
Jeff Goin reports in with stories about the Beach Blast event in Florida and the competition held there. He also talks with Michael Purdy about new competition rules enacted by the USPPA.
Beach Blast wrapped up this past weekend in Panama City Beach, Florida. It really was an amazing event with scores of powered paragliders taking advantage of the opportunity to get together, enjoy a great resort venue, and fly off of a beautiful beach in Florida. Paul Czarnecki was there and talks about his experience as one of the vendors supporting the event.
When we talked about the tornado that ripped through Sun 'n Fun and damaged so many aircraft, the topic of tie-downs naturally came up and we promised to come back to the subject. Jim Sweeny talks about the different styles of tie downs, what works, and of course the importance of actually using them.
The heavy storms and tornados in Florida during Sun 'n Fun seem to have been the beginning of a tumultuous spring. These storms are very apparent on radar, but can sneak up on you if you happen to be flying since they are often imbedded in cloudy weather and are fast moving. Jim Sweeney joins us to talk about how they are being created and how to avoid them.
Jim Sweeney spent most of Sun 'n Fun well out of the sun and inside the commercial buildings either explaining the WingX product to others or visiting and learning about other vendor's products. With five commercial buildings to explore, Jim had lots of opportunity to learn what's new in the marketplace and he shares some of what he learned with us.
Tom Milton joins us to talk about several topics. We talk about gyroplane prerotors and his travel schedule for inspections, ending up at Bensen Days in Florida. We also talk about a man who contributed a lot to sport aviation, Ben Morrow, who passed away late last week.
It has been a really long winter for a lot of us. Fortunately for those of us in the north, Sun 'n Fun comes a little early this year. John Burton, Chairman of the Sun 'n Fun Fly-In talks about what visitors can expect at this year's show. There is a lot going on and a lot to cover, but we'll try to get it all in.
Sun 'n Fun is coming up in just a couple of weeks and Dan visits with us about some of the things we can expect at the show. Building on the success of the LSA Tour after the Sebring Light Sport Expo, some manufacturers will be making stops together both to and from the Florida convention to show off the planes in airports on the path to Lakeland.
The 2011 Sebring Sport Aviation Expo is a wrap and Jim Sweeney joins us to talk about what happened at the show. ASTM meetings, FAA meetings, new gyroplanes from Germany, and lots more filled the precious few days of the event in Florida.
Every now and then the marketing geniuses in Light-Sport aviation have an exceptionally good idea. Here’s one of them. Initially organized by SportairUSA’s Bill Canino and now-American Legend marketer Dave Graham (formerly of Gobosh), a flock of planes including five of the most popular brand names will set off for Sebring-After-Sebring… or what they are calling The 2011 Florida ...