The World's Friendliest Fly-in Keeps Up Its Rep

I love the first day I walk into Arlington, each year, and my encounters with every level of the staff I've met over the years...

• "Hey There, Jim... Good to see ya!"
• "How are ya, Zoom?"
• "How's it going, Jimmy?"

It's enough to give a guy a massive ego... to feel so appreciated and so warmly received -- until you realize that this is the way they treat everyone... just one of the winning secrets that makes Arlington such an uncommon pleasure, each and every year. I love this place. I just wish the things that made it so successful were practiced in other parts of the country... if that happened, we might save what appears to be a slowly failing Fly-In network. But then again, that just might happen after all at least where it might most be needed -- more on that... soon.

The second day of Arlington dawned bright, clear, and beautiful... a big change from the day before when the weather gods apparently forgot that Arlington had priority over meteorology. But, Thursday made up for it all... and solid attendance showed that those who wanted to go to this year's NW EAA Fly-in were raring to make the scene. 

Arlington is blessed with a number of regular treasures... an antique-classic community that consistently brings some truly beautiful birds, an active RV contingent who spends more time flying than most nations's air forces, great flying opportunities/facilities for light aircraft (and plenty of pilots to take advantage of it all), and a truly great airshow. This year, they had plenty of that... and much more.

One low note, though, comes with an empty spot on the airshow roster that should have been filled by a great performer by the name of Tom Ellsberg. Ellsberg was lost two weeks ago when his "Oregon Streaker" went down while practicing his aerobatic routine. A great fellow and a truly consummate professional as an airshow performer, the bright blue skies of Arlington will definitely miss his presence in this year's show.

There were a number of newsworthy attendees at Thursday's outing. One of the first customer-built RV-10s was on display in the Van's Aircraft display area... and this is not the only one to be done by customers at this point... the first two having taken to the skies within scant hours of each other -- with both reportedly doing quite well.

The monstrous Lancair mobile display showed up... along with at least two speedy Lancair Columbia 400s, that were usually flying the pattern with easy glee. The new climate control system for the Columbia 350 and 400 is already getting serious consideration as a wanted feature by buyers with homes in hot climes. Lancair is stepping up deliveries to keep up with steady demand and we expect to have some interesting news for you within the next few weeks about the future of this dynamic company. 

Skystar showed up with one of the prettiest Kitfox series 7s I have ever seen. A customer bird; this machine sports the recently introduced new extended baggage area (with extended baggage door, to boot). The extended baggage area can handle some 100 pounds of baggage in the front section and another 20 pounds just behind that. That's serious baggage capability for a two place machine. Frank Miller, of Skystar, says that they are embarking on expanded customer assembly programs, to boot, and we expect that program (like others of its ilk) to be well-received by the solid customer base already in place for one of the most popular SportPlane kits of the last decade.

We've had a chance to use a new headset that is quickly beginning to impress us. Aloft Technologies produces the Clarity Aloft headset... a VERY light assembly that uses a stiff wire frame in a novel configuration to support an exceptionally sophisticated mike and an ingeniously simple, albeit effective, set of earphones that use earpieces that are literally connected to a moldable/compressible foam earpiece (like the foam ear plugs that many aviators use) to provide a seal against outside noise and instill a high-quality audio experience. The assembly actually fits around the head and over one's ears... and weighs but the barest of a few ounces. In mere seconds, you'll pretty much forget it is there. I've used the system on a small piston aircraft and a small jet and the overall effect is tremendously impressive. It is easily one of the most comfy systems I've used, the sound quality is not just adequate but quite outstanding (doing as good a job as many active noise canceling systems even though its sound attenuation system is altogether passive), the mike quality appears to be very good as well, and it fits great under sunglasses, ballcap, what have you. VERY impressive. A full test/eval is already in the works. But... so far, we really like we see (and hear).

We're pleased to note that one of the finest airshow pilots in the world, bar none, is again performing at Arlington. If you've EVER seen Bud Granley perform any of his aerobatic magic in a Fouga, or a Glasair I, or a Glasair III, or a Harvard, or a Yak 55, or a Yak 52, or a GlaStar, or a Breezy (OK, that last one's a joke -- but in Bud's hands, who knows?); you'll know you've seen one of the most consistently talented airshowman we've had the pleasure to know (shown above, cheerfully signing a fan's program). In the last few years, Bud's been performing in a dual Yak act (say that three times, FAST, I dare you), with his son Ross, a former Snowbird pilot and current 737 jock. It's a great routine... grandly performed by two exceedingly gifted aviators.    

If you're in the neighborhood, be sure to drop by Arlington today, for the third day of the five day aerial lovefest... there's a reason it's one of the best fly-ins in the world... but we'd sure like to see you find out for yourself. Stop on by. More info to follow...

FMI: www.nweaa.org