Planning our Sun 'n Fun pilgrimage.

It's that time of year again, and I'm making our plans for Sun 'n Fun. For the uninitiated, like they say, "It's Like Spring Break for Pilots." There is so much to see and do during the airshow, but getting there can be half the fun. Here's just a couple of options. Out of St. Louis, we have to spend the night in Atlanta. We've got a niece and two nephews we don't see near enough, but there is still time to stop in at M34, Kentucky Dam State Park Airport for lunch. We'll have to decide on picnic, or take the free shuttle to Patti's 1990's settlement. Lunch the next day will be in Savannah at Paula Deens Restaurant. After all, we have to keep Cheryl happy if she's going to spend a week at the air show.
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We'll probably have to make it a day trip, or stop on the way back home, but we'll hit Cedar Key at some point.

Of course, it's possible we have an entirely different itinerary. That's what's so great about traveling in the Remos. Speaking of cross country flying, Aviation Consumer has a very interesting article about using LSA's (Light Sport Aircraft) for travel. Drop me a line, and I'd be happy to send you the text of the article.

Hope to see you in Lakeland,

Jack

Things are bad!!!

The economy is ugly, no doubt about it. Here is a list of headlines from the finance pages today.

Investors Look for Safety as Market Test Bottom

HP Cuts Full Year Outlook; Shares Fall

It May Cost Less to Let GM Fail

FOMC Minutes Show Doubts About 2009 Recovery

Farrell: Is There A Bottom?

That’s why I just couldn’t pass this article up without a little tongue in cheek commentary.

http://aero-news.net/index.cfm?ContentBlockID=f559e852-ee2f-4117-80fc-eb378e3d2bcf&

It seems as though the Economic Stimulus plan has something for us aircraft buyers also. Bonus depreciation. You’ll have to question your tax advisor about how this could apply to your situation, but I see the opportunity to purchase a new Remos GX, put it on a leaseback at your local flight school, and write a ton off your taxes. But then, I’m not a tax advisor. Luckily, I’m also not a stock market investor. Here’s a graph of the SP 500 over the last decade. Again, I’m not an analyst, but this doesn’t look good to me.

As if you couldn’t guess, I prefer airplanes to stocks and bonds. Let’s examine a couple of airplanes.

• - In 1978, a Cessna 152’s base price was $14,950 and the average delivered price was $20, 075. Today in Trade-a-plane, you would expect to see this model listed anywhere from $22-45,000. Not a bad investment.
  

• - Go back a little farther, the 1967 Piper Arrow debuted at $16,900, and you’d be hard pressed to buy one now for less than $55,000.
  

• - Want to feel real bad about the stock market? A 1938 Piper J-3 sold for $2500, and today fetches anywhere from $25,000 to $45,000.
  

Wow! I wonder what will my 2009 Remos GX be worth in 30 years? Know what? It really doesn’t matter to me, because that’s 30 years of “living the dream”, and besides, I depreciated the whole thing courtesy of the 2009 Economic Stimulus Plan.

I'm not suggesting anyone should bail out of the stock market, and invest their IRA in a new airplane. But things are rarely as bad as they seem, or as good as you remember. Relax, have fun, and be happy. Better days are ahead.

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Spring is in the Air

Here are my indications that flying season is once again upon us. We just finished our taxes, the Crocuses are blooming, and most importantly, as I write this, pitchers and catchers are a mere 14 hours from reporting to camp.

I love my wife, and I love baseball. I'm also very fortunate that my wife loves baseball. What does baseball have to do with flying you ask? Well I can get all metaphorical with you and we can compare the years of training, the quest to ever improve our "game", and even compare our pre-flight briefing with scouting reports. I sometimes reflect on the "big league" of both worlds. By the way, contract negotiations, uniforms, and schedules, are definitely not what I love about either baseball or flying. I rather fancy minor league baseball. The kids that still love the game, and have dreams of the World Series. The same kind of kids that earn their hours as CFI's or ferry pilots, and dream of flying the heavy iron. I guess that's why I still get a kick out of seeing someone, regardless of age, (because dreams don't have age limits) hit their first home run, solo for the first time, or get their pilot's license.

Back to flying; Here's my plan, and suggestion for this spring and summer. I love the Cardinals, but let's face it, it's a lot of hassle just to spend $100 to sit in the nose bleed, and buy $5 hot dogs and $7 beer. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/info/geographical.jsp This link list minor leauge teams geographically. Go to the team sites, and they list their schedule. For instance, we can fly 2 hours to watch the Springfield Cardinals play. Less than that to take in a Peoria Chiefs game. And when we fly to Atlanta, to visit my brother and his family, guess what is right on the way. Yep, the Rome Braves. What we're saving on gas, will pay for the tickets, and peanuts. Every minor league team's town we fly into, has a small airport, most with a courtesy car, and is more than willing to give you the lowdown on the local team. Go ahead, sit in the box seats, and you're probably watching the game with the players parents, or the families they are staying with. Just imagine you'll be able to tell all your friends stuck in the big league stadiums, that you saw the next "Albert Pujols", or "Tom Glavine" before they made the show.

Give me a call; I'll set you up with the schedule, and a Major League new Remos GX to make that dream a big league reality.

By the way, this is Ben, son of one of our customers on his recent solo flight. Isn't that cool!!!

Update on the Air Expo in Sebring

Our first Air Expo was 2006, and it struck me as barely more than a regional pancake breakfast fly-in. It was dirty, disorganized, and nothing like we experienced on this trip. The Air Expo is becoming a force to be reckoned with in the Light Sport Aviation community. I was impressed by how far they have come.

The Remos booth was outstanding, the best display we have ever had. We introduced the 2009 model GX, and I for one, am very excited. The '09 model still has all the great performance and handling qualities of the '08 GX, but with some refinements. It features new interior, including a headliner, and intrument panel. The elevator trim has been moved to a re-designed stick, and the biggest change is new landing gear with removable wheel pants.

Notice the interior.

Three blade Prop

The picture above, is just for those skeptical that Dave and I are ever in the same place at the same time.

There were more airplanes than Remos there, and here are a few that caught my eye.



Yes, the show was great, but now that we're back in the Missouri winter, my thoughts and anticipation are turning to Sun 'n Fun. Spring is just around the corner, time to brush up those piloting skills, and take to the skies. Why not road trip into St. Louis, or Atlanta, and take a demo ride in a Remos aircraft? We can get you into a new Remos in time for you to fly with us down to Sun 'n Fun, or participate in the first ever Remos Fly-in this June. You can be there, do that, and bring home the T-shirt.