Experimenter is a magazine created by EAA for people who build airplanes. We will report on amateur-built aircraft as well as ultralights and other light aircraft.
Issue link: http://experimenter.epubxp.com/i/271000
2 Vol.3 No.3 / March 2014 AFTER THE ENDLESS WINTER cold and snow much of the country has endured I bet you're looking forward to spring and the annual trip to Sun 'n Fun as much as I am. The show opens on April 1, so the chilly weather that has frequently settled as far south as central Florida should be long gone by the time we get to Lakeland. As you may know, Sun 'n Fun was founded as an EAA chapter fly-in 40 years ago as a midwinter getaway for pilots. The event grew and became the second largest fly-in, after Oshkosh, and has for many years been an independent event. We still enjoy a cordial relationship with Sun 'n Fun, and many of the volunteers who make the show possible are EAAers. Sun 'n Fun continues to welcome all EAA members to Lakeland with a discount on admissions. Be sure to bring your EAA membership card along to qualify for the reduced rate. EAA will be exhibiting at the show with a variety of logo items for sale and membership staff on hand to renew your membership and answer questions. You can also enter the EAA Classic Sweepstakes and have a chance to win a beau- tifully restored Fairchild 24H. The Blue Angels will fly on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, April 4-6, and all EAA members are invited to enjoy the per- formance from a special EAA hospitality area on the warbird flightline. The view is the best, and admission to the EAA venue is free to all members. Just have your mem- ber card with you. Sun 'n Fun is the first chance to show off your airplane this year, no matter what it is you fly. And for many of us closed in by the extreme winter weather, it's also the first long cross-country flight of the year. By April the Florida flying weather is usually pretty good, but weather can always present a challenge for pilots who are not prepared. We are lucky to have so many sources of up-to-date weather information available today. Dozens of online ser- vices feed the latest weather radar images, textual reports, and forecasts into our mobile devices. Satellites send near real-time weather down to displays in our cockpit while in flight. And for not a lot of money you can buy a receiver that picks up the subscription-free weather the FAA is sending over the new ADS-B ground station network. There is no reason to be surprised by the weather during your trip. But it's vital that we be realistic about our own capabili- ties and those of our airplanes. After the long winter it's crucial that we refresh our skills before launching on the trip to Lakeland, and maybe even log some time with a flight instructor to make sure we are ready. It's also important to understand the safe limits of our air- planes. No matter how skillful we may be as pilots, airplanes have fi nite performance capabilities. Winds and turbulence, for example, that are an annoyance for more powerful and heavier airplanes may simply be beyond the capabilities of lighter craft no matter how good the pilot may be. And speaking of wind, I urge you to be very conservative in your fuel planning for the trip. It is both a tragedy and an embarrassment that so many GA pilots end up making forced landings for the totally avoidable reason that they ran out of fuel. The wind is blowing snow around as I write this, and you can be sure the Wisconsin tundra is thoroughly frozen. But spring is within sight, and Sun 'n Fun beckons us to fly south. I can't wait. And I look forward to seeing you in Lakeland. TOWER FREQUENCY On the cover: Mike Mahar's all-wood GP-4. (Photography by Jim Koepnick) See You at Sun 'n Fun BY JACK PELTON Photography by Jason Toney E A A E X P _ M a r 1 4 . i n d d 2 EAAEXP_Mar14.indd 2 3 / 3 / 1 4 1 0 : 2 8 A M 3/3/14 10:28 AM