Tampa Executive Fly-in

Hot Dogs and Hamburgers on a hot summer day

I spent a good part of Friday cleaning her up. I did the upper surfaces first, then got down on the ground to work on the wheel pants and the rest of the undercarriage. Finally I laid down on my back and cleaned her belly. Although she hadn't been done in awhile, this job wasn't as nearly bad as expected. At least I didn't have to do it in the snow.

Sharing ramp space with an old friend

Visiting with an older sister

Cleaned up for the event

We got to the airport about 9:00am on Saturday and Kathy and I quickly removed the covers, tie downs and plugs. She burped after 20 pulls. Kathy got in and I pulled her out onto the taxiway.  One last walk around before I strapped in. I paused before turning the key. (It seemed like so many times we've gotten to this point, only to find a problem.) Not this time. Sally started easily. I taxied with the canopy open and the airflow rattled our thermos cups in the holders behind the seats. Not a problem (but did have us worry just a bit). As we approached the ramp area a plane captain came over to direct us in. I shut her down and we got out to talk with him a bit. He had helped us with the battery on Mother's Day. He looked at the nose wheel and commented that he wasn't sure his tow bar would fit, so I instructed him on how to maneuver the plane by pushing on the prop.  He did well pushing her back into a parking spot.

We were the first ones to arrive. I thought that we might be the ONLY ones to arrive! Soon the staff brought out the tents and the grill and after awhile Marcel stopped by to talk about flying. As we chatted more aircraft began to arrive. A trio of Trikes from Zephyr Hills. A Bulldog from Lakeland. A jet from Albert Whitted. All in all a nice selection of airplanes. A good crowd of aviation enthusiasts from the local area filled the parking lot. The burgers and dogs were great, the ambiance wonderful.

A light Florida rain shower passed through about 12:30pm. Pilots scurried out to close canopies, but within a few minutes the shower had moved on. Kathy and I decided it was time to go, so we jumped in and taxied back to our covered tie down spot. The two of us had Sally settled in just a few minutes.

It was a good day