Somewhat Safer, Decent Business, Lasted Too Long

As I left Sun 'n Fun's grounds for another year on Tuesday, I decided to formalize some of the thoughts vendors had about the show. They fell into three broad categories: big-ticket items (which broke broadly into "aircraft" and "other," like major avionics), small-ticket items (jewelry, patches, memorabilia), and what's in the middle (maintenance items, tools, headsets).

The aircraft were further divided, of course, by class; and again, by the newness of the manufacturer.

Mikael Via, of New Glasair, New GlaStar, said, "We were considering [not attending]... the war, the economy... the expense -- all that. But we came, and we're extremely pleased that we did."

Cessna's Lori Lucion said that, although Cessna didn't have anything earth-shakingly new to display, "Our local dealer did extremely well, and that's 'a good show' in my book."

New Piper, introducing the 6X, drew a lot more folks than in recent years, and sold airplanes, too. "It was good to have good news to spread around," said one of the blue-shirted Piper folks.

Diamond said that, "We sold everything we brought to the show, that was for sale. The Twin -- if we had had that here, we could have sold fifty of 'em."

Randy Schlitter (RANS) pointed out a distinction. With the uncertainties in the economy and world, he was seeing that "Customers want to know they will be making a good investment." To the point of buyers' jitters, he added, "After twenty years of service, it's easier to sell."

Paula Schlitter noted that there is a big demand for their airplanes, in ready-made form: "If we had brought six or ten ready-made airplanes here, we could have sold them all."

(Sport Pilot's long genesis has held some buyers back, Randy was sure; but he didn't see it hurting his business, specifically: "We had a lot of LSA [Light Sport Aircraft] inquiry, but [the delay] isn't hurting our sales -- our airplanes can fly, either way." As for Sport Pilot itself, "It's a good idea, gone government."

Cirrus had a full schedule of demo rides, and said their business was very good.

One lady at Lancair (kits) noted that the new Legacy FG had stirred a lot of interest, but that, in general, the show was "about average."

Pilatus people told me that Sun 'n Fun "isn't in our 'top 3 shows,'" but said they had developed some good leads. The high point for the PC-12 folk was that, "Right here, people can see the Caravan, the TBM 700, and the PC-12, all together."

One memorabilia vendor, though, expressed what some other vendors said. "You sell a helmet -- that's it. They don't come back and buy another helmet. If I wanted to make money, I'd be at home, trading stocks on the internet. It doesn't break even for me."

What did it cost?

In the hangar display areas, exhibitors said their 10 x 10 foot spaces cost from $1450 to $3000, plus discounts; outdoor spaces varied, some quite a bit upward. An appearance in a "basic booth" in the hangar, manned by a husband-and-wife team (no hired help), represented about a $5000 out-of-pocket expense. That meant that, in addition to the sales they would have made if they had stayed home (plus any sales they missed by closing the business at home, to come to the show), they would have to sell "about $15,000" to break even, plus "something to cover the travel days away from the shop." (They sold about $1500, and "got a few good leads" for future sales.)

A big exhibit can easily cost $30,000 and up -- $50,000 is not unheard-of, when experts are flown in to man booths, floors and tents are rented, aircraft are flown in, and show materials are tallied. Oh -- and all those people eat, do laundry, and sometimes even give things away, all in the name of 'promotion.' Selling a whole Caravan or two wouldn't begin to pay for a Cessna-size expedition and entourage.

It's not just about breaking even, though.

Companies, including our "basic" example, that wouldn't think of spending thousands of dollars on 'advertising,' have no problem explaining their show shortfall by calling their attendance, 'advertising.' There's a lot involved, after all, that can't be done from home: the face-to-face meetings, the side-by-side comparisons of products -- and the vendors' own chance to scope out the competition and get ideas from customers, too. The customer exposure -- that's worth a lot.

Besides, it's fun to see the people you'll see only at airshows -- people in the industry, who are always "in a meeting" when you call. At the show, they're "in a meeting," too -- only, if you hang around long enough, they'll be in that meeting with you. Several vendors mentioned that this access, unavailable any other way, makes them less-conscious of all that business they're not doing at home, all those phone calls they're missing, and all the money they're spending to attend.

The "crowds"

The crowds were down this year, by most counts; but many vendors, particularly established, big-ticket vendors, said they didn't miss many of the people who didn't come. The people who were going to finally buy an aircraft, were there -- they had to be. The folks from town, though, didn't show up -- perhaps they didn't want to pay the $30 a day to get in. That group of people -- the curious, the jewelry buyers, the hot-dog buyers, and the future aviators -- they're staying away. Sun 'n Fun's just too expensive, for the small-ticket people. We hope the smaller airshows, the Young Eagles, the interested pilots and builders -- we hope they -- we -- can reach out, to grasp the hand that just doesn't have the big gate fee, and that they -- we -- can help show them why this fraternity we call aviation is worth all that we put up with.

[Note: Monday was "locals day," when Florida residents were allowed in for $15. By Monday, there wasn't enough "show" -- most of the airplanes had gone home -- left. Maybe next year, locals will be invited on the first day, so they can see the excitement and the aircraft, and spread the word --ed.]

...and everyone -- everyone, said that the show would have been better, if it had just ended on Sunday.

FMI: www.sun-n-fun.org