AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 86

Mike Bjerga, returning from a flight
lesson with a student, stopped in mid-run
to talk about the airport. As chief flight
instructor and airport manager since
2004, he swivels between roles but considers flight training a priority (see "Keep
'Em Flying," p. 85).
Throughout the year Bjerga helps
six to eight club members become private pilots, or add an instrument rating
or commercial or flight instructor certificate. Some club members have gone on
to regional airlines; another is a captain
at a major airline. Others, like 17-yearold high school students Aron Zbick and
Zach Wilkie, are student pilots with aspirations to study aeronautical science and
fly professionally.
Wilkie came to the flying club after
obtaining a Part 107 certificate to fly
drones. A member since December 2016,
he said flying powered aircraft is a lot
more fun. "The places you can go with a
plane are so much better," he said.
Zbick said he doesn't mind being a
young person in a club whose members
have children and even grandchildren his
age. He said he learns a lot from the other
pilots, who are generous not only with
their knowledge but also vacant seats
for fly-out events. Pilots post available
seats on the club's scheduling software,
and student pilots are encouraged to ride
along on these "fly-aways."
REASONS TO GET TOGETHER

"The social environment here is topnotch," said Chris Houston, who joined
the club after relocating to New York from
Michigan. He knew he'd come to the right
place when he landed at WilliamsonSodus for a visit "and all these
guys came pouring out of the
hangar."
An activities committee
convenes to organize movie
nights, museum trips, holiday parties, leaf-peeping
excursions, and other events
where people can get together
at the airport or away from it.
A lively social calendar can be
challenging when you have
170 people and 34 different
opinions, said Dan Adams,
a five-year member who
86 | AOPA PILOT December 2017

KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON
How Williamson Flying Club runs
an airport with one employee
Williamson Flying Club has about 227
members; 167 are considered active-that
is, they are checked out to fly club aircraft.
The club maintains varying levels of membership. Associate members, for example,
are socially involved. Military members are
active-duty military whose dues are waived
during the time that they serve.
Each member pays $30 a month in
dues, which are used to fund capital improvements. Revenue from fuel sales, hangar rentals, flight instruction, and aircraft
rentals goes back into the club. Mike Bjerga,
airport manager and chief flight instructor,
is the sole employee.
Treasurer Bob Herloski says the Williamson Flying Club runs the airport much
like a county-owned airport, keeping the
runway plowed and open for traffic during
the winter. The not-for-profit club is not
tax-exempt. It pays property and income
taxes, and "that's a specific choice we made
as a club, to be a part of the community,"
he said.
Beginning in 1993, Williamson-Sodus
Airport qualified for FAA Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grants, and the airport
has used $10 million in funds to build a fuel
farm, construct new hangars, pave the runway, and numerous other improvements.
"The FAA was excellent to work with,"
said club member Jack Fuller. "They were
slightly amazed at what we did with their
money. They had confidence that the
dollars would be used for [their] intended
purpose."
In recent years, however, the FAA has
tightened its qualifications for AIP grants,
and future AIP funding is never guaranteed.
"We're grateful for AIP funding," Fuller
said. He worries that the airport could be
completely cut off. "It would be difficult to
continue to do without AIP."
"There's been discussion of going
public," said longtime member and past
president Jesse Zeck. "We'd like to keep it
the way it is."
-JWT

owns a Mooney. He said the committee
uses online surveys to narrow down the
options.
Everyone seems to agree on the
weekly lunch. "You give people a reason to get together, they will," said Tony
Alesci, also an activities committee volunteer. He coordinates the lunch, and it
usually draws a crowd. They'll pay a freewill price-usually around $5 or $7 per
person.
The club tries hard to be a good
neighbor, and it has a good relationship
with almost everyone in the community.
There's a cluster of mobile homes that
borders the airport property, but the residents are fine with helicopters taking off
and landing a few hundred yards away.
The neighbors get complimentary tickets
to the airport's annual pancake breakfast.
If by chance someone forgets to comp
them, "they'll be at the fence looking for
tickets," said Steve Murray.
As the Saturday lunch wound down,
club members whisked away tables,
chairs, and trash in the community hangar, leaving it tidy and ready for the next
event. Some wandered back to their hangars. Two club members climbed into a
scissor lift so that they could replace light
bulbs on the lampposts by the fuel farm.
There will always be mowing, or painting,
or cleaning club aircraft, but Williamson
Flying Club has plenty of willing hands
and hearts to tackle those jobs.
AOPA
EMAIL jill.tallman@aopa.org

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP:

Alan Verbridge and Mike
Shippers fuel up after a
morning flight; club member Aron Zbick hopes to be
a professional pilot; a Piper
Cherokee is one of the stalwarts of the club's fleet.



AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017

Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - Intro
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - Cover1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - Cover2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 4
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 5
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 6
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 7
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 8
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 9
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 10
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 11
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 12
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 13
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 15
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 16
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 17
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 18
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 19
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 20
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - 46
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - Cover3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2017 - Cover4
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