Boyer received special lifetime membership award from Stick and Rudder Flying Club
AOPA President Phil Boyer made a special trip to give the keynote address at the Stick and Rudder Flying Club’s sixtieth anniversary celebration at Waukegan Regional Airport in Illinois on Nov. 15, but the group ended up giving him a special honor.
Club President Kenneth Jeep presented Boyer with a special lifetime membership award for his service to general aviation.
The flying club was established by Tom Booth in October 1948 and grew to 43 members one month later. Now it has more than 200 members and several single-engine aircraft. Booth also supplied the first aircraft, a Cessna 140, in December that year. The club bought the aircraft from Booth in January 1949.
Flights cost $3 per hour. It cost $30 to join the club, plus monthly $2 dues to cover costs such as insurance and hangar rent. The dues were also used to remodel a clubhouse for the group.
Boyer with Virginia Rabung, a 57-year AOPA member
Virginia Rabung, one of the early members of the club, was on hand during the celebration and shared some flying stories with Boyer. The 91-year-old also has been an AOPA member for 57 years.
During the event, Boyer spoke about AOPA’s mission to keep general aviation safe, fun, and affordable, and highlighted the association’s new Internet Flight Planner, currently still in beta testing.
The focus of the event was the joy of flight, and current club president Jeep summed it up in a note to club members and attendees: “For many of us, Stick and Rudder is the place to go where aviation is spoken, eaten, breathed, and perhaps even thought about while catching a few winks of sleep. Spouses and significant others beware; you will always have another love to compete with.”
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