Advance sales are breaking records. People are chomping at the bit to get out and play.
This will be my first time joining a fly in though it will most likely be a day trip on Saturday. Following this thread to see how things are changing on the procedures side of things.
-Read the Notam, read it again, chair fly the arrival, then go to Google Earth and chair fly it, looking for the landmarks. Do it for both 26 and 08. If you have a right seater, make up a checklist for them about where you should report/be to back you up so you can concentrate and flying the airplane. But don't make it overly detailed, keep it simple. (20 out: ATIS 128.25, Monitor Arrival 124.5, Fly northside Lake Parker, 100 kts, 1,200' MSL.)
Here's a link to the 2021 NOTAM, I don't want to promote negative learning but the procedures hardly change year-year.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...TAM-2021.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1y0AZup4MjGP9XbhRYFirj
-Get there early. You'll have the pattern to yourself and won't feel as rushed as later in the day (like after 0900).
Looking forward to having you come. My first fly-in was the California International Airshow, the year the Mig-29 and the Red Arrows were there. (1992?). I read the Notam over and over again, but was still task saturated coming in. If you don't study, it will be hard. If you study and bring your A game, you'll do great, and don't be afraid to tell every pilot you meet that it was your first time. We've all been there.
Is the grass "Wheel-pants friendly"?
We'll have a better feel for the grass the week before the show, but if I was flying in and could (legally) remove my wheelpants, I would. Why look for trouble? And we will never burn the grass off instead of cutting it again.
I haven't seen a NOTAM come out yet. Planning to probably fly down and do the homebuilt camping thing for the first time. I'm assuming that given it's scaled-down from Oshkosh, the facilities and such are tolerable walking distance, looking at the map? Should I even worry about packing anything cold, like for a beer tasting swap or anything?
It depends on what kind of shape you're in, how heat tolerant you are, and how the weather breaks. Using Google maps and making a rough loop around from HBC-vendor booths-flightline-HBC, I'm guessing is about 2 miles, not a bad distance for a relatively healthy person, but a 95F day with 100% humidity will kick anyone's... There are passenger trolleys always moving during the show, but except for motorized mobility devices (wheelchairs, scooters, etc) NO wheeled vehicles are allowed on the field. No bikes, skateboards, hoverboards, etc. allowed on the ramp. I've seen days with multiple medical calls for heat related problems, so I'm a huge advocate for staying hydrated any way you can, and the biggest part of SnF is after the show, when you can walk around and meet other people, look at their planes, swap stories, and a great ice breaker is to swap beers.
To me, the biggest danger at SnF is fire ants. I hate those things. Nuclear weapons are too good for them.
Steve
Sun 'n Fun Air Ops volunteer
I tell people Sun 'n Fun is about 1/3 the size of Oshkosh with a Jimmy Buffett vibe. And when people say "Yahbut at Oshkosh..." I (good naturedly) reply