The 60th annual PAOP fly-in Breakfast

Arriving Pottstown Heritage

Three very big Fly Ins were planned on Sunday: at Pottstown (KPTW), Braden (N43), and Sky Manor (N40). Kathy and I planned to fly to two of them but the turbulent gusty winds spoiled our plans. I decided to fly solo to Pottstown for a "look and see" flight and after getting pushed around a bit decided to cancel our afternoon plans. Too bad. The blog and Facebook accounts tell me these were all great events.

Attending any Fly In is like a family reunion. It was great to see David (credit the great image above), and Tom & Cleo, as well as a few of you readers (thanks!). The best part was seeing so many youngsters. While waiting in line for breakfast I watched as the parents of a toddler pointed to each airplane coming in and exclaimed "airplane"! (The kid had on a Penn State sweatshirt so I told the parents that I thought they were doing a fantastic job raising their child.) I sat with a Dad and his two daughters at a picnic table eating my eggs and the young girls seemed very enthusiastic about the planes. "Wouldn't it be great if we could fly to go camping!?" Lots of kids, young ones, were brought out to this event. I didn't see too many thumbs punching cell phones. There is hope.

I decided to depart for home and walked around Sally for a "quick" preflight. An open canopy attracts a crowd. Soon I was in lecture mode providing stats about the airplane and taking in the wonderful compliments about how pretty she is.  After nearly 45 minutes I called "CLEAR!" and asked anyone close by to move back. Carefully, with the help of a Linesman, we taxied away so glad to have attended such a nice event. These guys did a great job. You should attend it next year.

Video Notes:

KPTW

* Pretty gusty on the final and I misjudged it a bit.  Sally does a very nice slip. I'll log two at home base.



How Important Is a Pilot’s First Airplane? Why older trainers often have the edge on newer ones.

"With no purpose-built trainers in production in the United States, attention turned to the LSAs, small, inexpensive, two-seat aircraft limited in such areas as weight and speed but unburdened by the costly requirements for an FAA airworthiness certificate. Although the FAA would not issue such certificates for the LSAs, the agency was an active participant in the discussions that created the criteria under which the aircraft would be produced and sold in the United States.

Under former CEO Jack Pelton, Cessna began to explore the category as a possible entry point for people just coming to aviation. The newbies would need an airplane with a low price and curb appeal. “We went out on a covert mission,” Pelton recalls about the time when some “key folks ran down to Sebring, Florida, where they hold the Light Sport Aircraft show.” This was around 2006, and Pelton asked the team to look at the market. “We wanted to know if this was something we should be part of,” he says. “The general consensus was that this was a fascinating new market opportunity to bring people into aviation at a much lower price point.”