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SnF 2023 Pics and PIREPs

DeltaRomeo

doug reeves: unfluencer
Staff member
...placemarker for people to post pics from the show, or URL's to photo albums of the show, or updates.

v/r,dr

(from sbalmos)
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Slow

Just me or the news and pireps a little slow to roll in? :confused:

Always enjoy pics and specials on gear etc. Hope a few post.
Was hoping Lightspeed delta zulu promo but guess no joy. Bose new one doesnt light my fire.
 
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Just me or the news and pireps a little slow to roll in? :confused:

I think weather is the issue. All day today, and really since Saturday, there has been a nasty, nasty line of storms through middle then South Georgia and now across North Florida. I'm sure lots of potential attendees are watching the weather and hoping.
 
Walked through homebuilt camping. Very few planes.

As others have suggested, I assume weather prevented some from arriving as planned.
 
Good morning Aviators! Its a beeeaayootiful morning and we're ready for you.
 

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It seems there were less people than last year, definitively less airplanes. Homebuilt camping was pretty bare when I walked through it.

There was a lot of fog yesterday and today so it may be stopping people from flying in.
 
Just me or the news and pireps a little slow to roll in? :confused:

Always enjoy pics and specials on gear etc. Hope a few post.
Was hoping Lightspeed delta zulu promo but guess no joy. Bose new one doesnt light my fire.

Interesting that Aircraft Spruce sent an email that there is "special Pricing" on Bose A-20 at the Spruce booth!

-Marc
 
Tuesday after the fog morning…

Could make the flight to Lakeland.
Just few airplanes at the Homebuilt Parking. Went just for the day.

Edit: video from the Lake Parker arrival: https://youtu.be/EZ7roxA5NX8
 

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Thursday

I flew in today (Thursday) and parked in HBP. We’re only a 40 minute flight away so I’ll return tomorrow (Friday). We’ve camped in HBC before, but not knowing what the new parking areas were going to be like we opted to just fly back and forth.

My observation- a huge improvement with the new digs. Homebuilt parking is easily accessible. Homebuilt camping is just to the north of HBP and the homebuilt hospitality tent that Heidi runs is right on the flight line. We watched the Blues perform while visiting the hospitality tent and it was the best viewing experience we’ve had! Camping is definitely on the agenda for next year.
 
Getting out Wednesday was a nightmare, was #10 in the line after the airshow and sat still on the taxiway for 30+ minutes while one biz jet and two Amazon jets landed and back taxied.
Tempers were getting short, as you could not even see the heavies and we were just sitting for no apparent reason. The stuck mic on the departure freq was annoying as well. Would have helped if dep told us they were waiting on two heavies inbound and approx wait time.
After that it went quickly, but might as well keep the red flags up until the heavies get in if they are going to hold all departures anyway.

The Amazon thing is really impacting the viability of this venue, IMO.

Other than that, the parking area was better and the volunteers great.
 
Monday-Thursday

I left the RV-4 at home and traveled with a friend and F1 Rocket owner in his Seneca 5 on Monday from NC to SNF. The long line of WX across the deep south made it an IFR day for most, and we were in and out of the soup from the Carolinas to northern Fla. It was an odd feeling having no bogeys on the ADSB and being the ONLY one in the lake Parker approach at 1:30 in the afternoon. Came in like rock stars and parked in a rather desolate area by the new "Island". Set up camp and relaxed, Tuesday morning Amazon Congo line wake up starting at 0500 (no sleeping in here anymore). Tuesday arrivals were few and far between due to the WX choke-hold from the rest of the US. Wednesday was a floodgate opening and the place filled up. The airshow sequencing seemed too far spaced, and Amazon Air Force didn't help that any. Comradery and making new camp ground friends was nice, and there was no shortage of vendors and new stuff to look at. We departed Thursday AM around 1000 before the show with ease , back home in all sunshine by mid afternoon. Hope everyone gets home safe as it looks like the Southeast is setting up for more **** rain and wind. Great trip overall...and this guy was there..
 

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Thursday

I arrived at Lake Myrtle to start the approach into Lakeland at 0930 on Thursday. It was pretty busy and the controllers at Lake Parker were calling for 2 mile spacing. Several aircraft were sent for a lap around Lake Parker if spacing was too close. Just as I approached Lake Myrtle, ATC announced the airport was closed but did not give any explanation as to why. Things started getting out of hand at Lake Parker immediately! Overflow aircraft were sent to Lake Hancock and at one time someone said there was close to 20 aircraft orbiting Lake Hancock. I decided to go north away from all of the confusion. I circled around for over an hour and finally decided I could not take anymore when they reopened the airport and then immediately shut it down again. I wound up in Zephyrhills for fuel. When I returned, the conga line started 5 miles south of Lake Hancock. I finally got on the ground at 12:00 PM, two and a half hours after when I first arrived. And the reason for the 2 hour airport closure? The Blue Angels were arriving.
 
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Getting out Wednesday was a nightmare, was #10 in the line after the airshow and sat still on the taxiway for 30+ minutes while one biz jet and two Amazon jets landed and back taxied.
Tempers were getting short, as you could not even see the heavies and we were just sitting for no apparent reason. The stuck mic on the departure freq was annoying as well. Would have helped if dep told us they were waiting on two heavies inbound and approx wait time.
After that it went quickly, but might as well keep the red flags up until the heavies get in if they are going to hold all departures anyway.

The Amazon thing is really impacting the viability of this venue, IMO.

Other than that, the parking area was better and the volunteers great.

mike was spot on about the departure on wed. there was no reason to not at least let traffic cross 10R and depart 10L while they waited for amazon to land. it seems that amazon is calling the shots, and the will be the end of the show soon.

bob burns
RV-4 N82RB
 
SNF newbie

First time to SNF. Longest trip by far for my RV6. Would not have been possible without RV7 David Smith escorting me down and back. Flight following, flight of 2, worked great for gettting around Chicago, Atlanta, and other congested areas.
Departed KENW Kenosha, WI at 10:30am Tuesday to beat incoming weather. Marginal visibility around Chicago and a rough ride down to KTHA Tullahoma, TN (2.9hrs, 24.6gal). Great FBO and courtesy car.
Overnight stay at the local Baymont to wait for better weather to the south. Had plenty of down time so we spent a couple of hours in the Beechcraft Museum on field. Very nice.
Fantastic tailwind up at 7500 and clear skys on Wednesday. Arrived in KLAL Lakeland at 12:45pm (3hrs, 25gal). NOTAM was straight forward and arrival went well, but definitely busy. The ATIS frequency was very garbled for some reason.
Homebuilt camping was a very pleasant surprise. Easy access to showers, port-a-johns, and a nice pavilion.
We were immediately greeted by Vic who gave us the down low on HBC. Coffee, breakfast, dinner, all supported by donations.
Wednesday was Mardi Gras night (Jambalaya and Mardi Gras beads). Thursday was smoked/barbeque chicken, Friday ($20 required donation) was NY strip steak and/or Salmon, Saturday was Beef Fajitas. WOW!!! I can't say enough about Vic and all the great HBC volunteers.
Oh, and there was some kind of an air show thing going on nearby. :)
The Blue Angels and the F35 demonstration flights were fantastic. Night shows on Wednesday and Saturday did not disappoint.
Thursday morning after breakfast I was relaxing by the plane before heading into the show when a gentleman who looked vaguely familiar started asking questions about my RV6. You dont have to ask me twice, I love talking about it. He wanted to know about the bare sheet metal in places (I rebuilt this one after it was severely damaged in a ground loop by the previous owner). More questions ensued, then he introduced himself. It was Steve Ashby from KitPlanes. He asked if he could take a picture and post a brief article online. OK, twist my arm. Now I have some bragging rights. https://www.kitplanes.com/resurrected-rv-6a-shines/#respond
Departure Sunday morning was dicey due to early fog and low clouds rolling in from the gulf. We packed up our wet tents and tried to wipe the heavy dew from the outside AND inside of our canopies. Beacon was extinguished about 7:30am so we fired up and taxied out. Launched at 8:00am to the west under a VFR :eek: overcast. Travelled the required 3 miles straight out:rolleyes:, then a u-turn east until blue skys appeared. Climb to 6500 up over all the low stuff, then NNW headed home. Nasty headwind, but smooth. Fuel stop at KTCG Carrollton, GA (3hrs, 26.4gal). Had to don the long pants and hoodie (so much for shorts and a T-shirt). Still a good headwind. Not going to make Kenosha without a fuel stop. Coming down to C09 Morris, IL it got rough. Tighten the belts. Gary topped us off (3.3hrs, 29gal) and we are on our way. Back up on top and turning NE toward Kenosha we finally get a good tailwind. Back home at Kenosha, WI and we are a couple of tired puppies (.6hrs, ?gal).
The local airport gang greeted us and hangar flying started. Drained the oil while hot, then home for a well desreved rest. Total flying time was 12.8 hrs round trip, about 110 gal of gogo juice.
SNF exceeded all my expectations. Great people, great weather, great airshow. Next year will be their 50th anniversary. Hmm. Better start planning now.
 

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A few pictures and a couple of comments

So few pictures? Come on guys!

OK, here are a few. Meant to do this earlier but got tied up.

RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION HOMEBUILT (2023) RV10
N917CM at SnF.jpg

RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION HOMEBUILT (2023) RV10 with CHAMPION KIT HOMEBUILT (2022) RV6
N917CM and RV6 at SnF.jpg

N996PJ at new "Homebuilt" area. After flying nonstop from South Carolina, we ended up having to hold around Lake Hancock (Lake Parker filled up quickly) and then hold around Lake Parker for about an hour of holding. Got worried that we would have to hold another half hour at which time we would have had to bail out and get fuel. Fortunately, we got in and got set up for camp at the "new" (Much Improved) Homebuilt area. This was Wednesday.
By the way, to add further to my stress on the way down, I got the "advise when ready to copy this number to call when you land regarding a potential violation" message over the radio from JAX CTR. Arrrrrgggghhh.
N996PJ at SnF Campsite.jpg

Many RVs in the Homebuilt area. Given the bad weather, I feel there was a pretty good turnout. I think this was Thursday.
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RVs and the Blue Angels
RVs and Blue Angels at SnF.jpg

RVs near VORTAC
RVs near VORTAC at SnF.jpg

Sunrise at SnF campsite. This was early Friday morning. Got up and headed back to SC as MORE BAD WEATHER was enroute. Good news was TAILWINDS BOTH WAYS!!! More good news was that the guy that I called said he could not find the reason for me being asked to call.
Sunrise at SnF.jpg
 
I wonder too?

One year I went prepared to post photos, but the lack of wifi cut that short - Has that been remedied?

There was Wi-Fi available at the Homebuilt Camping pavillion this year, but I didn't really spend much time on it beyond verifying that it worked.
 
I flew the RV-4 from KIKG, South Texas, planned to arrive Sunday afternoon, arrived around 9 AM Monday morning, not very busy. Camped in HBC 'til Saturday morning. Was planning to get out early but got caught by aborted balloon launch, got out at 9 AM, basically taxied to 10R, did run-up and took off with little delay. HBC was good as usual with Heidi running the show, internet, chargers, coffee breakfast and evening meal for donation. Weather was good the whole week.

This year was very similar to last year except for the new area for Home Built. Not many warbirds. An itinerant F22 showed up and gave an impromptu show and departed without landing. Met Dan Gryder and went to a couple of his sessions, one on AQP and another on the history of the DC-3. Went through the FAA hypoxia chamber again.
 
I'm pretty sure the judges had to make up an award for that Mooney, "Best Unique Paint Scheme". That thing was wild.

The 10 was parked behind me in HBC. It was incredible. And another one of Evoke's craftwork - we tend to recognize who's "in the family".
 
Quick trip for me this year. Sun n Fun has always held a special place in my heart. My dad and I have been going since the late 80s when I was six years old. I've only missed a handful of shows since then. I flew HWY to X39 on Wednesday after work, a little over 4 hours in the RV-4 with a fuel stop at LHW where I bought my RV almost a year ago to the day. Spent a few days with family in Tampa and didn't make it to SNF until Friday evening. I was number 2 in the Lake Parker hold at 1700. Orbited that **** lake for nearly an hour before they reopened the field for arrivals at 1840. I was glad I got in the hold when I did as many folks got turned away.

One safety item of note: on my turn from I4 towards the green V shaped building at the cake tower, someone in an RV12 passed underneath me at close range, maybe 100' and cut in front. An extremely dangerous situation and they're lucky they weren't in HBP when I shut down.

Overall another great SNF, even though Saturday was my only full day. Woke up Sunday and departed VFR. Stopped at KMAO for cheap gas. Made it home in 4.52 on the tach.
 

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Camping fee this year

What you guys think about the camping fee applied this year for those that flew in and had to pay the $40/night?

I don't remember that in previous years.

Saturday night show was nice. Miss the drone show. That was pretty cool last year.
 
What you guys think about the camping fee applied this year for those that flew in and had to pay the $40/night?

I don't remember that in previous years.

Saturday night show was nice. Miss the drone show. That was pretty cool last year.

I seem to recall always having to pay a camping fee when I camped.

No biggie.

They probably spent the amount of the collected fees and more to supply the showers, supply the porta potties, maintain the grass, and kill off (most of) the ants. :)
 
I'm pretty sure the judges had to make up an award for that Mooney, "Best Unique Paint Scheme". That thing was wild.

The 10 was parked behind me in HBC. It was incredible. And another one of Evoke's craftwork - we tend to recognize who's "in the family".

Congratulations Scott, on your well deserved SNF Outstanding Workmanship Award! Our chapter is proud of you - including as our YE Coordinator.
 
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