www.PSFmagazine.com | December 2018 - January 2019 | 19 18 | December 2018 - January 2019 | Powered Sport Flying DeLand 2018 happens regularly at these events that cannot be duplicated any other way: lots of demo flying occurred, even more than I recall from previous DeLand Showcase events (though this is mere observation; I did not count movements). These two activities are perhaps the main reason you should consider DeLand, Sebring, Copperstate, and Midwest lsa Expo. Go fly! Loud kudos to the AirBoss group of former faa air traffic controllers who did a masterful job of handling traffic. They were clearly aware of the show goals of demo flying or showcase flying and appeared to fit in everybody according to their wishes. However, they did much more. DeLand is a very active skydiving center and it did not stop for the show — providing regular spectacles of canopies filling the sky; kinda cool, like an airshow for a recreational aviation event, and all for free! In addition, the temporary control tower team handled business jet arrivals and departures and lots of other non-show traffic. DeLand normally has no tower meaning pilots and atc guys had to adapt for a few days. All seemed to go very smoothly. The Used LSA Factor One conversation happened many times. While sellers of new lsa seek those customers, the almost 15-year-old lsa industry has now accumulated a solid and growing supply of quality used aircraft. Sellers are realizing that their enterprise can be composed of both. Used lsa can serve two important goals: First, they give buyers with tighter budgets more choices. Secondly, they give sellers more product to offer. Think of any automobile dealership. If you ask the owner, he or she will likely say they actually make more on used cars while satisfying customers who don’t choose to pay the price of brand new. Everyone seems fairly well served by this approach. A year ago I had a conversation with main representative Robert Meyer of Lockwood Aircraft. He and boss Phil Lockwood are always attentive to the best used AirCams they can find and regularly acquire them for resale. Robert reported this does not detract from their new AirCam sales and serves two goals: First, it gives some customers a chance to buy a ready-to-fly AirCam. Secondly, it gives Lockwood Aircraft more product, thus augmenting their new kit business. As the factory, they can choose the best used examples and give them factory makeovers (as needed). They turned a problem into a solution. Not bad! John Hurst is another Florida lsa expert making this idea work. He was at DeLand representing longtime market leader Flight Design and their high-tech ctls. While John sells new ctlss, he also brokers in used aircraft and this proves useful to his enterprise. Scott Severen is the newNorth American representative for the Jabiru line of aircraft. Before he got involved with new aircraft he brokered used Light Sport Aircraft, an activity he continues even as he logged more new sales in his first year than he projected. As with Lockwood and Hurst, Scott reports used aircraft sales are a viable partition of his enterprise. Many general aviation types wonder how Light Sport Aircraft purveyors — small businesses of one to a dozen or more people—can build a sustainable business model and the answer almost surely involves multiple activities; new and used aircraft can complement one another very well. Still, Questions About 3,600 lb LSA Frequently at DeLand, I had discussions about news concerning a huge weight increase for Light Sport Aircraft. I did an interview with AVweb‘s Paul Bertorelli, who also interviewed other industry leaders. And Videoman Dave recorded my commentary. Both should emerge soon on YouTube. I hope these and other efforts will quiet the concerns of pilots and airplane sellers by presenting real information and less of the sensational stories of early October. CGS Hawk is another company and product (the two-place Hawks) that described a good 2018. SilverLight‘s American Ranger AR1—now available with optional full enclosure—continues to grow. More Stats and News Deland noted a few developments that support sport aviation at the airport and about the event itself. As far as the airport is concerned, they are rolling out the red carpet for aviation business in the following ways. 1. The Village – the DeLand Sport Aviation Village is a 40-acre commerce park being developed specifically for the Recreational Communities. The airport is currently accepting Applications for the Land Leases in the Village for Phase 1A. 2. An Airport Administration Building has been built at 1000 Flightline Blvd and the Airport Staff will be moving in just before the holidays. The Matusick Airport Management Center will be home to the airport staff and provide a 24-hour locker room for travelling pilots as well as meeting facilities to support the many airport tenants. As far as the event itself goes, here are the people who make it work. 1. There were 119 Volunteers credentialed with another 11 walk-ons for a perfect 130 volunteers to orchestrate Showcase 2018. Jana Filip, Sport Aviation Administrator, noted, “The Showcase Volunteers have quickly created a reputation as the absolute best in the industry, and come to Showcase from Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Tennessee.” 2. Exhibitors numbered just over 100 on the Showcase Field. A pleasant improvement for the indoor exhibitors was a new display design this year that was comprised of two clear-span tents side by side with a courtyard in the middle. It allowed people on the outside to see that something was going on in the tents and allowed vendors inside to feel a little more connected to the rest of the show and the nice Florida weather. All-in-all, it was a great wrap-up to an overall good year for light sport aircraft!• Support Our Advertisers
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