Our pleasure, Darwin, sorry we did not get to meet up, but glad you enjoyed the show.
Take care,
Steve
Take care,
Steve
Van's Air Force
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SnF 2022 PIREPS / Photos / etc...
- Thread starter DeltaRomeo
- Start date
Would you mind PM'ing me some details, like arrival date/time, type of aircraft, etc? Lemme see what happened.
Take care,
Steve
Steve,
We had the same experience. We ended up in Overflow Camping which is a cow pasture. $420 for two nights camping, two days at the show. We were offered the same gravel pit but declined. We arrived via car on Tuesday afternoon about 5pm.
We walked down to Homebuilt Camping Thursday morning and found it was as nice as previous years with a full time host (Mary Jo?) a large tent and meals available every day. Same crappy showers as everywhere on site (try shaving or putting on makeup). Why HBC isn't mentioned or featured on the website I've never understood. If we should ever return (not likely) it will only be to HBC!
The time for my forum in the program was different than the time confirmed to me that I publicized. I emailed SNF about this when I arrived but as of today still no reply or apology.
Minor complaint, but the trailer where you purchase your camping and admission sits up high off the ground, so you stand with your head at the height of the bottom of the window. I find that degrading and simple elevated walkway would solve the problem. I was also told a couple times at the registration trailer that "we don't make the rules, we just have to enforce them".
Jim Butcher
We had the same experience. We ended up in Overflow Camping which is a cow pasture. $420 for two nights camping, two days at the show. We were offered the same gravel pit but declined. We arrived via car on Tuesday afternoon about 5pm.
We walked down to Homebuilt Camping Thursday morning and found it was as nice as previous years with a full time host (Mary Jo?) a large tent and meals available every day. Same crappy showers as everywhere on site (try shaving or putting on makeup). Why HBC isn't mentioned or featured on the website I've never understood. If we should ever return (not likely) it will only be to HBC!
The time for my forum in the program was different than the time confirmed to me that I publicized. I emailed SNF about this when I arrived but as of today still no reply or apology.
Minor complaint, but the trailer where you purchase your camping and admission sits up high off the ground, so you stand with your head at the height of the bottom of the window. I find that degrading and simple elevated walkway would solve the problem. I was also told a couple times at the registration trailer that "we don't make the rules, we just have to enforce them".
Jim Butcher
Thanks guys, and I'm sorry to get this info, I will be passing these on in our After Action Reports. Please give me as much info as you can (date of arrival/departure, where you stayed, etc.), a generic "It SUCKED!!" is of little use to me. Trust me, no one intentionally tries to ruin your visit, and without being told about problems, we can't fix them!
Jim, you stayed in Donnaville, she's one of the nicest and longest serving people at Sun 'n Fun. HBC is one of the places I love to hang out at after the day is over.
Jim, you stayed in Donnaville, she's one of the nicest and longest serving people at Sun 'n Fun. HBC is one of the places I love to hang out at after the day is over.
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Don't know about the creek, that one is outside my AOA, sorry.
I am told, and saw pictures I wish I could find, that the gator that lives in the pond behind the display buildings made at least one appearance. Luckily it stayed in the water.
Amazon... well... Will I get fired from my volunteer position if I say I agree with the frustration? What the future holds is way beyond my volunteer paygrade, and I'm not going to hazard a guess. Read NomadLand if you REALLY want to get angry at Amazon.
I am told, and saw pictures I wish I could find, that the gator that lives in the pond behind the display buildings made at least one appearance. Luckily it stayed in the water.
Amazon... well... Will I get fired from my volunteer position if I say I agree with the frustration? What the future holds is way beyond my volunteer paygrade, and I'm not going to hazard a guess. Read NomadLand if you REALLY want to get angry at Amazon.
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n82rb
Well Known Member
I had my doubts, but decided to give the show one more chance this year. I really didn't expect to much improvement over the last time I went in 2019. good thing I didn't expect much because they delivered even less than expected. first. no improvement in HB parking at all, still a mud pit in the middle of nowhere with no amenities at all. It still makes me mad that we were moved to the middle of nowhere, but its good to see that you can camp in your 1973 c-172 a lot closer to the main area than homebuilt parking is. again, it shows me that they do not want homebuilts there anymore. they made it so hard to even get the free hat that I said, screw it. you had to fill out your registration in HB but that wasn't good enough, so you had to go to another building to fill out another form and then go to the pilots "un welcome" tent to get your hat, it wasnt worth the trouble.
tram service as poor as usual and I ended up walking back and forth as usual. a few vendors lost out as I was not ready to carry a couple of cases of oil all the way to HB.
this year seemed to have the most empty stalls in the buildings that I can remember and the most non aviation related **** ever. how many pianos, old man motorcycles, and massage chairs did they sell?
ground ATC was the worst I have ever seen. they held about 30 aircraft on the west end inbound to cross the main runway while they launched two jets and the b-29, they had everything held up for arrivals for 20 minutes to get that done. leaving they stopped me short of the runway for 10 minutes, with nothing coming or going, then decided to change to launching mid field. with nobody knowing what was going on. i sat there for 20 minutes watching my CHTs rise while nothing moved on the airport. it was clear the left hand did not know what the right hand was doing.
the only good thing was the volunteers did a great job as usual, even though it was very apparent that the powers that be did not give them the tools they needed to do the job.
I am even more convince that the days of a fly in are over, and that it is just a profit center for the education program. if thats what they want, great. but Im done with SNF. I gave them another chance and they once again proved that my homebuilt is not really wanted at their show. I believe a good number of the homebuilt community feels likewise, as the number of homebuilts on the field was pretty dismal. so I will from now on keep my money and not attend. with amazon expanding, and the constant stoppage of the show for their aircraft to come and go, combined with the leaderships decisions that are driving off the homebuilt community, this event is doomed as far as im concerned.
bob burns
RV-4 n82RB
tram service as poor as usual and I ended up walking back and forth as usual. a few vendors lost out as I was not ready to carry a couple of cases of oil all the way to HB.
this year seemed to have the most empty stalls in the buildings that I can remember and the most non aviation related **** ever. how many pianos, old man motorcycles, and massage chairs did they sell?
ground ATC was the worst I have ever seen. they held about 30 aircraft on the west end inbound to cross the main runway while they launched two jets and the b-29, they had everything held up for arrivals for 20 minutes to get that done. leaving they stopped me short of the runway for 10 minutes, with nothing coming or going, then decided to change to launching mid field. with nobody knowing what was going on. i sat there for 20 minutes watching my CHTs rise while nothing moved on the airport. it was clear the left hand did not know what the right hand was doing.
the only good thing was the volunteers did a great job as usual, even though it was very apparent that the powers that be did not give them the tools they needed to do the job.
I am even more convince that the days of a fly in are over, and that it is just a profit center for the education program. if thats what they want, great. but Im done with SNF. I gave them another chance and they once again proved that my homebuilt is not really wanted at their show. I believe a good number of the homebuilt community feels likewise, as the number of homebuilts on the field was pretty dismal. so I will from now on keep my money and not attend. with amazon expanding, and the constant stoppage of the show for their aircraft to come and go, combined with the leaderships decisions that are driving off the homebuilt community, this event is doomed as far as im concerned.
bob burns
RV-4 n82RB
I'm sorry to hear that, Bob. I highly encourage you to contact SnF directly with your feedback, I'm afraid your comments are way beyond what I can reply to.
Had a great time in Home Built Camping
We chose to avoid the rain; we spent the night at Cedar Key Had to eat seafood
and flew in early Friday morning.
HBC is the place to be. Mary Jane and her crew takes care of us. Donations buy drinks and food for the hospitality tent and Mary Jane's crew coordinates it all.
Nothing like that at Oshkosh. Oshkosh does do better for the showers, both trailers and brick and mortar. That is the one area that needs improvements at SnF. We need better showers near HBC. Warm water would be nice also.
Hopkinsville, KY - Lewisburg, TN - Moultrie, GA - Cedar Key, FL - Lakeland, FL (KHVC-KLUG-KMGR-KCDK-KLAL) 4.2 hrs flight time
Lakeland, FL - Moultrie, GA - Lewisburg, TN - Hopkinsville, KY (KLAL-KMGR-KLUG-KLAL) 4.4 hrs flight time
Want to see all of my SnF 2022 pictures click on this Google Photo Album:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/zL9yeJ7ysseJPv5u7
Here are a few of my pictures from HBC.
We chose to avoid the rain; we spent the night at Cedar Key Had to eat seafood
and flew in early Friday morning. HBC is the place to be. Mary Jane and her crew takes care of us. Donations buy drinks and food for the hospitality tent and Mary Jane's crew coordinates it all.
Nothing like that at Oshkosh. Oshkosh does do better for the showers, both trailers and brick and mortar. That is the one area that needs improvements at SnF. We need better showers near HBC. Warm water would be nice also.
Hopkinsville, KY - Lewisburg, TN - Moultrie, GA - Cedar Key, FL - Lakeland, FL (KHVC-KLUG-KMGR-KCDK-KLAL) 4.2 hrs flight time
Lakeland, FL - Moultrie, GA - Lewisburg, TN - Hopkinsville, KY (KLAL-KMGR-KLUG-KLAL) 4.4 hrs flight time
Want to see all of my SnF 2022 pictures click on this Google Photo Album:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/zL9yeJ7ysseJPv5u7
Here are a few of my pictures from HBC.
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Mary Jane and crew did in fact do a great job. But I want to highlight that the first part of the week was handled by her CO-CHAIR (oops, forgot her name). She and her husband are from Canada. She was running things like clockwork when we arrived on Monday.
No request went unhandled.
No request went unhandled.
bullojm1
Well Known Member
Let's give credit where credit is due! Heidi Mogg is the Homebuild Camping Chairwoman and has been for the last 2+ SNF's.
Mary Jane is the co-chair this year, but was the chairwoman for many many years.
Without their hospitality, I most likely would not attend SNF. They set the bar so high! I received text messages from both Heidi and Mary Jane throughout the week wondering where I was, if I needed anything from the store, and made sure I had my steak/salmon order in! It was great reconnecting with my favorite two ladies of SNF after a 3 year hiatus. Can't wait to see their smiles next year.
By all means!
Yes Mike, Heidi Mogg deserves the high fives. I’m a little behind. I did not get to make it last year and didn’t pay enough attention this year to who was doing what. Thanks Heidi!
I did notice the nice floor under the tent, I remember when it was a sloppy mess under the tent.
It is very nice having that area to go to and not having to worry about food.
Yes Mike, Heidi Mogg deserves the high fives. I’m a little behind. I did not get to make it last year and didn’t pay enough attention this year to who was doing what. Thanks Heidi!
I did notice the nice floor under the tent, I remember when it was a sloppy mess under the tent.
It is very nice having that area to go to and not having to worry about food.
Mary Jane was HBC host when we last flew in. The experience was wonderful! Last year and this year we looked on the website to see if HBC still had the same features, especially food and shelter. There is no info on the website!
HBC makes it worthwhile to attend but even as good as it is, the changes and emphasis of the show make it very doubtful we’ll attend or conduct a forum again.
Too bad SNF doesn’t have a feedback link on the website.
Jim Butcher
HBC makes it worthwhile to attend but even as good as it is, the changes and emphasis of the show make it very doubtful we’ll attend or conduct a forum again.
Too bad SNF doesn’t have a feedback link on the website.
Jim Butcher
YES!! It was Heidi! Awesome.
Thanks for the memory refresh. Late night. Early morning. The first coffee. The last snack. She was “Heidi on the spot.”.
Let's give credit where credit is due! Heidi Mogg is the Homebuild Camping Chairwoman and has been for the last 2+ SNF's.
Mary Jane is the co-chair this year, but was the chairwoman for many many years.
Without their hospitality, I most likely would not attend SNF. They set the bar so high! I received text messages from both Heidi and Mary Jane throughout the week wondering where I was, if I needed anything from the store, and made sure I had my steak/salmon order in! It was great reconnecting with my favorite two ladies of SNF after a 3 year hiatus. Can't wait to see their smiles next year.
Thanks for the memory refresh. Late night. Early morning. The first coffee. The last snack. She was “Heidi on the spot.”.
sbalmos
Well Known Member
I'll post as an SnF first-timer and say I had a relatively good time. Absolutely Heidi and Mary Jane were THE BEST, hands down. Heidi's other half, Victor, will absolutely talk your ear off. And I know I had some good times chatting away with a number of you - probably without even knowing who you were. Aside from Greg. It was the first time camping with my plane, and the first time camping /at all/ since... probably junior high? We won't say how many years ago that was.
Amazon... yeah... that's going to be a problem. I won't talk any further on that. 5:30am wake up call. sigh.
The trams are a little less than on par with Oshkosh. No set of trams are going to be everyone's preference, and of course there's never a tram where you want it, when you want it. The routes were fine I think. I just don't think the stops are nearly as coordinated or marked - lots of random stopping for people to get on/off wherever. And honestly I had a good laugh on a few of them where you could tell it was a family affair - the college-age grandson conductor was the one who knew what the route was and when to stop, while the grandfather in the driver's seat was arguing away not knowing what to do.
Honestly what I think is a detractor is the fence around the core. Get outside the fence, and there's no encouragement for visitors to see anything more. Vintage, homebuilts, even Paradise City feel completely disconnected from the rest of the show. And why is security asking to see my wristband on the way /OUT/? I never understood that one. I was asked probably 4 times walking /OUT/ of the core to show my wristband, but only once on the way /IN/.
The food choices were infinitely better than Oshkosh, regardless of the wallet-raping prices. It's a show, what do you expect? Go to your major league sports event and tell me the prices aren't insane there too. But back to Heidi and Mary Jane for a moment - having all the snacks, drinks, and the dinners there for us... AWESOME. Unexpectedly AWESOME.
I'm reading what I think I'll just consider is hindsight-tinted perfectionism, the same that I read every year after every Oshkosh too. Win some, lose some. I volunteer at Oshkosh quite a bit, and if/when I come back to SnF again I'll volunteer there too. Don't know about staying for the whole week at SnF - I didn't have nearly as much I needed/wanted to cover at SnF as I do at OSH. At the very least, it was a nice spring break week away from the (home) office, not having to deal with work. Mission accomplished there.
It was the first time camping with my plane, and the first time camping /at all/ since... probably junior high? We won't say how many years ago that was.Amazon... yeah... that's going to be a problem. I won't talk any further on that. 5:30am wake up call. sigh.
The trams are a little less than on par with Oshkosh. No set of trams are going to be everyone's preference, and of course there's never a tram where you want it, when you want it. The routes were fine I think. I just don't think the stops are nearly as coordinated or marked - lots of random stopping for people to get on/off wherever. And honestly I had a good laugh on a few of them where you could tell it was a family affair - the college-age grandson conductor was the one who knew what the route was and when to stop, while the grandfather in the driver's seat was arguing away not knowing what to do.
Honestly what I think is a detractor is the fence around the core. Get outside the fence, and there's no encouragement for visitors to see anything more. Vintage, homebuilts, even Paradise City feel completely disconnected from the rest of the show. And why is security asking to see my wristband on the way /OUT/? I never understood that one. I was asked probably 4 times walking /OUT/ of the core to show my wristband, but only once on the way /IN/.
The food choices were infinitely better than Oshkosh, regardless of the wallet-raping prices. It's a show, what do you expect? Go to your major league sports event and tell me the prices aren't insane there too. But back to Heidi and Mary Jane for a moment - having all the snacks, drinks, and the dinners there for us... AWESOME. Unexpectedly AWESOME.
I'm reading what I think I'll just consider is hindsight-tinted perfectionism, the same that I read every year after every Oshkosh too. Win some, lose some. I volunteer at Oshkosh quite a bit, and if/when I come back to SnF again I'll volunteer there too. Don't know about staying for the whole week at SnF - I didn't have nearly as much I needed/wanted to cover at SnF as I do at OSH. At the very least, it was a nice spring break week away from the (home) office, not having to deal with work. Mission accomplished there.
