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Mt Vernon?

Hi Alan,

I will be flying in from St Louis on Saturday. Last year I had to drive but this year it will be the first of many cross country flights..
 
I'll be driving over there from St. Louis on Saturday. Hope to see some of your aircraft!

Phil (what a great name, I'm a bit biased though),

I'm just getting back into GA after a 7 year hiatus and starting to do some research on building. Was over at 1H0 looking at the High Altitude Flying club a few weeks ago on a Sunday and it looked like there were quite a few RVs and other homebuilts in hangars in various stages of construction. Is this a pretty accurate assessment?
 
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pilotpip said:
it looked like there were quite a few RVs and other homebuilts in hangars in various stages of construction. Is this a pretty accurate assessment?
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There are a few homebuilts at 1H0 but the airport is really known for antiques, especially Wacos (flyin every year in June at 1H0) and Monocoupes (Fly-in every other year at the end of September, coming in a few weeks). On the field there is a great Aircraft Restoration Museum with 4 hangers full of mostly one of a kind stuff.
There are a handful of flying RV on the field. Not sure I know any RVs under construction.
 
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I was there. It was a nice show. I came away with a lot of info and a different perspective than I thought I would.

I don't know how else to put this, but I felt the Vans rep was a complete jerk. I drove 3 hours round trip specifically because I knew they would be there. I previously hadn't been looking at any LSA offerings but after being blown off by the rep there in regards to some of my questions regarding build time, plans, etc which were universal to all aircraft, I walked next door to Rans because the S-7 caught my fiance's eye. While there the vans rep was sitting next to their table, smirking and rolling his eyes as I talked to the very nice Rans people. I also spent another two hours talking to several other manufacturers.

I know I don't look like the typical plane builder or for that matter, ga pilot. I'm in my early 30s and look much younger than I am. I hope it wasn't this because GA needs all the help it can attracting a younger audience if it expects to survive the already huge barriers to entry. I don't know if it was the fact that I wasn't looking at the plane they brought, but whatever it was, it really left a sour taste in my mouth for Vans which is a real shame because the support community here is amazing.
 
pilotpip said:
I was there. It was a nice show. I came away with a lot of info and a different perspective than I thought I would.

I don't know how else to put this, but I felt the Vans rep was a complete jerk. I drove 3 hours round trip specifically because I knew they would be there. I previously hadn't been looking at any LSA offerings but after being blown off by the rep there in regards to some of my questions regarding build time, plans, etc which were universal to all aircraft, I walked next door to Rans because the S-7 caught my fiance's eye. While there the vans rep was sitting next to their table, smirking and rolling his eyes as I talked to the very nice Rans people. I also spent another two hours talking to several other manufacturers.

I know I don't look like the typical plane builder or for that matter, ga pilot. I'm in my early 30s and look much younger than I am. I hope it wasn't this because GA needs all the help it can attracting a younger audience if it expects to survive the already huge barriers to entry. I don't know if it was the fact that I wasn't looking at the plane they brought, but whatever it was, it really left a sour taste in my mouth for Vans which is a real shame because the support community here is amazing.
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There is most certainly another side to this story. Mitch Locke is a personal friend to many of us. He is a very bright man (he is an electrical engineer) and a talented builder (numerous rv's built). I think you will find that the overwhelming opinion of Mitch is not what you just shared. I don't think for one second that your appearance had anything to do with this situation. Judging from your previous rant, I suspect it could have been your attitude??? Many Mitch supporters here pal!
 
I was there - -

What Dave said ! Had a very nice chat with Mitch, and would like to have been there listening.
 
I'm happy to hear that. I was just conveying my experience. I walked around twice. First time at about 10 he was talking to a couple builders asking "how did you do this..." Type questions relating to the fuel tank. I didn't want to interrupt so I took a lap around the inside of the ramp and started by asking if the plane on display was the one in Plane and Pilot, it was. I described my background, why I was thinking an RV-7 would be a good fit, asking questions about the plans and so on.

It was hot and he had probably been standing there talking for a few hours already. That wasn't a rant, it was my observation. I got the feeling from the start that he didn't want to talk to me. The other vendors had a much more welcoming approach.
 
Whatever your experience with the rep was... you won't be dealing with any of them during the build. The plane is still what it is and one chat with a rep is maybe a few minutes. You will be spending years with the build if you are the working kind though.
I had considered the RANS S-19 more than 3.5 years ago and decided to go with the RV-12. First flight is now only weeks out and I don't think I'd be even close to that had I chosen the S-19 back then. She's a very beautiful plane, though, one has to give her that!
 
Mt Vernon LSA Expo

A friend and I flew my RV8A over on Thursday. I thought that Mt Vernon LSA Expo was very well organized and enjoyed it. Was looking at the Blue RV12 and Mitch came out and introduced himself as the East Coast RV Rep. Had a very nice talk with Mitch about his RV14 build and he answered a lot of questions I had about the RV14 engine selection. That was the first time I had meet Mitch and walked away feeling I had a new RV friend.
 
Mitch Lock is one of the nicest, most helpful airplane reps I've ever encountered. I've chatted with him on several occasions, and he is one of the reasons I'm building a 12.

Jerre
 
Some of this forum's "contributors" need to get it through their heads that this is not the place for personal attacks. This situation would have been handled much better had the complainant contacted Van's or better yet, Mitch and talked it over man to man.
 
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