Light Sport Expo - Mt Vernon, IL THIS week!

Be there or be absent - lol

https://www.midwestlsaexpo.com/

Looks like it will be good weather for the 3 day tribute to Light Sport aviation. A nice road trip for me and here's hoping I can mooch a free ride in an LSA while down there.

I'm checked in at my motel. I did a quick look-see at the expo when I got into town. The airport is only 5 minutes from the motel at the most. The show is a pleasant, though quite small event. In truth you could see everything and chat with every vendor in a single day with lots of time to spare.

This was opening day so perhaps all the vendors have not yet arrived. I heard they had three vendors cancel due to Hurricane Dorian. The plan will be to have breakfast at the very nice on airport restaurant, wander around the planes a bit, take in Dan Johnson's forum at 11:00, then a lunch, more walking around if there are any vendors I've not visited and then check out a day early and drive back to Chicago.

I'm glad the weather is great and it's always fun to see LSA planes. Still hoping to mooch a ride, but likely this show will be a one and done for me anyway. I'll stick to Oshkosh. lol

Live and learn.

Back home from Mt Vernon. About 12-15 or so vendors were in attendance, which probably is a very large percentage of the actual flying machines offered to the marketplace.

Attended a very good presentation by Dan Johnson (LAMA and youtube sensation) regarding the upcoming LSA/FAA possible regulation changes that will affect the LSA market.

In retrospect considering how very small the LSA market is and how actually quite comparatively small businesses the various manufacturers are, it is great to see the participation at Mt Vernon, and see that hope too springs eternal for the future of this segment of GA. I had the opportunity to meet and chat with several different owners who flew their planes to Mt Vernon to put them on display for all to enjoy. Airplane folks are truly some fine and friendly people.

It appeared that rides were offered to some, but I suspect mostly prospective buyers, not mooching tire-kickers like me - lol - so I didn't experience anyone offering me a chance to get airborne, and truthfully I didn't want to presume to ask. Oh well, such is life.

Yesterday afternoon and this morning provided more than enough time to see all the planes and talk to all the vendors so I bugged out at 12:30, right after Dan's forum. GREAT weather, clear sunny and upper 80's, which made for nice plane watching and for a comfortable 280 mile drive down yesterday and then 280 miles back home today..

Thanks for the pirep, Randy. Did you see the Texas Aircraft Colt, and if so, what do you think?

Yes, the Colt was there, the very craft that was at Airventure in fact. No doubt it IS a terrific looking plane and the leather seats really separate it from the usual interiors on LSAs. But like many other planes, it is built for the lithe and limber pilots out there, not us overweight with bad knees wanna-be pilots - lol

In fairness my aging carcass isn't really able to get into most of the high wings in attendance, or egress if folded up enough to enter. The low wing planes are at least much easier to board and exit, with maybe a little assist to get up onto the wing.

I DO wish SP training and LSA rentals were not so darn far from my home. But such is the situation in inner-city Chicago.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Scooper

Did you see the Texas Aircraft Colt, and if so, what do you think?

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I made a point of checking it out at Oshkosh as it was one of the very few or the only new aircraft on display this year. It's a very good looking SLSA because it's a rip-off(to be nice, a clone) of the Tecnam P2008.

IMO, the most impressive looking SLSA is the Tecnam Astore, really gorgeous. As with their sports cars, Italians design the most beautiful airplanes.

I thought this was the most unique plane there. ChicagoRandy, you could easily step into this one. Attachment 8033

Per the sales guy, I could have taken that very plane home for a mere $150,000. He refused my offer of a third party check from a Nigerian prince drawn on a bank from the Cayman Islands - lol

In closely looking it over while there , it seems to require about the same level of high flexibility to get in and out as all the rest of the high wing craft. In truth I was embarrassed to try the body maneuvers needed while there was an 'audience' to my clumsiness. And that's on me, not the planes.