Ground Clutter
Tales from the road
Ralph Hood, Columnist
May 2000
During two weeks in April I traveled to Lakeland, FL, for Sun 'N Fun, then to Melbourne, FL, for a TV and radio show (I love to say that — like I was Jay Leno or somebody), then to Washington, DC; Duluth, MN; Wichita, KS; and, finally, back to — as the song sayeth — Sweet Home Alabama.
My first intro to Sun 'n Fun was during my airplane-selling career, as I stood by a window of the Piper factory then located on the Lakeland, FL, airport. What, I asked a Piper sales exec, is that little group of tents over there on the airport? "Some kind of fly-in," he said. "They call it Sun 'n Fun, or something like that."
As Paul Harvey might say, you already know the rest of the story. I haven't sold airplanes in 15 years, and Piper — though thriving elsewhere — no longer has a factory at Lakeland. Sun 'n Fun, in the meantime, has grown like a teen-aged boy after you buy him a new suit. People come from all over the world, and that's no exaggeration. This year, I met people from Europe, South, Central and North America, Asia, and Australia. I even met an ex-cosmonaut from Russia.
I work the AOPA booth at Sun ’n Fun with a bunch of really sharp, and disgustingly young, AOPA staffers. We call ourselves the booth rats. I am by far the oldest booth rat, and I play that to the hilt. Because of my ancient and decrepit condition, they let me off with short hours.
Long-run, the biggest news at Sun 'n Fun is the almost unbelievable array of aircraft offered to the flying public. You'll find everything from powered parachutes to propjets, and you can buy the plans, the kit, or the factory-built model. I always come home determined to build an airplane, but regain my senses, thank goodness, before spending the money.
Short-run, the biggest news this year was that the quality of the portable toilets went way downhill. Rumor is the past contractor went belly up, and that's a shame.
After my big TV and radio shows, I flew to Washington, D.C., for a non-aviation speech, then flew to Minnesota on Sun Country Airlines, which saved me a bunch of money. It takes more and more effort to find a good deal on the airlines these days, but they are still out there.
I gave a speech and workshop at the Minnesota Council of Airports in Duluth. I was in good company. Another speaker was James Oberstar, Congressman from Minnesota and a true friend of aviation nationally.
The Cirrus factory in Duluth provided a great tour. I filled in a little of the vast void that represents my ignorance of composites, and even found out how that emergency parachute works in the Cirrus. It still seems wonderful to be in an aircraft factory without the noise of rivet guns.
At both Duluth and Sun 'n Fun, I visited with fellow pilots I know from AVSIG, an online aviation forum. If you aren't involved with such a forum, you're missing one of the great benefits of the web. Most of my aviation research is now done through AVSIG, and I have friends around the country — the world, for that matter — that I met on AVSIG. It was a great trip, and a delightful way to make a living.
CAP
Ralph Hood is a Certified Speaking Professional who has addressed aviation
groups throughout North America. A pilot since 1969, he's insured and
sold airplanes at retail and distributor levels and taught aviation management
for Southern Illinois University. He currently serves as National CFI
Marketing Mentor for AOPA's Project Pilot Instructor Program. He can be
reached at [email protected]
