Classic cars and airplanes

Classic cars and airplanes make a fantastic combination. Cheryl and I flew over to H49, Columbia, IL. Sunday for a fly-in and open house, and that’s what we encountered, in addition to the polka music and bratwurst. Of course the Remos attracted all sorts of attention, and we tried to do the right thing and stay there answering questions, but I heard the ’62 Corvette whispering from across the field. The ’62 vette has always been my dream car. It was the first to offer the 327 cu.in 250hp engine, and the last to use the “strait axle.” You gottta love a car that was 100% convertibles. Officially, the ’62 was offered in seven colors, but for my money, the red was the only one to lust after. Although Todd and Buzz drove “Route 66” in a ’60 model, it was still every boy’s fantasy. (That and to be an astronaut, and if you’re under 50 years old you won’t get the reference.) Can you believe it? The base price of a 1962 Corvette was $4038.00. Here’s a confession, I’ve had friends that owned various years of Corvettes, I’ve ridden in them, and even driven a few, but I’ve never even sat in a 1962 model. If the opportunity comes up, I don’t think I will. I have no delusions about ever owning one, (as if I could ever afford it) or owning any other year model for that matter. The truth is, the car is not particularly comfortable, it’s fast, but not as fast as the airplanes I usually fly, and I could never take it to the grocery store for fear of a scratch or ding. But man, it’s a 1962 Vette. Some dreams you just need to keep forever, that will be one of mine. Some dreams you need to share, and that’s where I get back to the Remos. People were looking at my airplane and I knew that to many of them, the GX was their ’62 vette. We went back to the airplane, dutifully handing out literature, and answering questions. I didn’t give a lot of rides Saturday, but of the few I did, I enjoyed Pastor Bob’s best. Bob’s a pilot from way back, and stays in the air these days in his glider. We pitched and rolled, soared without care, and I noticed that the grin on Bob’s faced never left. We’ll be getting together again soon. If you’re interested in seeing some cherry classic cars, visit my friends at: http://www.classiccarstudio.com/home.php

Can I get an AMEN?

CGI, Cape Girardeau airport, is typical of so many general aviation airports these days. Outstanding facilities, and personnel, but it is utilized well below its heyday. Whether it’s the economy, gas prices, or more and more restrictions on private aviation, many U.S. airports are in need of revival. Also, like most airports in a similar state, I get the impression Cape is under appreciated by the citizens and neighboring communities. We took the Remos down there last weekend to attend the Cape Pilots Association fly-in/chili cook-off, and met a great bunch of aviation enthusiast. We ate chili, saw outstanding examples of home built and vintage aircraft, as well as the state of the art light sport variety, and watched a whole bunch of r/c model aircraft. We got a chance to visit with the airport manager, and were impressed with his enthusiasm, and future plans.

Most aircraft/aviation statistics these days will confirm that general aviation is in a decline. Aircraft deliveries, airport operations, and private pilot certifications are all well below the levels only a few short years ago. There is one obvious exception. According to the AOPA:

“Aircraft shipments were behind last year’s figures. A comparison of total U.S. shipments shows 2008 figures to be behind 2007 figures by 11 percent. Focusing exclusively on single-engine piston aircraft for 2008 (277 of the 558) are down compared to 2007 shipments (425 of 628), down 35 percent. Aircraft registration applications for quarter one 2008 were behind when compared to 2007 data (down 12.3 percent). (Note: Only January and February data is available for 2008 aircraft registrations.)

Accident data for the first quarter of 2008 (252 in 2008) shows a decline of 11 percent as compared to the first quarter of 2007 (282 in 2007). Record low fatal general aviation accidents are due to a dedicated commitment to safety by everyone in general aviation.

Sport pilot certificates held data for the first quarter of 2008 shows an increase of 61 percent as compared to the first quarter of 2007 (2,410 more sport pilot certificates).”

Did you see it? Sport pilot certificates increased 61%. That’s why we’re so excited about the Remos GX. Fuel burn averages 3.8 gal/hr in a training environment and only about 5 gal/hr in cruise. Maintenance on a new aircraft is understandably less than a 30 year old aircraft, and with Remos’ safety record, insurance, even for rentals, is very reasonable. Flight schools that understand the trends, and see the possibilities, will begin to embrace light sport aircraft of all varieties. Flight training can be more affordable for the student, and more profitable for the school, and airports like Cape Girardeau will be the ones to lead the revival. Can I get an Amen? Besides, the pilot association has some great chili cooks. If you missed the fly-in this year, don’t dismay. The airport will be hosting a huge air show next year, and you can bet we’ll be there again

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The new GX is here!

It’s been very busy around Gateway Sport these days. We’ve got our demonstrator, and it will be in St. Louis for a couple of weeks before it goes to the flight line at our Atlanta location. If you’ve been waiting to get into a new GX, the time is now, please give me a call so we can schedule your ride.

Cheryl and I actually took a weekend off last week and flew into Branson, Mo. It’s a great trip that we make quite often. We had a special mission this trip, and it involved trying out new restaurants, but let me take it from the beginning. The flight itself was great, and we landed at PLK, Taney Co. Airport at School of the Ozarks. The School of the Ozarks could be a blog in itself, free college education, but that’s a different story. Unfortunately, they don’t have a courtesy car, but there’s an AVIS counter right in the terminal, and you’re going to want to spend a couple of days anyway. They even rent Harleys, if 4 wheels are too many for you. Branson has an amazing amount of things to do, but Cheryl and I always seem to end up at Silver Dollar City for a day or two, and take in a couple of shows. This was the agenda once again, but this time we were planning on all new dining options. It was Montana Mike’s for dinner. Service was good; food was decent, but not as good as Outback. Probably a step up from Lone Star or Ponderosa, but they had this lady come around to take our picture. She came back later with the prints for sale, and key chains with our picture on them. We passed, even though it was a better picture than we usually take.

We had our first breakfast at Chester’s, located at the historic Hillbilly Inn. Cheryl had found out about their “pile-ups” on some internet forum, and decided it sounded interesting. Chester’s is a family operation, and we met Perry and Jason. Perry sat us in the back, with a breathtaking view of the Ozark mountains. It didn't take long to notice the airport was on top of the very next mountain. What a bonus view! The coffee was hot and welcome, the food was great, and plenty as you can see in the picture. Obviously, after trying to put away breakfast, we couldn’t even think about lunch. Odee’s was our choice for dinner. We sampled the homemade potato chips and ribs. It was good, but for BBQ in Branson, our choice is Danna’s.

Sunday’s breakfast was the Belgium Waffle House. They’re only open for breakfast, and was okay, but I left less satisfied than when we use a coupon at IHOP. After the Landing, and some outlet mall shopping, we tried some more BBQ at Shorty Small’s. Either I was real hungry, or it’s my second favorite BBQ in Branson. (Danna’s is closed on Sundays.)

We had thought about stopping at Gaston’s on the way home, but it didn’t work out. That will be another blog later. As for this trip, without doubt, our favorite new restaurant was Chester’s. We’ll definitely be going back. If you get a chance to fly in to Branson, (and what a great trip in a new Remos GX) have some breakfast (we'll be trying their lunch on our next trip) at Chester’s and say hi to Perry for me.

A little review.

I've got lots to cover in this update. First off, it was recently announced on Dan Johnson's site,

http://rlsa.bydanjohnson.com/index.cfm?b=6&m=1, that Remos Aircraft was #1 in new S-LSA registrations for the six months ending August 2008. That's up from #7, and is such an impressive move given the state of the economy, and the sheer number of LSAs on the market. This move speaks volumes about what is important to the U.S. consumer, and confirms Remos as not only the leader in quality, but value. Remos has correctly identified the fact that the U.S. consumer will embrace quality and value for their dollar, and I'm convinced that Remos will continue it's climb in market share.

Which brings me to my next topic. After a little random investigation, we discovered the German POH, publishes a different approach speed than the U.S. POH. Why we were trying to read the German POH, who knows, but we were curious. We decided to contact the German engineer, that we were privaledged to have met and spend some time with in Oshkosh, for an explanation. For those of us that didn't know(or needed reminding), the ultra light rules in Germany are different than the Light Sport Aircraft rules in the U.S. Whereas we have a weight restiction of 1320 lbs. the German restrictions is approximately 1200 lbs. The airframe is identical, however, this difference in MTOW(maximum takeoff weight) is the reason for the differnent speeds in the POH. Weight is one of the factors in determining the stall speed of an aircraft. The angle of attack, will always be the same, but the airspeed at which the aircraft will stall is decreased on the aircraft with the lower weight. Generally, the approach speed of an aircraft, Vref, is determined by applying a factor of 1.3 Vso (stall speed in landing configuration). Therefore, if the 1200 lb. GX is flown at the same Vref speed as the 1320 lb aircraft, it will float much longer on landing. I'm sure this isn't new information to most of us, but it never hurts to get in a little review. The best aviators are always learning more about their aircraft. That's all for now.