Sun-n-Fun 2007

Another good trip, this time to Lakeland for Sun-N-Fun 2007. RV-7 builder David L. joined me this time. We had decent weather leaving Twin Lakes, and most of the way down to Florida. Eventually we ended up on top of a broken to overcast layer at 8,500'. We circled down through a hole for a fuel stop at HOE. Gas was $2.79 a gallon with fried chicken for lunch. Can't beat that. Our departure was delayed a couple hours because of the IMC in northern Florida and the smoke from the nearby forest fire. By early afternoon we (with Reno and Rad in chase) decided to head south and climb on top through the first hole. A reasonable plan, but the smoke changed it in a hurry. A couple miles south visibility dropped to nothing and I had ash on the windshield, so we turned around and went back towards HOE. There, the conditions improved enough that we were able to climb through a hole. Back on top at 8,500 and headed south.

By the time we got down there, the Lakeland airspace was closed for the airshow, so we had to go to Plant City. Not a big deal. Tad gave us a ride in the big truck to Lakeland to pick up the rental car. Then we enjoyed the show for a while before going into town for dinner and then the hotel on the east side of Tampa.

The show itself was pretty good, though the crowds seemed a little thin compared to previous years. My primary goal was to look at the latest EFIS stuff. The AF 3500 is still my favorite; and they were showing off the latest improvements like a moving map and XM weather. The map was very basic, but I'm sure it will be improved quickly.

The air show was good too. TeamRV was in good form, but camera malfunctions prevented me from getting any decent pictures. Aeroshell looked good as always. The night airshow was impressive. The B2 was a surprise -- as was the decent picture I got of it.

We prepared to head home on Sunday. It was a little complicated because the plane was at Plant City and the car had to be returned to Lakeland. So I had to fly the Lake Parker arrival into Lakeland to pick up David at the FBO after he returned the car. There was not really any traffic inbound to LAL and no holding over the lake, so it was pretty straight forward. Ten minutes later we were in line for departure and off to HOE again.

It was smooth sailing again except for the last couple miles into HOE -- lots of smoke from the forest fires. The line at the fuel pump was several deep, including Reno and Rad, but it moved quickly. Soon we were off again as a gaggle of two. By this time the smoke had drifted to the north of the airport, so we stayed south until we were above it at 7,500 and then turned north for home. We had a nice smooth ride until we descended to stay under Charlotte's airspace. 7.4 hours on the hobbs total for the trip. Another great one!