Briefing for New Members

Ace Flying Club of Endicott, Inc.
Briefing for New Members

Revised August 12, 2011

This briefing sheet will help orient a new Club member to the content of the Constitution and By-Laws and Operating Procedures.

In the event of discrepancy between this document and official Club documents, the official Club documents govern.

Membership

Q: To whom is membership open?
A: Per the Constitution and By-Laws, membership is open to all persons, except that a parent or guardian must accept financial responsibility for a member below legal age. Practically speaking, we admit pilots wishing to fly our airplane or other persons wishing to learn to fly.
Q: What amounts are the initiation fee, active dues, LOA dues, and airplane rental?
A: See our main page.
Q: What is "provisional membership"?
A: When a new member joins, his membership is provisional. The purpose of the provisional period is to give the Club and the member a chance to evaluate one another for fit and compatibility. The joining member pays only the first half of the initiation fee. This gets him a provisional membership that is good for six months. Anytime during the six-month period, either the Club or the member can end the membership. At the end of the six-month period, if the Club and the member both wish to continue the membership, the member pays the second half of the initiation fee.
Q: What is a "leave of absence" (LOA) membership? When can a member take one, and how long must it last? What does a member give up by going LOA?
A: An LOA membership lets a member take a temporary break from active membership. An active member can go on LOA after he has been on active status for at least one year. While the member is on LOA, the member's dues drop dramatically, and he has no aircraft scheduling or use privileges, no voting privileges, and no claim on club assets. The member can return to active status after he has been on LOA for at least a year.
Q: What does it mean to be a member in "good standing"? What does a member give up when he is not in good standing?
A: A member is in good standing when his account is current and no paperwork he owes the club is past due. When he is not in good standing, a member cannot vote at Club meetings, cannot make aircraft reservations, and cannot use Club equipment. If he is sponsoring pinch-hitter candidates, those candidates lose their Club privileges, too.
Q: Do you have a "family membership" program?
A: Yes. Second and subsequent active members within the same family get a discount on dues. See our Operating Procedures for more information.
Q: What are the reasons a member can be expelled? How does expulsion work?
A: A member can be expelled for infraction of Federal Aviation Regulations or Club rules, dishonesty, or conduct detrimental to the objects or interests of the Club. He can also be expelled for letting his account get older than 60 days.

Payment

Q: When and how often does the Club send billings? When is payment due?
A: The Club bills on the first of each month. Payment in full is due to the club PO box by the last day of the month.
Q: What forms of payment does the Club accept?
A: We very strongly prefer that you mail a check or money order to the club PO box. If you must pay in cash, pay the Secretary-Treasurer at a regularly-scheduled club meeting. Do not leave payments at the FBO. Do not ask the Secretary-Treasurer to meet you to receive your payment. If you want to "pay online", get yourself a checking account at a bank that offers free online bill paying.
Q: What happens when a member does not pay his bill in full on time?
A: If a member does not pay his account in full by the end of the month, he falls out of good standing. If a member's account ages to 60 days past the billing date, he becomes eligible for expulsion.

Meetings

Q: According to the Constitution and By-Laws, when and how often are meetings required?
A: The Constitution and By-Laws require one Board of Directors meeting each November. Also, the Secretary-Treasurer must call a Board meeting whenever two Directors request one. Similarly, the Constitution and By-Laws require a membership meeting each December or whenever three members request one.
Q: When does the club really meet?
A: The club meets as needed, generally once per year. See the club newsletter for the location. All members are welcome.
Q: Who may vote at a meeting?
A: An active member in good standing may vote at a meeting.
Q: Under what conditions does the whole membership vote on an issue, and under what conditions is a vote of the Board of Directors sufficient?
A: The Constitution and By-Laws vests nearly all decision-making and policy-making power in the Club's Board of Directors. Very seldom is a vote of the entire active membership appropriate. Thus, almost all of the votes that come up at club meetings are votes in which only the Board participates. Issues requiring a vote of the entire active membership are removal of a Director from office, election of the Officers and the Board of Directors, review of Club policy, and amendment of the Constitution and By-Laws.

Officers and Directors

Q: How many Officers does the Club have, and what are their titles and duties?
A: The Club's Officers are the President, the Secretary-Treasurer, and the Maintenance Officer. Their duties are described in the Constitution and By-Laws. Each Officer is a member of the Board of Directors.
Q: Are there additional Directors besides the Officers?
A: Yes. The Board of Directors consists of five Directors: the three Officers, plus two Directors-at-Large.
Q: Who are the Club Officers and Directors today? What are their phone numbers?
A: Directors are:

President vacant

Secretary-Treasurer Brian Wade

Maintenance Officer vacant

Director-at-Large vacant

Director-at-Large vacant
Q: When and how often are Officers and Directors elected?
A: Officers and Directors are nominated each November. They are elected each December by majority vote of a quorum of the membership.

Instructors

Q: Does the Club have instructors on staff?
A: Not exactly. The Club has approved a few instructors to conduct instruction in our airplane. Only Club-approved instructors may conduct instruction in our airplane.
Q: Who are the Club-approved instructors?
A: The list of Club-approved instructors is posted here on the Club web site.
Q: Why may only Club-approved instructors provide instruction in Club aircraft?
A: A Club-approved instructor has been briefed over Club procedures. He has also provided written affirmation that he will carry CFI insurance whenever he instructs in our airplane. The Board has decided that it wants only instructors who have met these requirements to instruct our members in our aircraft.
Q: How does a member secure Club-approved status for his favorite instructor?
A: Have the instructor contact any Director, or point the instructor to the instructions on the Club web site.
Q: Does the requirement to be Club-approved also apply to instructors one might hire at a flight school?
A: Yes. If you would like to use our airplane in connection with instruction you take at a flight school, please first arrange for the school to become Club-approved. Contact the Secretary-Treasurer for instructions.
Q: When a member takes instruction in a Club airplane, who pays for the instructor?
A: The member schedules and pays the instructor directly.

Checkouts and Transition Training

Q: Are there checkout requirements I must satisfy prior to soloing Club aircraft?
A: Yes. The Club requires you to pass a Club check ride prior to solo. This fulfills requirements levied by our insurance carrier. It's also just good operating practice.
Q: I'll need a pilot's operating handbook (POH). Where do I get one?
A: The Secretary-Treasurer will lend you a POH and a set of airplane keys. These items remain Club property. You must return them when you leave the Club. There is a downloadable POH on the Club web site.
Q: I'll need access to the airplane, too. How do I get that?
A: The club's hangar is protected by lock and key. The key to the lock is stored in a combination lockbox affixed to the hangar door. At your new member briefing we will give you the combination to the lockbox. You may use the airplane at any time.
Q: Whom do I call to arrange for transition training and checkout?
A: Contact any Club-approved instructor and ask for new member transition training and a club checkout. All of the Club-approved instructors know how to do this.
Q: Is there a task sheet or outline that describes the Club checkride?
A: Yes. The checkride task sheet is here on the Club web site. This is the sheet the Club-approved instructor will use to decide whether you are ready to solo our airplane. To pass the club check ride, you must complete all of the tasks successfully.
Q: Is there any paperwork to be done as part of receiving the checkout?
A: After the instructor has signed you off, be sure he fills out the affirmation form. We must have this completed affirmation in our files prior to your first solo. This satisfies insurance requirements.

Reservations

Q: Who may reserve the airplane?
A: An active member in good standing may reserve the airplane. A pinch-hitter candidate operating under an effective petition may also reserve the airplane.
Q: How does one reserve the airplane?
A: Make reservations using the club's Internet-based scheduling service.
Q: Where do I learn more about the club's Internet-based scheduling service? For example, how do I get myself a user ID on the service?
A: See this writeup.
Q: Are there limits on the number of reservations I can have open at once, or on how far in advance I can make a reservation?
A: Technically, no. However, remember that all of the members expect, and are entitled to, reasonable access to the airplane, during both prime flying times (e.g., summer weekends) and the low season, without experiencing undue waits or having scheduling difficulties. As you make your reservations, keep your recent use history in mind. Book your flights in a way that demonstrates that sharing the airplane with the other members is a priority for you.
Q: Suppose a member reserves the airplane and doesn't show up on time. When does his reservation expire?
A: For a cross-country flight of eight hours or more, a reservation expires in one hour. All other reservations expire in fifteen minutes.
Q: Does the reservation expiration clause relieve a member of having to cancel his reservation if he knows he is not going to use it?
A: Absolutely not. As soon as a member knows he is not going to use his reservation, he should cancel his reservation.
Q: What conditions justify returning the airplane late? Whom should a member contact if he is going to be late?
A: In general, bad weather or mechanical difficulties are the justifiable reasons, though no Club rule directly addresses the question. If a member is going to be late, he should call a Director so that we can take care of any scheduling conflicts that might have arisen.

Currency

Q: Where are the club's PIC currency and experience requirements documented?
A: See the Operating Procedures.
Q: How should a member inform the Club of check rides, BFRs, and other renewals of flight review currency?
A: Have the instructor fill out the club endorsement and send it to us.

Operation of Club Equipment

Q: Who may operate Club equipment?
A: An active member in good standing and listed on the Club's insurance policy as an approved pilot, or a non-member listed on the Club's insurance policy as an approved pilot, may operate Club equipment, subject to limitations specified in the Operating Procedures.
Q: I want to log some simulated instrument time (aka "hood time"). Who may serve as my safety pilot?
A: The safety pilot must fit the insurance policy's definition of the term "approved pilot". This means the safety pilot must meet FAR requirements for safety pilots and must also be either a Club member or a Club-approved instructor.
Q: Is one permitted to operate the airplane from an unpaved runway? What about an unlighted runway?
A: Unpaved, yes. Unlighted, only during daylight.
Q: May I fly the airplane to Canada?
A: Regarding flights to Canada, here are some pointers:

To fly our airplane in Canada the airplane needs an Aircraft/Ship Radio Station License and you need your own personal Restricted Radiotelephone Operator License.
Our Aircraft/Ship Radio Station License expired many years ago. We did not renew it because it is expensive and because it is no longer needed for domestic US operations. If you are planning a trip to Canada, please tell the Club far enough in advance that we can get a new license for the airplane before you leave.
We don't know how you would get yourself your own personal Restricted Radiotelephone Operator License. You can take that up with the FCC.
The airplane is insured for Canadian flights. However, be sure to check with the Secretary-Treasurer for important insurance details before you depart for Canada.
You are responsible for your own compliance with customs and immigration regulations.
Q: What are one's responsibilities when returning the airplane to Tri-Cities?
A: Refuel the airplane. Clean out personal belongings and trash, tidy up the cockpit, secure the flight controls, cover the pitot tube, fill out the tachometer log, and lock the airplane. Put the airplane into our hangar. Report squawks to the Maintenance Officer.
Q; What are one's responsibilities if he parks the airplane at a remote airport?
A: Lock it, chock it, and tie it down. If the FBO has space, put our airplane into a hangar.
Q: How do I clean the windshield?
A: The windshield is made of a soft plastic material and is easily scratched. To keep from scratching it, use plenty of cleaning spray and press very gently. Use Pledge liberally and wipe gently with paper towels. Make sure all foreign matter is loosened and softened before you start wiping, otherwise you will scratch the window material. Do not press hard or you will scratch the window material. Do not use Windex or other similar products or any product containing ammonia, because they will damage the window material.
Q: Where is the preheat equipment, and how do I use it?
A: The equipment is in the club locker. There are instructions here. There is a diagram in the tachometer log book.
Q: What else is in the locker, and where is the locker key?
A: The locker also contains some airplane cleaning supplies, oil, the airplane maintenance records, and miscellaneous equipment and supplies. The locker key is in the black pouch in the tachometer log book.

Maintenance

Q: Airplanes require regular maintenance, such as oil changes. Where are these "next maintenance due" milestones documented?
A: On the top of the tachometer log sheet there is a small table that lists when the last oil change happened, when the next annual is due, and the like. Further, a sticker next to the tachometer tells when the next oil change is due. You can use these items to determine whether a regularly scheduled maintenance task has come due. If you find that some milestone has arrived, please contact the Maintenance Officer.
Q: Whom should a member contact when the airplane has a mechanical problem? What are his name and phone number?
A: Contact the Maintenance Officer. His name and telephone number are on the tachometer log sheet. Please also use the Internet-based scheduling service to fill out a squawk report.
Q: Suppose a member finds the airplane to be unsafe for flight. Can he ground the airplane? Whom should the member call?
A: Yes. Place an obvious note on the pilot's yoke and then call the Maintenance Officer. His name and telephone number are on the tachometer log sheet. Please also use the Internet-based scheduling service to fill out a squawk report.

Paperwork

Q: When I buy fuel, how do I pay for it?
A: Use your own payment means. When you pay your club bill at the end of the month, send the Club copies of your fuel receipts and deduct their sum from your check.
Q: Where is the airplane's current weight and balance information kept?
A: The master copy of the POH contains current weight and balance information. So do the tachometer log book and the Club web site.
Q: Where is the airplane's POH (Pilot's Operating Handbook) kept? How can a member get his own copy?
A: The master copy is in the plastic bin in the airplane baggage compartment. If you ask, the Secretary-Treasurer will lend you a copy for the duration of your membership. On the club web site there is a PDF of a POH.
Q: Where are the airplane's maintenance logs kept? How does one get access to them?
A: The maintenance logs are in the Club's locker, which is in the hangar at Tri-Cities. The logs are irreplaceable and very valuable. Read them all you want, but do not remove them from the immediate vicinity of the locker without explicit permission of the Maintenance Officer.

Insurance and Accidents

Q: Who are the insured parties on the Club's insurance policy?
A: The insured parties are Ace Flying Club of Endicott, Inc. and the approved pilots listed on the policy, subject to limitations specified in the policy. A CFI exercising his instruction privileges in our airplane is never an insured party under the Club's policy, even if the CFI is listed as an approved pilot.
Q: When is the insurance in force?
A: The insurance is in force while the airplane is parked not in motion. It is also in force when the airplane is in motion, but only if (1) the airplane is being operated by an approved pilot listed on the policy, and (2) the approved pilot is operating the airplane according to FARs. This means you need to be current -- club check ride, medical, BFR, IFR, and so on -- when you operate our airplane, otherwise the insurance is not in effect.
Q: Must a member provide his own insurance?
A: If you want to avoid paying the Club's deductible out-of-pocket, or if you want insurance limits in excess of what the Club has purchased, non-owner insurance is a good idea. Similarly, if you incur a loss while operating the airplane in such a way that the Club's policy is not in force, non-owner insurance might help you. Avemco Insurance Company and AOPA are sources of non-owner insurance. The Club does not endorse any specific provider of non-owner insurance.
Q: What are a member's responsibilities in the event of an accident?
A: The pilot in command must contact the FAA and NTSB. Calling Flight Service meets this requirement. The pilot in command must also contact a Director.

Words to the Wise

Q: How do people end up going wrong in this outfit?
A: What usually happens is that the member forgets to treat the Directors, the airplane, the Village, or other members with basic courtesy. Here are some rules to live by:

Pay your bill in full on time every month.
Mail your payment to the club PO box.
Don't leave your payment at the FBO.
Don't ask the Secretary-Treasurer to meet you to receive a payment.
Don't bounce checks against the club.
In choosing and scheduling your flight times, demonstrate that sharing the airplane with the other members is a priority for you.
Use the scheduling service. Don't just take the airplane.
If you decide not to fly, go log onto the scheduling service and cancel your online reservation.
Protect the club's hangar entry credentials.
Make sure you are current when you operate our airplane: club check ride, medical, BFR, passengers, night, IFR, and so on.
Operate the airplane within the FARs and local laws such as noise abatement procedures.
Bring the airplane home on time.
When you are done using the airplane, refuel it, clean out your stuff, take out your trash, tidy up the cockpit, and put the airplane away.
If you discover something wrong with the airplane, tell the Maintenance Officer immediately.
Help ferry the airplane for maintenance sometimes.
Every once in a while, clean the windshield and windows.
Learn how to wash the airplane, and then, once a year, go wash it.
Come to the January club meeting. This is where we discuss the previous year's financial results and settle on our rate structure for the coming year.

President	vacant
Secretary-Treasurer	Brian Wade
Maintenance Officer	vacant
Director-at-Large	vacant
Director-at-Large	vacant

Ace Flying Club of Endicott, Inc. Briefing for New Members