Last year the Sebring (FL) Airport broke new ground with their U.S. Sport Aviation Expo at the end of October. Expo is on again for 2005 and will have the largest collection of Light-Sport Aircraft anywhere. Organizer Bob Wood reports, “I expect over 130 aircraft on display.” By any measure, that deserves a “Wow!” Sebring was also named GA Airport of the Year and just signed a deal to be the home of the new Cub Air Academy. The latter is a well-funded effort to introduce more folks to flying LSA in a structured environment. I highly recommend the “Sebring Expo.” If you can come, look me up…
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New Year, New Airshows, New Flying Machines — Affordable Aircraft Plus Bigger, Faster Mosaic LSA
You know what modern-day aviators have that is wonderful? Choice! Lots of choice.
The truth is you have so many choices that this website offers perhaps its most useful function: helping you sift through the many aircraft you could fly. If you find a number of aircraft you like, how can you narrow your choices to find the one that best fits your needs?
Find Your Dream Plane
Maybe you haven’t explored these features but you might find them fun and worthwhile.
Check these one-of-a-kind offerings:
PlaneFinder 2.0 — Answer a few this-or-that questions; system reduces a long list to matching aircraft
SLSA List — Every Light-Sport Aircraft that has won FAA acceptance with links to more info
Part 103 List — For those who want fun flying machines that won’t exceed their budget; loaded with links
Advanced Search — Search through brands, models, or other providers on our extensive database
LSA Market Info — Search the most comprehensive record of all LSA and SP kits in America; sort many ways
Like everything on this website, all these features are free for the using (although email is requested to use PlaneFinder 2.0).
Midwest LSA Expo — Opening Day Highlights Strong Aircraft Turnout and Lots of Demo Flying
One sure way to know if a show works is to observe vendor participation over a number of years. As this is my 14th year attending the Midwest LSA Expo, I can tell you 2023 represents a strong turnout. Companies come back year after year because it works to connect them with interested customers. Both sides end up with smiles.
In this article, I will give you a glimpse of what you can see if you can attend on Friday and Saturday. For those that cannot come, this will provide some taste of what happens in Mount Vernon, Illinois in early September. Hopefully, you can come in 2024.
Every image you see below shows that vendors did not just bring one airplane to test the market. In every case, these companies brought two, three, or even four aircraft to show. That’s very rare even at AirVenture or Sun ‘n Fun.
What this illustrates is that the Midwest LSA Expo (about an hour’s drive east of St.
Midwest Expo 2023, Zenith’s Homecoming, Aero Showcase, and a New Owner of Jabiru
When AirVenture Oshkosh ends, you can almost hear a national sigh as if to denote the flying season is over. EAA’s magnificent summer celebration of flight leads to Labor Day and into fall.
Fun flying in northern climates might begin to slow but in the southern half of the U.S., flying for fun is entering its best season.
As if to prove the point, coming up soon:
15th annual Midwest LSA Expo,
Zenith’s 32nd Annual Homecoming event follows the Expo, with even larger crowds,
Aero Showcase’s second event is scheduled and being promoted, and
down under — where Australis is exiting winter (yeah, weird, huh?) — big changes for Jabiru
Midwest 2023
I’ve taken to shortening the event name to “Midwest (Year)” because I say or write it so often. This show — as you might expect, in the Midwest USA — has become a foundation of my aviation calendar. I only missed one year due to a hurricane in Florida where I live.
Midwest LSA Expo Wrap-Up — Metrics Reveal the Strength of These “Sector-Specific Shows”
Sun ‘n Fun does it. EAA AirVenture Oshkosh did it. Why not the smaller, sector-specific shows? Indeed, why not? I refer to reporting of show statistics when the event concludes. In modern vernacular, these are “metrics.”
The likable and longtime manager of the Mt. Vernon, Illinois municipal airport, Chris Collins, has been forwarding some “metrics” from this year’s 14th annual event. Whatever you choose to call the numbers from an event, they provide useful information on how the show performed.
One comment measurement is the number of airplanes sold or the quantity of interested pilots who expressed real interest. Trying to get hard information is like nailing Jello to a wall. We get tidbits and potential but hard facts are hard to assemble. A genuinely interested person ready to make a deal could experience problems right after the event. Some (understandably) need to check with their spouse; that sometimes alters a decision.
Sun ‘n Fun 2021 / Day 2 — Europe’s Speed Demons; Experimental Today But LSA in 2023?
Think about this: A Rotax-powered aircraft capable of high-speed cruising at 185 miles an hour? That’s pretty fast and some go quite a bit faster …although not in the USA, as Light-Sport Aircraft …not yet anyway.
Most readers are aware that FAA will make big changes to the LSA regulation (info also in this video) probably at the end of 2023. The last time LSA regulations were introduced in September of 2004, one geographical region of the world seemed to be ahead of the game. That 15-year-old experience appears ready to repeat.
As the new reg approaches — and with a giant assumption that it will remain approximately as we’ve been lead to expect — Europeans once again appear likely to seize an early lead.
Today, I am writing about high-speed aircraft with retractable gear and in-flight adjustable props. At Sun ‘n Fun 2021, we saw two such companies exhibiting.
Sebring Expo Shutdown Part 2 — “Why Did They Make This Decision?” Here’s Some Answers.
News about Sebring Expo’s shutdown captivated readers of this website. Other media outlets also picked up on the news. It may be unfortunate that bad news attracts us so powerfully but that is reality. Many readers asked a similar question: “Why?”
While some other media outlets clearly speculated over the reasons for the shutdown decision, I did not buy all the explanations.
One writer guessed that exhibitors had decreased. While the number of vendors buying space has fluctuated over the years, as it does for all other shows, I’m lead to believe that was not a primary reason.
Another reporter said “foot traffic” was too low but that probably shows that the writer compares every aviation event to Oshkosh and if it does not draw similarly-dense crowds, then something is wrong.
Instead, these events — that I call sector-specific shows — are more focused. That makes them far more accessible to serious buyers wanting extra time with the representatives of the aircraft that have drawn their interest.
Sebring Expo Is Shutting Down After 15 Years of Promoting the Central Florida Airport
“It’s a wrap” as the iconic LSA show called Sebring Expo (full name Sebring U.S. Sport Aviation Expo) is shutting down after 15 years.
The show started the same year LSA arrived on the scene — barely a month after FAA announced the new airplane and pilot certificate category — as the event was initially held in October before shifting to January to avoid hurricane season disruptions that affected the first year.
Sebring was hardly on the aviation map as the show began. A notable early success was attracting Phil Lockwood and his multiple enterprises. Those who know Phil are aware he is a particularly careful and deliberate planner so his selection of KSEF was significant and perhaps presaged the long and successful run of Sebring Expo.
Over the years, airport executive director Mike Willingham and those he retained to operate the event tried various tactics including a night airshow, adding drone racing and exhibits to the mix, plus relocating the center of activity, finally ending up right in front of the new beautiful airport terminal Mike initiated during his equally long run as the man in charge.
Sebring Day 4 — 2 Video Pilot Reports, a Surprise Arrival, and a Wrap-Up Interview
The final day of the Sebring U.S. Sport Aviation Expo brought good flying conditions until mid-afternoon when light precipitation returned. The good start allowed us to record two Video Pilot Reports (VPR), one on the Magnus Aircraft all-carbon-fiber Fusion 212 and the other on the fully enclosed SilverLight Aviation American Ranger AR1 gyroplane. The videos will take some time to edit but I’ll provide a quick glimpse below.
One surprise arrival was Aeromarine LSA‘s Mermaid. Remember this model? This Chip Erwin creation was really the forerunner of the modern LSA seaplane category. Before Mermaid, we had Progressive Aerodyne‘s Searey and Aero Adventure‘s Aventura. Both those models have been upgraded for the time of ASTM standards compliance but early in the new millennium it was accurate to call them “ultralight seaplanes” built of gusseted aluminum structures covered with sewn Dacron surfaces.
Sebring Day 3 — A Welcome Return of Blue Skies Brought Droves of Pilot Shoppers
As Day Three arrived, blue skies returned to Sebring after a damp start on Day Two and with them came the best crowds of pilots and companions of any day so far …by far. As you see in the lead photo (home page), crowds were often so thick around aircraft that a picture barely showed the flying machine. It was a fun if chilly day and the mood of pilots and aircraft reps was upbeat.
I was also informed that a number of paid sales went down and prospects are talking seriously about other purchases. Most aircraft vendors know a purchase of this size may warrant additional thought post-event but clearly some customers had come ready to deal.
For years I’ve maintained that sector-specific shows like Sebring produce more sales per visitor than the big shows. Neither pilots nor vendors can miss Sun ‘n Fun or Oshkosh and still claim to be true-blue aviators.
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