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Oshkosh 2003 Redux



 
 
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  #1  
Old August 4th 03, 04:31 AM
Sydney Hoeltzli
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Default Oshkosh 2003 Redux

Jay Honeck wrote:

(remainder of cool description deleted. I dunno Jay, Oshkosh sounds
too deadly to the budget...)

With this statement he stopped, and asked "why not Lightspeeds?" I then
proceeded to tell him my tale of woe (three sets, purchased over three
years, all back in the shop on multiple occasions, etc.) in a very
unemotional way. I told him that the product was great, and their customer
service was fabulous, but that I was simply not able to live with a product
that kept breaking -- no matter HOW good the repair service was. It was
only then that I noticed that he was wearing a very subtle "Lightspeed
Aviation" shirt -- oh, crap!

At this point he stopped and introduced himself -- as the PRESIDENT OF
LIGHTSPEED!

I couldn't believe it. I had just spent five minutes absolutely
eviscerating his company, and he was still being polite! More importantly,
he was LISTENING, and when I was done he absolutely, 100% admitted
everything. Every quality control issue, every stupid design flaw that I've
bitched about here long and hard -- he ADMITTED, and apologized for...

Then, the best part. Because Mary and I represent his "ideal customers" --
meaning that we've spent almost $1500 with him over the course of three
years, I presume -- he wants to keep our future business. He pulled me
aside, gave me his card, and told me that "when we get back to the real
world" I should give him a call, and he will send me, absolutely FREE, a new
pair of 30Gs, just for being patient with them! How's THAT for customer
service?


A Diner While Dining in Crewe
Found Quite a Large Rat in his Stew
Said the Waiter, "Don't Shout
Don't Wave it About
Or the Rest will be wanting one too
the Rest will be wanting one too!

Cheers,
Sydney

  #2  
Old August 4th 03, 09:15 AM
Montblack
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(Jay Honeck wrote)
snipped stuff
And our rec.aviation get-together was a rousing success,


I'm hoping [Montblack] snagged the beer before some EAA lineguy did...



Random thoughts, because I'm tired - haven't unpacked yet...

I did find the "abandoned" beer cooler - thank you Jay. And please thank
Mary for me.

Jack Allison and his brother, another Steve, were at the
(rec.aviation.N40festival) - He flew a 172 in from Sacramento California,
IIRC. It was nice to meet everyone who was there. Went to Friar Tuck's twice
this week. I recommend the $3.50 Chef Salad and the $3.95 Little John or
Mini-Tuck or (whatever), long bun beef melt thing - excellent. Stay away
from the onion rings. Pitcher prices were ok-reasonable. Cheeseburger was
the size of a car hubcap - $3.50. I liked the place.

Never did bump into Jim Weir ...at the dorms (I was 2nd floor Fletcher) or
at Friar Tuck's. I'll have to attend one of his seminar(s). Next year.

Never been to Oshkosh before this year. Will return.

I kept stumbling across Australians and New Zealanders. Lots of them -
everywhere you went ...there they were. It got to be kind of spooky after
awhile.

Quick blurb on today - Sunday

Woke up in the dorms. Planned on meeting Jay, Mary and their two OshKids for
breakfast. Larry, from rec.homebuilt, couldn't make it to breakfast with us
because of morning forums. Everyone else I knew at Oshkosh had already
headed for home.

Packed up the room, checked out, loaded the car and drove over to the
Hilton, which is practically on the field. We hung around Jay's plane from
8:30am until enough voices pleaded, "I'm hungry" - then we walked 100 yds
over to the Hilton for buffet breakfast. Had a relaxing and enjoyable
breakfast.

After breakfast, Jay and Mary were planing their Sunday departure options.
Looked iffy for VFR. I said good-bye and caught the school bus over to the
warbirds, before Mary could put me to work packing up the camp.

Bus dropped me off by Fighter Ally (or whatever it's called). Many of the
planes were all rev'd up and in line to depart. I think most pilots saw a
weather window and figured it's now or ...who knows when?

Sat on the grass for over an hour watching the parade of (mostly) warplanes
taxi in front of us (me, and 100's of other gawkers). Poor planes were in
quite a traffic jam - I was worried some might overheat. There was one
emergency declared while I was listening on my scanner. A Warrior type took
off, declared emergency - "engine out" (his words), and returned to the
airport safely. He seemed to have some power when he returned. There were
other return-to-the-airport planes, but that was the only person who
declared "emergency".

Next year I'll bring an earjack for the scanner. All those warbirds, in a
departure parade traffic jam, made too much noise for me to be able to hear
the scanner all that well

Saw more of the vendor tents today. Went through many buildings today.

Carried a plastic bag (with handles) around for info sheets, brochures, my
scanner and a 32oz PowerAde/Gatorade bottle - for water. Water faucets
everywhere. I went through over a gallon per day (5-6 bottles).

Riley Superskyrocket was scheduled for a space (#65) but were a no-show. The
juicy scoop I got from SMA Diesel was, SMA is -- "no longer in communication
with Riley". (Read between the lines)

Symphony planes had the right idea - remove the wings and doors, then
display the plane. People could walk right up and see the roomy(?) interior.

Enjoyed talking with the Russian "Sherpa" kit plane folks. They had a
t-shirt that had (in big red letters) OSHKOSH 2003. And because it was
theirs, and not EAA's, it only cost $5.00. Perfect gift!!

D-Jet was cool at Diamond. Single engine ..."Williams 44"

Mustang has a MONSTROUSLY HUGE display screen in their panel.

Eclipse had a fun tent. From a "big picture" cynic's point of view, however
....it looked like a damage control display as much as anything else.

Ran out of time, didn't see the Adam A-700 Jet.

Didn't see any booths for the other small jet players.

Looked like rain, so I dropped plans to watch the afternoon air show and
headed back to the busses. Jay was gone, beer cooler was waiting for me
vBg. I got to my car, a short distance away, just as the rain started. Air
show was on hold because of lightning. I listened to the Oshkosh EAA AM
radio feed, driving back to Minnesota. They threw together an abbreviated
effort for the visitors - car was out of range after a while so I couldn't
hear how it finished.

300+ miles (6 hours TT) got home around 10 pm. Nice relaxing drive - no
deer, no tickets.

Other fun stuff, must sleep. Zzzzzzzzzzzz.....mmm...D-jet
(2006)....zzzzzzzzz

--
Montblack


  #3  
Old August 4th 03, 02:35 PM
Peter R.
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Jay Honeck ) wrote:

snip
- Once again Oshkosh was heaven on earth for one week, and the ONLY place to
be during the last week of July. Our 21st consecutive Oshkosh was as
fabulous as the first -- better, since we now know a bunch of you guys and
gals! -- and we're already making plans to attend again NEXT year...


Jay, thank you very much for providing your Oshkosh experiences here. The
Lightspeed story was apropos, given all that I have been through as well.

With all of the rain and t-storms there, you were able to leave VFR? I was
watching the weather closely the last few days and noticed line after line
of storms in the area of Oshkosh.

--
Peter












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  #4  
Old August 4th 03, 02:42 PM
John Thompson
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Its amazing how much stuff one can miss that others report on!

I was tempted by the cessna 120 "project" plane in aeromart, but with no
information (telephone number, logbooks, dataplate, etc), just didn't
take it too seriously. Only $3K, and probably could have made more than
that parting it out if it wasn't worth fixing.

  #5  
Old August 4th 03, 02:50 PM
Jay Honeck
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With all of the rain and t-storms there, you were able to leave VFR? I
was
watching the weather closely the last few days and noticed line after line
of storms in the area of Oshkosh.


Yep -- it rained every day we were there!

We departed yesterday knowing (from our North 40 FAA weather briefing) that
there was a line of showers/storms stretching North/South down the state
about 60 miles west of OSH. The radar was your typical summer shot of
popcorn -- showers appearing and building out of no where, and then
dissipating just as quickly. They weren't moving east much, just kind of
developing in place.

We launched figuring we'd be able to slide down the east side of the line,
and eventually pick our way west in between the cells. In the Midwest, in
summer, when faced with a disorganized line of storms (and with a good
ceiling of at least 2500 feet), this is quite doable.

Of course we called Flight Service in the air, who immediately advised us to
"land in Madison for a weather briefing, as things look tough ahead for
you". We were just east of Madison at that time, could see one big cell
bearing down on Madison, with clear all around. We thanked him very much,
bid him adieu, and simply flew around the cell.

With one or two more minor diversions, we were home free. Didn't see another
cloud until we arrived at Iowa City, where there was yet ANOTHER summer
storm cell sitting over the airport. It moved on just in time for Mary to
land on the wet runway.

Typical August flying around here.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"


  #6  
Old August 4th 03, 02:57 PM
Jay Honeck
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Its amazing how much stuff one can miss that others report on!

Oshkosh is so big, there is simply no way for any two people to see the same
show.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"


  #7  
Old August 4th 03, 07:43 PM
Jay Honeck
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This was a different OSH for me... the first year with kids in tow.

Boy, John, you sure nailed that on the head.

I remember coming to OSH in the early 80s, just Mary and me riding a
Kawasaki 750. (Brought my first propeller home lashed to Mary's backrest on
the bike!) We could walk, and walk, and gawk, almost running from plane to
plane. I was a pilot wannabe, and Mary was fairly indifferent to flying --
boy did that change!

Then, along came the kids. First in the back-pack, then one in the pack and
the wagon -- then BOTH in the wagon. We were suddenly able to only cover
25% of what we could once see, and the show became totally different for us.

Now, at 9 and 12, the pace is picking up again. Soon, they'll be able to
run from plane to plane, and I'll be too old and tired!

Life is a river, eh?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"
"john smith" wrote in message
...
My kids and I had a great time at the North 40 Festival 2003.
Sorry I didn't join everyone at Friar Tuck's, we had just come from
dinner at the Hilton prior to arriving at the party.
I enjoyed meeting everyone. I wish that Colonel Jim had been in
attendance so we could have "roasted" the non attendees.

They
enjoyed KidVenture, the Beluga and the NASA building, but didn't have
any patience for the "Dad stuff". My son had his first Polish sausage
and kept asking to go back for more.
The worst thing that happened was my daughter losing her bandana in the
Wright Flyer tent. That took alot of consoling to bring her out of her
depression. I was fortunate to be at my campsite when the windstorm hit
on Tuesday afternoon. I managed to get the tarp off my wing before it
got whipped to shreds. I learned my lesson last year and bought the
heavy duty, reinforced eyelet model this year. I need to get a bigger
one for next year.
Jay had a good location in front of the Hilton... perfect for displaying
the Alexis Park Inn banner.
WalMart should fire the real-estate person who moved the store two miles
down the road. Why anyone would give up sales in the middle of summer
that probably outdo Christmas is beyond comprehension. Target reaped the
gain, selling out of sleeping bags, tents, and coolers and restocking
quickly.
I did things differently this year. Instead of sleeping bags, I brought
fleece blankets and sleeping pads. This worked really well and required
less space in the airplane. The bulky item was the stove and propane
tank. It was heavy and took up space, but it paid off when it came to
cooking meals and cleaning up. Fresh food was purchased from Piggly
Wiggly each afternoon following the airshow.
We walked the length of the flightline, from "North Fond du Lac" to the
Warbirds. Wednesday, the airport was full!
Looking at what was on the field Sunday night, I didn't think attendance
would be as good as it was. Monday and Tuesday brought alot of arrivals.
The rains which began Tuesday afternoon and continued each afternoon and
evening thereafter, lead to many premature departures Thursday, Friday
and Saturday. My tent, clothes and campsite stayed dry throughout as I
was on the high ground.
I need to point my airplane the other way next year so I can see the
runway from under the tarp. It's the small touches that make the
difference.



  #8  
Old August 4th 03, 07:57 PM
Jay Honeck
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What I want to know is what he said about fixing the quality control and
design
problems?


Lightspeed appears to have re-designed almost everything. The headband is
different, so it won't break. The battery box is completely re-designed,
and now comes with a little plastic "holster" that can be clipped (or
permanently mounted) to the side panel. This takes the weight of the
batteries off the wires, and sure looks nicer than the paperclip kludge I
came up with...

The ear pieces are now made of a different material that supposedly won't
delaminate from the underlying foam. The microphone is a bit different --
maybe it won't loosen up and flop down so easily.

They've even addressed the "tinny music" issue, which I had never even
complained about, by adding a "bass-boost" and a "treble boost" button on
the battery box. This feature makes formerly ANR-corrupted music sound much
closer to normal.

We'll see if he comes through, but I'm fairly impressed so far...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"


  #9  
Old August 4th 03, 09:30 PM
Jim Fisher
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"john smith" wrote in message

Fresh food was purchased from Piggly
Wiggly each afternoon following the airshow.


Speaking of that, did you hear the news that Dolly Parton was buying up all
the Big Star, Piggly Wiggly's, and Harris Teeter stores up there around
Wisconsin?

Yes, she plans to put them all under one name: Big Wiggly Teeters

--
Jim Fisher



  #10  
Old August 5th 03, 12:22 AM
Snowbird
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"Jay Honeck" wrote in message news:b0yXa.64573$Ho3.9416@sccrnsc03...
What I want to know is what he said about fixing the quality control and
design problems?


Lightspeed appears to have re-designed almost everything. The headband is
different, so it won't break. The battery box is completely re-designed,
and now comes with a little plastic "holster" that can be clipped (or
permanently mounted) to the side panel. .....


All true. The 30-3G is a redesign.

However, judging from Peter R's experience with sending back
3 different headsets, and judging from my experience having
a battery box which shorted out less than a month after receiving
the headset, the QC issues could still use some work.

The point of my other post was, it is nice that the President of
Lightspeed offered you a free headset. It will be nice for you
if he comes through.

But there are plenty of other folks out there who spent comparable
amounts of money on Lightspeed Headsets to you and Mary (ourselves
amoung them, we own 3) and who are having recurrant problems, and
what are they doing for us?

I have to say it, and if you'll send me the guy's name and address
I'll say it to him: we're very concerned that we've spent more than
$1000 on comfortable headsets which we enjoy very much, but which
are going to keep breaking, and that the great service and support
to fix them will only be around as long as the company is.

If they don't fix their QC issues and do *something* for their
(current crop of) loyal customers who keep having to send in their
headsets for repair, how long is that going to be?

IMHO they need to do something beyond "supply the occasional free
headset to a guy in the right place at the right time". They need
to come up with (at least an attempt) at a retrograde fix for the
20K, 20XL, and 25XL design problems.

Cheers,
Sydney
 




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