To All Sky-Vu Members:

After a great deal of debate and discussion, your board of directors has elected to move N716CD to Indianapolis Metro (UMP) on a permanent basis on or about October 4 (Wednesday of this coming week.) Concurrent with this action, N9421D will be moved to Indianapolis Regional (MQJ). With this in mind, N716CD will move into N9421D’s former hangar, Building 406, #3. N9421D will move into hangar Building 408, #4 at MQJ. The gate code at MQJ is: 1MQJ* This hangar happens to be our new member Jerry Clifford’s “old” hangar that he recently returned to the Indianapolis Aviation Authority after selling his LSA. This was the only south-facing (great in winter), 42’ hangar available for lease effective October 1 and a big “thank you” to Jerry for making us aware so we could work with the IAA to secure it.

I also want to thank all of our members who have been coming to our meetings to share in the discussion and voice their opinions in a productive manner. Similarly, thank you to those members who sent emails to me and other board members for the same purpose. I can tell you without a doubt, and as those of you who attended last month’s meeting can attest, this was not an easy decision. In the end, about half us wanted 2SV to move to MQJ and the other half wanted 21D to move. It was basically a split decision. At our last meeting, we agreed to keep an eye on the hours being flown by whichever airplane moved to Regional. We will do this on multiple occasions over the next 12 months. So, while the decision is expected to be permanent, the fact is we’ll keep an open mind and if we see that 21D is not being flown, or if hours have dropped off precipitously, we will certainly reconsider this decision.

With respect to N716CD, since this airplane cannot be pulled by the tail ring (it’s for tie down only) and since it has no struts to push on when pulling it out of the hangar, Sky-Vu has opted to purchase and electric “tug” for use by Sky-Vu members. This was the “better solution” discussed at last month’s members’ meeting. While we wait for a wider, 44’ hangar at Metro, keep in mind Hangar 406-3 is a 42’ hangar and 6CD has 38+’ wingspan – the wing-to-wall clearance will be relatively tight. Please be extra careful when moving the Cirrus in and out of the hangar to avoid hangar rash and unexpected charges on your monthly statement!

This year has been a truly exciting year for the club with the addition of N716CD, the addition of new members and expansion of operations to Indianapolis Regional. I hope you’re as excited as I am about the value your membership in Sky-Vu offers and future flying opportunities!