March 17th Meeting, Gilbert International Airpark (SC45). 12pm-4pm

The Scott family (Left to right: Son, Mack holding Alber; Mother, Angela; Father, William; and Daughter, Alina are shown in front of Dave's Aerolite 103, which is very similar to the one that Alina flew roughly 1000 miles to Airventure 2023 and won the EAA's "Pilot of the Year" award.

     Our March 17th, 2024 meeting at Gilbert International Airpark (SC45) was a huge success. We had one of the best meetings we've ever had today with roughly 65 attendees. The Scott family, consisting of father, William; mother, Angela; daughter, Alina; and son, Mack, along with the family pet, Albert visited with us today. They came at our request to give us a presentation on Alina Scott's historic flight in an Aerolite 103 ultralight aircaft from her home near Mount Pleasant, SC to Oshkosh, WI for Airventure 2023, a distance of approximately 1000 miles. Father, William, provided chase and ground support for each of about 40 segments of Alina's flight. Alina and William gave us a very interesting and entertainine prsentation, including several videos of Alina's training and preparation for the long flight. She won EAA's "Pilot of the Year" award at Airventure 2023 for her historic and brave journey, quite an honor considering all of the elite pilots and guests who attend Airventure each year. We also invited special guests: Gary Siegfried, Director of SC Aeronautics Commission (SCAC), Jim Hamilton, SCAC Director Emeritus, David Anderson, past 2nd District Commissioner, and David Smith, SCAC employee and honorary chapter member. We were privileged to have had them all come visit with and share lunch with us. Thank you Alina and William for a great presentation for which they received a standing ovation from our members and guests.