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...