By Jerry Allen, M.A.,  Editor

Sebring, FL - The folks at the Florida Commission on Tourism must cringe every time it rains, but they hadn't anything to worry about; the spirits were high at the 2008 U.S. Sport Aviation EXPO in Sebring, Florida, January 17-20.  So the weather was rather lousy at times, the EXPO was still awesome!

Having left 0-degrees in Boulder, Colorado the morning before, I certainly didn't mind a few drops of liquid water here and there.  Heck, one of my SportPilot.com cohorts kept remarking, "I love these kinds of days."  Understand now, it's kind of dry out west, and by this time of year, we hadn't even heard thunder in months, much less seen rain.

Anyway, when we entered the front gate, the kid in me took a deep breath, not believing that I was finally there. My companions went on without me as I stood motionless, spellbound, marveling at all the fantastic flying machines within my gaze.  Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!  I thought I had died and gone to light sport heaven!  I was grinning ear to ear, mesmerized like a seven year- old on the midway at the state fair.

You see, like many a pilot, I had allowed my medical certificate to lapse and hadn't tried to renew it for quite some time.  But now, because of the sport pilot designation, I'm flying again in SportPilot.com's own LSA, a RANS Coyote II S-6ES. Low and slow is my motto, and that's exactly how I was going to take the EXPO in, low and slow.  What clouds, I had thought.  I hardly noticed!

I just wanted to play, to run up and touch every one of those magnificent flying machines, while doing my best, of course, not to drool on them.  But I was on a mission, pulling professional duty, introducing the exhibitors to SportPilot.com's website, the "World Center for Sport Pilot and Light Sport Aircraft."  The EXPO was our official launch, so I had to stay focused on the task at hand.

In every direction were shiny new airplanes, their handlers wiping them down with care as folks swarmed around them like honeybees at the hive.  What a gathering of like-minded light sport aviation enthusiasts it was!  With over 150 vendors showing their wares, attendees were hard pressed to squeeze it all in.  From the Cessna SkyCatcher to the Cirrus Design SRS; from the Jabiru to the Brazilian made Paradise P-1; from Cubs to SeaRays; from Float Planes and Amphibs to the electric-powered Electra Flyer, there were incredible birds everywhere.

I began greeting people left and right, admiring their planes while imagining myself as the pilot-in-command.  Still, I managed to make a respectable company representation to the individual exhibitors, before reluctantly dragging myself away. Oh well, I had thought, there were many more planes and things to see.  And before long I was treated to some mighty interesting characters, too.

Take "Doc" Bailey of Renegade Rotorcraft.  He reminded me a bit of New Orleans' own Dr. John, as he played to the inquisitive crowd hovering around his yellow prototype.

Then there was John Keith of P&M Aviation, a southerner preaching the virtues of weight-shift control in his Quik Trike.  To me, it looked like fun, sort of an Electra Glide with wings, so I asked him, "Do you find new trike pilots to be owners of motorcycles?"  Before he could answer with a thoughtful nod of agreement, a stranger next to me chimed in that he had just ridden his two-wheeled cruiser to the EXPO.  Hmm, not scientific proof, I reasoned, but their answers did provide anecdotal support to my way of thinking.

And there were famous people at the EXPO, too.  For instance, Phil Lockwood, that energetic entrepreneur.  You know, he's the guy who started Lockwood Aviation Supply.  Everybody's heard of him, and there he was sitting right in front of me in a golf cart.  I just had to shake his hand, and I did.  Nice fellow, too. I read later that he was behind the development of the Air-Cam, the great twin-engine yellow albatross at the EXPO, once used in a National Geographic Society film about rainforests in the Congo.  It looked sort of like one of those long, narrow canoes in Elvis' old movie, "Blue Hawaii," only with a massive wingspan.  Standing next to it, one could easily imagine the spectacular, sweeping view from the front-end cockpit. Everything was behind the pilot; way behind the pilot.

I decided to find and personally thank Bob Wood, Chairman of the U.S. Sport Aviation EXPO (www.Sport-Aviation-EXPO.com) for all the hard work his group had done to bring this important event up to this level in just four short years.  So I hailed a  couple of EXPO volunteers to slow their golf cart enough for me to holler, "The lieutenant governor said that I should see you guys about taking me to Bob Wood."  Well the old adage, who you know (or at least who you say you know) seemed to have worked because they immediately stopped, motioning me aboard with big smiles. When I reached Bob in the main building of the Sebring Regional Airport, he was just finishing a taped interview with FlyingTV.org, (www.FlyingTV.org). His commanding voice and statesman-like persona made him an excellent ambassador for the EXPO.

Bob later explained to me that the event originally came about as a way to spur economic vitality in the airport and Sebring as a whole.  Wise decision, I commended.  Their forethought and quick action secured long-term benefits for the area and placed the U.S. Sport Aviation EXPO on the calendar of major aviation events!

After heading back over to the show, I soon came upon Indus Aviation's Thorpedo, a low-wing cruiser with a red and yellow paint scheme that looked just as fast and powerful as the plane's name.  Talk about an eye-catcher!  Mercy, it was enough to make a high-winger, like myself, consider low-winging it sometimes. 

I was having so much fun meeting people and talking about, what else, flying, that I had lost track of time.  It was after 2 o'clock, and I hadn't had lunch yet, and I was mighty thirsty.  I was cutting through one of the long exhibitor tents when I asked a lady where to find water.  She smiled obligingly and pointed to a booth on down the line and said, "They're giving away free water over there."

Nice!  So I strode nonchalantly up to the ice chest in front of the Angel Flight Southeast booth, silently thanking my lucky stars and trying not to be so obvious about my intentions.  A kindly gentleman with an Aussie accent greeted me, pointing at the coldest bottles.  Now I'm not the kind of guy to believe that 'some things are just meant to happen,' but I was thirsty, and he had what I needed.  So I asked what Angel Flight was all about.

Ken Jordan, an Angel Flight Ambassador, told me about his wonderful, non-profit organization (part of the Air Charity Network), where volunteer pilots donate their time,air- planes, and fuel to help needy people reach medical facilities.

Well, destiny and the like are hard for me to accept, but serendipity certainly played a role here.  Anyway, I told Ken that SportPilot.com would be happy to post their hyperlinked image on our site.  And if you'd like to do more than just poke holes in the sky and do something to help folks during their time of need, then go to the Angel Flight Southeast website (www.AngelFlightSE.org) and the Air Charity Network website (www.AirCharityNetwork.org) to learn how you can help.

Later, a nice fellow with whom I struck up a conversation, a Florida cattleman, bought me a BBQ lunch, prepared by the local cattlemen's wives.  You meet the nicest folks at these aviation get-togethers, don't you?  The BBQ was pretty good, but that pecan pound cake was absolutely delicious.  After I washed it all down with the last of my sweet tea, I offered to my new found friend, "You cattlemen eat pretty well."

All in all, I had a blast at this year's EXPO, and best of all, I was amazed at how supportive the vendors were of our efforts to create a website totally dedicated to sport piloting.  So a special 'Thanks' to them all.

Now if you want to get another take on the EXPO experience, as well as some informative reviews of the planes displayed there, you ought to read Dan Johnson's online article (www.ByDanJohnson.com).  Dan's the Chairman of the Board of Directors of LAMA, the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association.  He's a real who's-who of light sport aviation, so he has the seasoned-eye to make sound assessments.

Oh, and one other thing.  As an attendee, you got an added perk when leaving the EXPO.  The parking lot sat right next to the Sebring International Raceway (www.SebringRaceway.com).  I don't really understand the attraction of chasing one's tail around a track all day, but I have to admit, it was kind of exciting, watching those Vettes, Porsches and Beamers screaming around that turn.

Yep, that boyish grin was still spread across my face when we pulled out.  Thanks, Sebring, we'll be back next year!