KSGF News
November 2002

Vice President’s Message

WRITER'S BLOCK - everyone has it sometime…writing a letter, term paper, or an article like this one. This month there should be a speaker from the AVCRAD. I am coordinating with them now. The schedule, as I know it, has a Safety Officer as speaker for this month. This should be an excellent opportunity for us to learn more about cause and effect. If anyone has ideas or suggestions for future programs, please let me know. I believe that I have a speaker for January. December will be the party in? Ozark. Do you ever read about an accident and wonder WHY? or HOW? Have you imagined yourself in a similar situation and thought about how you would react? Do you have a plan? Can you identify the breaks in the sequence that led to the accident? There is rarely only one event that causes an accident. We all have our moments whether flying, driving or even walking when we sense that something is just not right. Usually we identify the reason for the feeling and correct or change something. The key is to become aware that a positive reaction is required. Something triggered the uneasy feeling. Think back to what you were doing before you sensed the change. You might remember a checklist item you skipped, a checkpoint not recorded/remembered/identified. The gauges might not be in the red arc, but you think they are different than usual. All these things can be parts of the chain. You have to sort through all these things and formulate a plan - something so simple as reviewing the emergency checklist or analyzing the weather a little closer. We all are in a hurry sometimes and we consciously or unconsciously change the sequence we usually have for preflight, pre-takeoff, after-takeoff. If we are lucky (most of the time, we are lucky) nothing will go wrong. Remember to pay heed to those feelings. Your mind is telling you - BEWARE, you might have forgotten something or you missed a warning sign on the panel. Not to scare anyone - just trying to caution you not to be too complacent while you enjoy the freedom of flight.

Tom Holmer

KSGF Chapter meeting will be Nov. 19 at Springfield/Branson Regional Airport Cafe SGF.
Social hour 6:30 with a buffet at 7:00 P. M. for $10.00 a person.
Program: Col. Kevin Robinson, test pilot from the Missouri AVCARD.

Calendar of Events

11/14 FAA Safety Seminar
Cox North Hospital Fountain Plaza Room
7:00 to 9:30 P.M.
Sponsor by Springfield Chapter MPA.

11/21 EAA Chapter Monthly Meeting.
Air & Military Museum of the Ozarks
2305 E. Kearney (Lurvey Plaza) 6:30 P. M.
For more information contact Larry Harmon at (417) 863-6939
or email at EAALHARMON@AOL.COM

12/8 MPA Board Meeting
Columbia Regional Airport
Columbia, MO
Board Meets at 1:00 P.M.
All MPA Members Welcome!

12/12 The annual Christmas Dinner
Ozark and KSGF Chapers
Riverside Inn 7:00 P.M.