Good fly-ins/shows to attend?

[DaleB]

It's getting to the point where my wife is starting to get a little more enthusiastic about the airplane. Now that I have recognizable wings taking shape in the garage she's beginning to think maybe I'm not completely insane after all, and maybe we will actually fly this thing some day. My devious plan is to lure her in by getting her involved in decisions like the paint scheme and interior colors. That, and as soon as it warms up a little I'll have her helping rivet wing skins.

I wanted to go to Sun n Fun, but she can't get any time off work in April - and I know better than to go to Florida without her when it's cold & rainy here. We may go to Sturgis -- errr, I mean Oshkosh -- although I'm sure we'd be able to visit all the vendors we want to see, I'm a little worried about being able to get enough time and attention to actually do any good. Never been, but it sounds like it's pretty busy.

So... are there other similar events where we can 1.) See a lot of RVs to check out what others have done with paint, interiors, panels, etc. and 2.) visit different vendors to see stuff like interiors, harnesses, avionics, EFIS, etc?

[Ironflight]

You're going to find it hard to beat Oshkosh for what you want to do. All the vendors are there, and if you want to find a good time to talk - do it during the airshow, when the vendor buildings empty out quite a bit. Send your wife out to "Area 51" (the great RV parking lot) with a camera and have her shoot pictures of every RV she sees - this will give you great library of paint ideas.

A few years ago, I'd have suggested LOE if you wanted to see 150 RV's in one place at one time, but the attendance has gone down quite a bit in recent years due to a number of factors (unfortunate weather is one of them). The November Petit Jean fly-in drew a huge number this past fall as well. Neither of those is a vendor gathering however.

[DaleB]

Thanks... unless she can finagle a Friday off it looks like we'll have to go to Oshkosh. Neither of us is a big fan of being in large crowds of sweaty people while being dive bombed by flies and mosquitoes big enough to have tail numbers. Don't get me wrong -- I do want to go to Airventure, just wasn't planning to do it this year. I wanted to wait until she was fully hooked first.

[bcondrey]

Dale,

The annual fly-in at BNW is a good one. If the weather cooperates there will be a lot of RVs. In addition, BNW is home to WC Aircraft Works which is a build assist center and sponsors the event, and Cleveland Aircraft Tools.

BNW is near Ames, IA and there are usually a few empty seats headed over. Ask about it at a chapter 80 meeting when the time gets closer. It's usually in late June sometime.

Bob

[bcondrey]

http://wcaircraft.com/boonervday.html

[Frank Smidler]

Originally Posted by DaleB

Thanks... unless she can finagle a Friday off it looks like we'll have to go to Oshkosh. Neither of us is a big fan of being in large crowds .....

Come and hang out at the homebuilt camping area, 90% are RV's and no large crowds to deal with.

[DaleB]

Bob, thanks for the link to the Boone event - that should make a nice little day trip. If we can't hitch a ride in someone's RV, we can take the club 172 or the Harley.

I think we'll plan on making it to Airventure this year. We can take the bike, and there are a few hotel rooms left - even if they are 45+ miles away (unless I want to pay $250 a night for a Motel Six!)

[bcondrey]

Dale,

Check your PMs.

Bob

[mchargmg]

Hi Dale,

See you are in Omaha. The Rocky Mountain Light Sport Expo is held at Front Range Colorado (KFTG) every year. Despite its name, they have quite a few RV's visit, and Colorado is sure a pretty area.

This year it is May 18/19. Looks like it is about 400 miles, so you could cruise down Friday, look around Saturday, go up into the mountains, and be back Sunday!

Cheers

Geoff