Sun N Fun First Day

[Orval Fairbairn[_2_]]

I flew in today, arriving about 10:15 AM. Inbound traffic was the
lightest that I have seen in the 10 years I have been going there.

THere were only a couple of other planes at Lake Parker, so we were
directed right in. I had trouble understanding the tower controller, but
got enough to "land on the green spot."

We were directed to the Vintage parking and got a great spot. There were
quite a few empty good spots in the Vintage area. It was the same in the
homebuilt area, with lots of empty parking.

The crowd was the thinnest I have sen, too, nor were there as many
vendors as in previous years. Maybe it is the economy.

Today they didn't start the airshow until 2:45 and ended it about 5:45.

One thing that I find annoying is that the controllers try to get you to
put your gear down early, when you pass Lake Parker. I never put mine
down until I am downwind, passing the numbers. A simple "Unable, too
fast" seems to work best here.

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[cavelamb[_2_]]

Orval Fairbairn wrote:
> I flew in today, arriving about 10:15 AM. Inbound traffic was the
> lightest that I have seen in the 10 years I have been going there.
>
> THere were only a couple of other planes at Lake Parker, so we were
> directed right in. I had trouble understanding the tower controller, but
> got enough to "land on the green spot."
>
> We were directed to the Vintage parking and got a great spot. There were
> quite a few empty good spots in the Vintage area. It was the same in the
> homebuilt area, with lots of empty parking.
>
> The crowd was the thinnest I have sen, too, nor were there as many
> vendors as in previous years. Maybe it is the economy.
>
> Today they didn't start the airshow until 2:45 and ended it about 5:45.
>
> One thing that I find annoying is that the controllers try to get you to
> put your gear down early, when you pass Lake Parker. I never put mine
> down until I am downwind, passing the numbers. A simple "Unable, too
> fast" seems to work best here.
>


That's not good.

It's usually the first two or three days that are the heaviest.

[rich[_2_]]

Thanks for the heads up, I'm heading there today myself. I had the
same annoyance in the past, they started calling for me to put my gear
down as soon as I passed Lake Parker. They are so paranoid someone
will land gear up and block their runway, they get carried away with
it.
I think you're right, the economy, fuel is expensive, and it could be
the interest is wanning somewhat. Just like it did back in the 30's
during the golden age air races. I suspect Oshkosh will fare better,
but they will probably see some reductions also. Reno's been dealing
with the thinning crowds for years. But they seem to hold their own
at a certain attendance level. If it wasn't for the Sport class, it
would be the same planes and piltots every year.

On Tue, 21 Apr 2009 22:15:37 -0400, Orval Fairbairn
> wrote:

>I flew in today, arriving about 10:15 AM. Inbound traffic was the
>lightest that I have seen in the 10 years I have been going there.
>
>THere were only a couple of other planes at Lake Parker, so we were
>directed right in. I had trouble understanding the tower controller, but
>got enough to "land on the green spot."
>
>We were directed to the Vintage parking and got a great spot. There were
>quite a few empty good spots in the Vintage area. It was the same in the
>homebuilt area, with lots of empty parking.
>
>The crowd was the thinnest I have sen, too, nor were there as many
>vendors as in previous years. Maybe it is the economy.
>
>Today they didn't start the airshow until 2:45 and ended it about 5:45.
>
>One thing that I find annoying is that the controllers try to get you to
>put your gear down early, when you pass Lake Parker. I never put mine
>down until I am downwind, passing the numbers. A simple "Unable, too
>fast" seems to work best here.