Sporty's fly in May

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asgcpa

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Anyone ever gone?

Is it worth it? How congested is it? Good hotels by field?
 
Have never gone, Art.....I'd prefer, I think to go to Put-In Bay :)
 
I planned on it when flying to Dayton two years ago for the Hamvention. I got close and tuned into the Unicom and decided I didn't need any of that. It was a madhouse on the radio. As I flew past there were several airplanes in the pattern, several inbound and several that didn't sound like they knew what was going on.

I don't hunt pancakes on Saturday. Don't go to many fly-ins either. I do go to type club fly-ins (cessna 170 and seaplane) but those are not as crazy as some events that I've learned to avoid.
 
Yes, 2012. The only time a plane has pulled out in front of me while on very short final, near gross, full flaps. Thankful for 260 hp. We had a hot dog, bought port o2 and left. Did my flt trng there in 2008, but will not go back on that day. There are hotels close by, not much to see in the local area. Plenty of vendors set up and of course the pilot shop. We like SC00- Triple Tree. We always arrive early to any of these fly-ins if possible. It does get a little crazy after 10 AM.
 
Never been to the Sportys fly-in. They have the hot dogs every Saturday though. Watch the ones filled with cheese they will burn you badly.
 
Josh, we are thinking about a January trip to Rick's Boathouse at Eagle Creek AP, KEYE

Would you be up for a trip there?
 
Depends on the dates. Planning a vaction to the DR around that time.
 
I went there either this year or last year (hey, it's been a long year!) and while it was pretty busy, I didn't it was much different than any other big untowered fly-in. I had my wife and daughter along to help spot other aircraft, they were a big help. It's only 38 nm from me, so it's pretty local.

When we got there, I guess the grass parking was filling up, so they actually put us in an empty hangar! First time I've ever gone to a fly-in and been in a hangar, kind of nice.
 
I used to fly there quite often on business but have never been to Ricks.
 
KEYE is my airport. Ricks is literally right across the street from the FBO. 60 second walk. Rick's food is certainly decent, and the view is great, particular on a summer evening if you are out on the deck overlooking the Eagle Creek Reservoir.

The reservoir makes it easy to locate the airport.
 
:mad2: How did this thread get hijacked? I still don't know if its worth it to go.....:mad:
 
Skylane81E said:
Meh, actually visiting Sportys is a little anti climatic
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But you live relatively close by? Right? For someone who has never been there and with vendors and workshops would it be an interesting place for a fly out get away?
 
Skylane81E said:
Meh, actually visiting Sportys is a little anti climatic
Click to expand...

I have to agree with this. When we moved to Ohio, being a pilot one of my first thoughts was - hey, I need to go check out Sportys! I mean, it's all of 38 nm away after all.

Note the following is not about the fly-in, but about the place the rest of the time.

I guess I had envisioned some gigantic aviation version of Walmart or something, where you could see everything they sell, handle things, "window shop", get demos of popular equipment, see just how big that new flashlight/kneeboard/iPad mount is, and just in general spend hours browsing around the store. Which is the impression you get from the external pictures of the building.

Ain't like that at all.

They have a small display area the size of, I don't know, maybe a smaller Subway restaurant? There are some headsets to try, which is nice, and you can see the hats and pins and a few other mostly gift-type things, but most of their stuff is in the warehouse behind the counter. Now, I will say they're pretty efficient - you tell the person at the counter what you want and it shows up in a minute or two. (It's best to have the catalog numbers of what you're looking for though.) But it's not like you're browsing the aisles, you need to know what you want before you get there.

The building itself is nice and holds a lot of other functions than just their warehouse - flight training office, simulator rooms, a cafe, an AME, I think there's a barber in there somewhere, that kind of thing. And there might be a demo glass panel unit on display or something like that and airplanes hanging from the ceiling. So it is a neat place, especially when you compare it with the average FBO, but certainly not what I was thinking before I went the first time.

Note this is purely a result of my completely-unfounded expectations, nothing I'd say that they're doing "wrong".

I did find the truck-stop-like condom dispensers in the men's room a little odd, though - are there that many shoppers in need of such an item RIGHT NOW?
 
Ok. So it seems like it might be better to fly somewhere else like Oshkosh but not during "the week". (Nervous about traffic and logistics - much rather drive)
 
asgcpa said:
But you live relatively close by? Right? For someone who has never been there and with vendors and workshops would it be an interesting place for a fly out get away?
Click to expand...

Yep, less than 10 minute flight.

Still was brimming with anticipation for my first trip.


Found a decent looking FBO with a warehouse out back.
 
They used to use Segweys to get the stuff off of the shelves. Last time I bought some Cam-Gaurd they went after it with a bicycle. That was kinda boring actually.
 
Sorry for hijacking your thread. We attended the Sporty's fly in (we lived about 15 minutes away at the time) and it was... okay. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give it a 5. This is slightly unfair as the only other fly in I've been to is Airventure. :)

Also, yes, we would totally go to KEYE again.

Edited to add: Sporty's the shop is dinky. Don't go there thinking it's some WalMart sized store. It is, but most of it is warehouse and the part you can see is pretty small.
 
Not a HiJack at all. Probably one of the few that was on subject.

Is Hubs coming up tonight? Before the White Death hits!
 
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