By Ted Luebbers, EAA 875984
There was a beehive of activity in the Chapter 534 hangar at the Leesburg International Airport in Leesburg, Florida, with four homebuilt airplane projects being worked on to kick off the chapter’s fall season. As you walked through the door during our recent meeting, there were several people crowded around the engine of the TM-5 low-wing, plansbuilt plane, as they struggled to replace a gasket on the oil sump, which was in an inconvenient location that made it hard to reach.
To the left of that project stood a light-sport aircraft, a Quad City Challenger II that was there to have new fabric applied to its wings. The left wing was lying on a bench as the owner doped and painted the wing tip. By noon, with the help of other hangar monkeys, a group of dedicated chapter members who turn up on Thursday mornings to work on projects, the wing had been reattached and it would be flown again in the afternoon.
The third construction project is a Mini-MAX 1500R that didn’t fare too well in a tornado at another airport in Florida. The discouraged owner donated the plane to the chapter, and they will make it a youth project for the Chapter 534 Explorer Program. The Explorers will rebuild this plane under the supervision of experienced chapter members.
Last, but not least, in the back room of the hangar, one of the members was organizing what needed to be done to complete the fuselage of a Pietenpol Air Camper. This is a perennial project that is beginning its fifth year but the chapter has high hopes for the future.
If you are a pilot or just an individual that has always had a keen interest in aviation and you would like to associate with like-minded people, drop in to the EAA hangar some Thursday morning to see what goes on in that hangar. There is always room for new members.
To find out more about EAA Chapter 534, see our website.
