Archived News 2008-2009

April 25th & 26th, 2009 - The weekend's field trips were both fun and exciting! The original intent was to go to Martha's Vineyard on both days, but 900 ft ceilings in MVY on Saturday required a change of destination over the Providence (KPVD) Airport. The new destination was decided to be Marshfield, MA, as everything else along the coast was IFR. At least this way we got to still put our feet in the Atlantic!

The Sunday Field Trip was able to get into MVY, but one plane had a broken alternator before departure from SCH, so only the Pittsfield Plane made it. I'm assuming a good time was had by all! Pictures will be uploaded soon!

April 23th, 2009 - Tonight's meeting will feature PIZZA, for all those who are brave enough to attend!!!

After the strange weather last weekend, we are again going to try and hit the beach and head on over to Martha's Vineyard, KMVY. The trip will occur on both Sat. and Sun. the 25th and 26th. The weather looks good this weekend! If anyone is interested in going and haven't already signed up, please send us an e-mail at raf@union.rpi.edu.

Tonight we held the yearly elections for the RAF Officers! It was a tough battle with riveting speaches, along with name calling and policy trashing! The current officers would like to give a warm welcome and a congratulatory toast to the new officers:

Officers (2009-2010)

Name	Position
Andrew Pye	President
Alan Longhini	Vice President
Jacob Blaquiere	Treasurer
Megan Banko	Secretary
Barry Spaulding	Safety Officer

April 9th, 2009 - Well, since the website hasn't been updated in a while, this will be a rather large post for today.

To start, the RPI Fly-By for the Spring Semester has officially been cancelled, as both the original weekend and the rain date decided to have poor flying weather. The event will not be re-scheduled this semester as there isn't enough time before the end of the semester. We want to thank everyone who signed up and apologize for not being able to hold this AMAZING event this Spring. Look back here in the fall for the Fall 2009 RPI Fly-By, and this time we'll request some better weather!

For this weekend, it has been decided to hit the beach and head on over to Martha's Vineyard, KMVY. We'll be going on both Sat. and Sun. the 11th and the 12th, with the rain date the following weekend. So cross your fingers that the weather will be decent this coming weekend(s)!! If anyone is interested in going and haven't already signed up, please send us an e-mail at raf@union.rpi.edu.

On another note, if you haven't gotten your T-shirt be SURE to come to the meeting tonight as Jim is getting tired of walking around with them. Everyone else, see you tonight at the meeting!

March 26th, 2009 - At the meeting tonight it was decided to postpone the RPI Fly-By to next weekend, April 4th and 5th due to weather on Sunday. All reservations will be carried over to next weekend. If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail us at raf@union.rpi.edu

March 19th, 2009 - Meeting Tonight...as usual. We will be having FREE PIZZA so that we can get our new t-shirts (will be handed out at the meeting) dirty before we will be able to wear them!!

On a more serious note, the Spring Fly-By is next weekend (March 28th-29th) and we MUST start planning the logistic tonight. All members should consider helping out as this is our way of giving back to the RPI community. We need to have drivers, people to help out at the airport as well as pilots.

So plan on attending tonight for a productive, pizza-filled meeting...oh BYODrink!!

March 16th, 2009 - Pictures of the Lake Placid Trip have been uploaded! See them all here!

March 5th, 2009 - Meeting tonight to collect payment for the Lake Placid Trip and to finalize the RAF T-shirt order. T-shirts will be ordered over Spring Break and should be available on the March 19th meeting.

February 28th, 2009 - Trip to Lake Placid today was able to depart as planned. Pictures coming soon. Description of this trip is provided by RAF member/pilot Alan Longhini:

The morning of the 28th will be remembered as one of low ceilings, limited visibility, and sparse precipitation. It takes more than that, however, to dishearten the spirit of RAF members. After hours of careful deliberation and flight planning, two C-172’s embarked on the journey to the Lake Placid Airport.

The voyage was marked by high mountains and clear skies. At 7500 feet, the thin air provided the performance required to outdo the 15 knot headwind. The approach into Lake Placid presented spectacular scenes of Whiteface Mountain and the downwind leg placed us only a few hundred feet away from the 1980 Winter Olympics ski jumps.

After taking the free trolley to a local pasta restaurant, the young aviators returned to the field to prepare for the flight back. With the wheels up by 1800 EST, the homecoming at 8500 feet, aided by a 10 knot tailwind, allowed for a smooth and expedite arrival into Schenectady Country Airport and Pittsfield Municipal Airport.

February 26th, 2009 - Meeting tonight will focus on the rescheduled field trip and getting payment for RAF T-Shirts! Anyone who is signed up for the trip MUST come to the meeting tonight, as there are many people looking to switch days, cancel and/or signup. So see everyone tonight!

We are going to try to go to Lake Placid on Saturday, but the weather is looking terrible for Sunday. The rain date for that trip will be Saturday March 21st. The fly-by has been pushed back one week to March 28th and 29th, with the rain date being April 4th & 5th.

In other news Dan, Sean, Barry, and James were able to complete one of two NYC trips today, and we may have finally found a new airplane to rent. Stay tuned...

February 21st and 22nd, 2009 - Both field trips for the weekend had to be cancelled due to high winds and low ceilings on Saturday and a storm system on Sunday. The trip is rescheduled for Feb 28th and March 1st.

February 19th, 2009 - Field Trip this weekend, assuming the weather cooperates! This may mean that an alternate airport to Lake Placid is needed. Everyone going MUST check their e-mail the night before and the morning of to see the status of the trip. For people going to Pittsfield, MA you will be departing the Union Horshoe at 8:30 am, for those who are going to Schnectady you will be meeting at 9 am at the Union.

February 12th, 2009 - More details on the Lake Placid trip such as what we are going to do once we get there. Anyone interested in going on the trip should definately come to tonight's meeting. See everyone there!

February 5th, 2009 - The location of field trip #3 has been determined to be Lake Placid, NY! We are getting into the Olympic Spirit by visiting the site of the 1980 Winter Games!

January 31th, 2009 - Well, today Andrew and Cory decided they needed a new expensive toy, forget about responsible personal finance, and throw all hell into the wind (and any possiblility of student loans next year)...and became proud owners of a Gulfstream G-IV.

January 29th, 2009 - Continued discussions on upcoming field trips, the rescheduled NYC trip and update on rental aircraft. Also will be deciding on a date for a movie night!

January 22th, 2009 - Tonight will be a general discussion on where we should go on our upcoming field trips this year. There will also be an update on the lack of rental aircraft situation.

January 15th, 2009 - WELCOME BACK! We will be having a meeting this Thursday to discuss all the upcoming RAF awesomeness this semester, so be sure to stop by and check it out. In case you need to know of the NEW meeting location this semester, it can be found on the Spring 2009 Meeting Rooms page! See you all there!

Dates for the Field Trips and Fly By have been uploaded to the website. Check them out on the Events page!

Also, Congratulations to Jerry for passing his checkride and becoming a Private Pilot!

December 10th, 2008 - Pictures of the NYC Trip have been uploaded and can be found HERE.

December 9th, 2008 - The meeting rooms for next semester have been uploaded and can be found here.

Also, there will be no meeting this week. Good Luck on Finals and have an excellent winter break.

December 6th, 2008 - Whew, what an interesting day! We started off by flying down the NYC VFR Corridor, getting some excellent aerial photographs of New York City. 'Lunch' was at a pizza joint at the end of the runway named Focaccia Pizza n Pasta, all on the trip would highly recommend it. While refueling the airplanes it started snowing, which prompted a call to Flight Service, which yielding information pertaining to excellent icing conditions and the dreaded "VFR flight not recommended." Our airtrip turned into a roadtrip as we had to go to Newark Airport to rent cars to return to RPI. Photos of the flying portion of the trip will be uploaded during winter break! If anyone has any pictures they would like to add, please e-mail me.

December 4th, 2008 - Alan told me I had to update the website, so here it is. This week we are going to be discussing the NYC trip (again), and the weather for the weekend. Anyone who is signed up MUST come to tonights meeting. Anyone going on the December 6th trip needs to check their e-mail in the morning to make sure we haven't cancelled because of weather. The trip for December 7th has been cancelled because of potential weather and an unfortunate mishap that involved a ski area, a snowboard, and a jump. We will reschedule the December 7th trip for sometime in the Spring Semester.

November 27, 2008 - No Meeting. Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

November 22, 2008 - The field trip for today bas been cancelled due to the gusty conditions today. The trip has been rescheduled for Sunday December 7th. More information will be provided at our meeting after break. Please e-mail Jim if you will not be able to make the rescheduled date.

November 20, 2008 - Tonight's meeting will feature meeting times, locations and destination for the NYC trip on Saturday the 22nd! Also as a special treat we will we watching the Gulfstream G650 new product announcement! Hope to see you there!

November 15, 2008 - The NYC Trip for Saturday has been cancelled due to the massive amounts of rain predicted for tomorrow. The November 15th trip has been rescheduled for December 6th.

November 13, 2008 - Tonight's meeting will feature meeting times, locations and destination for the NYC trip on Saturday the 15th! Anyone interested in signing up for the trip needs to e-mail Jim. PILOTS, make sure you read and understand the proper NYC VFR Corridor procedures that can be found HERE as the corridor is a very busy, yet fun place to fly and the safety of your passengers as well as yourself is extremely important. Therefore understanding how the VFR Corridor works is an important preflight preparation. Also, you will need up to date NY Sectionals and NY Terminal Area Charts.

November 8, 2008 - Photos from the Fall 2008 Fly-By have been uploaded! Check them out HERE.

November 6, 2008 - This week's meeting will feature everything for the NYC trip! Anyone interested in going MUST come to tonight's meeting to get signed up for the trip, and assigned to one of the flights. Also, all the pilot's MUST come to tonight's meeting, or make an arrangement with me to pay the pilot per flight fee for the Fly-By. Also if there are any Fly-By pics that you would like to see on the website, please send me an e-mail. It should be a fun and exciting meeting with plenty of stories about past year's NYC trips!

October 30, 2008 - This week's meeting will feature another lovely discussion on the November 1st Fly-By. We will be discussing many of the same topics as the Oct. 25th meeting, and anyone flying/driving MUST be at tonight's meeting. Also we will be discussing the upcoming field trip(s) to NYC! Anyone interested in either event should attend tonight's meeting.

October 26, 2008 - Sunday's Fly-By happened on a clear sunny, cloudless day. All the participants mentioned how much fun they had and took plenty of pictures of the RPI campus and Downtown Albany. Pictures will be uploaded soon!

October 25, 2008 - Saturday's Fly-By was cancelled due to forcasted windshear and poor weather overall. Those scheduled to fly today (the 25th) have been rescheduled to Saturday, November 1st. Anyone who had a reservation for the 25th, you will have the SAME reservation on the 1st, and everything will run as if it were the Oct. 25th. If anyone has any questions, please e-mail raf@union.rpi.edu.

October 23, 2008 - Tonight we will be discussing the Fall Fly-By! We need to go over who will be driving, who will be at the airport as well as seeing how many people have signed up and taking a look at the weather for the weekend. It will definately be a fun and exciting meeting! If you would like to sign-up, please do so HERE!

October 16, 2008 - After Andrew's excellent presentation last week, we will be having a relatively important meeting tonight. We will be discussing the Fall FLY-BY! That's right, its happening October 24th-25th, next weekend! We'll need all the pilots interested in flying to be there, anyone interested in driving, and all members who can help poster campus! Should be an exciting meeting full of logistics for this GREAT Event!

October 9, 2008 - For all those interested (or just plain curious) the club secretary, Mr. Andrew Pye, will be putting on a presentation about soaring! YIKES!! Where's the engine?!?! For all those interested, the presentation will take place in Union 3202 and the website link of interest is Saratoga Soaring. For those of you who think that link is bad and/or want better pictures, check out Adirondack Soaring. See you tonight! (DISCLAIMER: We are not affiliated with either organization and provide these links for informational purposes to club members.)

October 2, 2008 - Tonight's meeting will be in Union 3202. Everyone who is signed up to go on the trip October 4th MUST come to the meeting tonight so that you know when/where to be picked up Saturday. If you cannot go, please e-mail Jim so that we can let someone on the waiting list go!

September 25, 2008 - Tonight's meeting will be in Union 3202 and will feature the movie Speed & Angels and FREE FOOD in the form of pizza! See everyone Thursday!

September 20, 2008 - Trip to Piseco Airport. Piseco is a small airfield located in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York. The weather was perfect and we were able to take a slight detour and see Lake George on our flight to Piseco. While at Piseco we enjoyed a picnic lunch on the airfield, which was a first and then hiked down to the lake. In all it was a great trip and a challenging approach for the pilots as there were mountains on your right, and the approach path for runway 22 sloped down a hill to the runway, at or below the treeline.

Pictures have been uploaded! For members who went please e-mail your pictures to me.

September 18, 2008 - Tonight's meeting will be in Union 3202 about our upcoming trip to Piseco, NY as well as Ground School Information. Ground School will be starting this Sunday, September 21st at 6pm in the library. Stop by tonight to pick up your kits! Anyone signed up for one or both of these programs should come to the meeting tonight, or if not just come to talk airplanes with us!.

Congratulations to Elisabeth for passing her checkride and becoming a Private Pilot!

September 11, 2008 - Tonight we decided that Field Trip #1 will be to Piseco Airport in Piseco, NY. We were all told by Alan that the airport has some hiking trails, a nice lake, and a vending machine for lunch! Additional information on Piseco can be found here.

Anyone still interested in ground school needs to e-mail raf@union.rpi.edu.

September 8, 2008 - The website has been updated with a current membership list, our meeting rooms for the Fall semester and the dates for our Fall 2008 trips are on the Events page!

September 4, 2008 - We held our first meeting tonight and Jimmy gave an excellent PowerPoint presentation on the RAF's activities throughout the year. There was an excellent turnout and if there is anyone who is still interested in joining the club please feel free to e-mail us at raf@union.rpi.edu or just come to our meeting on Thursday Night at 9pm. Check the schedule posted in the Union as to what room we are in that week.

August 20, 2008 - The RAF sponsored the "Rensselaer Aviation Experience" again this summer for eighteen incoming freshman as part of Navigating Rensselaer & Beyond. We hope that everyone enjoyed the program, and we would appreciate any positive/negative feedback you may have sent to raf@union.rpi.edu so that we can improve the program for next year.

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