Jeanie and I spent a day and a half at Sun 'n Fun last week...

We loaded up the dogs and left around noon on Thursday.  Because we had the dogs and made the reservations relatively late, there were no hotels available in Lakeland, so our options were to stay either near Tampa or Orlando.  I elected to stay near Orlando, since it was on the way, rather than having to drive past Lakeland to Tampa and then double back to go to the show on Thursday.

The drive down was nice and uneventful.   It took about three and a half hours.

We ended up staying at a Hampton Inn in Clermont, which is on the west side of Orlando, about half an hour from Lakeland.  I like Hampton Inns.  We have stayed at quite a few, and in all but one situation a number of years ago, have been quite pleased.  In that one situation, the Hampton Inn had been "rebadged" from some other property and so it was not a typical Hampton configuration.  The thing I like about the Hampton Inns is that each one is the same - so you know exactly what to expect: decent sized inside rooms, complimentary wireless Internet access and hot breakfast, and moderate rates.

After taking our bags upstairs and getting the dogs settled, we headed off to Lakeland.

My plan had been to get to Sun 'n Fun right at 5:00 PM so we could get the "$5 after 5:00" tickets (as opposed to the $35 all day ones) and maximize our time before it got dark.  We ended up not getting there until almost 6:00 PM, but we still able to accomplish the primary objective which was to get a feel for the general layout so we could maximize our time on Friday.

We started out just walking around to get a general sense of where things were.  We ended up in the ultra-light area, and spent a fair amount of time watching a series of powered paragliders, trikes and powered parachutes fly circuits around the ultra-light runway.  Of the three types, I liked the powered parachutes the best.  They seemed to offer the best balance of comfort, safety and fun.  But, why would someone spend $15,000 - $20,000 for a powered parachute when for the same money, they could buy a used Cessna 150 or similar?

By the time we headed back to the car, it was well after dark, and I was extremely grateful that I had my Blackberry and Nav-4-All and that I had remembered to mark our parking spot before heading into the show.

We ended up stopping at a Hardees for dinner and by the time we got back to the hotel, it was almost 10:00 PM.  Upon entering the room, we noticed the message light was flashing, and were horrified to learn that there had been complaints about the dogs barking while we were gone.

The rest of the night was pretty miserable.  Between being upset about the complaints, and the dogs starting to bark every time they heard someone in the room next door or in the halls, we didn't sleep very well.

Next year, we will leave the dogs at home.

We arose at 6:00 AM on Friday so we could get to the show by 8:00 AM when the gates opened.  We fed and walked the dogs, then grabbed breakfast at the Hampton before heading off to Lakeland.  Jeanie had the bright idea to put the dogs in the bathroom and place pillows against the bottom of the bathroom door.  The thought was that in the bathroom, the dogs wouldn't hear quite as much room/hall noise which would hopefully prompt less barking, and if they did bark, it wouldn't be as easily heard - at least in the halls.

There are a number of routes to choose from between Clermont and Lakeland.  On Thursday, we had stayed on I-4 until exit 27 to avoid the toll road.  I decided to try the toll road thinking it might be faster; it was not.  For the relatively short distance we had to travel, we had to pay three $1 tolls, and for part of the way, the road was only two lane.

Next year, we will stay on I-4.

Once again, we didn't quite arrive as early as I had hoped, but it was still before 9:00 AM, when the vendors "opened."

We spent a fair amount of time walking through the LSA mall, which was situated right after the main entry gate.  It is amazing how many LSAs are now available.  Most seemed to have one of two designs - mini standard airplane (with high wing and low wing variants) or flying egg.  Most have almost no room for bags - definitely not enough room for dogs.  The one exception we found to that was the Jabiru.  We were amazed at the size of the luggage area in it.  There were a few sea plane LSAs; the SeaMax LSA amphibian was quite cool.

I can see the appeal of an LSA if you don't think you can pass your FAA physical, but  spending $80,000 - $140,000 for an LSA when one could buy a pretty nice Cessna or Piper for that much money is an interesting thought experiment.  Of course, with an LSA, you get a brand new airplane with all sorts of cool stuff in the panel, that you can work on yourself, that cruises faster, on 5-6 gallons per hour.

After getting our fill of LSAs, we went to browse the booths in the 4 hangars.  I spent a fair amount of time looking at ANR headsets.   I felt the David Clark X-11's  were the most comfortable although the ear seals could have been a bit thicker.  I also looked at flight bags - the Sporty's bags were too big.  I did like either the ASA AirClassics Flight Bag or the AirClassics Flight Bag Pro (couldn't tell because there was only one and I can't remember whether it was the standard or pro model).  We also looked at handheld radios.  The Icom A-6 seemed to have the best balance of size, features and price.  Ultimately, I didn't actually purchase anything, as I don't really have a compelling need for any new flying stuff.  One of these days, maybe I'll break down and treat myself to something I just want, rather than really need.

We did to rush a bit through the booths because there was so much to see and do and only one day to do it.  I would have liked more time to really compare the products I looked at.  I would also have liked to have spent some time at the Lowrance booth talking to someone about the Airmap family compared to the Garmin x96 family.  Not that I need (or plan to buy) a portable GPS - it just interests me.  Maybe next year...

After leaving the hangars, we walked around and looked at the production aircraft.

In the lustful dreams category, the Lopresti Fury was a strong contender.  The idea of a fast comfortable airplane that is just as happy being upside down as right side up is quite appealing to me.

We made time to visit the AOPA tent, where I voted for my two top issues facing general aviation.  My picks: the cost of flying and protecting our GA airports (from closure).  We picked up a few nice AOPA freebies - a couple of water bottle coozies and a couple of small ponchos.  Other than those, the only other freebies we picked up were a couple of XM Satellite Radio cloth bags and a 2008 Florida aeronautical chart and airport directory.  Jeanie complimented me on my restraint.

After picking up a couple of sandwiches and a soda, we walked to the airshow area and got a good spot for the airshow.  Jeanie had brought a picnic basket and an umbrella,  thankfully, so we had some shade from the burning sun and our bottoms stayed dry.  Thankfully, I had remembered to bring ear plugs as the piston planes were uncomfortably loud, and the jets were even louder.

Next year, we will bring chairs.

The airshow was great.  My favorites were the USAF Thunderbirds,  Matt Younkin's Beech 18 and Patty Wagstaff.

After the show, we walked over to the Warbirds area and marveled at the amazing aircraft.

For dinner - we both had pork butt on a stick.  It was quite good.

After dinner, we headed back over to the show area for the night airshow.  It was amazing -  especially the glider.  As if aerobatics isn't challenging enough, imagine doing them just feet above the ground.  Now imagine doing them at night.  Now imagine doing them with pyrotechnics shooting out of the wing tips!

To cap off an amazing day, we were treated to a truly spectacular fireworks display.   It was probably the best I've even seen live and in person.

We got back to the hotel well after 10:00 PM.  We didn't even bother listening to the messages.  Fortunately, the dogs were somewhat better behaved than the previous night.  I got some sleep - more than Jeanie.

Our original plan had been to stay in the hotel Saturday night also, but we decided to cut the trip short due to the stress I was feeling because of the dogs.

Hilton was very accommodating in changing the HHonors award from three nights to two.

I got up, and went down for breakfast and brought coffee and a danish up for Jeanie.

After getting quick showers, we packed up and headed back home.

On the way home, we went by Daytona Beach.  We drove past the race track and the airport and then drove to the beach.  We didn't actually go to the beach at Daytona, but instead decided to drive up A1A.  The drive was nice in that the road hugged the beach - no houses between the road and the ocean all the way to Ormond Beach.

We continued along A1A and went into St. Augustine to get some more of the glass flowers we had found last time we were there (with Andrew and Laura) and some more air plants (which hadn't been available last visit).

We arrived back home around 5:00 PM, already looking forward to next year's Sun 'n Fun, April 21-26, 2009.

The good news is that the system has been rock stable...

The bad news is that I haven't really seen any significant performance improvement.

I guess the system is processor, video or disk bound, with my bet being the processor.

As I said in an earlier post, I guess if I want more zoom, I'll just have to spring for a new system.

Given the cost and effort associated with a new system, I think I'll just keep muddling along with what I have for the time being.

Johnny Depp, Alan Rickman and Helena Bonham Carter (as well as the rest of the cast) were all great.  Costumes were great.  Music was great.  Sets were great.

But, it was just too gory and too dark for my taste.

When we moved here three years ago, it really did seem like Mayberry...

You know... a quiet, friendly, safe town.  The kind where you don't have to worry if you forget to lock your car door or house.  The kind were common sense tells you not to leave your GPS in the windshield mount, but where you don't think you have to remove the mount itself every night and clean the little suction cup circle off of the glass.

Well, it is still relatively quiet and friendly, but we definitely don't feel quite as safe.

Last Monday morning, Cali awakened us some time after 3:00 AM barking.  We heard what sounded like a large truck - something that will often cause Cali to bark.  Although it seemed a bit strange to have a large truck in the neighborhood at that hour, we thought nothing more of it and went back to sleep.  Cali awakened us again barking around 4:00 AM - this time because the doorbell rang.

When I opened the front door, I was greeted by a Sheriff's deputy apologizing for awakening us and also apologizing for having to inform us that the RAV4 had been broken into.

Apparently, there had been a series of burglaries of vehicles in the area, one of which had already been reported.  As the deputy was patrolling the neighborhood, he noticed our break-in.

The thief smashed the front passenger window and stole Jeanie's new GPS, along with some money she kept in the center console.  Interestingly, the car alarm didn't go off.  I later learned that the reason it didn't go off is that there isn't one!  While the vehicle is equipped with an engine immobilizer, there is no vehicle alarm.

Fortunately, Jeanie was able to find a company that had the window in stock and would even come to the house to perform the repair.  The insurance company was very nice and coordinated paying for the window repair, as well as arranging for Jeanie to meet with an adjuster to determine a settlement amount for the damage to the weather molding and to the leather on the passenger seat.  Unfortunately, insurance won't cover the loss of the GPS or the cash.

A pair of detectives came by the next day to follow up, but they told us that even though we had given them the serial number of the unit, they had no leads and thought it unlikely that we would ever see our GPS again.

Moral of the story?  Don't ever leave the mount affixed to the windshield, even if you are parked in your own driveway in Mayberry By The Sea...

I just added another gig of memory to my primary PC...

I purchased another 1GB stick of A-DATA DDR 400 from NewEgg.  This stick was $5 less expensive than the first one and was shipped free.  When everything else seems to be getting more expensive by the day, that was a nice surprise.

With the addition of the second stick (the maximum that the system can accommodate) that makes a matched pair for a total of 2GB.  While I was at it, I reconfigured the system to allow auto determination of memory frequency (it had been fixed at 100MHz) and configured 4-Way interleaving (it had been set to no interleaving).

The system seems a bit zippier, but I won't go so far as to say the change is startling.  I am also holding my breath a bit to see if it will be stable with the memory configuration changes.

I guess time will tell, but so far, it seems the investment was worth it.  I will say that I believe this is the limit of my investments in this particular system in seeking additional performance for my primary PC.  Next time I feel the need for (more) speed, I'm afraid I'll have to invest in a whole new system.

There I was innocently sitting in our monthly squadron meeting...

When the commander announced that our squadron's assigned airplane would be gone next week, having been volunteered to sit at Sun 'n Fun as one of two CAP aircraft on static display.  The plan was that the squadron would wash and wax the plane tomorrow, and then someone from the squadron would fly it down to Lakeland on Monday.  Because another squadron would be providing a lift back to the pilot, and the "lift" aircraft would already have two occupants, the pilot flying our aircraft down would have to fly into Sun 'n Fun alone.  From what I had read about flying into Sun 'n Fun, this was not a mission for the faint of heart, nor one who hadn't flown in before.  So, I resigned myself to not flying for the next week or so - at least not in the CAP aircraft.

Well, for better or worse, I ended up hanging around for a few minutes after the meeting ended.  During this time, the commander got a call requesting that the aircraft be delivered to KLAL today.  Guess who got nominated to fly the mission?  Far be it from me to turn down some free flying...  I checked the weather, and while it wasn't CAVU, it was VFR, as long as I didn't tarry, and didn't wander too far west too soon after take-off.  The forecast called for broken clouds, so I figured I would be able to get on top.  As usual, I requested, and received, VFR traffic advisories (flight following) from ATC - thank goodness I did!

Long story short, the entire trip was flown at 2,200 feet, bumpity bump, with prodigious amounts of vectoring by ATC to keep me away from thunderstorms and heavy precipitation.  Even though Lakeland is in central Florida, I ended up flying almost to the west coast of Florida before being able to head back to the southeast to get to KLAL.

The flight included a number of firsts for me - the aforementioned vectoring around weather, my first glimpse of lightning while piloting an aircraft, my first flight through rain (very brief and in case you are wondering, it is legal for a VFR pilot to fly through rain - as long as visibility and cloud clearance minimums are maintained), transit through Class Bravo airspace, and seeing people under canopy while flying an airplane.  The controller was nice enough to point these out to me at my 9 o'clock - I don't think he realized what a kick it was for me.  Nor did he probably realize what a kick it was for me to see Zephyrhills again from the air - even if it was while sitting in an airplane rather than in freefall or under canopy.

My landing at Lakeland wasn't bad - especially considering the brisk crosswind.

Even though the airplane that was supposed to ferry me home was supposed to be waiting on me, it didn't arrive until almost 5:00 pm.  Unfortunately, by the time it arrived, a solid line of thunderstorms had formed between us and home.  We ended up only being able to make it as far as Ormond Beach - the home of the two other CAP members.  The aircraft was one of CAP's new G1000 Cessna 182's.  It was so cool to watch the XM WX Satellite Weather™ high resolution weather in real time.

Since I wasn't keen on the idea of spending the night in a hotel, I ended up renting a car and driving the two and a half hours home.  One of the members was nice enough to drive me to Daytona to rent the car.  I must admit, given the brutal rain that I had to drive through for part of the trip home, I sure was glad that I was in a car rather than in a small aircraft.

I can't end the post without noting how great Flight Service and Air Traffic Control were today.  I know the FAA is taking a lot of heat lately, but I couldn't have asked for a more thorough weather briefing, nor better service from ATC.

Boy we did a lot of flying a couple of weeks ago...

The original plan was for Jeanie and I to fly the squadron airplane down to Daytona (KDAB) on March 25 and drop it off for its 100 hour, then rent a car and drive back home.  Our plan had been to explore Daytona Beach a bit, and then swing by St. Augustine on the way back.

The flight down was good.  The skies were clear and the ride was smooth - at least until we got close to Daytona.  We flew down at 5,500 feet.  As we neared Daytona, we encountered a few scattered clouds at around 4,500 feet that ended up not being a factor as just before I was about to request an altitude change to get below them, ATC directed me lower.  Once under the cloud layer, things got a bit bumpy.  Not horrible, but enough to be sometimes a bit uncomfortable.  I also had a few new experiences.  I got to play with the Squadron Commander's Garmin 296.  In many ways, it is nicer than the KLN 94 installed in the aircraft.  This was my first time flying into a Class Charlie airport without a seasoned pilot in the right seat.  It was also the first time that I had ATC vector me all the way to final, and the first time that I was asked to do a LAHSO (Land And Hold Short Operations) landing.  The LAHSO landing was no problem as I was landing on a 10,000 foot runway and the LAHSO length was 7,000 feet - 2,000 feet longer than the longest runway at 55J, and at least 5,000 feet longer than I needed.

Well, after I called in to close the mission with the flight release officer, he mentioned that there was a loaner aircraft that we could take back to 55J.  I didn't really want to, as I was looking forward to the drive with Jeanie, but, being the good squadron members that we are, we decided to yield to the greater good and fly the loaner back.

Before heading back, we walked over to the terminal to cancel the Hertz reservation, and also to get something to eat, as neither of us had eaten all day.  We split a Subway prime rib sub that was pretty good.

Once we got back to the maintenance facility, it took a while to actually leave, as I found a couple of issues with the floater during pre-flight that had to be addressed.  I also experienced a problem with the audio panel that turned out to be pilot error.  The problem was that I could receive and transmit on Com1, but could not switch to Com2, nor would the intercom work.  Apparently, as a safety factor, the radios are wired such that if the audio panel fails, the system automatically fails over to a direct connection between the pilot's headset and Com1.  In my case, the "failure" was that the audio panel had been turned off, and I didn't realize that I had to push the volume knob in to turn the panel on.  Fortunately, one of the mechanics was very nice when I asked him to take a look, and didn't call me a dumb-ass, but simply turned the panel on and wished us a good flight back.

The flight back was nice as well.  Although I didn't get to linger, I did get a glimpse of the St. Augustine Light Station and the fort at St. Augustine.

My landings were decent both at KDAB and at 55J.

I did come to gain a much greater appreciation of both the squadron's assigned aircraft and the club plane.  While safe, the floater definitely felt like it had been rode hard and put up wet many times in its life.  Not only did it tend to drop a wing while in flight, but the controls just felt "sloppy."

I also, not that I needed it, came away with a greater appreciation of just how lucky I am to be married to Jeanie.

Bob and Wendy arrived at the Jacksonville airport Thursday evening for their annual visit...

I arrived (back from a six-day business trip to The Netherlands) around 2:00 AM Friday morning.

The bad news was that from the time I embarked on my trip home, until I walked in the door at home - a trip that was literally "trains, planes and automobiles," -  26 hours had elapsed.  The good news was that the trip was so long and tiring, and the hour of my arrival so late, that I was able to go right to sleep, and never really suffered any jet lag.

Friday

The weather was somewhat cool and wet.   We didn't end up getting to go to the auction preview which was a bit of a disappointment, but not crushing.  Since the weather wasn't great, we spent the day just visiting with each other.

Saturday

The weather was once again somewhat cool and wet. 

We drove to Hugonot Park and rode around on the beach.  It was very windy, so we elected not to get out of the truck so we wouldn't get sandblasted.

On the way home we stopped by the BlockBuster and picked up Gone Baby Gone.  It was well written, acted, directed, etc., but it was vulgar (which is something coming from me) and depressing.

Sunday

The weather was absolutely beautiful: sunshine, blue skies, temperatures in the low 70's.  We overslept a bit due to the changeover to daylight saving time.  Even so, Bob and I arrived prior to the gates opening at the 13th annual Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance.  We were able to quickly locate the will-call tent and pick up the tickets I had purchased on-line.

As usual, the show had a dazzling array of amazing automobiles.  As usual, my favorites were the classic cars of the late 1920's early 1930's - especially the Duesenbergs, Auburns and Cords.

An unexpected treat for me was the Breitling aerobatic plane's performance.  Breitling has been a sponsor / exhibitor at each Concours I've been to, but this was the first year I saw them do an airshow.  It was quite long and really good.

Another unexpected treat for me was the 1970 Johnny Lightning race car, which brought back fond memories.

While Bob and I were enjoying the show, Jeanie and Wendy went shopping.  To each his (or her) own I guess...

Monday

All too soon, the visit was over and it was time to take Bob and Wendy to the airport so they could catch their early morning flight home.  It was really great having them here and we're already looking forward to their visit next year.

Wow, I've really gotten behind on my postings.  As of this moment, I have eleven half-finished drafts.  I don't even have a good excuse for not posting.  I haven't been that busy at work, and I haven't been that busy doing stuff at home.  Oh well, here's a start at catching up, beginning with a recap of the weekend of February 23/24...

Saturday

There were two big draws in town for us today: the 2nd Annual Amelia Island Chili Cook-off and Quilts By The Sea - The Eleventh Triennial Quilt Show by The Amelia Island Quilt Guild, Inc.  We started the day by going to the Farmer's market.  We then walked down Center Street to the Cook-off where we had our fill our chili.  There were a number of different variations, although they all were fairly conventional - meat, beans, cumin, etc.  I had hoped for something unusual or daring - maybe a seafood chili or a vegetarian chili.  I was also surprised that most of the offerings were pretty tame as far as spiciness was concerned.  After leaving the cook-off, which served as lunch for us, we went to the quilt show.  Some of the quilts were just amazing.  I marvel at the skill demonstrated by some of the quilt makers.  I did find a limitation to my new bifocals - in order to see the quilts well, I needed to stand at my "mid-vision-distance."  Unfortunately, the bifocals didn't do well at this distance so I ended up getting a headache.  I guess there are going to be some situations where the progressive lenses are superior to the bifocals.   After leaving the quilt show, we went to the Dairy Queen and then ate our cones while sitting in the truck on the beach at Sadler.

Sunday

We drove to Darien to shop and have lunch with Jim and Kim.  We ate at Skipper's Fish Camp.  It was okay, but moderately expensive for lunch.  The "Charlie's Chowder" was delicious - the "creamy, thick and chunky Seafood stew made with fish, crab meat and shrimp," had lots of seafood, and a bit of corn that added a delightful hint of sweetness.  Both Jeanie and I had Sweet Georgia Shrimp Platters - hers broiled, mine fried.  Both were okay with nice large shrimp.  The batter was a bit heavy both on the shrimp and the onion rings.  The coleslaw was strange - it had sweet pickle relish in a creamy based slaw.  It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either.  The hush puppies had too much garlic and weren't enjoyable.  Jeanie's shrimp were a bit spicy for her.  Jim had the whole crispy flounder - it had a really cool presentation, and he said it was quite tasty.  For the life of me, I can't remember what Kim had.

After lunch, we drove home (at least as far as Brunswick) via 17.  Turns out that the Brunswick / Golden Isles airport is right off of 17, so we made a stop and went into the terminal.  We were quite surprised to find a nice terminal and airport - interesting in that it is set up as a commercial terminal - complete with TSA security point, ticket counters, etc.,  but only one airline - Delta - as far as we could tell.  I had expected the airport to me more like St. Simons.

After leaving the airport, we decided to take I-95 home.  It was not as scenic, but got us home faster.

All in all, a very nice weekend.