Sun N FUn

Talking with him already.
 
Racerx said:
The airshows last too long. The aerobatic stuff is too similar. Military stuff is cool. But after the 10th different snap roll...
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Agree. I use that time to visit vendors, try workshops, and drink beer under the wing. Sometimes I even watch an airshow act, if it is something interesting.
 
RussR said:
I mean, when’s the last time you got to actually ask an SR-71 pilot or an astronaut or an airshow pilot or a WASP or Tuskegee Airman a question that you’ve always wondered about?
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Oshkosh 2019.

Oh, wait. That might have been your point. ;-)
 
Flocker said:
I know it's only day 1, but is it crowded?
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It is a relative ghost town. Not crowded but not completely dead. I met one person from out of the state of Florida.
 
I'm looking at Thursday for a one day visit.
 
I'll be in Thurs and Friday, but probably out mid afternoon for each.
 
I'm hearing from a friend camping down there that you should bring earplugs for night sleeping. There is a new Amazon distribution center there and aircraft (jet, etc.) come and go all night.
 
mcdewey said:
I'm hearing from a friend camping down there that you should bring earplugs for night sleeping. There is a new Amazon distribution center there and aircraft (jet, etc.) come and go all night.
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They even stop the air show for 15 minutes to let them launch some prime planes. A few jets launching at night wouldn’t even phase me. Of course, I live on an airport....
 
Nice day. I attended 3 seminars, did some shopping, then linked up with @Salty and went looking at pretty airplanes.

Not as crowded as prior years. Also quite a few empty booths and absent vendors. ForeFlight had an unmanned booth. Pilot Mall was only selling T-shirts and trinkets and didn’t open the store. Didn’t see a Sporty’s booth.
 
Flocker said:
Any Day 2 PIREPS?
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Wonderful weather day, 100% sunshine. Big crowd it seemed. Supposedly completely sold out by advance ticketing on Friday/ Saturday.

All in all, I would say it seems to be a great turnout, aircraft parking seemed to be nearly full, much more than midweek in other years I have been here.

Going in early tomorrow for a few hours, then starting the long trip home.
 
Tools said:
Calling it an air show is like calling Woodstock a concert.

That’s all I got to say about that.

THANKS for the letter. Just got it yesterday, my fault, just haven’t been out there in a while... And again CONGRATS!

Flying in is worthwhile as well. I believe your wife would find it entertaining. I don’t really know how pandemic issues are gonna affect it, each year is so different anyway, likely just not a big deal.
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The big difference....most of us remember attending Sun n Fun ( and Oshkosh ).
 
4RNB said:
I think it is and was a valid question, especially when searching the web site. This is the list of current exhibitors, seems to be mostly numbers: https://flysnf.org/exhibits/current-exhibitors/
And considering I have not been there, it is again valid.
I can see the lectures here: https://dailyschedule.flysnf.org/
But overall, I have nothing else to build an opinion on. So I asked.

I enjoy the NC Farm Show, the exhibitors are easy to find and understand https://southernshows.com/sfs/exhibitors/past/
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Yeah, they really screwed up the exhibitor map/listing.
 
I was there again today for a few hours (about all SWMBO could stand). We left just after the Blues arrival. Mostly wandered around looking at pretty airplanes and picking up a few tshirts. Not nearly as many warbirds, or militaria, as in prior years, but I'm sure it will build back up post-COVID. The 1934 Stinson Miss Scarlet (cover photo airplane for the April 2021 AOPA Pilot) is in vintage parking and is absolutely gorgeous. The magazine pictures don't do her justice.

Glad we went today; rain is forecast for tomorrow.

I stopped by the chemtrails booth for a few minutes. There's some really cool stuff coming out this summer. The new sunscreen chemtrails will go through test spraying on east coast beaches beginning Memorial Day weekend. There's quite a bit of opposition to this from US dermatologists, so you can expect to see a bunch of disinformation in the media over the next few weeks. If you'd like to get involved in the spraying, contact your regional program office.

One serious item that needs the attention of the PoA Management Council, though. Here is the listing of organizations for which SNF will provide discounted admission: https://flysnf.org/aviation-member-associations/

Now you will note the conspicuous, and insulting, absence of Pilots of America. Why are we being dissed this way?! Heck, I've learned more about flying and airplanes from PoA than the AOPA and EAA combined! I certainly hope the new MC can get this corrected for 2022. Maybe if all PoA members would flood SNF with emails...... ;)
 
I was there today, pretty good. Got 3 cases of Phillips XC 20-50 for a good price and no shipping. Saw a lot of cool planes, did not screw up my landing and got out reasonably quickly. Indoor masks were 50/50. Very cool warbirds and vintage planes. Blue Angels got delayed a bit for weather so their practice runs might not have been as cool as their full blown show. Vendor booths were pretty crowded and folks seemed to by buying stuff. Not sure what the mainline GA folks were selling (Beech, Piper). They really don't seem to get marketing. Cirrus didn't seem very inviting either though. Chains on the doors of the SR22 seemed a bit off-putting, but unless I hit the lottery, I'm not their customer.
 
Sitting on the ground at Winter Haven. IFR at KLAL. Hoping it opens soon.
 
Hang 4 said:
Indoor masks were 50/50.
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Not sure where you were, but in the vendor hangars masks were maybe 1 person in 20, and nobody was hassling anyone about it. In the forums I attended on Wed in the CFAA building, mask wearing was probably about 1 in 10.


Not sure what the mainline GA folks were selling (Beech, Piper). They really don't seem to get marketing.
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They're selling large, very expensive corporate aircraft. They're not marketing to the small-plane PP who wants to take a trip with a spouse or friend. I think they get marketing, but they may not get the predominant SNF demographic. Even if they do, they're not interested in it.
 
Lance F said:
Sitting on the ground at Winter Haven. IFR at KLAL. Hoping it opens soon.
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You may want to rent a car fo Uber. It'll probably go VFR about the time the place closes for the airshow. ;)


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[QUOTE="They're selling large, very expensive corporate aircraft. They're not marketing to the small-plane PP who wants to take a trip with a spouse or friend. I think they get marketing, but they may not get the predominant SNF demographic. Even if they do, they're not interested in it.[/QUOTE]
That was kind of my point. Piper had several Archers and a Seneca in their booth. All the signage was targeted at things that were pretty irrelevant to a school - the target customer for those planes today. The also had a Meridian, but no real strategy on showing it. Don't think schools care about range or service ceiling as an example. But someone that does, like a GA pilot, is unlikely to fork over $400k for a new plane, which BTW is set up for a school, not for passengers. Beech had Mindy on tape talking about the new Bonanza, but there wasn't an actual plane to look at. Just seems odd to me. The experimental and LSA types had planes, inviting staff and useful information. (and crowded booths, unlike the big names)
 
Hang 4 said:
That was kind of my point. Piper had several Archers and a Seneca in their booth. All the signage was targeted at things that were pretty irrelevant to a school - the target customer for those planes today. The also had a Meridian, but no real strategy on showing it. Don't think schools care about range or service ceiling as an example. But someone that does, like a GA pilot, is unlikely to fork over $400k for a new plane, which BTW is set up for a school, not for passengers. Beech had Mindy on tape talking about the new Bonanza, but there wasn't an actual plane to look at. Just seems odd to me. The experimental and LSA types had planes, inviting staff and useful information. (and crowded booths, unlike the big names)
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Yep, it's pretty clear that Textron (Cessna-Beech) and Piper aren't really interested in selling little planes to us po folk. But then, neither are Lockheed nor Boeing. :)
 
I spent 2 full days there. Had a blast. Sitting under a C47 wing (I don't tan) and watching a Baron perform loops and land with the engines turned off is about as awesome a stunt as i have ever seen. Not to mention a Mustang and all the other war bird flybys... breathtaking. Airplane fan or not, there was some fabulous talent in one small space.

PS; C-47 oil drips do not wash out of white shirts, no wonder I could find a spot
 
You go to these events for the same reason you're on this forum. Camaraderie with other pilots.

With a benefit of about every 30 seconds everyone stops and looks up because something cools happening briefly.
 
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