What does BAC mean to you?

Clinderman

Clinderman

Around The Moon
As BAC turns three years old and our membership numbers have grown, it occurred to me that to continue to be successful, it would be helpful to know what the membership thinks. Cloyd Van Hook and the other "founding fathers" have done a fantastic job in getting BAC started and developing an infrastructure. Tim Flight has done a spectacular job with the website. Rick Koch's efforts with the newsletter are exemplory and, let's face it, without Mike Rellihan's untiring efforts and contributions the club wouldn't be nearly as valuable to members as it is with him! And there have been many other members that helped BAC get to where it is.

Soooo, having said that, what-specifically-makes BAC valuable to you? Where has the real benefit been? The answers will vary from member to member and most likely will be the same for many but if we are to continue to grow and prosper, it is important that we know what the membership wants, needs and expects.

Again, I ask you, what does BAC mean to you? Please let me and the other members of the board know where we can strive to improve because without your input the club is not likely to get better!

Happy birthday, BAC....and many more!

Chris Linderman
(former) Vice President, BAC
Sierra N5106M
Sierra_Photo.jpg
 
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I'm a relative newbie having only joined in April, however, I will say that to me BAC is a great "community" to me. It gives me a great sense of security, incredible education, commraderie, and pride of ownership. In my short time I have gained a lot and unfortunately not given much back. I am hoping, and certainly willing to give back to the newbies that come along in the future. Thank you to all who tolerate my rookie questions - honorable mention to Mike Rellihan and Braden Messenger.
 
At first, I was undecided as to join or not. I'm a mechanic, I know how fix a plane, have maintenance manual, will travel....

BAC has been a great help to me, especially at annual time. Its a great way to air concerns and compare notes with other owners. Especially nice is having such a knowledge base, specifically Mr. Rellihan, so there is almost nothing that hasn't been encountered, or nothing unsolvable. I can only hope that my participation is more help than a distraction to others.

It was the Napa, CA fly-in that Dan Jonas put together that convinced me to join, after meeting with some of the BAC community and listening to Mr. Rellihan over a teleconference; I found myself paying my initiation fee the next day.
 
I can sum it up in one word. . . . Growth

Growth in my knowledge of the aeroclub airplanes in general and our Sundowner in particular.

Growth in my flying budget because of all of the money I save by being a member.

Growth in my ability as a pilot because of all of the great information that is shared about the nuances of our aircraft.

Growth in my ties with my wife and daughter. The fly ins are a GREAT reason to visit other parts of the country, take short weekend "vacations" and spend time together.

But MOST importantly is the Growth in my circle of friends whom I have found out are much more than just pilot buddies. This circle grows with each fly in I attend, with each e-mail conversation that takes place, and with each visit to the website.

I was going to insert the Mastercard commercial here but the only thing I can put a price on is the $$ savings in parts that BAC affords us. EVERYTHING else that I have mentioned is PRICELE$$

Dave B
 
Succinctly, my membership has meant new friends, HUGE savings on parts, a wealth of technical data and general information, and someplace useful to surf on the web.

Steve Frieson
N4355W
 
I have been here pretty much from the start of BAC after discovering MMail when BAC evolved from that.
For me BAC has meant avoiding getting stuck when I had a breakdown out of the country. A quick look at the archives and an email to Mike, and a temporary solution was discovered.
Often I will spend money on things that I want for my plane that I find here instead of money that would have been wasted on something else without the advice of this group. I now know that I am part of a selective group of smart pilots rather than just the only Sierra at my field.
And... I had some good Barbeque once At a BAC fly-in in S.C.!
 
Addiction. I am on this site or thinking about it everyday. It has cost me an absolute fortune. I soloed in a Sport, licensed in a Sundowner and flew 200+ hours in a Sierra, BAC in the '80s. I owned a mooney, always wanted a Sierra. Now I have this Sport and because of this website, I am STCing the engine to 160hp, purchased the skytec starter & alternator. You have me thinking that I must have the PF exhaust, tweek my brand new prop and better avionics. I am shoving diamonds up a goat's A** here and having the time of my life. Remember my wife is watching.

I would like to just buy some gas and get in on the social thing everyone raves about.

Being an A&P / IA, this site is just the most wonderful aviation thing imaginable, a perfect bonanza. Thanks to Mike and all the other great minds that have made it so. I received (still have my little BAC postcard), procrastinated for a couple of months, took the plunge and the rest is history.

Happy Birthday BAC!!!

Bill
 
I can't say enough good things about BAC. As a former three time Piper owner, and then time in a club with Cessnas, I think the qualilty of information, general willingness to share and help, etc, are unrivaled.

Of course kudos to Mike R and others who quickly respond to technical questions. I've saved much more than my dues on a couple of parts purchased through BAC, and additionall on time for my mechanic at annual.

Thanks and Happy Birthday!!

Rodney
N8894M
 
Being in Australia means I cant partake in the fly ins that are a part of the social aspect of BAC...I just read with envy about the various events. One year we WILL get to Oshkosh, proudly wear the BAC shirt and meet as many of you all as we can.
However despite the distance I still feel connected to a group that cherishes these aeroplanes. I'd be lost without the forum and the wisdom of Mike and the others who know these flying machines like they do their own children.
Long may it continue!!!

Mark and Michelle Smith.
VH-DYA
Super Custom 111
 
I've only been around for a year and a half, but I can say that BAC helped us decide what kind of airplane to buy. When we started shopping around September 2005, we hadn't figured out exactly what we wanted. Got a ride in a Muskeeter ('63 model) and really liked the space and solid feel. Went searching and found severall planes in our price range as well as a club that supported them. Started looking on here early in 2006 and joined up just to use the resources on the site to help us make a decision. We were members for about 3 months before we found the plane we'd been looking for and made the arrangements.

Since then we've gotten totally attached to our girl. My wife loves our plane and the plane fits the mission perfectly. We've saved a ton of money and learned a huge amount about the aircraft since we've been members. If it hadn't been for this club being online, I doubt that we'd have purchased one of these aircraft as the support for them locally is lousy. Being able to network here for parts and to have questions answered has made us able to own a plane that we love in an area that has very few of the make around. We've gotten many compliments about our plane locally, and have tried to get more people interested in the type! Hey, maybe if we can get enough of them here locally, we can actually teach mechanics to work on them!

Without BAC, we'd probably have purchased a Cherokee and not been nearly as happy with it. Long live BAC!
 
What does BAC mean to me.....Good question...

1. A formun to share information about a awesome, under rated seires of airpanes.

2. A chance to to pass along things I've learned and to learn from others.

But most of all....

A place where I have the oppurtunity to meet others, to establish and maintain friendships that share a common bond beyond the normal Hangar talk. An oppurtunity to travel to meet others, to see their "Pride and joys". A chance to socialize with others that I probably would have never met and be less wise for that....A chance to be amoung people that share a common passion and are willing to allow for the travel down the common path together to new relationships and adventures. And an oppurtunity to become part of the sum of the lesser parts. I can not, outside of the military, think of a social group where people can do this without having to deal with issues other than "flying"... Basically, being able to call everyone here a Friend, without ever having met them...

Thank you BAC for this....

Montgomery L. Spencer
Pilot / Airframe Mechanic
South Carolina 34A
 
BAC just saved me more $$$$. Stall warning horn quit working then was intermittent. A quick search on BAC and a shot of Corrosion X and it works like new. Thanks BAC.
 
I thought I'd share some of what goes on behind the scenes and how BAC has become an organization of members (and prospective members) helping one another.

I got an e-mail yesterday from a guy in southern Georgia that's interested in a Sundowner in California. He wanted help finding an A&P to do a pre-buy. I contacted Dan Jonas, our SW Regional Director, who contacted Rick Gove, a SW REgion member in southern California (Dan is up in Napa and not as familiar with A&Ps farther south) and got a recommendation on a mechanic to do the pre-purchase. Rick even volunteered to go to the airport and take a look at the plane. So we have one happy prospective member being helped by BAC.

Then I asked Dan when he's leaving for BAC Fest. Dan said he's waiting for Mark Weiss, a member from AUSTRALIA (yea, down under) to land and head up to Napa so they can fly to BAC Fest, by way of Oregon and Idaho [like Dan needs more PT points]. So we've got a member in California, linking up with a member from Australia to fly clear across the US to South Carolina.

I'd say BAC has become more than just a website.

IT'S THE MEMBERS.
 
AMEN to that! I'm always amazed at the help being offered from one member to another; rides, pre-purchase help, technical advice, etc.
 
After buying my Musketeer I began looking for others with similar models to obtain information so I wouldn't re invent the wheel on maintenance. I joined MM and jumped at the chance to help form a type club ("help form" amounted to writing a check). I wanted enough clout to gain attention from vendors to obtain discounts on parts and have stc's become available for different upgrades. I wanted to meet others who thought like I that speed isn't everything-choke choke. ha ha. My first conversation with a Musketeer guy was Mike R. I wanted to do the 160 upgrade and Mike called me to provide real life expectations of what results I would see. I appriciated being informed and realized I was a member of a great group. I floated around the net for a few years then I met Dan Jonas. I had lunch with Dan and I could see our group was made of helpfull, quality people. I retired and my outside contacts were very limited. All my friends work and I didn't. BAC provided and continues to provide a social outlet. I have since enjoyed meeting many flyers that have diverse interests and opinions. BAC has enrichened my life.
 
BTW the "potential member" I mentioned in the earlier post is now our newest member, Randy Martin. He certainly appreciates all the help he received, even BEFORE becoming a member.
 
I joined BAC just under two years ago. We were in a position of "needing" to buy a plane relatively quickly (we had a one shot killer deal on a hangar that required owning a plane due to lease rules).

I'd learned in Warriors and had a smattering of 172 time. It was clear that both my CFO and myself preferred the low wings. We worked on mission and it came to wanting an affordable single that was a reasonably comfortable cross country cruiser and could actually fly four real adults for that $100 hamburger. We also wanted an IFR (or IFRable) aircraft as that ticket was next on the list.

There weren't a lot of choices and it came down to finding a Super or ligher Sierra was the only option short of moving up to a six banger. Some older Cherokee 180s might have come close, a SuperViking was a bit out of our budget and maybe a bit snug. And we really couldn't afford to move up to something like an older Bo or Cherokee Six - this was all us, no partners. After getting my first ride in a Musketeer the Cherokee 180s were off the list - too "old" feeling for the wife and a not nearly as solid feeling relative to the Beech for me.

BAC and Mike R in particular were invaluable on the pre-buy and initial maintenance issues. We found a Super that was in good shape but needed some paint someday this decade, and had one good radio and a bunch of crap for the rest of the avionics, and priced right because of that. The engine was low enough time that we could fly with reasonable confidence of not having to big bucks in for at least a few years.

We love our Super and love BAC. We made the first BACFest after driving 700 miles because as a week old instrument rated newbie we weren't comfortable braving the first 300 miles of low IFR and scattered, embedded CB on the route to Wichita (hindsight showed that we would have been ahead waiting 2-3 hours and still flying, oh well).

Since getting SuperMouse and joining BAC I've pointed several folks at the Mouse family of which I know at least a few that have ended up mouse owners and at least one BAC member. I've also helped one person decide against a Mouse - his mission was really bigger than the plane, he ended up in a middle aged Bo, at least it was still a Beech.

Anyway - BAC has saved me $100s or even $1000s of $$ on insurance, parts and maintenance issues. Add to that the friendship and fellowship and it has been invaluable.

See you all at KCRE...
 
Thread bump. Not for any birthday or date thing, but just to chime in. BAC has meant all to me and everything said here (above or below depending on how you have your settings set up) applies to me. Pre-buy help, technical advice, knowledge, savings, issue help, growth as a pilot and being part of a wonderful community.

So what does BAC mean to you? While I think BAC is a huge success, what do you think, if anything, BAC could do to be more successful?
 
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