It was a pleasure to return to Batavia, 5 years after our first visit, with a few interesting additions this time.
Thanks to Christophe Masiero, Peter Carter and Debbie who all shared a number of very nice photos which they took during the event. It's always nice to have several photos to choose from.
The Cardinals arrived on a windy day, with rain promised for the next few days, and were parked with efficiency by the Sporty's crew. The story unfolds with the pictures below.
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Note that as this photo was being taken a Cardinal was taking off, and thus got in the picture several times.
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Events started with dinner at "Great Scotts", a local restaurant recommended by Hal Shevers. We took over the party room and had a great meal. |
A good crowd arrived early for the night before the event, and the food was really excellent. After the space we had reserved turned out to be a little tight the restaurant adjusted and we ended up in a very nice second floor private room. Turns out Hal really knows where to have a good meal. |
Our first day was a motor coach to the Air Force Museum in Dayton. We started with a tour of the 'back hangar', where the presidential airplanes and experimental prototypes are stored. |
Lunch was at the Officer's Club on the Air Force base, excellent food in a classy setting. |
Another view of the officer's club. We spent the afternoon at the main museum and were back at the hotel for a nice dinner. |
On Friday we started our morning session at Sporty's Hawk Center, a great location to talk about Cardinals.
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Here's the same group from the front. We heard from Powerflow about exhaust system maintenance, I told a few stories from things I've seen in my Cardinal Prepurchase inspections and Sporties put on an iPad seminar, telling us all the rest of the story about what software to use, how to tune the iPad for best performance and a few tricks. |
Next we split into groups and small groups toured various interesting things on the airport. One loop was a tour of the Sporty's operation. Here Michael Wolf, Sporty's CEO, tells a group about the origins and operations of the company. |
The group then moved through the entire building, including offices, warehouse and shipping, to see how an order is received and fulfilled. It is an impressive operation! |
The second loop of the tour was a bus ride to see how Sporty's is supporting a local technical college and a visit to Sandy's Landing, where you can live with your airplane. Hal Shevers personally led this part of the field trip and shared his vision and pride in all they are doing in the community. |
A third small group tour visited Air Mod, a premiere interior refurbishment company on the airport at Batavia. Here Dennis Wolter talks about how they build foam contours and high end coverings into their seats. |
More from Air Mod, a wider view of the upholstery shop and Dennis with a finished product. |
After the tours Hal opened up his private bar at the Hawk Center and captivated us with tales of his many exploits. Hal is a gracious host, and we heard stories that are not often told! |
Dinner was a river cruise on a paddle boat. |
We boarded in the rain, hoping there would be enough of a break to enjoy the cruise up and down the river. |
The Cardinal Flyers all sat together and enjoyed an excellent buffet. A few even tried out the dance floor!
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And the weather cooperated, allowing those willing to brave the brisk night air the opportunity to see the city lights under a glowing sky. It was really quite impressive, and a great end to the day. I don't know how Debbie finds these side trips, but they add a lot to our time together. |
The rain continued the next day but it didn't stop the Flyers from being in line for hot dogs and brats for lunch! |
The cafeteria was a great place to sit down, warm up and dry out between forays down to the grill for another brat. |
As is our custom at conventions, we pulled an RG and a FG into a hangar and pored over them as a group, discovering issues and learning what to look for. There is a great deal to learn from even a casual inspection of almost any Cardinal. |
Another view of the inspection process, happy to be out of the drizzle as an additional benefit to this phase of the day!
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The rain subsided enough for us to make our usual rounds of looking at each airplane and letting each owner tell their story. |
The most interesting story was Jimmy Honeycutt's arrival with one of the very first LoPresti cowls. I'm pretty sure that's what's at the center of this crowd. Jimmy had only flown a few hours with the cowl but was already impressed! |
There were plenty of Cardinals to look at, most of them in very nice condition.
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As I look at these photos I recall that it got a bit chilly... |
Here Dick Zuley talks about his '76 RG.
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Eventually the weather improved, with even a little sun by the time this picture was taken. Or at least a bright spot in the clouds, enough to make shadows. |
Dinner was at Phil and Lois Boyer's hangar in Sandy's Park, where we first laid eyes on this unique appetizer. |
The setting was perfect, the hangar outstanding, and the food excellent, a great formula for a fun evening together. |
This group was too busy enjoying the food to look up!
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As so often happens at our banquets, eventually someone stands up to talk.
That means it's time to hand out the awards! |
The Flew Furthest award was won by Ken Madland who flew over 1700 miles to be with us, including joining the Flyers for our CFO lunch at the AOPA convention on his way. |
Our newest pilot was Robert Oetjen, he evidently had a pretty good grip! Or it may have been a good quip. |
The Perseverance Award is given to the person who makes it to the event in the face of the greatest difficulty and challenge, as discussed and determined by the membership in attendance. This award went to Terry Glaves, who came commercial after mechanical problems kept him from flying to the event. |
Al Jung received the Wet Wings award, celebrating his recent IFR rating. |
The Broader Wings award goes to the most recent person to upgrade their ratings. Peter Carter won this for something we don't often see, the Canadian Night rating.
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The award for most Cardinal Time went to Bill Woods, who has over
4000 hours in Cardinals. |
Our newest Cardinal owner in attendance, Randall Rogers, was awarded the Fledgling award for his excellent skill in finding us quickly..
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David Gillies won the Hard Luck award. On his flight in he hit a wall of weather, turned around, then tried again later and made it in. In all he flew 7 hours for a 3 hour flight. Thanks for hanging in there, David!
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The big award of the evening is Peoples Choice Best Cardinal, won this year by Christophe and Larysa Masiero. This was fitting since their aircraft has an interior done by AirMod. |
Michael Wolf said a few words of appreciation for our coming to visit and we thanked him again for his support, preparation and hard work in hosting us for this event. |
Our delightful hosts, Phil and Lois Boyer, pose with their airplane. We thank them again for opening their beautiful home to our group. |
Just like Christmas at Grandmas, there has to be one picture with everyone in it! |
We hope you enjoyed the 2012 convention at Batavia, as always we enjoyed putting it all together for you!
If you have any suggestions or comments about this year's event, please feel free to share them below, either publicly or privately. Thanks! Keith Peterson
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