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Good memories of Sky Soaring’s past. Ed was a crusty old Brit that became part of the club personality and he helped preserve SSI and its home, a no nonsense guy. He and others are the reason that Sky Soaring has survived some challenging times for those who enjoy it today. Blue skies, Ed.
Larry
From: SSI <webmaster@skysoaring.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2023 8:36 AM
To: lskrengel@gmail.com
Subject: Reply To: Sad news today; By John DeRosa, [Sky Soaring]I first met Paul Latorneau when SSI went to Northern Illinois Soaring’s little airport north of Rockford (It is a Fleet Farm now). We brought the tow plane and a couple of gliders for the event and enjoyed the people and the day. Later Paul and a few NISA members joined SSI along with their L-23.
Paul was a quiet spoken guy but always worth listening to. He was willing to roll up his sleeves, pitch in and take on a many responsibilities to keep SSI running. He and wife, Judy, were an important part of Sky Soaring through the years. They spent many a day sitting out front of the hangar door talking flying. Sad to hear of an old friend passing on.
Larry
This glider belonged to Marti Neibur who was a member of Sky Soaring with his wife, Marianne, some years back. Marti died earlier this year after a long struggle with a number of difficult conditions. Marianne died of cancer back when they were members of Sky Soaring ( twenty years ago??). After her death Marti donated the money to the club to build the deck on the south side of the hangar in her memory – Marianne’s deck. They were both great people and always an asset to Sky Soaring.
An interesting sidelight… the first winch at Sky Soaring was brought to the field by Marti. It was homemade, but had launched gliders elsewhere – nothing as impressive as our present winch. It waited at the field for the interest to fly with it, interest that did not arrive. After Marianne’s death Marti moved to Wisconsin and took the winch with him. I don’t know if it was ever used after that.
Larry Krengel
From: Sky Soaring [mailto:webmaster@skysoaring.com]
Sent: Sunday, July 11, 2021 7:04 PM
To: lskrengel@gmail.com
Subject: [Sky Soaring] New topic: General Discussion, Another glider for saleGood morning, fellow pilots –
It is good to have this discussion about the nature of our club. I do have a longer view of Sky Soaring than most and I realize that we as a group have changed. I offer my thoughts not contending we should go back to the good old days, but hoping the perspective will tune today’s decisions.
At one time we held club meetings in the front room of the hanger. We have outgrown that. In the pre-internet days it was just taken for granted that members would show up on Saturdays and Sunday afternoons. No commitment needed and if the necessary personnel were there we went flying. Almost always there was. We were not very business-like. We were just a group of flying buddies enjoying a mutual adventure.
For the first 25 years of our existence no one was paid for any service. We pitched in with no expectation of remuneration. When we found we were short of tow pilots that could fly with a tailwheel, we began offering a token credit for doing tows. Even as we began doing that, many of the tow pilots were commercial pilots whose employers frowned on them working an outside flying job so they refused the credit, but still towed.
Instructors, too, volunteered their time and talent. I don’t recall when we started giving a credit for instructors, but for a time that expense was not passed along to the student.
I suspect that both tow pilots and instructors at Sky Soaring would be volunteering even if they did not receive a dues credit.
As for the assessment, I fear a one-time assessment could become a way of life. I was in a small flying club at one time and when we wanted a new radio, we all pitched in. That is different from using the assessment for a predictable expense such as an overhaul.
I don’t know how the board is handling it at the moment, but during my time as president we stashed away some from each tow toward maintenance of the tow plane. Is that done now? I don’t know. Maybe is should be.
I also like Aaron’s comment about not having Sky Soaring assets become too great. The dangers he mentions are real. We need to have a sufficient fund to keep our club afloat and even improve our situation, but excess is likely unwise.
I would suggest that if we set aside some from each tow fee in 2021 we would be on our way to addressing the coming overhaul. I expect many member would, as they have in the past, step forward to provide a loan to cover the remaining expense. I know from personal experience that Sky Soaring is good for it.
Just one thought from a patron member.
Larry
Tow plane thoughts…
We have had the continuing challenge of having a viable tow plane through all the years that Sky Soaring has existed. We became spoiled by having the Bird Dog for 30+ years. It did thousands of tows and always came back to life when we gave it the TLC it desired. That included at least two major overhauls that I can recall. Following the Bird Dog era we had some difficult time with tow planes that were not a durable or reliable. Our flying suffered. It seems that in the Pawnee we have a good reliable tow plane. It will be nice to return to those earlier times.
About 15 years ago and at the encouragement of our treasurer at the time we began squirreling away money from each tow for the eventual overhaul. That worked well. Our philosophy was that our dues paid for the field and the gliders. Those were relatively stable expenses. Our tow fees paid for the tow plane which was a variable expense… more tows, more maintenance. That philosophy worked well.
On the subject of a special assessment… One of pluses of being a member of Sky Soaring as compared to other flying clubs is that in their entire history – about 48 years – they have never had a special assessment. To potential member as well as current members, that is an important point. We survived on the income from our performance and participation. It would be a shame to ruin that record.
Will having a first special assessment chase some members away or discourage others from joining Sky Soaring? I suspect that, as some have suggested, it will be a factor. Not all who wish to fly can afford to have an unexpected assessment. In the past we have worked to provide good flying at reasonable prices.
A special assessment of $400 would effectively increase the cost for a member who does 20 tows a year by $20 per tow. Ouch. It would also increase the first year dues for a new member by $400.
On the subject of borrowing from members for the cost of a major for the Pawnee, we have done that many times. I have loaned money to Sky Soaring a number of times and have always been paid back. Up until we wanted to bring the mortgage in house, the loans were always done interest free by members that appreciated being a member of the club. More recently loans for the mortgage, the winch, and the tow plane purchase, we have offer a modest interest. Yet we have a record of members stepping up interest free to support our operation.
Through the years being a member of Sky Soaring has been a pleasure. It has always been a gathering of friends. We tried to be sensitive to each other and each did our part to keep us flying. We were never short on having members pitch in whether financially or by sweat labor. We took pride in being a part of the soaring happening. It has happily not been a business, but our board accepted the responsibility of managing our financial responsibilities. Hopefully the future financial challenges can be met with the grace of our former boards. As a group of flying friends we will continue to support our club. I hope the hangar continues to be a clubhouse where friends meet.
Larry
My memories of the Doc are vivid. In those days we would hold our meeting squeezed into the front room of the hangar. Clare’s contributions to the meetings often caused a quiet to settle in the room as he complained vociferously berating all present and members would take up quietly looking at their feet in embarrassment. He had a way of stopping any other discussion. I recall that when he left sky soaring we changed the numbers on the locks for the hangar and the tool room because he felt the club owed him something. Shortly after we settled the law suit the Doc took on the radio station WFMT suing them because he felt their radio signal had degraded. Sky Soaring now exists because of a group of members – some of them still around – would not accept losing the airport to the Doc.
Perhaps some of the members of that era recall the party we threw after settling with the Doc and the spud gun. Is it still hanging on the wall?
Larry
Content:
SSI Members,
Steve Wasilowski forwarded the obit, below. The old-timers will remember Clare Close. He was one of the original investors in Sky Soaring back in the early 80’s.
What most of you don’t know, or perhaps have forgotten, is that Clare sued the Club and the LLC in 1990’s because he felt his investment wasn’t providing the returns he wanted and the Club was being mis-managed and funds improperly allocated between the Club and the LLC. We literally spent tens of thousands of dollars and about 6 years defending the Club and the LLC from his frivolous lawsuit. The irony of the whole thing is that Clare was the Treasurer of the Club and LLC (and LP, before it) at the time and it was his handling of the books that made such a forensic mess of things. His defense, when this was pointed out to him, was that the rest of the Board should have stopped him!
Long story short, the courts dissociated the plaintiff group (Clare and lot of his doctor friends who he talked into investing and a few SSI members) from both the Club and LLC, and we bought out their shares at around $1,000 each, which is what we offered to do in the first place (Clare wanted $5,000/share).
In any case, the final footnote to a dark chapter in the history of Sky Soaring.
Best Regards,
John F. Phelan
Clarence Crosby Close
1926 – 2019
I, too, have good memories of Ed’s time at Sky Soaring. He knew how to
be a great friend, not just to the club, but to each of us. When the demise
of Sky Soaring seemed eminent he stepped in as our president and rallied
the members. He was a unifying force… we needed that. Later he became the
first self-described COG (crotchety old guy). He not only let us know when
the flight sheets were not kept well, but also when we were not meeting his
high standards of airport behavior… and he did it in a way that made us
feel better about ourselves. He only began limiting his time at the airport
when his wife of many years needed him. I, for one, greatly enjoyed knowing
Ed.Larry
————————-Everything is now tight again. No apparent damage. The 1-26 and 1-34 were tight as a drum. All others were bouncing in the breeze. Pumpkin, Stars and Stripes, and RZ each had one wing completely free. Glad they stayed. I think the 2-33’s stayed because of the tails on the horses and the chain on the nose. Some of you remember Rainbow’s unmanned flight a couple of years ago. Nice we did not have that again.
The gate was open when I arrived. I assumed that was intentional. I left it open.
Larry
