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Santa Maria CFO Convention
May 21-23, 2010



a_sock.jpgThe first attendee of this event was there when we arrived and stayed in attendance the whole event... the wind. While the locals claimed the constant wind of 25 with gusts to 35 knots was ususual, it remained a constant factor. But the party went on with hardly a wrinkle.

The airport facility was quite well designed for our purpose, with a hotel right on the airport and various options for food and entertainment. The air carrier status for this airport did drive some extra security requirements, but Debbie found solutions to those needs and we were able to have all our events as hoped.

 

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This was our first convention in California in quite a while. While there have been fly-ins and a few local gatherings of the Cardinal group, the experience of a multi-day event, with multiple meals, activities and events has been happening more on the east coast.

Arrivals were met by Debbie at the registration table, where they could pick up their shirts and sample the local strawberries which were very much in season.

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The official event started with a buffet dinner at Pepper Garcia's mexican resturant at the terminal.
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There was plenty of food and time to catch up on events since the last time we were all together.
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Part way into the event, the Cardinals are starting to stack up on the ramp.
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Notice that like all good Cardinal pilots, everyone has pointed into the wind, the better to open our famously wide doors.
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Early the first morning, while the wind was still spinning up for the day, we got the group out on the ramp for the CFO walkaround. Here Colleen's airplane gets the once-over for interesting details.
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Then we spent a few minutes in presentation room hearing from Joe Ruck, our CFO Insurance expert. It was interesting to also have Bob Leuten, our past insurance agent in the room. At times he offered additional details, but they pretty much agreed!
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While the group looked attentive, it is possible that they were just appreciating the opportunity to get in out of the cold.
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Joe had some interesting stories about clients who had gotten their insurance just in time, or had failed to properly complete the requirements for their insurance to be in place. It was a series of stories worth listening too.
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Our next event took us to the local aviation museum, housed in a hanger which was used for the movie "Rocketeer".
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The group enjoyed Santa Monica style BBQ lunch in and among the airplanes, the better to get out of the wind.
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Displays detailed the impact that aviation has had on the local community, while the table conversations brought us all up to speed on more current flying activities.
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The museum ramp had an eclectic mix of airplanes, from fighters to homebuilts.
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Inside the museum were a number of very detailed exhibits, such as this very complete Link Trainer system. Not only was the Link on good shape, the control desk was complete down to the instructor's headset.

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The afternoon was spent with technical discussions with Keith and Paul: a review of a number of pictures from an in-depth Cardinal inspection.

Come dinner time, the limos arrived to take the group to our evening destination.

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It was a pretty happy group, perhaps to again get out of the wind and cold, but also to be enjoying a pleasant conveyance albeit for a rather short distance.
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And this was our destination: the McKeon-Phillips Winery showroom. This winery is a little different than some you see, in that they don't grow the grapes, only make the wine from grapes grown by others.
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Dinner was a delightful meal of several courses, clearly the product of a chef with real talent. Each course was matched with an interesting wine, which each came with an introduction by a gentleman who really seemed to know his wines.
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As is common at our conventions, there were prizes! Here we see Bob Butler winning the award for being the most recent pilot.
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Colleen Keller, evidently much to her surprise, won the Most Cardinal Time award with 2100 hours in type.
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Bruce Williams won the Fledgling award, for being the most recent purchaser of a Cardinal in attendance, having purchased in Feb of this year.
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Karl Thomas won the Flew Furthest award for his flight from Texas for this event.
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No, you're not seeing double, Karl also won the Hard Luck award for his challenges along the way. He arrived with a freshly repaired alternator and a lot of Cardinal time after flying into the aforementioned wind for much of his trip.
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Finally, the grand prize, the coveted Best Cardinal of Show, which was won by Jim and Phyllis Shippen for their beautifully completed '76 RG.
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Sunday morning was the deep technical session where we pulled a couple of cowls and really dug into the details. Mike from the museum was able to get us access to a hangar to keep us out of the wind. In a typical example of the 'things you don't see', Debbie and some volunteers from the museum cleaned out the hangar the afternoon before to make it a little more inhabitable.
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Here Claudia Ferguson's airplane gets the once-over. Bruce Horn also offered his airplane for review so we could look at both an RG and FG. Paul shared that this hangar had once been the home of the Ted Smith Aerostar, and was the place where George Braily first worked after graduating from aviation school.
Overall, it was a very fun event, with good people and good times. We're looking for the next west coast destination, hoping for someplace warmer, less windy and still close to everyone on the west coast. If you have any ideas, please let Debbie know.
The following public comments about the flyin have been entered:

We had a great time hosting this event. Hope we can do it again soon! Keith and Debbie.
Thanks for the pics and the great work you guys do to get this all together !! Had a great time; met some really nice folks & really enjoyed the trip back over the Grand Canyon & Monument valley area. The new alternator (PlanePower) is still humming along. See you at the next one !! Karl Thomas '77FG N20223 Mesquite TX
Keith & Debbie; Thanks so much for a fun and educational event! Brenda and I had a great time. It was our first official trip in our new Cardinal. This is such a great group. We enjoyed meeting all those who attended and getting to know our new friends in flight. Looking forward to the next get together. David & Brenda Williams; Visalia; CA.
Good times! When is the next West Coast event?
Enter your public comments here: (Please include your name)



Enter any private comments to the flyin coordinators here:




Here are the airplanes which were in attendance at this event:

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The following people registered their plans to attend this CFO Convention:

Attendee NameRegistration NumberArriving fromComment
Keith & Debbie PetersonN177KP Hampshire, IL We are looking forward to seeing you all there! 
Stu & Michele Aplin177MS Hawthorne, CA  
Colleen KellerN8235G San Diego, CA Thanks for finally doing a West Coast sanctioned event! 
Paul MillnerN177SD Oakland, CA This will be great! 
Richard FryeN177JA Healdsberg, CA  
Robert LutenN2706V San Jose, CA  
Karl ThomasN20223 Mesquite, TX Looking forward to flying out to the left coast !! 
David WilliamsN35833 Visalia, CA See you all Friday night! 
Vince MackN2306Y Van Nuys, CA  
Jim Schwarz    
Jim Schwarz    
Bob & Sue SpoffordN35091 San Rafael, CA  
Mike WhiteN18694 Kennewick, WA  
Joyce ClarkeC-GKNY Nanaimo, Canada YES! 
Edward Johnson34989 Lakeport, CA  
Jim ShippenN35182 Penn Valley, CA We\'ll be arriving on Thursday. Anyone want to join us at Jocko\'s or The Far Western Tavern for one of their great steak dinners? 
Charles FergusonN34147 Corona, CA  
jim schwarz N52696 portland, OR  
Chris & Karen BergN35022 Rosamond, CA  
Al BoylesN2725V Mesquite, TX Gary and I will be arriving from Mesquite on Friday. Gary is shopping for a Cardinal. 
Bob ButlerN11368 Livermore, CA my Cardinal is fine; but my medical is not; so I\'m riding down with Paul Millner. Thanks; Paul 
Bruce HornN727LB Novato, CA Looking forward to it--it\'s been a long time since I\'ve been at a Cardinal Flyers event. 
Joshua AvidanN6FV Van Nuys, CA Vince Kreizinger and I will be arriving Saturday morning from Van Nuys; I can have one (or two) more passengers if anyone need a ride... 
Bob LeutenN177BL San Carlos, CA Arriving Saturday morning; departing Saturday afternoon. Room for one pax from the San Francisco Bay Area. 




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