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SnF Costs - is this right?

N941WR

N941WR

Legacy Member
After doing a bit of searching around on the SnF web site I found the following prices:

$30 a day, per person, entrance fee
$25 a night per aircraft for camping fee (Same as if I brought in a motor home, just a lot smaller with fewer people.)

All I have to say is :eek:

So for the three days and two nights I will be there it will cost me $140. Man, that is a lot of 100LL.

Tell me again why I want to go?
 
$$$

Let's see. How much did I pay the last time I took my wife out for a movie and some popcorn? Of course putting together an airshow with top talent and 600 vendors is different, but is it really worth $30?
 
Grandy,

If I remember correctly, WE, as in the homebuilders are the show at SnF and OSH. Why not charge Dad and the kids who drive in to visit the money and let us pay for 100LL to get there and display our planes?
 
N941WR said:
After doing a bit of searching around on the SnF web site I found the following prices:

$30 a day, per person, entrance fee
$25 a night per aircraft for camping fee (Same as if I brought in a motor home, just a lot smaller with fewer people.)

All I have to say is :eek:

So for the three days and two nights I will be there it will cost me $140. Man, that is a lot of 100LL.

Tell me again why I want to go?
Click to expand...

Isn't the whole idea of having an airplane to use it to go places and see interesting things? I'd say that after spending $50k or more to build an airplane and $50-100/hr to fly the thing, $140 for a couple of days at a fly-in ain't a bad deal.

I've never regretted one dollar I spent attending SnF, Osh, or any other fly-in.

I wish I could say that about all my endeavors.
 
Ok, ok, I give up...

I'm just trying to watch our expenses these days. I guess I'll have to tell the wife she needs to pick up a few extra days at the clinic so I can continue to surf the web and fly.

Roberta, are you going to make it this year? Have you started your RV-3 yet?
 
Bill, I'll send you a buck toward your "Get Bill an airplane engine and send him to SnF fund" :D
 
I agree with you, Bill. The airplanes are what draws the people. To not get a significant break (at least on the camping fees) is pretty silly. Other than a couple port-a-potties, it doesn't cost them anything. I can camp at Mt. Rainier or Yellowstone for a lot less than that!
 
Good Luck!

:eek:4 years ago, 2 friends and I with an A-36 spent near 250 at the gate the first day after coming in at dark the eve before. Left EARLY the next morning!!??
 
alpinelakespilot2000 said:
I agree with you, Bill. The airplanes are what draws the people. To not get a significant break (at least on the camping fees) is pretty silly. Other than a couple port-a-potties, it doesn't cost them anything. I can camp at Mt. Rainier or Yellowstone for a lot less than that!
Click to expand...

I have no first hand knowledge on the costs of putting together SnF or Oshkosh. That said, both are huge events and require a tremendous amout of support and organization. I imagine their expenses include:

Staff Costs
Campground facilities - purchase cost and upkeep.
Porta Potties.
Adverstising.
Printing expenses
Equipment Rental (Trailers, canopies, vehicles, etc.)
Insurance.
General maintenance (cutting the grass, for instance) on the grounds.
Fencing.
Security
Facilities (Display halls, forum spaces, etc.)
Appearance fees for airshow acts and/or speakers.
Shuttles and Buses
Waste Disposal
Emergency Services (e.g. medical tent).

In addition, both the EAA (Osh) and SnF (certain Florida EAA Chapters IIRC) use their fly-ins as a fundraiser. I can't really object to either organization making a buck off me to further their aviation related pursuits.
 
Go to the Bahamas

Walk along a nice beach. Take your shoes off and wade in the water.

Or go to Sun N Fun.

Or try Key West.
 
This is the best deal in town

Thanks for reminding me. I just swapped over to the SNF site to order my click-n-print ticket. It cost me $150 for the whole week. All year I work hard to pay the bills, send the kids to college and buy a few airplane parts. I have no problem spending $150 (plus fuel, food and hotel) for a week of incredible fun. One year at Sun-N-Fun I was on warbird row admiring a beautiful P-51. Next to me was another pilot, dressed in a t shirt and shorts, just like me, admiring the same Mustang. We exchanged a few words about the beauty of this bird when I noticed I had been talking to Apollo Astronaut Frank Borman. And he is only one of the hundreds of amazing people I have met at Sun-N-Fun. The people, the planes, the technology, the education, the comraderie, are all amazing. Don't whine to me about the $150 it costs for this one week each year. As far as I am concerned, LAL and OSH are sacred places. I thank God we have these wonderful events each year. I hope to see you there!
 
Last year, after probably 20 years of driving into Oshkosh, I flew in. I never regretted a cent I spent on camping, admission, or anything else during those 20 years. I would have been kinda upset to have had to pay to park my plane there last year, I'll admit. I camped in the campground with friends who drove in and paid my share there, too. I just don't think you should have to pay if you are providing the attraction, and RV's and other "show planes" are the attraction. I wouldn't mind paying if I camped with the plane--I know that costs.

Bob Kelly
 
Be careful of camping as they will charge you for the cost of the entire week! Learned the hard way the first week I went, like $100 for one night in a tent!

Best deal by far is to volunteer. I do it every year as a homebuilt aircraft judge. Work 4 four hour days, free admission, free camping, free food and GREAT times with all the aviation nuts. All it costs me is Beer and gas for the camper.

Highly recommend it.

Bob
 
The price did seem to go up quite a bit. I guess it has to be that way. I know last year there was a small discount for Florida residents (which was a larger discount than belonging to the EAA), and I saw that on Friday, being an AOPA member got you half off for the day.
 
Expect more empty booths this year... I know of a few vendors who are not coming because the booth rates have skyrocketed this year.
 
Think of it this way....

If you fly anywhere (except to stay with friends), you'll have to stay somewhere to sleep. Except for camping at a stellar national park (as mentioned above) for less, where else are you going to go? Wallyworld? And what are you going to do when you get there? Hang out in the FBO for a few days? No, usually you go eat somewhere find something to do, all of which cost money, and the crew car is only good for 30 minutes, so you'll end up renting a car, which even with a crusher deal, you're up to $150 already without lodging or entertainment.

To see everything at OSH or SnF, you don't ever need a rental car.

To me, the opportunity to get together with thousands of plane-heads for a week for the low cost of $150 plus food and beer is a really cheap vacation. Have you spent $ to stay at a decent hotel near a major attraction/city lately? You'll blow close to $150/night....even at a Motel 6 for a week you'll be over $150.

But at SnF or oSH, you get to gaze at north of 200RV's, other kitplanes, dozens of warbirds, tons of beautifully restored antique airplanes, watch a daily airshow, visit the vendor booths, and get acquainted with all the folks you meet on this website.
This year the T-birds are performing on Friday and Saturday.

Before we get all worked up thinking that we little RV's 'are the show', at SnF we are part of a gaggle of close to 7000 planes. Better yet, think of our brothers in warbirds, the ships everyone wants to see. They don't get paid to fly there, in their 30 GPH AT-6, or 70GPH P-51's. And, they have to work with the FAA to get there, as they are limited to a 300Nm radius of their home field unless they file for permission.

To me, it's cheap at twice the price.

But, that's just me, I'll go anywhere to see thousands of aircraft and pilots flying in one place. But, you don't have to go...we'll miss you, but we understand.

Art Treff
N666AT
RV-8 Fastback
 
Makes me wonder if having EAA national pull its support for the regional events had anything to do with it.

Insurance costs????
 
no longer family friendly

Costs at fly in's just seem to increase. When our kids were little we made the yearly trek to the mecca of airplanes (oshkosh). We took the extended family-grandparents etc. We camped and had a great time. Since then costs have skyrocketed. They price the airshow as they would a weekend event that people go to for one day. Food costs on site are priced similarly. I made a comment at Oshkosh regarding the vendors and costs of food and drinks a couple of years ago to an official. The reply was that they have a hard time getting enough food vendors to fill the need for all the people. I guess it was an eye opener for me.
I too agree that the homebuilts make the show and think that some accomodation in pricing would be nice if a plane flies in.
I think due to the prices, fly-ins are no longer family friendly.
 
OK, what am I missing here. If I go on-line to buy the tickets, log-in with my eaa membership number, a week long pass is $90 for me and a guest. NOT $150.

Am I missing something?
 
AltonD said:
OK, what am I missing here. If I go on-line to buy the tickets, log-in with my eaa membership number, a week long pass is $90 for me and a guest. NOT $150.

Am I missing something?
Click to expand...
That is true but since we are flying in VFR I'm not going to pre-buy my pass as the weather might not allow us to fly on our scheduled dates. In that case, I wold be out the $90 and not even move the plane out of the hangar.
 
I am doing a double-post here because of a similar thread I responded to. I'll let the moderators sort it out!

My first experience flying in and camping at SNF was last year. IIRC as my son and I were unloading the plane, we were accosted/mugged/approached by a couple SNF staffers in a minivan. They asked how long we planned to be there and charged us accordingly. We stayed two nights and were charged about $80 total, I think. That included camping real estate, admission to the event (armbands), two souvenier pins, and a SNF baseball hat for my son. We did get somewhat of a discount because he was 11 y/o at the time.
Overall, not a bad deal IMO
 
It has been a long time since I camped at LAL. The last time I did, they charged me for the entire event, regardless of my plans. If I left early, they would give a refund for the camping fee.
 
Ya gotta pay to play...

atreff said:
To me, the opportunity to get together with thousands of plane-heads for a week for the low cost of $150 plus food and beer is a really cheap vacation. Have you spent $ to stay at a decent hotel near a major attraction/city lately? You'll blow close to $150/night....even at a Motel 6 for a week you'll be over $150.

But at SnF or oSH, you get to gaze at north of 200RV's, other kitplanes, dozens of warbirds, tons of beautifully restored antique airplanes, watch a daily airshow, visit the vendor booths, and get acquainted with all the folks you meet on this website.
This year the T-birds are performing on Friday and Saturday.

Before we get all worked up thinking that we little RV's 'are the show', at SnF we are part of a gaggle of close to 7000 planes. Better yet, think of our brothers in warbirds, the ships everyone wants to see. They don't get paid to fly there, in their 30 GPH AT-6, or 70GPH P-51's. And, they have to work with the FAA to get there, as they are limited to a 300Nm radius of their home field unless they file for permission.

To me, it's cheap at twice the price.

But, that's just me, I'll go anywhere to see thousands of aircraft and pilots flying in one place. But, you don't have to go...we'll miss you, but we understand.

Art Treff
N666AT
RV-8 Fastback
Click to expand...

Thanks Art! I was getting a little tired of the wanking. The ugly truth is things cost more. I'm not a "stick and ball" guy, but I just read a news item that the price of a major league baseball ticket went up 10 to 26% this year (to an average of over $40.) Any of us that have bought fuel or a loaf of bread understands inflation. I also doubt that many people go to OSH just to see my RV8. I really don't mind paying the price to be part of "the magic."

John Clark
RV8 N18U "Sunshine"
KSBA
 
Well, I've not gone to any of these events because of time constraints (hope to do so eventually), but I have to agree with most posters that it is a reasonable price for the entertainment, particularly if you compare it to other entertainment costs. Having been involved with several similar types of events, it is surprising how the costs build up. I'm sure that nobody is making a killing (probably not even a good living wage) on these events. As to being part of the show, that's part of the magic. Who wouldn't want to show off their handiwork and compare to what others are doing.

I personally wouldn't hesitate for a minute about the prices.

greg
 
Kyle Boatright said:
I have no first hand knowledge on the costs of putting together SnF or Oshkosh. That said, both are huge events and require a tremendous amout of support and organization. I imagine their expenses include:

Staff Costs
Campground facilities - purchase cost and upkeep.
Porta Potties.
Adverstising.
Printing expenses
Equipment Rental (Trailers, canopies, vehicles, etc.)
Insurance.
General maintenance (cutting the grass, for instance) on the grounds.
Fencing.
Security
Facilities (Display halls, forum spaces, etc.)
Appearance fees for airshow acts and/or speakers.
Shuttles and Buses
Waste Disposal
Emergency Services (e.g. medical tent).

In addition, both the EAA (Osh) and SnF (certain Florida EAA Chapters IIRC) use their fly-ins as a fundraiser. I can't really object to either organization making a buck off me to further their aviation related pursuits.
Click to expand...

Don't forget all the tents, tables, chairs, flooring, golf carts and so on. I supplied the tents and flooring to Sun N Fun back in the mid 90s. They were a bear to work with, They wanted top notch service for bottom drawer prices. I got fed up with it so the last time they asked me to bid the job I doubled my prices so I wouldn't have to do it anymore.

We also rented tents to the individual outdoor vendors, however they black balled me from doing that anymore. Up until last year the quality of the tents supplied to the outdoor vendors was terrible. Last year they switched to a company from Michigan to supply the ALL the tents. So the outdoor vendors were forced to rent from a guy trucking his tents all the way from up north. I'm sure they are forcing the vendors to pay way too much on top of increased booth rates. Tell me somebody isn't getting a kickback from that!

Oh yeah your right and wrong about the staff. They get 100s of volunteers to set up and run the event. While they have a year round staff on the payroll with some of them earning six figures.
 
Remember.. ALMOST all of the help is volunteers, as well as some (or most of the equipment). They have essentially killed off the fly market and small vendors. Unfortunately we have lost the essence of the reason and foundation of the original Sun & Fun. Having said that, there are significant improvements in the facilities. It would be interesting to see the books of the organization that now owns and controls Sun & Fun.
 
N941WR said:
After doing a bit of searching around on the SnF web site I found the following prices:

$30 a day, per person, entrance fee
$25 a night per aircraft for camping fee (Same as if I brought in a motor home, just a lot smaller with fewer people.)

All I have to say is :eek:

So for the three days and two nights I will be there it will cost me $140. Man, that is a lot of 100LL.

Tell me again why I want to go?
Click to expand...


I believe the camping fee is way out of line. Underwing should be about $10 since you are not consuming any more space or services.
I was going to stay over night but decided I can fly back to my house in 15 mins and sleep in my own bed and fly back in the morning for < $25.

The $30 entrance fee is justified as I know I can get back > $30 in savings on the stuff I buy. Lots of great deals.
 
SnF and OSH thoughts

I have flown to each event twice.

I am more convinced each time that flying into either event is not worth the effort. Last year, I went down to SnF with a friend and we landed at an outlying airport (Zephyr Hills), got a cheap hotel room and a rental car. Shared between us it was about the same price as camping would have been.

Also we got to eat where we wanted to (off the field), sleep in real beds, shower without a hassle etc.

And I liked the safety aspect. When you fly into LAL, it is always hectic (and OSH can be worse). Last year at OSH I had to do a last minute go around on landing when a P-51 pulled onto the runway in front of me. When you depart, you get in a LONG line and there is no easy place to go through your checklist and do a proper run-up.

There also seems to be a fair amount of pilots that are not familar with the NOTAMs doing stuff like flying at the wrong altitude, entering the LAL area and jumping in line in the middle, replying to controllers on the ground etc.

Oh, did I mention the miles of taxiing that seems to be the norm at both places.

I don't mean to sound negative, I really still enjoy both events. While I will definitely continue to attend each event, I will almost for sure not be flying into either LAL or OSH.
 
One Time is OK

If you haven't been to Sun 'n' Fun it is worth the expense. When you pull off into the grass and taxi to a tiedown it is a high power task. They used to control the tiedown area limiting access to pilots and crews but I understand that has changed. To go twice indicates that there is something about the event that is special to you. I've made my trip and unless they reinstitute the Sun 100 I do not intend to return. There is simply nothing interesting about event for me. If you have children or if you have friends there and enjoy the good fellowship among like minder folks it may be a wonderful experience that you just have to repeat year after year. I have seen airshows since the Blue Angels flew straight wing Panthers and I am over it. $140 is better spent on fuel to fly to some new adventure.

Bob Axsom
 
Last year!!!

Last year we made a last minute decision to stop working on the 9A and drive down to SnF (1500 miles)to see vendors and friends. Not having made any hotel reservations, we took our conversion van which can be configured to have a bed in the back. According to SnF on line, there was an area there that you could camp in and pay an overnight fee of $20 per night, as opposed to making RV reservations ahead of time. When I got to the parking area, non of the parking people seem to know where this transient area was, and since I was blocking a long line of cars behind me, I just parked in the normal parking area. After the show, I got on Route 4 east, and went for about 15 miles to a rest area. Spend the night there, had washrooms close by. Drove back to the show in the morning before stopping for breakfast on the way. Did that for 2 nights...No charge, just a bit of gas....
Hope this might help some of you drivers..
Jack
RV9A
N99552
 
Hi All,

My wife and me are going from Chile to SNF for the first time, I am building a RV-8(finishig wings) and I want to buy the engine at the event.
We will be arriving at Orlando on monday 7th. We do not have reservation for hotel or car, we will be looking for everything just in site.
As we know probably there is no more rooms available at lakeland, I ask you for a good advise about where to stay not so far from LAL so I could drive in less than an hour.

Happy flyings and see you at SNF:D

Maca & Fernando
 
Welcome!!!

Airbuspilot------cant help you with the S/F thing, but would like to welcome you to VAF.

Good luck on your quest.
 
It's a lot of work

Never been to SnF but OSH twice and Arlington too many times to list. Given the price of the everything (relative), 140.00 is not a lot of money. Look at it this way. If your building still, 140.00 is worth it if you come out of the airshow with a pile of new ideas/products to buy or use on your plane. Everytime I have went to the airshows, I come out of there with a lot of information on what I can do with my airplane flying or project. Also, if you are in the market to buy something, airshows can offer deals on certain products. I bought my interior for my RV-6 for 750.00 back when Oregon Aero was just starting up. Now they are selling the same interior for about 2K:eek: So I saved there. I also know people who VOLUNTEER their time and energy to make it happen so that we can fly and land our airplanes at an airshow, direct you to park and get you back out on the taxi ways so you can leave. The airshows usually pay for their meals for the day so think of your fee as a donation to the people who put in the time. Next, the insurance liability of an airshow is almost prohibitive anymore. Arlington almost did not happen for this very reason alone. A gentlemen crashed his RV one year because he forgot to take the seatbelt off his controls that he was using for a control lock. His family sued the Arlington airshow saying that he died because of the lack of response from the fire crew not getting there in time to put out the inferno that erupted from his airplane being just filled with gas.
I would agree in some aspects that airshows are getting expensive and they need to give the pilots who fly into them a break on fees since they are part of the airshow. Imagine if we all quit flying to them, it would be just a bunch of vendors. However, 140.00 is not too bad put in perspective of the grand scheme of things IMHO.
 
SnF

Airbuspilot:

Renting a car at Orlando should be no problem. There are usually motel rooms available at Kissimmee which a bit closer to Lakeland. Probably 30 minutes or so.

Get up early and get to Lakeland before the local traffic builds up. Since you're arriving on the 7th you should be there and be familiar with the area before the big rush later in the week.

I have an RV-8 flying. I will be there most of the week I hope. I will be flying into Tampa as I will be staying with friends there. I too will rent a car and drive back and forth.

Send me an e-mail and I will give you my cell phone number. Maybe we can meet and exchange "War Stories".
 
staying in Orlando

Airbuspilot,

I am an 8A builder who lives in Orlando. Mannan is correct. You should have no trouble renting a car at the Orlando Airport. Kissimmee is a good recommendation for a place to stay. There are lots of other areas between Orlando and Lakeland where you can find a hotel room if Lakeland is full, which is likely.

Bartow, Winter Haven, Aburndale, are a few suggestions. If you want to get a seaplane rating while you are in town, Jack Browns seaplane base in Winter Haven can do that for you in two days. I think they are very busy during sun and fun because a lot of people who come to sun and fun make that arrangement with them.

If you want to do the tourist thing at Disney World, consider staying in the tourist area on International Drive. That area is on the west side of Orlando between Orlando and Sun and Fun. It takes my 45 min to an hour to drive from downtown Orlando to Sun and Fun. It would take less from International Drive.

If you stay in Orlando and want an inexpensive hotel/motel, stay off Orange Blossom Trail. It is a high crime area.

Let me know if there is any other information that you need that I can help with.
 
It seems like a bargain to me. I would pay $100 just to have the chance to get a SnF ticket for $140. But then again I`m crazy. I live in England, where AVGAS is now >$11 / gal.
I would imagine that considering how much it costs us to own / build / run an aircraft every year, $140 makes zero impact on the flying budget.
But then again I`m crazy.
 
SNF costs

I have flown into SNF from Switzerland a couple of times. The entrance fee for the entire event (90 USD?) is about the price of a tank of gas for my Subaru here, so it doesn't seem too bad. Just checked flights - about 900 USD round trip. Hmmmm...
 
my problem is not so much with the cost as with the content. both sun n fun and oshkosh have lost there roots. last year at oshkosh there was only one hardware vendor in the plane mart area. years ago there were tons. The fly mart was a total joke. I can buy outback hats, kids cd's, pots and pans, jewelery, and other **** anywhere. I want to by airplane parts at these events.
I think that EAA as a whole has lost its view, and direction. I think we all need to tell paul that tom is not to big to take behind the wood shed and get EAA back on track. Even van's discussed not coming to snf this year, that alone says that something is wrong.


bob burns
N82RB
 
Sun 'n not that much Fun

I travel from California to Florida every year to go to SNF with my 84 year old dad and his 93 year old buddy (who is still working on a new ultralight!) who live in Sarasota. This year it was very soggy on Tuesday after 4 inches of rain on Sunday and there were a lot of troubles with the parking lots under water and planes parking in wet fields. Made it a challenge and kept attendance low at least on that day.

I noticed a few more missing vendors and was disappointed not to see several people there I'd hoped. Some have said they will only go to Oshkosh because of how SNF is changing. I understand their thinking but I'm not brave enough to deal with the enormous Oshkosh crowds. A couple of smaller vendors mentioned this was their last year as well. For an EAA event it's surprising at how much SNF has tilted toward the big companies and their half million dollar to multi-million dollar planes. The number of experimentals was WAY down over last year although the dicey weather may have had a lot to do with that. LSA aircraft were very much in the spotlight this year. A lot of action around the new RV12,

My dad says this is his last year. It will probably be mine as well.
 
Reasons to go to Sun N Fun...

Just returned, was there since Monday, in campground. Great time, family atmosphere, reasonable cost. Might even go back Sun with the RV6, just for fun. Don't know where some of the $$ numbers and stats are coming from, but looked like a 2 mile long double car line to get in today at 2pm, as I was leaving.....somebody still thinks it's a good deal...

Not going to write a review of Sun N Fun, but still trying to decide which I liked better, the F-16 or the F-18 coming over the campground sideways in full burner at low alt......but then there's always Barnes and Noble or the mall or the public library or a quiet walk in the park somewhere....

Looking forward to OSH in July....
 
Thought I'd throw my two cents in having lived here in Lakeland and been to every snf since the early 80's. I don't want to make this political but there have been major changes since Billy Henderson left. I believe our new team is in pursuit of only the all mighty dollar. I believe Billy saw it in terms of aviation. In past years it has not been a pleasant experience for either the volunteers or vendors. Some volunteers said they would never help again and have not. Some of the things we did in past years have left a lasting impressions and bad press. In talking with some of them this year I think snf has tried to change that image although there were still stories and shortages in some positions. Now to the vendors side which is the money side. What I saw and heard this year makes me very concerned for the future of our great event. We are just nickel and dimming these vendors to death. And some of them are saying enough is enough. One small example is that the vendors have had free wireless internet service so during the day they could get all there orders back to their company's. This year $10.00 a day. Many are just gong to wait to the end of the show and take them home with them. Not only is this bad for their company's but bad for us. I hope that this group of very well paid overseers of our great event can see what is happening and not let it sink to any further depths. We started as a grass root effort and that should never be forgotten. One other thought. Looking around at one of Van's packed forums I asked a couple of people what they thought the average age was in the tent.. 60+ was the answer. If it had been about the RV12 I could have expected that answer but it wasn't. Were are our youth?? I think you know the answer. $$$$
 
changing times

started going to s-n-f at age 17 or 18 im 52 now its a lot different now than then i flew the rv-6 n on thur with my son it was easy to park there were more hot dog stands than planes went to pay and it was $30 bucks apiece
and $25 for tie downs
kind of remindes me of the gov they do what they want with your money and if they need more they just raise your taxes
its a lot different than it use to be lots of sercurity for the pilots to navagate
i think theres a 4 day min if you only camp one night thats why i dont camp any more it was a lot smaller this year as far as attendence who knows maybe next year they will charge us $100 apiece to make up for this year
you would think since were EAA menbers we could get in free
i did get a pretty good burger for $7.00 maybe if they just had an airshow and didnt have to put up with us homebuildersthey could make more money
 
30 to get in, 100$ for my share of fuel. the sweetheart :D on the fuel order golf cart gave us a ride., 5 $ for a cup of lemon aid( he wanted a tip...i gave him one.;) ) 14.00 for a burger 7 shrimp an a bottle of water. They wanted a tip to.:rolleyes: yeah right. then asked to eat quickly so otheres could have my seat.:eek: yeah, i'll be done when im done.:rolleyes: it was still pretty cool, enjoyed seeing the THUNDER BIRDS fun waiting on #5 and 6 to sneek up from out of nowhere. didnt see anyone i knew. was hoping to buy a few folks a beer. not one VAF sighting anywhere.
did see some nice RV's.
 
I was there just for Friday. I am at the expensive stage of building (engine and avionics) so I was on a mission. I got a fair amount of my research done, so that was useful. I was a bit surprised at the marginal customer service by several of the vendors. Several of them seemed more interested in talking with old friends/colleagues than talking to someone with money in hand. A couple of times, after dutifully waiting my turn to talk with a vendor, I was rudely interrupted in mid sentence by someone else just waltzing up. In one case I was talking with a rep at a booth and the *OWNER* comes up and interrupts us mid-sentence to tell the rep not to put the brochures out where people could easily get them. He went on-and-on about people picking them up and not even knowing what they were getting. He did this not once, but TWICE. The rep was very embarassed and said "I guess you can tell who owns the company."

There were very few parts suppliers. One of those (my favorite) had a sign saying this was their last year. Perhaps my interest will shift after I "finish" the plane.

As always, whether SNF is good or bad depends on your mission. While wearing my builder's hat, it is of marginal benefit to me and I thought several times about whether I wanted to go or not. For those that like the airshow and like seeing a wide variety of aircraft it has a lot to offer. It is also a good chance to see the latest innovations.

SNF is later in April (21-26, I think) next year. I hope the guy with the outdoor cooling systems is there! :)
 
I've been attending SNF since 2000.
Not sure if it's because I've been flying my RV for almost 2 years, but I had a different impression this year. I really had nothing to buy this year.

I flew in wed with my son & thursday solo. I did spend a good amount of time with the Trios Avionics group. They offered me all the time I needed to discuss my future interest in their alt hold system. Currently using their EZ-Pilot.
Otherwise, I enjoyed the forums. They were well attended.
The workshops appeared to be lightly attended.
Crowds this year were less than previous years.
The homebuilt parking consumed 10 rows on wed, 13 rows on thursday.

The big dollar planes appeared to have the prime real estate.
LSA's were tucked away from the main exhibit area.

Not sure about the future of SNF but I definately couldn't spend a whole week there.
 
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