First of all, thanks to everyone who came to this months' meeting. We had a good turn out, an interesting presentation by Kim Beck of Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, and a good discussion about the Miller fly-in. The entertainment value of Orrin's self-nomination for Turkey of the Month was reason enough to be at the meeting just by itself.

There are pros and cons to holding the fly-in in the spring or fall. But, in the end, we voted by a slim margin (1 vote) to try and hold it the weekend of 9/20. Next month we will discuss the details of the fly-in and see if we have enough member support to make it happen. The current plan (as in the past) is to have Saturday as the official contest day with awards, with Sunday and possibly Friday as free flying days. Previously we have given awards for duration, spot landing, and distance (with a performance factor for paragliders). In order to put on the fly-in we need volunteers to make t-shirts and trophies, sign up participants, supervise launches (HG and PG), observe and measure landings in the LZ, record flight durations, and help with transport to launch. We also need to obtain a permit from the Forest Service and post a notice in the USHPA magazine. We further need to decide what entry fees we will have to charge to cover our expenses (permit, trophies, t-shirts), and what ratings will be required to participate.

I’d like to use this message board as the forum to discuss these issues prior to the next meeting. Specifically we need volunteers for all the above tasks, suggestions for putting on the fly-in, corporate memory for how many participants we have been able to attract in the past, what it is likely to cost and are we likely to break even, do we need a backup weather date, and lots of other things I’ve undoubtedly forgotten. Please feel free to post any thoughts or suggestions you have.