The Interesting, Unusual, And Downright Odd

Pt. 1 By David Juwel

When you go to a major fly-in, there are so many things competing for your attention that many of us kind of walk around in sensory overload. It's so big with so much to see, that invariably, we miss things. So to help complete your aviation experience, we thought we'd share with you some of the things some people might have missed.

You might have missed the fact that you can now buy a toy hauling Airstream trailer. Airstream trailers have a certain affinity with aviation in that they are aerodynamic, made with aluminum sheet metal using aircraft rivets, and they even use aircraft routers to make the window holes.  With proper maintenance they're designed to have great durability. In fact, some of the very first trailers they manufactured, several decades ago, are still on the road today. And just like aviation people, the Airstream owners enjoy close camaraderie with each other.  That being the case, if you happen to be an aviator with an Airstream RV, you're probably enjoying the fact that your social opportunities have doubled.

The new Airstream Pan American has 11 feet of carrying space in the back end with the usual living accommodations beyond that. You can use that garage space to carry your passions with you, such as a flex wing trike, or a single-place gyroplane. Or you can use it as a mobile aviation office, an aviation website studio, or to carry aviation supplies for shows. And you can do it with the full comfort of home. The year 2010 is the 100th year of RV travel. Maybe you're missing out on something.

You might have missed this beautiful aircraft nose pod in the ultralight area. It's on a Sky Cycle flex wing trike. This is a bright, gleaming, vibrant, well textured design.  Check with Sky Cycle for the artist.

Michael McClellan

You might have missed what it's like inside of a portable airfield control tower. This one was being used by Michael McClellan, describing everything he saw on KLAL's Paradise City runway. I watched him as he accurately, in a moderately comprehensive manner, described each aircraft taking off or landing.  Layered out in front of him was an abundance of information about everything that moved in the ultralight arena. Were I an exhibitor, I would certainly want to make sure that Michael had all of my aircraft information before conducting any of my flight operations. This information was tremendously informative for the viewing public, both aviator and non-aviator alike.

You might have missed the brand spanking new, freshly completed, Kolb Mark III on a Lotus float, with 68.5 hrs on it. What a great looking aircraft. Proud builder, Jack Krips said he built it, "his way."

Even though he had a sign on it asking people not to touch it, everyone who approached it did.  It was so beautiful; people just couldn't keep their hands off of it. Another great example of the skill and imagination that keeps advancing general aviation. Good luck Jack.

Victoria Ratliff

You might have missed the Aviation Explorers, Post 491, from Birmingham. Alabama. This group consists of 15 kids, ages 14-18, who recently spent 6-months building a Kitfox with a Rotax 582. They are going to raffle it off to raise funds for aviation scholarships. This is incredible; they have hardly started out in life and they have already built an airplane. Most of us wait until the fifth decade of our life before we do the same. I interviewed a young lady named Victoria Ratliff, who was the spokesperson for the club. She had such infectious enthusiasm for aviation, I'm sure we'll see her name somewhere down the road. Indeed, if they are all like her, the future of aviation is well secured.

You might not have noticed it, but many of the RV's have tents set-up outside of them. Now what is that all about? A big, expensive RV and you're sleeping in a tent? There must be a story here somewhere. Is that where the husband is banished when the wife is mad at him. No, no, that's not it. We all know that aviators enjoy marital bliss. What's probably happening is they're all building kit airplanes inside of their RV, so they're forced to sleep outside. Yah, that's got to be it.

Tomorrow, more of David's observations from Lakeland.

FMI: www.eaa.org