Post by jetcat3 on Aug 5, 2016 15:22:29 GMT
Awesome review Clue!
Oshkosh. Wow, I've been dreaming of attending this show for many years now. It was better than I had imagined indeed.
Microsoft Flight Simulator had a tremendous impact on me in my life when I was a young teenager. I learned about Amelia Earhart and her Lockheed Vega, the Ford Tri-Motor, and heard about Patty Wagstaff and her Extra 300S. I became obsessed with that program and with aviation. I remember pulling up this green strip on the top of the screen and having this automated voice read off the weather and just made the connection a couple of days ago that I was tuning the frequency for the latest ATIS information!
With that said, Oshkosh really was a full circle experience for me. There was literally something for everyone at the show. It was so neat to see things that I've always dreamed about seeing. I'm kinda obsessed with flight simulators, remote control jets, and of course all aircraft. Well just about everything I love about aviation was fully represented at this show. Even a major remote control company I really enjoy had a booth there! It really was overwhelming to be honest and if I ever do get a chance to go again with my Dad, I'd love to compartmentalize the show if possible and try to have a schedule of some sort. We didn't even make it to a forum there was so much to see!
My Dad and I tried to literally see as much as we could in the two days we had. The amount of airplanes that are at this show is staggering! Overwhelming to see so many take off and land at any given time. I really don't get how to ATC does it that week. Here's a quick review of some of the aircraft manufacturers and booths on display. I'll copy Clue's format.
It seemed like every aircraft manufacture was on display at this regional airport. There was a lot of money sitting there that week! Cirrus's booth really jumped out to me initially. The Cirrus Jet was gorgeous in person but I think I'd still give the edge in the looks department to the Eclipse 550. I love that jet! Cirrus's booth was really amazing though. They had iPads in front of every aircraft that showed you different specifications and information pertinent to what you were seeing in front of you. I was really impressed inside their booth as well. A huge projector displaying awesome in flight footage was captivating aw well. We talked to a nice lady who worked there and she told us how many aircraft they had sold that week and we both about fainted! They are very nice aircraft and they have a wonderful marketing and advertising plan going on right now. They remind me a lot of Apple in the aviation world. Kudos to them and I hope they find success with the Vision Jet.
Icon Aircraft was close by the Cirrus booth. My Dad and I spent a little while watching them take an A5 off of a trailer and extend the wings. For some reason I though this aircraft was going to be bigger in person. The cockpit did look a little small but overall the aircraft was quite gorgeous and seemed well designed. It's a shame they booth A5's blocked off to the public. They were only doing private showings. I'm just not sure what is going on with them. You could almost taste the awkwardness without even knowing their current situation at their booth. Anyways, it would also be nice to see that little aircraft make it in the future. Maybe a Rotax 914 could save it?
I was happy to see the XCub at the show as I have been anticipating seeing it for some time now. It is one gorgeous bird! It's a Husky killer. Aviat sure does make a nice product but I don't know how they are going to compete with the new XCub unless they lower their prices. There's no incentive to buy a 2016 Husky when a 2013 is virtually the same thing. I love both of these taildraggers and I do hope they both continue to have success but CubCrafters I think has found a winner with the XCub and the price is perfect for their intended market. It was nicely finished inside and reminded me of luxury trucks out now. Not to mention its 150 MPH cruise speed! Nuts.
American Legend was one of my personal favorites at the show. These guys are so nice and really do a great job of making you feel comfortable. I really love what they are trying to do. Their Cubs are gorgeous and really well built. Their AL18 Super Legend with the Lycoming YO-233 engine (115hp) is my favorite model of theirs. Its a PA-18 clone and it'll outperform a 150hp Super Cub in pretty much every performance category. Pretty cool!
Kitfox had a nice lineup there at the show. I recently took a flight in one of these that my instructor owns and it was a hoot! Fuel injected engine and it still performed really well. These are pretty sweet taildraggers with great performance for the price. Many guys also put Rotax 914's in them and you're able to get in and out of anything that Idaho can throw at you. Unfortunately the cabin space is a little bit limited but other than that a very cool airplane. Plus, they're based out of the Boise area.
Vans Aircraft and The Airplane Factory was right next to and across from Kitfox. There were 3 or 4 RV-12's and a couple of RV-7's and RV-10's. Nice airplanes but the 12 does seem a little small inside. The two Sling's on display were very well built and I thought their interiors were nicely finished up. I really like the Sling 4! Such a cool airplane! Rotax 914 and a 2,000 pound gross weight. Not to mention constant speed prop as well.
I was excited to see the new Remos GXiS as I had watched a video about their new push to start system. They are trying to jumpstart things again and I was pretty impressed with the design of this aircraft. They had a latch you could swing that would kick off the doors in an emergency landing and you could fly without the doors all together. You can also fold back the wings. Pretty cool! The airplane was nicely finished and had a pretty sweet panel. It reminds me a lot of a CTLSi.
The new Glasair Merlin was on display and I have to agree with Clue here. It did seem very nice and a nice upgrade from the Skycatcher with a lot of safety features, but for the asking price I'm not so sure I would ever buy one.
Last but not least was Tecnam and their booth had a killer lineup this year! The P92 Eaglet with dual G3X, P2008 premium edition, P2010, gorgeous Astore, and a nice looking P2006t. Their booth was well done and I liked how open it felt. You never felt like you were cramped and you had plenty of room to inspect all of their beautiful aircraft. One thing my Dad are always surprised by is the sheer size of these LSA's. The P2008 and Astore have considerable ramp presence for a Light-Sport. They were all gorgeous indeed! It was really fun seeing Mark again and chatting about these awesome airplanes. He's a great guy y'all!
Dinner on Friday night was definitely one of the highlights for us as well being able to eat dinner with Mark, Greg, and his wife Kimberley. I feel like we could have talked for hours on end in that Chinese buffet. It was so good to finally meet Greg (Cluemeister) in person! Very nice guy and it was a really enjoyable night.
My Dad and I have never been to an airshow before, so this aspect was a little shocking in a good way! The demonstrations were amazing! So much fun to Patty Wagstaff, the Snowbird demonstration team, and my personal favorite, the two F-18 Super Hornets. If that thing doesn't give you chills full afterburner down the runway, I don't know what will! So freaking awesome. The sneak passes pushing 700+ mph were my favorite. Totally catching the audience off guard. It was so much to see!
All in all, an amazing event. I'll remember this two day stint in Oshkosh for the rest of my life! I'm really grateful I was able to go with my Dad and enjoy the experience with him. Wouldn't trade it for the world!
Oshkosh. Wow, I've been dreaming of attending this show for many years now. It was better than I had imagined indeed.
Microsoft Flight Simulator had a tremendous impact on me in my life when I was a young teenager. I learned about Amelia Earhart and her Lockheed Vega, the Ford Tri-Motor, and heard about Patty Wagstaff and her Extra 300S. I became obsessed with that program and with aviation. I remember pulling up this green strip on the top of the screen and having this automated voice read off the weather and just made the connection a couple of days ago that I was tuning the frequency for the latest ATIS information!
With that said, Oshkosh really was a full circle experience for me. There was literally something for everyone at the show. It was so neat to see things that I've always dreamed about seeing. I'm kinda obsessed with flight simulators, remote control jets, and of course all aircraft. Well just about everything I love about aviation was fully represented at this show. Even a major remote control company I really enjoy had a booth there! It really was overwhelming to be honest and if I ever do get a chance to go again with my Dad, I'd love to compartmentalize the show if possible and try to have a schedule of some sort. We didn't even make it to a forum there was so much to see!
My Dad and I tried to literally see as much as we could in the two days we had. The amount of airplanes that are at this show is staggering! Overwhelming to see so many take off and land at any given time. I really don't get how to ATC does it that week. Here's a quick review of some of the aircraft manufacturers and booths on display. I'll copy Clue's format.
It seemed like every aircraft manufacture was on display at this regional airport. There was a lot of money sitting there that week! Cirrus's booth really jumped out to me initially. The Cirrus Jet was gorgeous in person but I think I'd still give the edge in the looks department to the Eclipse 550. I love that jet! Cirrus's booth was really amazing though. They had iPads in front of every aircraft that showed you different specifications and information pertinent to what you were seeing in front of you. I was really impressed inside their booth as well. A huge projector displaying awesome in flight footage was captivating aw well. We talked to a nice lady who worked there and she told us how many aircraft they had sold that week and we both about fainted! They are very nice aircraft and they have a wonderful marketing and advertising plan going on right now. They remind me a lot of Apple in the aviation world. Kudos to them and I hope they find success with the Vision Jet.
Icon Aircraft was close by the Cirrus booth. My Dad and I spent a little while watching them take an A5 off of a trailer and extend the wings. For some reason I though this aircraft was going to be bigger in person. The cockpit did look a little small but overall the aircraft was quite gorgeous and seemed well designed. It's a shame they booth A5's blocked off to the public. They were only doing private showings. I'm just not sure what is going on with them. You could almost taste the awkwardness without even knowing their current situation at their booth. Anyways, it would also be nice to see that little aircraft make it in the future. Maybe a Rotax 914 could save it?
I was happy to see the XCub at the show as I have been anticipating seeing it for some time now. It is one gorgeous bird! It's a Husky killer. Aviat sure does make a nice product but I don't know how they are going to compete with the new XCub unless they lower their prices. There's no incentive to buy a 2016 Husky when a 2013 is virtually the same thing. I love both of these taildraggers and I do hope they both continue to have success but CubCrafters I think has found a winner with the XCub and the price is perfect for their intended market. It was nicely finished inside and reminded me of luxury trucks out now. Not to mention its 150 MPH cruise speed! Nuts.
American Legend was one of my personal favorites at the show. These guys are so nice and really do a great job of making you feel comfortable. I really love what they are trying to do. Their Cubs are gorgeous and really well built. Their AL18 Super Legend with the Lycoming YO-233 engine (115hp) is my favorite model of theirs. Its a PA-18 clone and it'll outperform a 150hp Super Cub in pretty much every performance category. Pretty cool!
Kitfox had a nice lineup there at the show. I recently took a flight in one of these that my instructor owns and it was a hoot! Fuel injected engine and it still performed really well. These are pretty sweet taildraggers with great performance for the price. Many guys also put Rotax 914's in them and you're able to get in and out of anything that Idaho can throw at you. Unfortunately the cabin space is a little bit limited but other than that a very cool airplane. Plus, they're based out of the Boise area.
Vans Aircraft and The Airplane Factory was right next to and across from Kitfox. There were 3 or 4 RV-12's and a couple of RV-7's and RV-10's. Nice airplanes but the 12 does seem a little small inside. The two Sling's on display were very well built and I thought their interiors were nicely finished up. I really like the Sling 4! Such a cool airplane! Rotax 914 and a 2,000 pound gross weight. Not to mention constant speed prop as well.
I was excited to see the new Remos GXiS as I had watched a video about their new push to start system. They are trying to jumpstart things again and I was pretty impressed with the design of this aircraft. They had a latch you could swing that would kick off the doors in an emergency landing and you could fly without the doors all together. You can also fold back the wings. Pretty cool! The airplane was nicely finished and had a pretty sweet panel. It reminds me a lot of a CTLSi.
The new Glasair Merlin was on display and I have to agree with Clue here. It did seem very nice and a nice upgrade from the Skycatcher with a lot of safety features, but for the asking price I'm not so sure I would ever buy one.
Last but not least was Tecnam and their booth had a killer lineup this year! The P92 Eaglet with dual G3X, P2008 premium edition, P2010, gorgeous Astore, and a nice looking P2006t. Their booth was well done and I liked how open it felt. You never felt like you were cramped and you had plenty of room to inspect all of their beautiful aircraft. One thing my Dad are always surprised by is the sheer size of these LSA's. The P2008 and Astore have considerable ramp presence for a Light-Sport. They were all gorgeous indeed! It was really fun seeing Mark again and chatting about these awesome airplanes. He's a great guy y'all!
Dinner on Friday night was definitely one of the highlights for us as well being able to eat dinner with Mark, Greg, and his wife Kimberley. I feel like we could have talked for hours on end in that Chinese buffet. It was so good to finally meet Greg (Cluemeister) in person! Very nice guy and it was a really enjoyable night.
My Dad and I have never been to an airshow before, so this aspect was a little shocking in a good way! The demonstrations were amazing! So much fun to Patty Wagstaff, the Snowbird demonstration team, and my personal favorite, the two F-18 Super Hornets. If that thing doesn't give you chills full afterburner down the runway, I don't know what will! So freaking awesome. The sneak passes pushing 700+ mph were my favorite. Totally catching the audience off guard. It was so much to see!
All in all, an amazing event. I'll remember this two day stint in Oshkosh for the rest of my life! I'm really grateful I was able to go with my Dad and enjoy the experience with him. Wouldn't trade it for the world!
