President’s Report
Greetings EAA 932 Chapter members!
I hope that everyone is working their way through this cold winter we are having. With all of the extreme weather and snow that we have had, it has been a bit of a challenge to get out and enjoy some good flying days. This past month was somewhat quiet around the airport, but active in terms of our EAA Chapter.
On February 4th, myself and EAA 932 Chapter Director Beth Rehm attended the annual Chicago Area EAA Chapter Leader Conference at Schaumburg Airport. Beth organized and ran this very productive meeting. We had lively conversation about our individual chapter activities, and some of the challenges and tribulations that we all have among our chapters. I enjoyed meeting and interacting with many of the chapter leaders from our surrounding airports.
During our February 10th Chapter Gathering, we hosted a very informative guest speaker from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA). AOPA Great Lakes Ambassador Andy Miller did a great presentation entitled “General Aviation Update”. Due to poor weather, attendance at the meeting was light, but the discussion we had during and after Andy’s presentation was very engaging. I am hoping to have Andy return to one of our future gatherings. He does a great job presenting, and the AOPA compliments the EAA in many of its initiatives to protect and promote general aviation.
Our chapter board held our monthly business meeting on February 15th. Minutes from our meeting are available upon request from Chapter Secretary, Paul Sedlacek. Moving forward, the EAA 932 Board of Directors will have regular business meetings scheduled for the third Thursday of every month at 6:30 pm in the Galt Airport FBO. Members at large are always welcome to attend. If you are unable to attend, and wish to provide input to ou
r board, please feel free to call or email me at any time and I will bring your ideas to the table.
As March rolls around we will have a chapter gathering on Saturday March 10th. We have an interesting guest speaker coming from the Kelch Aviation Museum which is being developed at Brodhead Airport in Wisconsin. Mr. Pat Weeden will talk about the development of the museum. Come on out and join us for coffee, donut holes, hangar flying, and a neat program.
On March 24th, our EAA 932 Scholarship Committee will be holding a Game Show Night in the studio at Galt. This will be a fun and social night for everyone. See our website to RSVP and purchase tickets.
Finally, I would like to draw attention to our biggest event of the year coming up on June 16th. Mark your calendars for Barnstormer Day. This event is a lot of fun, and draws a lot of attendance from our local community and surrounding airports. It is also our largest fund raiser of the year. In order for it to run smooth, we will be needing volunteers to staff various parts of the event. Last year we served close to 500 pancake breakfasts at this event. Everyone that attended and worked at Barnstormer Day had a great time. In addition to telling your friends and family, if you know people with vintage airplanes or vintage cars, please have them join us! Please contact Paul Sedlacek at 847.254.7480 for more information.
Thanks to all of you for making Galt Airport a great place to be, and our EAA Chapter a great organization. I hope to see you at our upcoming chapter gathering, and the other events we have coming up. Stay tuned to this website for the latest information about EAA 932.
President’s Report – Arnie Quast
EAA932 Member News
Our own EAA Chapter Vice President, Bill Tobin, recently spent a busy weekend attending the EAA’s Leadership Academy in Oshkosh. While he was picking up new organizational skills, schmoozing with chapter leaders from around the country, and (based on his comments) not going hungry, Bill found time to get some great behind-the-scenes pics…and even dared to sit in Paul Poberezny’s P51!
Bill’s account of his weekend at HQ – and what it’s really like to stay at the Air Academy Lodge – can be read by clicking right here!
Galt Grass Roots – Meet Erika Morgan
By Arnie Quast and Erika Morgan
During my working trips with United Airlines I am always working with some very interesting aviation professionals. Recently on a 2-day line trip I had the pleasure of working with First Officer Erika Morgan. At the start of most trips as airline pilots we often “break the ice” when we first meet each other if we have not flown together before. We often do that by sharing a little bit of our background information, and how we got started in flying. As we started flying together, Erika and I exchanged information about where we got our starts in aviation. After mentioning that I was the president of EAA 932, Erika mentioned that she grew up in Marengo, IL, and started her flying career at Galt Airport back in the 80’s. Her father, Rolf Schoelkopf, retired from United as an Airbus 320 Captain in 1999. He also had a Cessna 205 that was based at Galt. Many professional aviators get their start working and flying at small airports across the nation. I thought Erika’s story was worthy of sharing in Galt Traffic! ~ Arnie Quast
Here is a reflection from Erika reminiscing her past at Galt Airport:
I enjoyed a wonderful start to my career at Galt Airport in 1986. The family atmosphere and small airport feel, complete with grass strip made learning to fly a joy. I remember an exhilarating moment in a Cessna 152, when my instructor Tom Tiberi had me pull over in the Runway 27 turn around, endorsed my logbook and hopped out to cut me loose for my first solo. I recall the many happy hours of hangar flying with the “old salts” and even landed my first job in aviation working in the office and line service under Carla Nussbaum. Mr. Galt (he will always be “Mr. Galt” to me) would stop in and regale us kids with a story or two, dropping a bit of wisdom along the way.
I often fly with pilots at United who have an association with Galt and it brings a smile to my face to hear that, even over the many years since I called Galt my home airport, it hasn’t lost any of its wonderful charm and character.
After obtaining my Private license at Galt I went onto Lewis University earning a bachelor degree in Aviation Flight Management along with my pilot certifications. I became an instructor at Lewis and then went on to join Zantop Airlines and Connie Kallita’s American International Airways, flying cargo around the world in the Lockheed L-188 and Douglas DC-8. Along the way, I had wonderful experiences being based in Alaska and Scotland. I spent a year doing corporate flying in Milwaukee before landing my dream job at United Airlines, where I was the last Flight Engineer hired at the airline. Since that time, I’ve flown the B737 and the Airbus A320 – my beloved “Fifi”. I have had an amazing career, and I still tell people that every day I go to work, it’s with a smile on my face. It all started at Galt Airport and I will forever feel a special connection with that great, hometown airport.
~ Erika Morgan
First Officer Erika Schoelkopf-Morgan on the flight deck of the Airbus A-320. Erika is married, and has three children. She currently resides in London, England, and is based at Chicago-O’Hare (ORD) with United Airlines