Sorry I missed it this year... I was counting on one of you to volunteer to pick up my new cub for me since I couldn't make it but I see that service will no longer be needed. Oh well.. there's always next year..... Looks like everybody had a good time..... Happy Flying...

This was my first trip to the Airman's Show had a great time and met some great folks. I have included a photo of my buddies and I having a few adult beverages on the shores of Lake Hood Saturday night. The most important question is..... can you spot Zane in the photo??
Ha! Can't wait till next year!

DBI wrote:The most important question is..... can you spot Zane in the photo??

Red jacket and black hat on the left.

Few random shots from the Gathering

First time setting foot in Alaska. Great to put some more BCP faces to names. Great to gather info for my planned trip up there this summer on amphib floats.

I was so busy meeting people and buying a couple of things (those "show specials" you know!), that I didn't snap many photos. There is one I'd like to share. I walked by Jessica Cox's booth. (http://www.JessicaCox.com) and of course after eye contact was made, I couldn't just keep walking. Born without arms, she became the first woman to fly a plane with her feet, using an Ercoupe, which has no rudder pedals.

I have been very active with the Challenged Athletes Foundation (I've helped them, and they helped me get to Kona to do the Hawaii Ironman), and one of my good friends through that is "One-Armed Willie" Stewart! So, I stopped and chatted with Jessica. She is a delight! So I bought her book and she insisted on autographing it for me, which she did with a Sharpie held in her toes.

Her book is full of great quotes, like "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." Helen Keller.

Pierre

DBi, great meeting you and chatting. I had such a great time seeing my AK friends and meeting new people, some who I have known online for a long time. I can't say enough about the generosity and hospitality of some of you guys.

Akgreg, Bigrenna, lurker Larry and I took a 3 day adventure into the Wrangells after the show. More to come on that...

Z

This was one of the most talked about things at the show:

Zzz wrote:This was one of the most talked about things at the show:

Nice looking. I like the rudder, good size for a taildragger.

What is it?

Reg search says sportsman 2+2

CamTom12 wrote:Reg search says sportsman 2+2

(I should have done "N" lookup )

Thank you. Composite looking smooth!

Sportsman 2+2 with the rough terrain gear. Was a really nice looking bird. Should have took some pictures of it.

AK_Logan wrote:Sportsman 2+2 with the rough terrain gear. Was a really nice looking bird. Should have took some pictures of it.

It also has a straight tail

I didn't even notice the tail was different, Z. Crazy!

That's a good looking bird.

That's Ted Setzer's airplane, I've seen it before as he's based in the Puget Sound area. IMHO that square 180-ish tail looks much better than the standard swept Glastar tail. Note the supercub style gear. If you've ever checked out a Glastar, you may have noted that the standard rod-type gear is pretty short, which makes for limited prop clearance. Big tires compensate, to a point. A guy at my airport has a set of 29" BW's on his, but prop clearance is still pretty minimal with his 82 or 84" MT prop.

I hear they're supposed to come out with extended gear. IMHO they would be smart to make it leaf spring type (a la Cessna) to resist twisting, also then it'd be possible to use bolt-on axles so toe-in and camber can be easily adjusted. The rod gear has the axles built into it, all one piece just like the similar gear on later C152 & 172. If the toe-in is off when you drill the holes to bolt the gear on, you're screwed forever.

And it's tough!!

http://cdn-users1.imagechef.com/ic/stor ... 1f9e51.jpg

(darn it- photo didn't paste, so click the link)

Zzz wrote:This was one of the most talked about things at the show:

Wow, that is a good-looking bird!! I've never seen a square-tailed Sportsman before. I like the new gear, too.

It's a one-off in terms of the tail, you'd have to talk to Ted about that. The Cub style gear is apparently available as an option now though.

Quite frankly the square tail makes that airplane look way better.... Still not a fan of the rear facing back seats though...

Aeronautical design of high aspect ratio tail feathers is over looked on bush planes in many examples. Opinion, about $00.02 worth.

I also assume she would be good on floats, no ventral fins needed.

Brian-StevesAircraft wrote:Quite frankly the square tail makes that airplane look way better.... Still not a fan of the rear facing back seats though...

Interesting. The Birddog has that one figured out. The rear seat bottom is fixed, but the rear backrest can be installed for either a forward or backward- facing passenger.