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PIREP - Sun n’ Fun 2018 - Friday the 13th

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I would like to write about what was a fantastic fly-in experience all-around.

First, the arrival procedure was much easier to execute than what I had imagined. The information contained in the NOTAMs including the arrival procedure was repeated in the arrival ATIS. I let that repeat about 3 or 4 times when I was 30-40 minutes out to make sure I had it fresh in my head. The controllers on the arrival and tower frequencies had an encouraging, welcoming tone as he identified me flying over the power plant (Lake Parker VFR arrival). The controllers talk to you, but you don’t talk to them unless they ask you something like, “Where are you from??..”..,...”Kentucky!”...”Great to have you!!!” The landmarks referenced in the arrival procedure were easier to pick up than I thought, but if you have any doubts, practice on a flight sim just to make sure.

The “tower” controller over the airport was calling my downwind, base and final turns. I thought he was going to kill me because I felt everything was too tight, but he couldn’t have called it better. I heard the stall horn just short of the green dot. Incredible. (I probably need to practice more short approaches and get to know my aircraft better)

Parking was a non-issue. If you don’t bring your own tie-downs, they have a golf cart rotating around the parking area selling a kit for $30.

The air show was amazing. Patty Wagstaff and Mike Goulian were there. They both flew like they were going for a gold medal. When Mike rolls his plane and rates your eye can barely keep up with, the smoke trail is as straight as a bullet. I cannot begin to imaging what kind of training one has to go through to develop that level of control. One of my favorites was the gentleman with the aerobatic Bonanza, I think his name is Jim Pietz. The other pilots were jaw-dropping as well. I took my old man, and he looked like a kid again as he saw these pilots take their planes to their limits.

The departure procedure was also smoother than the chaos I feared. It was not chaotic at all. Super well-organized. I just followed the planes in the line. When I got to the start of runways 9R and 9L, there was a person that ushered me to 9L (it could have easily been 9R). Each runway had its own frequency. Just in case one forgets to plug in the right frequency, they have signs stating “Monitor xxx.xx”

All in all, I would do this fly-in again without hesitation. It was a tremendous amount of fun. I felt safe. Even my father who is not that fond of flying enjoyed himself (except for the short approach which he is not used to, but he’s getting over it!). ;-)
 

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