Airmen's Show Recap

[SJ]

I believe that I have recovered from the jet lag, although getting home at 8:30am yesterday and going right in to work for the day was quite a test. This morning I felt more like myself.

I must confess that each year in January as I am picking out my booth spot (which involves trying to avoid the drain that is always in the floor of my booth no matter what move I make) I ponder whether its important for SuperCub.Org to be at the show or not. Part of this for me is "fox and grapes" because I know that May is a busy month at my real job, Billy is still in school, and it would not work for us to spend an extra week or so up there at this time of year.

However, when I was reflecting on the weekend sitting and waiting for the red eye home on Sunday evening, I felt "full" - I had made and renewed many friendships, spoken with folks from all over the world, and had also seen some pretty cool products. My estimation is that the show traffic was down somewhat this year, but since I don't really sell anything at the show, it is just a guess. All of the booths were sold out, but it was not as "trafficy" as it sometimes is; Still, for me as hectic as the weekend was, it was also in a way relaxing and rejuvenating.

I've many to thank, but to try to list them all in one sitting would certainly involve me leaving someone important out. From members manning the booth as I got called away for a little consulting work in another booth, to custom knitted stocking caps, incredible dining experiences, set up and tear down help, new advertisers, member renewals, fantastic event sponsors, flexible accomodators, service minded catering operations, and just people who don't despise me for not remembering their name - even though we have met many times. I thank you all.

I was sorry that CloudDancer was unable to attend this year, he ads significant flair to the booth and his many fans stopped by and asked after him - it sort of felt like a scene from Ferris Bueller's day off I have to admit...

Mostly, I was sorry that Laura was not able to be there this year. The timing of things did not work out well for us, but she is on the list for next year. She is more than just a spare rib or right hand.I am always amazed at how well we compliment each other, OK, she compliments me really I doubt I do that much for her. She often keeps me from committing more great faux pas than I usually make, but sometimes there is just nothing you can do for me

Thanks again, everyone! Great to see you all and I hope you have a great weekend in Valdez!

sj

[CloudDancer]

What a great and generous and thoroughly enjoyable post. And people...this shows why a mere mortal man can be accorded the title of WorldWide Grand PoohBah of SuperCubbers EverWhere. Our very own benevolent Moses in a SuperCub, if you will.

Thank you in particular WWGPoSE, for your kind words on my behalf. And my thanks as well, for what I know must have been more than a dozen times that you had to stop what you were doing to explain my absence. I am truly sorry for the imposition.

Your Supple Servant,

CloudDancer

[CloudDancer]

Supplicant dammit! I meant....SUPPLICANT!

Cloud(spellcheckneverdidmenogood)Dancer

[Torch]

Supplicant dammit! I meant....SUPPLICANT!

Cloud(spellcheckneverdidmenogood)Dancer

I really wanted to come down to Anchorage with the Torch. I am working 12 of every 14 days and I just had too many honey do's to get done. I wimped out. Maybe next year. Cloudy you in Fairbanks now? If so, how long?

[CloudDancer]

Torch -

I never made it north yet. Still in the DESERT! Will be up 1st week in June though....

CloudDancer

[Bill Rusk]

Folks, if you have not made the Trade Show it is still one of the best gatherings we have. First you get to meet up with all the Alaska Cub Guys that rarely make it to the lower 48 fly-ins (why bother, when you have it all in your own backyard), plus you get to wander around Lake Hood, which for us lower 48 Cheechako's, still just gives me the vapors, then you can go shopping for Cub parts like going to Wall-Mart, and of course the show is just plane fun. Thank you SJ for having a booth and coordinating the Saturday evening dinner. The food was REALLY good this year. Best roast beef I've had in a long while.
I jumped on UPS direct and non-stop from Rockford Wed night. Got to ANC at 0600 Thursday morning, which was convenient but also involved no sleep that night. Unfortunately that was a trend prior to the trip and during as well, which resulted in my getting run down and I ended up getting sick. Probably a common cold, and I am back home convalescing. So here is my trip report, with photos, so that others who could not make it up there can share a little in the fun of going North.

After getting the rent a car it was time for a quick drive around Lake Hood float plane base. No place to store your floats? No problem.......


Just a couple of pictures of a nice little shack and slip.




Then it is off to Gwennie's for Breakfast with Mike Woodson, Jr Hammock and Tim Shaver. I know it is touristy, but it is kinda of a tradition to eat there at least once a visit. Good friends and good food.



Then it was off to do a little shopping. You Alaska types don't know how good you have it. To actually walk in to stores like Stoddards, Northern Lights etc and be able to look at parts, touch em, and walk out with parts in hand. What a concept. No shipping charges. Get to see if it will work before you "ORDER" it from someplace, hoping it will arrive before your vacation work spree is over. Here are some shots from inside the stores.













Next I headed up the highway to see Jr Hammacks place. This is living the dream. Cabin on a strip, big hangar, Cub, and a set of floats makes the picture complete.











Jr's baby. A very nice Cub.



Look at all the hardware....



Another cabin shot



Just too darn cool. I'll post some more in a minute.

Bill

[Bill Rusk]

Then I headed up to Talkeetna to look around a bit. Interesting town......




Looking down Main Street. Yup, thats all folks. Not a big place. Saaalute, as they say on Hee Haw.






Shoppers







So now you have seen about all there is to the town lets go to the main airport.

I got to meet and visit with Holly Sheldon, daughter of Don Sheldon and granddaughter of Bob Reeve. Pretty famous folks for us Cub folks. A very nice lady indeed.



Then took a few photos of her competition......





Ahhh ....Alaska. A couple of ConExs and you have a building.



I swear I saw more Tyvek and unfinished buildings in 4 days than I have seen in my entire life. Just part of Alaska.



They are building up this place just out of Talkeetna. It is very well done and will be a nice addition. Note the Hot Rod the builder has. Pretty cool. Nice to have trees growing out of your roof.













More to follow

Bill

[Bill Rusk]

More running around on Friday included a visit to Airframes Alaska. Wow what a nice professional shop. Thanks to Sean Owner/Mgr for letting us use the shop for a little Stewarts Covering Seminar on Monday and to Jason and Vickie for hosting it.
Thanks to Dave W for the tour, Jason and Opie as well. All great folks. I can't say enough good things about this operation. Very professional.



They now have a display area in the shop. Very clean and neat display. Just makes you want to start buying parts.









Sorry for the quality of the photo but look at all the Bushwheels. Airframes is now a full distributor of all things Bushwheel so again, you Alaska types can just go to your local store and buy Cub parts. Can you tell I am ENVIOUS.



All the cool jigs. First class operation.









Back on the highway near Willow I saw this windsock.




Something interesting. Note there is no throttle rod box on the sidewall beneath the side window. Very clean installation.






More to follow

Bill

[CloudDancer]

SUPER report Bill! And THANKS for sharing all the photos. Even if'n they DO just make me homesicker!

CloudDancer

[Bill Rusk]

Back at the Trade show I got to sit in this neat Stinson








A few photos of the Trade Show Raffle Cub.......








They start em young at Airframes......


















Enough about the Raffle that I did NOT win, on to better things. This is where I was fortunate to stay while in Alaska. Litecub was nice enough to invite me to stay in his little cabin. It is a beautiful place and a joy to stay there. Thank you B and C. Very nice folks



The living room, kitchen.



And the view I woke to every morning. It is a little slice of Heaven.




Here is a neat product I saw at the show






Maybe more tomorrow. I'm beat.

Bill

[Steve Pierce]

Awesome Bill, thanks for the pics and comments.

[mike mcs repair]

I swear I saw more Tyvek and unfinished buildings in 4 days than I have seen in my entire life. Just part of Alaska.

Bill

I swear... you want to make a mint, produce/print tyvek with a log or siding pattern an you will never be short of $$ again!!!

[Iflylower]

Thanks Bill, that helped. Absolutely hated to miss it this year. I love that show, and seeing guys at the booth, and buying parts in person, and seeing all the latest gear, and someone other than me taking home an awesome cub, and reindeer sausage, and.....

Linsay never falls for my weekly suggestion of moving to Alaska. She's afeered too many outside activities might compete with our together time. She may have a point.... And that minor darkness all day deal doesn't help. I'll keep trying.

Glad it was great SJ. Thanks for the update and the work. Sorry you missed it Cloudy, I understand.

Sorry to hear wx issues for the Knik and Valdez. Hope it works out. Some planes I want to see compete....

[mghallen]

Is Jr.'s place Neil's old cabin? And where are all these unfinished buildings you speak of?
mike

[Bill Rusk]

Mike - Yes, I believe it is.

More unfinished buildings? How about these.....





right across the street from this.....



But I also must say I saw a lot of REALLY neat houses that just made me drool...... like....











Ooops, another half finished place, how'd that get in here....heck he doesn't even have Tyvek....



This one was so bad they put up a fence but even the fence is half a@#ed....



Then we got to a couple more really sweet places......just takes money.....



Or perhaps this .......




OK enough about houses, lets get back to airplanes, after all a house is just a place to sleep when you are not flying.

I saw this at the trade show. Note the door has no external latches. Makes for a very clean and smooth look





More later

Bill

[Bill Rusk]

Note the rain gutter on this door......





Saw this at Airframes Alaska. The door has been dog legged to make the opening bigger. Very nice. My understanding is they have an STC for this. That would be a really nice mod to have..........



Not sure what I was looking at here but it is nice...



No trip to Alaska would be complete without seeing a couple of these guys.....








This guy must have "roids" Now that folks is a serious seat cushion......



The long gear Cub on T.O. roll from Lake Hood strip.......




A pretty face at the trade show. Missed the chick from Spider Tracks this year......



This place is for sale on a strip in Willow. Neat but not quite what I am looking for.......



Now that is a muffler



STC is available for this. Supposed to give more speed..........




OK folks, I think that is about all from my camera. I have some photos I shot on my I phone, lets see where that takes us.

Hope this is good for someone out there

Bill

[gdafoe]

Wow, thanks for the picts. Sure would like to have been riding along on that trip and the pictures almost make me feel like I did.

[Bill Rusk]

Shot of a 206 departing Lake Hood. This is the earliest ice out I have seen in my VERY limited trade show travels. Usually the lake is still iced over during the Trade Show. It was good to see all the guys getting back to floats. I spoke to one mechanic that said he had over 100 float change-overs to do in the next couple of weeks. Cool.



Wish I had used a real camera for this shot from my Hosts house/cabin. Thanks again Lord for creating this and Blessing me with eyes to see it. And thank you for Bob and Cynthia's friendship.



More Bushwheels at Airframes Alaska, this is in addition to all they already had. Total of about 300K at retail prices in inventory. Way cool.



This guy is a serious sheep hunter. Like Boone and Crockett serious.



And to have a wife that will let him put this on the wall. I asked if she had a sister but alas.....I pine as Don Quixote for his Dulcinea.



This is my good friend that I would steal from my gracious host if I thought I could. Eiger is very well trained and just a great dog. Probably fetched a lot of birds in his life.



I must confess I did not take enough pictures of the great folks I met and spoke to in Alaska. That is most of the reason to go to the show; to meet old friends, renew friendships and make new ones. These two folks are two of the nicest people I have met. Mark and Sheila...........



Then theres Lou..........well.....................seriously, a good friend I am fortunate to have......




Just another boring day at lake hood............NOT.....




I will miss you Alaska






Bill

[SteveE]

Great shots Bill!!

[Steve Pierce]

Good to see mark and his ex-girl friend. Looks like Lou is in trouble again.

Butch has the STC for the baggage door you posted a picture of. It is super nice and big. http://www.performanceairmotive.com/doors.html

[Tim]

Bill, thanks for taking the time to post all those pics, makes me feel like I was there. Hope to get there someday.

Tim

[Steve Pierce]

I like Jr's paint scheme. "It was a black and white Cub, no it was a red and..."

[Greg Campbell]

Thanks for the great posts and pics. That gets my aviation heart goin. Makes me want to go fly. Bill you were right when you told me to put that on my bucket list. I think I'll take you up on that. Thanks again for recording the trip for us to see. Greg

[jjack]

Wow ! I really enjoyed those pics Bill! Thanks

[aktango58]

What,

No Bill in the SC.O hat pic??????

What color and number on the new plane Bill, I will get one made for you

[mike mcs repair]

Note the rain gutter on this door......



Bill

ask Scooter 777h to post a pic of how I do it... I make the INSIDE top door stiffener a rain gutter, with an exit hole at aft end... has worked for many years and is all hidden...

[Amy]

I approve of the baggage door rain deflector.

[skywagon8a]

Aaah, A nice old 1933 Stinson SR sometimes referred to as a SR-JR. I used to have one of those on floats. Wonderful airplane. P1000299.jpg
If I remember correctly that is a cabin heater. Mine didn't have one.

[Ole Bob]

WONDERFUL pictures. I was especially happy to see Gwennie's. My favorite restaurant any time. any place. Haven't been there for a while-the guy who turns the pages on the calendar has slowed me way down!
And I might add that I am lucky enough to have seen skywagon8a's SR-JR on floats!!
THANKS!!

[cpthazard]

https://picasaweb.google.com/1090122...eShowAndValdez

I got a couple of pictures of the fun time too, take a look you might see yourself or someone you know. I had the impression that attendance was down this year but it was still crowded enough for me. One bit of advice....take more money than you think you'll need, the list of 'gotta get me some of them' seems to grow every year!!!!
db

[Steve Pierce]

Great pictures cpt.

[Steve's Aircraft (Brian)]

My photos are piddly compared to you guys...... But for those who want to look anyways, here is a link to my FaceBook album...

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...9185215&type=3

Brian.

[Scouter]

Thanks Bill for the man on the scene reports, good stuff for those of us who dont make it. Someday im throwing my stuff down and dissapearing for the week. The houses look a lot like rural Maine, except there would be a guy in the pix walking to the mailbox with a cigarette to get his SSI check.
Thanks again
Jim

[Steve Pierce]

Great pics Brian. Cathy and I went to Seward last year when we were in AK.

[Bill Rusk]

Folks


Thanks for the kind words and also to db and Brian for your photos as well. It was a great show this year.

The pictures make the glow last a little longer.

Bill

[whatscookingintn]

Here's a few that I took coming around the fingers at Lake Hood. It was a great show as usual! Very busy for us at the Seaplane North/Floats Alaska Cessna 185 with my 550 conversion installed. Sorry that I didn't get around to say hi to anyone. I saw Lou, Bill and a couple of guys checking out something on our 185. I made it by the Supercub booth to drop off some Piper magazines. Next year I will make some Nieman Marcus cookies for the Supercub booth so they will know I was at the show and made an appearance. LOL Hope to see everyone in Northeast TN.
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