June, 2005
EAA Fly-In at Warsaw Municipal Airport a Huge Success!
On June 25th, the Warsaw Experimental Aircraft
Association had a Fly-In breakfast with hundreds showing. There was plenty
of pancakes, airplane rides,
and all kinds of interesting airplanes. Special thanks to members Adam
Fackler and Karina Holstad for their help at the Fly-In.
Brandon Schadek Goes Solo!
With the coals in the grill still smoldering from the Warsaw Flying Club's cookout the previous evening, Brandon Schadek took off with Flight Instructor Karina Holstad for a few final takeoffs and landings. Brandon was ready to solo the day of the cookout, but due to high winds, had to push the day of his solo back to the following day. It turns out that it was worth the wait. The sky was clear and the air a relatively cool 70 degrees, but most importantly, very little wind. With three good, and completely unassisted landings, Karina took a few moments to endorse his logbook and student pilot's license. With the stroke of a pen and a pat on the back, Brandon Schadek became legally and physically free to fly without the assistance of a Flight Instructor.
With this accomplishment under his belt, Brandon is looking forward to the next few steps ahead of him. Almost immediately, Brandon and Karina will begin flying to more distant and interesting places than the Warsaw Municipal Airport. First on the list is going to be Valparaiso, Kokomo, Muncie, and Lafayette. With the Cessna 152 cruising at a cool 120 miles per hour, the most distant of those destinations, Lafayette, is only 45 minutes away--and the view is breathtaking. On the flight to Valparaiso, Lake Michigan will be visible, as will the Chicago skyline. After about seven hours flying those "cross-country" flights, he and Karina will begin focusing on preparing for his Private Pilot checkride. Once he passes the checkride, he will be an FAA certified Private Pilot, with the ability to fly friends and family to far-away places in larger and faster aircraft available at the Warsaw Flying Club. The Warsaw Flying Club is excited for Brandon on his recent accomplishment.
Warsaw Flying Club Cookout a Huge Success
The
allure of airplane rides, free food, and learning more about aviation brought
almost forty people to the Warsaw Municipal Airport terminal building.
They were introduced to Capitan Reinhold Fussle from United Airlines and heard
him speak a little bit about his experience in aviation. He introduced
WFC's most recent addition to the instruction staff, Karina Holstad. To finish
the introductions, Jon Fussle, the Founder and Director of the Club, gave a
brief history of the club and overview of joining and learning to fly.
Capitan Fussle discussed how he emigrated to the United States from Switzerland to begin school and flight training at Moody Bible Institute in Tennessee, flew as a bush pilot in Africa, then as a corporate pilot locally, and finally about flying for the second largest airline in the country, United Airlines. After a brief question-and-answer period, he introduced Karina.
...Who
promptly introduced Jon Fussle. Apparently, she's not much for public
speaking. Jon explained that the Flying Club was started in February, 2004
to offer a more affordable and fun way to learn to fly than what existed on the
airfield. While in his Freshman year at Holy Cross College at Notre Dame,
he bought a Cessna 152 to begin the Warsaw Flying Club. Flying cargo at
night, attending classes during the day, and flight instructing in-between, Jon
got WFC off the ground, quite literally. Present at the meeting was David
Dick, the original member of the Warsaw Flying Club. After a period of
questions and answers, the grill and the 152 were both fired up and begun their
respective jobs--the grill grilling, and plane flying.
The event went well into the evening, where the last ride was given as the sun set, and the final burger was eaten shortly thereafter. Thank you all for your support.