Winter Haven National flyin
2009

The fabled pleasant weather of Florida was finally on tap for our event at Winter Haven in 2009.

This year we'll do something a little different and lead you through the sequence of events which has become Winter Haven.

Palmer's familiar golf cart, here piloted by Russ, met us all as usual, guiding us to our place in the lineup for the event.

The second familiar sight most of us see is the friendly face of Palmer as he waves us into perfect alignment and ideal placement. Its a friendly face, that is, as long as you're driving a Cardinal! Otherwise he's been known to be a little grouchy... but we like that about him!

While we don't often share the stories from behind the scenes at these events, suffice it to say that Palmer outdid himself this year in making things work smoothly with the airport.

Of course this is Palmer's perspective on this process... Cardinal pilots and passengers smiling back, ready for a few fun days in the wintertime sun, along with the many other benefits about to flow in our recurring first national flyin of the year.

Note the uniform... comfortable shorts, warm weather sleeves, plenty of room in back for a CFO shirt and hat.

Our first stop is at the registration desk, where Debbie has everything ready. Pick up your meal ticket, shirts and hats, and the ever important badge, so you wont' have to explain yourself everywhere you go.

You'll notice that as usual this year, Debbie was blessed with the help of several members, who pitch in enthusiastically and help make this possible, even fun for Debbie.

Meanwhile, over at Faye and Palmer's house, Faye and Ann Jent (one of our outstanding caterers) are preparing for the evening inrush of guests. We don't know exactly what they do there, but somehow by the time the people arrive a large supply of excellent food has been prepared and presented in an outstanding and inviting layout.

And the food keeps coming all evening, no matter how fast we seem to eat it. There must be some magic at work here somewhere...

Soon enough the crowd gathers and an epic airport walkaround is launched. Each owner talks about their airplane, what's new and what's next, and we get the chance to ogle and admire to our hearts content.

Sometimes there are interesting sights to see along the way, such as a small detail that has been missed or cleverly resolved. The pace of learning is gentle, to match the pace of our walk through the assembled aircraft.

Lunchtime is our time to hear from various sponsors and people of general interest. After a tasty meal we engage on several subjects, discussions and at times we even learn a thing or two.

Those who are familiar with this process know to keep an eye open for the cookies, which often make their way around just about the time we're ready for them.

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