Did anyone attend SNF '08?

[Jay Honeck[_2_]]

I haven't seen any PIREPs about Sun N Fun in this forum this year. Did
anyone go? Any new toys? Did anyone buttonhole AvMap about their recent
announcement of XM weather coming "soon"? (Something we've been hearing
from them for years, now.)

Some locals who attended said that the bad early-week weather really chopped
fly-in attendance, but that the weekend airshow crowd was very strong...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[pittss1c]

Jay Honeck wrote:
> I haven't seen any PIREPs about Sun N Fun in this forum this year. Did
> anyone go? Any new toys? Did anyone buttonhole AvMap about their
> recent announcement of XM weather coming "soon"? (Something we've been
> hearing from them for years, now.)
>
> Some locals who attended said that the bad early-week weather really
> chopped fly-in attendance, but that the weekend airshow crowd was very
> strong...

I went... (I was the one with the crying babies in the homebuilt camping
area...sorry)
I thought it was a pretty low key show... nothing too interesting in the
airshow (I could have lived without the thunderchickens) There is a lot
more dead time during the airshow then Oshkosh.
The only thing I thought was sort of interesting is that there was a
company selling a wire free hobbs that uses engine vibration for 22
bucks. Other then that, there were a lot of affordable $120,000 LSAs
that are going to save GA I guess. I am not sure who is buying them.


Mike

[Jay Maynard]

On 2008-04-16, pittss1c > wrote:
> Other then that, there were a lot of affordable $120,000 LSAs that are
> going to save GA I guess. I am not sure who is buying them.

AMD is selling all the Zodiacs they can build.
--
Jay Maynard, K5ZC http://www.conmicro.com
http://jmaynard.livejournal.com http://www.tronguy.net
Fairmont, MN (FRM) (Yes, that's me!)
AMD Zodiac CH601XLi N55ZC (ordered 17 March, delivery 2 June)

[Thomas Borchert]

Jay,

Had I gone, I would probably have spent a day with Aspen Avionics.
That's a really exciting product, from my POV.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

[Jim Burns[_2_]]

"pittss1c" > wrote in message
...
> The only thing I thought was sort of interesting is that there was a
> company selling a wire free hobbs that uses engine vibration for 22
> bucks.
> Mike

Got a link or name for that? Sounds interesting.
Jim

[Bertie the Bunyip[_24_]]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in
news:VGoNj.69474$TT4.6789@attbi_s22:

> I haven't seen any PIREPs about Sun N Fun in this forum

That's because the system doesn't publish pireps for socila events,
fjukktard.

this year.
> Did anyone go? Any new toys? Did anyone buttonhole AvMap about their
> recent announcement of XM weather coming "soon"?


Yeah, that's what Sun n Fun is all about, video games.


Bertie

[John[_1_]]

On Apr 16, 11:11*am, "Jay Honeck" > wrote:
> I haven't seen any PIREPs about Sun N Fun in this forum this year. *Did
> anyone go? *Any new toys? *Did anyone buttonhole AvMap about their recent
> announcement of XM weather coming "soon"? *(Something we've been hearing
> from them for years, now.)
>
> Some locals who attended said that the bad early-week weather really chopped
> fly-in attendance, but that the weekend airshow crowd was very strong...
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"

Jay,

I went for one day and as soon as I walked in, I came upon the LSA
Mall and the first plane there was the Flight Design CTLS, one of the
planes high on my list to see. I did not have the time to arrange a
demo flight due to family considerations, but I probably spent more
than 3 hours looking at the plane and talking to people about it. I
especially enjoyed talking to 3 - 4 people who own and fly the plane
and I was encouraged by how enthusiastic they were. I sat in it and
in the Skycatcher, other LSAs, and for me the CTLS took the contest.
Despite all I had read, I was surprised at the amount of real room in
the cockpit, especially at shoulder level. I am now seriously working
on making the money work to buy one.

I was there on Thursday and I thought the airshow was decent enough.
It was my first chance to see the T-birds do a practice show. It
didn’t seem quite up to presentation level in terms of timing and
tempo (crimeny - they spent almost 30 mins on the ground after engine
start, with a lot a lot of Jet-A being burned) Once in the air, they
were, as usual, fun to watch. The maximum performance turns make my
eyes water when you consider the size and weight of the plane. The
added bonuses was the straight up departure of the media flight
(oooooohhh man, wonder how many bags the media rep had to use) and
that after the practice show, a number of T-birds remained in the air
to continue practice so I had some extra chances to try for that AvWeb
"photo of the week" shot.

As I walked to the car, I stopped for what I thought would be a moment
to watch the ultralights flying approaches to their runway. A half an
hour later, I was still there enjoying it.

I haven’t been to Oshkosh (yet), but for me . . . I had a blast at Sun
'n Fun.

Blue skies . . .

John

[Jay Honeck[_2_]]

>I went for one day and as soon as I walked in, I came upon the LSA
>Mall and the first plane there was the Flight Design CTLS, one of the
> planes high on my list to see.

<snip of good stuff>

Thanks for the PIREP, John. I've always had a great time at SNF, and worry
when I hear things like "the attendance was way down", for fear that the
organizers might throw in the towel...

I, too, have been very impressed with the CT, and was lucky to test-fly it
in '06. It's got more shoulder room than my Pathfinder, fantastic
visibility, car-like engine management, and is great fun to fly. It's the
slickest LSA on the market, IMHO.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Robert M. Gary]

On Apr 16, 8:11*am, "Jay Honeck" > wrote:
> I haven't seen any PIREPs about Sun N Fun in this forum this year. *Did
> anyone go? *Any new toys? *Did anyone buttonhole AvMap about their recent
> announcement of XM weather coming "soon"? *(Something we've been hearing
> from them for years, now.)

No, I heard no one showed up. Just empty tents.;)

-Robert

[pittss1c]

Jim Burns wrote:
> "pittss1c" > wrote in message
> ...
>> The only thing I thought was sort of interesting is that there was a
>> company selling a wire free hobbs that uses engine vibration for 22
>> bucks.
>> Mike
>
> Got a link or name for that? Sounds interesting.
> Jim
>
>
I think the company was
http://www.psaenterprises.com/
Not much of a website.

[pittss1c]

Jay Maynard wrote:
> On 2008-04-16, pittss1c > wrote:
>> Other then that, there were a lot of affordable $120,000 LSAs that are
>> going to save GA I guess. I am not sure who is buying them.
>
> AMD is selling all the Zodiacs they can build.
I am sure they are being sold (there are a lot of companies still in
business way after burning through a lot of capitol)
And a Zodiac with an O-200 would be a decent choice...
I am probably just out of touch. (I also don't entirely understand the
market for $200,000 172s, but there is one)

Mike

[Darkwing]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:VGoNj.69474$TT4.6789@attbi_s22...
>I haven't seen any PIREPs about Sun N Fun in this forum this year. Did
>anyone go? Any new toys? Did anyone buttonhole AvMap about their recent
>announcement of XM weather coming "soon"? (Something we've been hearing
>from them for years, now.)
>
> Some locals who attended said that the bad early-week weather really
> chopped fly-in attendance, but that the weekend airshow crowd was very
> strong...
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"

I seen a guy who basically gave me my first plane flight when I was a kid
today and he went down there, said there was a ton of sport pilot planes
there. He said they were everywhere!

[Dave[_19_]]

I spent some time there Tom..

Impressive!

Although, does this unit EVER GET HOT!

...You cannot keep a finger on it! (?)

Dave


On Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:52:13 +0200, Thomas Borchert
> wrote:

>Jay,
>
>Had I gone, I would probably have spent a day with Aspen Avionics.
>That's a really exciting product, from my POV.

[Dave[_19_]]

Barb and I had a great time! - Just got back home 3 hours ago..

Lots of planes, lots of display booths..

I have posted stuff on the Cherokee group as well..

Best part was meeting the other Cherokee drivers there...and watching
the Night (!) airshow from Warren's campsite!

Everything has to happen right in front of his campsite! :)

had a LONNNNNG chat with the Lowrance people, who were having a
looooog day answering the "where's the weather?" questions...



Dave


On Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:11:49 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
> wrote:

>I haven't seen any PIREPs about Sun N Fun in this forum this year. Did
>anyone go? Any new toys? Did anyone buttonhole AvMap about their recent
>announcement of XM weather coming "soon"? (Something we've been hearing
>from them for years, now.)
>
>Some locals who attended said that the bad early-week weather really chopped
>fly-in attendance, but that the weekend airshow crowd was very strong...

[Dave[_5_]]

> had a LONNNNNG chat with the Lowrance people, who were having a
> looooog day answering the "where's the weather?" questions...
>
> Dave

So what was their answer?

The other Dave

[Jay Honeck[_2_]]

> had a LONNNNNG chat with the Lowrance people, who were having a
> looooog day answering the "where's the weather?" questions...

Can you imagine working a major even like SNF or OSH for Lowrance and AvMap
the last few years? All they've heard is "Where's the weather?" from tens
of thousands of people. It's got to be like fingernails on a chalkboard by
now.

The fact that neither company has been able to produce a weather product is
more suspicious than ever. Did Garmin make an iron-clad exclusive deal with
XM?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Morgans[_2_]]

"Dave" > wrote
>
> Although, does this unit EVER GET HOT!

What part? The black box, power supply, display, or what?
--
Jim in NC

[Morgans[_2_]]

"Dave" > wrote

> had a LONNNNNG chat with the Lowrance people, who were having a
> looooog day answering the "where's the weather?" questions...

They HAVE to be getting the message that the time is now, (and has been) to get
it in their product.

It has to be aggravating to be a salesman, and getting crap sales, because the
front office won't get you what you need to sell product.
--
Jim in NC

[Gig 601Xl Builder]

Jay Honeck wrote:
>> had a LONNNNNG chat with the Lowrance people, who were having a
>> looooog day answering the "where's the weather?" questions...
>
> Can you imagine working a major even like SNF or OSH for Lowrance and
> AvMap the last few years? All they've heard is "Where's the weather?"
> from tens of thousands of people. It's got to be like fingernails on a
> chalkboard by now.
>
> The fact that neither company has been able to produce a weather product
> is more suspicious than ever. Did Garmin make an iron-clad exclusive
> deal with XM?

No XM Garmin didn't. Just look at the XM site
http://www.xmradio.com/weather/hardware_solutions_av.xmc

I count 12 companies offering hardware.

[WingFlaps]

On Apr 17, 5:37*am, "Jay Honeck" > wrote:
> >I went for one day and as soon as I walked in, I came upon the LSA
> >Mall and the first plane there was the Flight Design CTLS, one of the
> > planes high on my list to see.
>
> <snip of good stuff>
>
> Thanks for the PIREP, John. *I've always had a great time at SNF, and worry
> when I hear things like "the attendance was way down", for fear that the
> organizers might throw in the towel...
>
> I, too, have been very impressed with the CT, and was lucky to test-fly it
> in '06. * It's got more shoulder room than my Pathfinder, fantastic
> visibility, car-like engine management, and is great fun to fly. *It's the
> slickest LSA on the market, IMHO.
> --
Slick? Looks like a tadpole trying to waddle to me.

Cheers

[John[_1_]]

On Apr 17, 9:40*am, WingFlaps > wrote:
> On Apr 17, 5:37*am, "Jay Honeck" > wrote:> >I went for one day and as soon as I walked in, I came upon the LSA
> > >Mall and the first plane there was the Flight Design CTLS, one of the
> > > planes high on my list to see.
>
> > <snip of good stuff>
>
> > Thanks for the PIREP, John. *I've always had a great time at SNF, and worry
> > when I hear things like "the attendance was way down", for fear that the
> > organizers might throw in the towel...
>
> > I, too, have been very impressed with the CT, and was lucky to test-fly it
> > in '06. * It's got more shoulder room than my Pathfinder, fantastic
> > visibility, car-like engine management, and is great fun to fly. *It's the
> > slickest LSA on the market, IMHO.
> > --
>
> Slick? Looks like a tadpole trying to waddle to me.
>
> Cheers

Perhaps, but consider the width in the cockpit. And the outide of the
plane is that . . . slick. It can be incredible how smooth the skin
is on many of the composite airplanes. Its definitely not tradtional,
but it is smooth. Some of these relatively young companies seem that
they could teach something to the garden variety fiberglass boat
builder that have been in business for years or decades.

I did see one flaw on the finish of the CTLS I looked at where the
fairing between the main gear and the fuselage had become unbonded.
They say they are working on that. Time will tell.

Blue skies . . .

John

[Dave[_19_]]

The whole thing... Panel, front, back..


You cannot keep your finger on it...

It gets REALLY hot....

But been tested to - whatever....

.......apparently the bright display it the heat producer...

Dave



On Wed, 16 Apr 2008 23:47:15 -0400, "Morgans"
> wrote:

>
>"Dave" > wrote
>>
>> Although, does this unit EVER GET HOT!
>
>What part? The black box, power supply, display, or what?

[Dave[_19_]]

Hi to "The other Dave" :)

Check my post below.... for the details...


Dave



On Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:43:44 -0700 (PDT), Dave > wrote:

>
>> had a LONNNNNG chat with the Lowrance people, who were having a
>> looooog day answering the "where's the weather?" questions...
>>
>> Dave
>
>So what was their answer?
>
>The other Dave

[Thomas Borchert]

Dave,

> It gets REALLY hot....
>

What did they have to say about that?

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

[Dave[_19_]]

They said it was tested to operate on ambient temps up to 100 F, (or
more) agreed that it did run hot, and suggested it was due to heat
generated by the bright display..

I asked because I have been around electronic devices most of my life,
and heat is the enemy of anything electronic.

The case , like I mentionned earlier, was so hot I could not keep my
hand on it. That means the components inside were a lot hotter.

One display unit on an open panel did not have the fan running...
others I checked and made sure the fan WAS running. Temps that day
were high 80's...

If I installed one I would use an aux fan on it.

THREE displays in a row, side by each, would REALLY be a "hot part of
the panel".

Dave



On Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:23:53 +0200, Thomas Borchert
> wrote:

>Dave,
>
>> It gets REALLY hot....
>>
>
>What did they have to say about that?

[Gig 601Xl Builder]

Dave wrote:
> They said it was tested to operate on ambient temps up to 100 F, (or
> more) agreed that it did run hot, and suggested it was due to heat
> generated by the bright display..


Only tested to 100 F? They won't be selling a lot of those to pilots
that fly in the South and Southwest during the summer.

[Morgans[_2_]]

"Gig 601Xl Builder" > wrote in message
m...
> Dave wrote:
>> They said it was tested to operate on ambient temps up to 100 F, (or
>> more) agreed that it did run hot, and suggested it was due to heat
>> generated by the bright display..
>
>
> Only tested to 100 F? They won't be selling a lot of those to pilots that fly
> in the South and Southwest during the summer.

Really. I would think they would be tested to at least 120. Hotter than that,
when the plane is first opened up in the afternoon.

I think I would go for an exhaust, rather than a fan, unless it was winter.
Without exhaust, it would make a hot cockpit in the summer even hotter.
--
Jim in NC

[Jay Honeck[_2_]]

>> Only tested to 100 F? They won't be selling a lot of those to pilots that
>> fly in the South and Southwest during the summer.
>
> Really. I would think they would be tested to at least 120. Hotter than
> that, when the plane is first opened up in the afternoon.

We've got a digital thermometer in our panel that goes blank-screen at 124
degrees. It's almost always blank in the summer.

I sure hope they tested it to hotter than 100!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Bertie the Bunyip[_24_]]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in
news:9u9Oj.126185$yE1.7903@attbi_s21:

>>> Only tested to 100 F? They won't be selling a lot of those to pilots
>>> that fly in the South and Southwest during the summer.
>>
>> Really. I would think they would be tested to at least 120. Hotter
>> than that, when the plane is first opened up in the afternoon.
>
> We've got a digital thermometer in our panel that goes blank-screen at
> 124 degrees. It's almost always blank in the summer.
>
> I sure hope they tested it to hotter than 100!

Yeh, god forbid you should use your head to go flying instead.


Bertie

[Dave[_19_]]

He said up to 100 F "at least".

I think it is in the specs, I will see if I can find them


Dave




.....On Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:49:04 -0500, Gig 601Xl Builder
> wrote:

>Dave wrote:
>> They said it was tested to operate on ambient temps up to 100 F, (or
>> more) agreed that it did run hot, and suggested it was due to heat
>> generated by the bright display..
>
>
>Only tested to 100 F? They won't be selling a lot of those to pilots
>that fly in the South and Southwest during the summer.

[clint]

i flew one with the cow and she coaked the whole time!
After serious thinking WingFlaps wrote :
> Slick? Looks like a tadpole trying to waddle to me.