PRA Board @ 2-5-2022

[GyrOZprey]

Over the last couple of days the PRA board of directors ... held a special meeting called for by 3 BOD members & as acting President I was able to send out notifications proposals, discussion & voting was via email. ( We also discovered that Doug Barker ..whom we all thought was still on the board had in fact resigned a year-or so ago...no record showing his resignation was known ...& we all incorrectly assumed he was still a BOD member!)

Business motions voted on was 1. accepting the resignation of John Rountree from the executive positions & BOD. Motion passed.
Motion2 &3. ...voting to accept nominations for 2 new members to serve on BOD.
As we were down to minimum BOD numbers ...per ByLaws, we received nominations with candidate agreements, and voted acceptance for 2 NEW members on the BOD.
A hearty "WELCOME ABOARD" to Denis Schoemaker and Jeff Tipton.

Here is the current PRA BOD/executive. Acting president Christine Toevs , VP - vacant, Secretary - vacant , Treasurer / Treasurer-in training Robert Rymer/David McCutchen, Members - Brent Drake, Doug Smith, JeffTipton, DenisSchoemaker.
More nominations are welcome ...we can have up to 11 BOD members ...and for a strong organization going forwards ...I encourage anyone wishing to serve in this capacity to be nominated & accepted ...ready for the meetings at Mentone in August. (at the convention)!

Also we are looking for anyone who may be traveling from Sthrn California ... we need some physical equipment to be transported to Mentone ( or handed off to members who ARE intending to come to Mentone convention) ...some smaller stuff ...and the Raffle SportCopter - that John want GONE ASAP from the club hangar ...we have 10 days to find it a new storage place..OFFERS of transport (even in short legs ...making a piece-meal trip) towards Mentone would be VERY WELCOME!

 

[Abid]

Christine
Why not get the gyro in John’s club hanger transported via freight truck to Mentone now since it has to be gone soon. I can get a quote if I am given addresses for both pickup and delivery positions and a point of contact at each. It’s likely to be $3000 to $3500 with insurance. Someone who knows what they are doing will have to be there to load and secure it.

 

[Vance]

Great Job and good Choices Chris!!!
I love how fast things are moving.
I am grateful to the board for all they do.

 

[DavePA11]

Agree with Fara! Best option in my opinion....

 

[Kevin_Richey]

...Also we are looking for anyone who may be traveling from Sthrn California ... we need some physical equipment to be transported to Mentone ( or handed off to members who ARE intending to come to Mentone convention) ...some smaller stuff ...and the Raffle SportCopter - that John want GONE ASAP from the club hangar ...we have 10 days to find it a new storage place..OFFERS of transport (even in short legs ...making a piece-meal trip) towards Mentone would be VERY WELCOME!

Let me get this correct: After years of the PRA waiting for the website upgrade (promised by Mr. Rountree back in the summer of 2018 to be completed by Nov. of the same year, & he was paid $5K by the PRA to do that work...and that promise & the work was never fulfilled), the PRA has TEN DAYS to remove it's property from his hangar, now that a parting of the ways is occurring?

 

[Kevin_Richey]

Christine
Why not get the gyro in John’s club hanger transported via freight truck to Mentone now since it has to be gone soon. I can get a quote if I am given addresses for both pickup and delivery positions and a point of contact at each. It’s likely to be $3000 to $3500 with insurance. Someone who knows what they are doing will have to be there to load and secure it.

Fara: Since you are a business owner manufacturing gyroplane kits, are you given shipping discounts even if the pick up & delivery locations are not involving your business address?
The several times I have shipped something using trucking companies, I've been told that business location to business location has quite a discount over John Q. Public's retail rates they charge to/from residences. I've also been told that delivery to a trucking loading dock is less, avoiding the residential address surcharge, which I've utilized.

 

[Kevin_Richey]

Agree with Fara! Best option in my opinion....

There are other possibilities, which do not require the PRA to have to dig thousands out of it's funds to transport a gyroplane that isn't in decent enough shape to raffle...

 

[Abid]

Fara: Since you are a business owner manufacturing gyroplane kits, are you given shipping discounts even if the pick up & delivery locations are not involving your business address?
The several times I have shipped something using trucking companies, I've been told that business location to business location has quite a discount over John Q. Public's retail rates they charge to/from residences. I've also been told that delivery to a trucking loading dock is less, avoiding the residential address surcharge, which I've utilized.

A hanger at an airport to another airport is not a residence though. I am not sure I get a discount or not but I deal with a couple of shipping brokers and that has been for years. You want your aircraft delivered safely.
If there is a 10 day time limit to get the gyroplane out, its kind of urgent. Usually it takes a week to get something organized from a broker. Mentone isn't exactly the hotspot for trucking companies to go to.

 

[All_In]

Greetings my friends and others.

No need to move the gyro. I've found someone for us who will move it to their garage in San Diego for free again.
So it can stay local for free. However, she needs work. I've repaired the left winglet. But you need to ship it to whoever PRA has found to replace me to take out every nut and bolt and inspect for cracks and put her back together at least a month before the raffle. Then you can register her as I was doing for you.

The rest of the actual story...
My personal problem is hangar space I'm paying personally $675.00 a month for the club hangar with two members paying $200.00 a month to store their gyros at the shop.
Henry from Adventure Air sent me a new tenet that lives in San Diego 4 or 5 months ago but had no space with PRA's Sport Copter in it for free all these months.
PRA had first priority in my labor and money storing PRA's equipment and now aircraft at my personal expense for years now.
One more paying gyro club member means I'm only funding $75.00 for PRA 31's club hangar from then on.
Sorry, I guess I'm greedy too?

 

[Sv.grainne]

Looks like the board solved this problem nicely! David Bacon bought the machine and will move it. PRA board approved the sale.

 

[tadgyro]

Greetings my friends and others.

No need to move the gyro. I've found someone for us who will move it to their garage in San Diego for free again.
So it can stay local for free. However, she needs work. I've repaired the left winglet. But you need to ship it to whoever PRA has found to replace me to take out every nut and bolt and inspect for cracks and put her back together at least a month before the raffle. Then you can register her as I was doing for you.

The rest of the actual story...
My personal problem is hangar space I'm paying personally $675.00 a month for the club hangar with two members paying $200.00 a month to store their gyros at the shop.
Henry from Adventure Air sent me a new tenet that lives in San Diego 4 or 5 months ago but had no space with PRA's Sport Copter in it for free all these months.
PRA had first priority in my labor and money storing PRA's equipment and now aircraft at my personal expense for years now.
One more paying gyro club member means I'm only funding $75.00 for PRA 31's club hangar from then on.
Sorry, I guess I'm greedy too?

Calling people "My friend" is an insult to the gyro community.

You be cheating us for years. From the time you come be a BOD PRA member, membership of PRA declines from 1500 to 180.
Most of them I believe are life members. You are a DISHONEST, GREEDY, LIAR, and CONMAN person. You own PRA mone for every member quit from the time you come to be secretary of PRA. Also, I believe you should give back the $5000 you get from PRA to build the new Website. Because you, we lost all the information from all old magazine was on the old website.
Asking PRA to pay your hangar is an insult to PRA and its members. You should be a shame of yourself and live this forum ASAP.

Tadgyro

 

[tadgyro]

Looks like the board solved this problem nicely! David Bacon bought the machine and will move it. PRA board approved the sale.

Good move from PRA board.

 

[GyrOZprey]

Please keep the "bagging John" commentary OFF this Thread .... he contributed a LOT of good ideas ,new directions & energy and his heart & soul to the PRA cause!

The blame is NOT ALL at his end of the court ...the board just followed his energy & persuasion that he could actuate his vision & dream-automated-website .... without understanding his techie limitations ...in being able to complete the task promised! ...things dragged on ...too many 2nd,3rd,4th...nth chances allowed...then it was wake-up -CRUNCH time !

When time is UP...It's time to MOVE-ON! Many here are still his friends ...even if he is too hurt to understand & feel good in that role ...at present! I do not want to see any more disparaging remarks & unfounded accusations about John's honesty Or integrity!

 

[tadgyro]

Please keep the "bagging John" commentary OFF this Thread .... he contributed a LOT of good ideas ,new directions & energy and his heart & soul to the PRA cause!

The blame is NOT ALL at his end of the court ...the board just followed his energy & persuasion that he could actuate his vision & dream-automated-website .... without understanding his techie limitations ...in being able to complete the task promised! ...things dragged on ...too many 2nd,3rd,4th...nth chances allowed...then it was wake-up -CRUNCH time !

When time is UP...It's time to MOVE-ON! Many here are still his friends ...even if he is too hurt to understand & feel good in that role ...at present! I do not want to see any more disparaging remarks & unfounded accusations about John's honesty Or integrity!

I did tell the truth. Not everyone on this forum knows him the way he is. For years he cone people, an example is chapter 31.
For 3 years they don't have Club meetings. Yes, he always has a good idea for his benefit.
Prove me if I'm wrong.
Tadgyro

 

[GyrOZprey]

The BOD ...had another 2 meetings !
One to vote on accepting the nomination of Abid onto the BOD. CONGRATULATIONS & WELCOME!
I believe he has a passion to head up a push to obtain good & much needed group-insurance for PRA members.

The second to vote on the sudden cash offer that materialized yesterday - to outright purchase the donated Sportcopter vortex by a local well known deeply experienced,builder ,mechanic,gyro pilot!

This machine had been damaged and needed a thorough expert tear-down & rebuild. The engine also needed a full zero-time overhaul. It made NO sense to spend SO many$s clearly needed to make this machine truly sound & airworthy for a raffle (...that may be won by a green newbie! )

PRA would have spent a LOT of money to transport it to Indiana on top of all the engine & airframe expenses needed!
The positive return above considerable expenses from a raffle-off of this particular machine ...was very low certainty.
After crunching numbers & probabilities ..the BOD ...clearly saw the best benefit to PRA was in accepting a very reasonable cash-offer! Unanimous vote!
There is another gyro a beautiful Dominator ...being loving restored with upgraded parts donated from GyroTechnic.
THIS sweet machine ...WILL be a REAL sound DRAWCARD ...for the raffle to be drawn at the "BIG-BASH" 60th convention August 3-6th 2022!

 

[Abid]

Thank you Christine. I will try and help get the insurance thing under control. That is a huge impediment to new Gyroplane pilots coming in.

Insurance has gone up sharply in the last couple of years for all GA but it has doubled for Gyroplanes just about. We have had too many incidents or accidents. Many damaging expensive machines simply due to not enough or proper training for pre-rotation, takeoff etc. That has to get under control to get the insurance down as a whole for Gyroplanes.

 

[Resasi]

Well done Christine for jumping in, along with the other volunteers who are contributing effort, money, and precious time to the rehabilitation of an organisation that represents us as a group.

Christine is also doing the right thing by John who has always meant well, has had serious health issues, and perhaps not the support from a board...and membership who should have caught this a while back.

Perhaps an inattentive membership as a whole might care to take a bit of the blame in allowing this to slide for so long.

The focus now perhaps on getting the PRA back into a healthy state, with a big thanks to those who are now up and doing something.

 

[GyrOZprey]

Not related to the PRA, but I had a pilot friend who I paid hundreds of dollars to do some work, and he never did the work and kept the money. Turns out others had the same experience, but paid thousands of dollars to this same person and never got the money back. Found this same person was pocketing half of cash donations for local chapter too when given to him directly.

I would have preferred people speak up about bad behavior like this to prevent others from being scammed. It’s sad that even pilots can go so low as to steal from fellow friends and pilots. Sure wish someone told me…

YES ..... I'd like to relate ALL my & Jim's dealings with SCAMMER's & CROOKS .....as we navigated this AWESOME world of aviation & specifically gyro's! - the past 11 years!!! Fair WARNINGS should be part of this forum discussion!

That we ALL could have a cool thing ...like Vance's "BS-METER"!!! ..

.I REALLY want to keep THIS THREAD ON POINT about the positive direction of PRA progress! ...NO DRIFT!

I suggest Teddy & you cut & paste your PRA business irrelevant posts out of & come to the new thread I'll start ...as the issue of being AWARE of less -than-stellar character's that lurk in our midst ...as IN ALL ASPECTS OF LIFE!!! -and HOW to see the signs that you need to activate "Vance's BS-Meter" .... and ask a LOT of hard questions!

 

[Kevin_Richey]

Is PRA Board member Doug Smith the same D.S. from Ohio that used to share many stunning, slow-motion videos of him flying his M-912?

 

[Vance]

Another two positive moves forward.

Thank you PRA BOD. I feel the PRA has a bright future.

I feel the situation is more complicated than most realize and it appears that Chris and the board are putting things in order rapidly.

I have not found value in condemning people and prefer to focus on today and what can be done today to make a brighter tomorrow.

I feel the lesson to be learned is if things in a club aren’t going the way I would like I need to step up and volunteer my time and passion to make them right.

The PRA is not a business and demanding better customer service won’t work.

As a member of the PRA I am responsible for making the PRA the best it can be.

A seemingly small thing everyone can do is to thank the people who do things for the club.

Thank you!!!