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Our extra-long weekend started Wednesday evening when we flew down to Palm Springs for the 2006 AOPA Expo. The arrival was not nearly as insane as it could have been; inbound traffic levels fall dramatically after dark. (As the published arrival procedure had phrases like "turn to follow the foothills east" I'm not at all surprised pilots quit showing up when they couldn't see.) We did get pretty close to some hills (in the pattern, no less), but I'm probably being way overcautious in estimating how near to the terrain we were.
Ground staff was hopping to get planes parked on the "overflow parking" taxiways. Two were being pushed into place when we pulled up, and as soon as we were climbing out the door another plane appeared behind ours. Shuttle vans brought folks from the random spot where we were parked a mile or so down to the FBO where our rental car was waiting. Inside the building I was tickled to see a wall full of celebrity signatures. I had to photograph Patty Wagstaff's. Had to.
At our hotel, my rental scooter was waiting! We had been promised an instruction booklet, but of course that wasn't there. I'm glad I've disassembled a few kinds of scooters. Then it turned out the battery wasn't even near fully charged and the charger port was flaky as all get-out. Only with a lot of sideways pressure on the cord would it make a connection at all. We left it overnight with the scooter base assembly wedged up against the charger cord in just the right way.
I got up early enough to swim in the hotel pool. It wasn't shaped for laps, but I did my best. I think I got a touch of sunburn there.
In the morning, we found that almost none of the event parking shepherds had a brain. Streets were closed, detours routed all traffic into a parking lot that was full, nobody had heard of handicapped parking but the dirt lots looked like nothing a scooter could tackle, etc. Finally we found one guy with a clue and we got a fantastic parking spot. I am sure the only reason we got it is that nobody else ever found out about that row of handicapped spaces. Probably everyone else in wheelchairs turned around and went home.
The aircraft displays were the best part of the Expo. No, wait, the seminars were the best part. No, it was talking with other pilots.... The whole time was great. We'd walk (roll) past Piper Cubs and light jets, past homebuilt experimentals and venerable Cessna designs, all crowded around the convention center. (We wished we'd been there to see them all cavalcade down the street from the airport. Yes, folks, these things taxied through Palm Springs on the streets.) We'd sit down to hear the FAA Administrator give a talk (hey: sharp lady) and we'd wind up comparing wet-weather flying notes with a guy who fought 40kt headwinds all the way from Seattle in driving rain. We went to a seminar titled "Alaska: Off the Beaten Path" and learned what it was like to fly logistics for the Iditarod. I climbed into the cockpit of just about every light jet on display. I drooled over a Pitts S-2C. We learned how to survive ditching, and we spent hours and hours in the exhibit hall looking at everything from engine parts to sunglasses. I was thiiiis close to buying a Surefire designed for pilots. I gathered brochures from every "flying safari" outfit I found. I got to hear Rod Machado live, and I regretfully skipped trying to get an autograph from Patty Wagstaff because I hadn't known she'd be there and hadn't brought my copy of her book. I did see her though. She walked right past me.
I will try to get pics of this whole thing uploaded in the next couple of days.
The scooter truly made the difference, for me, between being able to enjoy attending the Expo and having to quit after the first fraction of a day. Awkward as that thing was (and it was!), it was a godsend. It was also occasionally a social icebreaker. One little boy really really really liked it. It was zippy and fire-engine red -- it had him hooked! I offered to get off and let his mom give him a ride, but he turned all shy.
By the time we departed on Friday evening, Palm Springs airport was closed to transient traffic. Overflow parking was full and aircraft arriving for the Expo were directed to other fields nearby. Using a taxiway that had been turned into parking was a little nerve-wracking; there was not a whole lot of space between our wingtips and two long rows of spinners. Like our arrival, though, our departure was not nearly as exacting as we had expected. Not many people were leaving in the middle of the show.
My aviation wish list:
- For acro: Pitts S-2C; David Clark cloth headgear to hold my headset on during maneuvers
- Survival gear: way too numerous to list
- Luxuries: that Surefire flashlight; a hand-carved mahogany model of a Pitts for my desk; a flying tour through sub-Saharan Africa
It was invigorating to be immersed in all things aviation for two days. I've attended conferences related to my work; this was just like those, except interesting and fun! Ah, flying. :-)
Ground staff was hopping to get planes parked on the "overflow parking" taxiways. Two were being pushed into place when we pulled up, and as soon as we were climbing out the door another plane appeared behind ours. Shuttle vans brought folks from the random spot where we were parked a mile or so down to the FBO where our rental car was waiting. Inside the building I was tickled to see a wall full of celebrity signatures. I had to photograph Patty Wagstaff's. Had to.
At our hotel, my rental scooter was waiting! We had been promised an instruction booklet, but of course that wasn't there. I'm glad I've disassembled a few kinds of scooters. Then it turned out the battery wasn't even near fully charged and the charger port was flaky as all get-out. Only with a lot of sideways pressure on the cord would it make a connection at all. We left it overnight with the scooter base assembly wedged up against the charger cord in just the right way.
I got up early enough to swim in the hotel pool. It wasn't shaped for laps, but I did my best. I think I got a touch of sunburn there.
In the morning, we found that almost none of the event parking shepherds had a brain. Streets were closed, detours routed all traffic into a parking lot that was full, nobody had heard of handicapped parking but the dirt lots looked like nothing a scooter could tackle, etc. Finally we found one guy with a clue and we got a fantastic parking spot. I am sure the only reason we got it is that nobody else ever found out about that row of handicapped spaces. Probably everyone else in wheelchairs turned around and went home.
The aircraft displays were the best part of the Expo. No, wait, the seminars were the best part. No, it was talking with other pilots.... The whole time was great. We'd walk (roll) past Piper Cubs and light jets, past homebuilt experimentals and venerable Cessna designs, all crowded around the convention center. (We wished we'd been there to see them all cavalcade down the street from the airport. Yes, folks, these things taxied through Palm Springs on the streets.) We'd sit down to hear the FAA Administrator give a talk (hey: sharp lady) and we'd wind up comparing wet-weather flying notes with a guy who fought 40kt headwinds all the way from Seattle in driving rain. We went to a seminar titled "Alaska: Off the Beaten Path" and learned what it was like to fly logistics for the Iditarod. I climbed into the cockpit of just about every light jet on display. I drooled over a Pitts S-2C. We learned how to survive ditching, and we spent hours and hours in the exhibit hall looking at everything from engine parts to sunglasses. I was thiiiis close to buying a Surefire designed for pilots. I gathered brochures from every "flying safari" outfit I found. I got to hear Rod Machado live, and I regretfully skipped trying to get an autograph from Patty Wagstaff because I hadn't known she'd be there and hadn't brought my copy of her book. I did see her though. She walked right past me.
I will try to get pics of this whole thing uploaded in the next couple of days.
The scooter truly made the difference, for me, between being able to enjoy attending the Expo and having to quit after the first fraction of a day. Awkward as that thing was (and it was!), it was a godsend. It was also occasionally a social icebreaker. One little boy really really really liked it. It was zippy and fire-engine red -- it had him hooked! I offered to get off and let his mom give him a ride, but he turned all shy.
By the time we departed on Friday evening, Palm Springs airport was closed to transient traffic. Overflow parking was full and aircraft arriving for the Expo were directed to other fields nearby. Using a taxiway that had been turned into parking was a little nerve-wracking; there was not a whole lot of space between our wingtips and two long rows of spinners. Like our arrival, though, our departure was not nearly as exacting as we had expected. Not many people were leaving in the middle of the show.
My aviation wish list:
- For acro: Pitts S-2C; David Clark cloth headgear to hold my headset on during maneuvers
- Survival gear: way too numerous to list
- Luxuries: that Surefire flashlight; a hand-carved mahogany model of a Pitts for my desk; a flying tour through sub-Saharan Africa
It was invigorating to be immersed in all things aviation for two days. I've attended conferences related to my work; this was just like those, except interesting and fun! Ah, flying. :-)
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RE: Survival Gear - please do. :)
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Hmm, survival gear may merit a post of its own when I have a little time.
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I recommend both heartily. :-)
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You're Pitts obsessed ^^ Not, of course, that I blame you; I actually don't want to fly one, because I know I'll have the same reaction.
-Kysh
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I'm hoping to find a partner for an S2-A or -B, or 'maybe' a nice S1. If I can do that, THEN I'll go for a Pitts flight.
-Kysh
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Yeah, I'm obsessed. It's a sad thing, because I'm not in a position to buy a Pitts right now either! Not to mention I can't hangar it at PAO and I'd have to get a lot better at landing to use a runway that size.
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I found that once I got it on my head, it felt perfect. I don't recall what size I got though.
At half the price of the d/c, though, I think it's still a bargain.. and comfortable, to boot. That said, nobody ever went wrong buying d/c. :>
(To be honest, I would have been happier to find a helmet that would fit my Bose X .. might try to modify the Perrone to work at some point in the future, but I don't want to ruin it..)
I've been known of harboring a guilty wish for an HGU-55, though. ;>
Myself, I'm thinking that when/if (when) I get a Pitts (or other capable aerobatic airplane), I'll base at Livermore. I'd consider Hayward, but it's got that whole 'wrong side of the bay for salt air' thing going, as well as having a rather corporate clientele.
All speculation at this point, of course. :>
-Kysh