffield

Mark is a highly accomplished USAF officer with thousands of hours of flying time.  He's flown many of the aircraft in the Air Force inventory.  Mark will be sharing his experiences flying the A-10 Thunderbolt in the Afghanistan and Iraq theaters.

Today he flies the John Marshal Super Eight, aka, the Dragon.

6pm Start

MCL Cafeteria, 5250 Castleton Corner Lane, Indianapolis, IN

No charge

RSVP Here.

Time to Renew

Hello all!  October is renewal time for the IAC.  Dues are $65 and I sincerely hope you choose to remain members of our club. 

We have been through much over the last 2 years and YOU make our club.  Myself and your board have tried to facilitate quality events this year and we hope you continue with us on our journey.  This is an enduring and worthwhile group, with a great history! 

Renew HERE.

Donations to our Scholarship Fund can be completed HERE.

Movie Night - Sep 24, 2022

 

MOVIE NIGHT!  Our September meeting will be a movie night, showing "October Sky".  A great family movie about 4 boys in a poverty-stricken town who get into rocketry during the space race.   Saturday, Sept 24, Indy Metro Airport, hangar 408-16.  6:30pm social time, 7:45pm movie time.  Popcorn and soda provided.  Bring your own lawn chair (BYLC)  Hope you see you there!

RSVP Here!

2022 Chili Fest

 Let's show our support!

Annual Picnic - Saturday, August 13, 2022

You won't want to miss this one - Please RSVP below.  We'll see you there!

Cost:  $25 Members, $30 Guests

Please RSVP HERE.

Update:

Hello all! Dr. Goodson will very regretfully, be unable to attend and introduce our movie. 

HOWEVER, with that being said, we are moving forward with a great afternoon & evening of great fellowship! The weather is to be awesome with low humidity! 

We have:

A great picnic style dinner!

A great band, (the Boggs & Baker band)!

A silent auction with some awesome items to bid and build our IAC scholarship fund!

Announcement of which team is awarded the Maggie Ringenberg trophy!

Capping off the evening with our movie “Hidden Figures”!

The board and I hope to see you all there!

Rodney Davis, President

Indianapolis Aero Club

Donations to our Scholarship Fund can be completed HERE.

Wings Over Indy - June 18, 2022 and Air Race Classic June 24

Saturday, June 18 is the CAF Wings Over Indy event.  We plan on having our tent on site at the show.  Rodney would like this to be a "max-effort" event, so please RSVP below and let us know if you plan on attending. Also, please let us know if you'd prefer a morning or afternoon shift in the Indianapolis Aero Club's tent.  We'll divide the volunteers into shifts, so the more volunteers, the shorter the shift!  Let's try and sign up some new members!

On Friday, June 24, the Air Race Classic will terminate in Terre Haute (KHUF). Right now, we're just trying to see how many volunteers want to head down.  Mike Souders will work with their volunteer coordinator to get our assignments.  They haven't been shared yet.  You can sign up for Friday, June 24 (Final day of the race) or Saturday, June 25 (Final Inspections, maybe help at the Meltdown party).  Mike Souders is staying at a nearby campground in his camper, and there are some cabins available there, for those interested in doing both days. Once you sign up, he'll give you a call, if needed. 

RSVP for: CAF Wings Over Indy.

RSVP for: Air Race Classic.

Field Trip, May 10, 2022 - Jim David

Tuesday, May 10 at 6pm trip to Jim David's!  We will see his progress on the building of his RV.  This will be a great & interactive evening

Please RSVP HERE.

Address: 10194 N 50 W, Fortville, IN 46040

Cost is $10 per person to cover food/ drink

Please join us for this great field trip!

Donations to our Scholarship Fund can be completed HERE.

Dinner April 12, 2022 - Speaker: Laura Stants

Our April speaker will be Laura Stants.   

Laura Stants caught the flying bug at the age of seven and started flight training as soon as she could, at 19. She’s a graduate of Vincennes and Purdue Universities, has accumulated 13,000 hours flight time over the last 31 years, and enjoys her jobs as a Flight Instructor and Corporate Pilot. Laura flies and teaches in a variety of aircraft, from light taildraggers to regular trainers to multi-engine turboprops to warbirds, one of the few women in the country to do the latter. Laura and her husband Steve own and operate a flight school in central Indiana with several locations, and Laura is also the founder of a 501(c)(3) charity organization dedicated to helping families whose children have a terminal genetic disorder called Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Laura provides insurance and checkout instruction in the WWII T-6 Texan, and is the primary pilot for rides, fly-overs, instruction, and airshow performances for Warbird Training Centers out of Kokomo, and for the Indiana Wing of the Commemorative Air Force. She likes to joke that she flies for hire so she can fly for fun, but the reality is that she loves it all. As you can see, for Laura, aviation is a lifestyle, not just a hobby or job—and one of her favorite parts of flying is being able to share that love of aviation with others.

6pm Start

Dinner served at 6:30 pm

RSVP Here.

If you haven't done so:

Please don't forget to Renew your membership:  You can do so HERE.

Donations to our Scholarship Fund can be completed HERE.

Upcoming Area Events

Here's a list of events in our area that we are aware of.  If you know of other events, please let us know and we'll add it to the list!

April 9 - Purdue Aviation Day

June 18 - Wings Over Indy 

June 24 - Air Race Classic Terminus, Terre Haute

June 25 - EAA 67 Pancake Breakfast

Dinner March 8, 2022 - Speaker: Mike Stock

Our March 8 Dinner at Hillcrest Country Club is fast approaching!  You will not want to miss our guest speaker!

Mike Stock has had an extraordinary life!  Spanning a half-century, Mike Stock’s professional flying career has taken him all over the globe and touched almost all aspects of the aviation industry.

He spent the first twenty-years on active duty as a naval aviator including one year flying helicopter gunships in Vietnam and two tours of duty as a Navy test pilot. After retiring from the Navy at the rank of commander, Mike joined the faculty of the Aviation Technology Department at Purdue University where he taught academic courses as well as being an instrument and multi-engine flight instructor. After five years, he left Purdue to take a corporate position in Saudi Arabia flying Boeing 737’s and de Havilland Twin Otters. During the 1991 Gulf War, he survived Scud missile attacks and was nearly shot down by a U.S. Navy warship on patrol in the Persian Gulf. After four years flying in the Arabian desert, Mike returned to academia as the Chief Flight Instructor at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City, Michigan, where he remained for twelve years. His last hurrah was flying floatplanes as an Alaskan bush pilot. He flew three summers out of Ketchikan and three summers flying from Anchorage. He is the survivor of two helicopter crashes, the in-flight breakup and crash of the world’s largest aircraft, and three engine failures in single engine aircraft. He has over 15,000 flight hours in 102 different aircraft ranging from supersonic jets to airships and gliders. In 2016, Mike was awarded the prestigious Wright Brother’s Master Pilot Award by the FAA. Saudi Arabia. His tales of disaster and other close-calls will leave you hanging onto your seat and marveling at his uncanny good fortune. Mike will be the first to admit that he has indeed lived a very lucky and charmed life as an aviator.

Cocktails - cash bar between 5-6pm
Dinner 6pm

RSVP Here.

Update:  Mike Stock will have books for sale prior to speaking.  So you are prepared, $20. Cash only.  Thanks

If you haven't done so:

Please don't forget to Renew your membership:  You can do so HERE.

Donations to our Scholarship Fund can be completed HERE.