Land of Enchantment Fly-In 2003
New Mexico's State Bird Looks Out Over the Mesilla Valley
In 2002, weather held down attendance at the LOE fly-in. This year as I was leaving my home in Carlsbad, NM, on Friday morning, the altimeter setting was 30.41. That's about all you need to know to realize that much of the country was under the influence of a big high pressure system that kept the weather warm and dry and in the case of Las Cruces, unseasonably warm. The weather wasn't perfect everywhere, notably along some coastal areas, but it was about as good as it gets overall.
There were already a bunch of planes when I arrived around 9:30 AM on Friday and there were steady arrivals after that. Rumor is the total number was around 200ish RV's that attended. I counted the actual RV's and Rockets that were tied down a couple of times. On Saturday afternoon around 5 PM there were 167 at one time in addition to lots of factory planes and RV similar planes like Thorps. There was lots of coming and going, of course.
Late on Friday it became apparent that there were going to be a lot of people coming. Doug, and others of Adventure Aviation were working hard to find places for everybody but it turned out that there were so many airplanes that there were not tiedown spots for everybody. With the delightful weather this year and maximum winds of around 5 knots, it was no problem at all though.
The Illustrious Bernie Kerr Made it in From Florida
The Van's airplanes arrived Friday afternoon. It looks like the taildragger RV's are definately being deemphasized as there were none of that configuration present. What can I say? Last year at LOE, Ken said they were going to try to have the RV-10 at the 2003 LOE, but no promises. Well, they made that with lots of time to spare. I love the RV-10, tri-gear notwithstanding, and returned again and again just to look at it. It does make an impression of being large, which was the topic of quite a bit of discussion.
Part if the impression of size is the way it sits up high on the gear and the size of the vertical stabilizer, and some seems to be the depth of the fuselage. Both of those are characteristics of the Bonanza has but it seems even bigger than a Bonanza. Like a Bonanza, there is lots and lots of headroom. What is remarkable, is that with all this size, Van is able to wrest Bonanza like, or better, performance from a fixed gear and very simple airplane.
Friday night, a bunch of people went to La Posta, in Old Mesilla. I ended up at a table with the Kings of "Beautiful Doll," Doug Reeves, and all of the Van's people and their attending family. It was especially nice to meet Diane VanGrunsven (Dick's wife) and Judy VanGrunsven (Jerry's wife). Maybe the spaciousness of the RV-10 contributed to Diane's attendance. She introduced herself to me, when I was standing around out on the ramp and I found her a delight. And sitting at a table with Dick is pretty amazing. Sort of like chatting with William T. Piper or Clyde Cessna, only better.
My understanding is that the organizers of the LOE fly-in were interested in making it pleasant for everybody; RV builders, interested people and the factory people. Accordingly, there were very few factory demo flights, which I though was fine. The Van's people did have a display and were present for questions, and they and others gave some demos.
Several groups arrived in formation and did some fly-bys. The Falcon Flight boys put on a real professional demonstration with, I believe, nine airplanes.
It seemed like the predominant activity was to walk around, visit, and meet new people and discover new ideas. There was not much commercial activity.
I haven't ever done it, but it seems to me the great bane of airplane fly-ins is that you do not know how many people will show up; it is just too weather dependent. The main problems of the large attendance were sometimes slow or inadequate food service and, not very serious, airplane parking difficulties. If you had transportation, you could eat in town, if you were willing to have simple food, the barbeque trailer, outside, was quick. The airport cafe was fine, but sometimes required patience as the number of people was pretty overwhelming.
The Breakfast Room at the Hampton is Overtaxed by RV Folk
The Hampton was a bit overwhelmed too. Mainly, you had to maneuver a bit to find a place to sit for the free breakfast. Maybe you would even have to sit with someone you didn't know, and get to know them.
Laird Owens and Brian Denk, With Debbie Denk and Skyler Denk in the Back. I Think They Like It.
Looking and Poking at an Immaculate Turbocharger Installation in an 8
Saturday during the day people did lots of things. Some people went to Old Mesilla, some went to local museums, and some, like me, just hung around the airport all day watching people arrive, and being surprised by acquantances that showed up. There were NO organized activities other than the Saturday night banquet. Fine by me!
Jerry VanGrunsven Showed His RV-8A All Day Saturday
The Heart of the LOE Fly-In. Swapping Tips and Lies.
In all the time I was around the airport I did not see anything scary. That, and the fact that there are no airshows or airport closures or people telling you you can't start up, definately add to the relaxed feel of this fly-in.
Just Before Banquet Time the Sun Sets on the Organs and Acres of RV's
The banquet had the usual, very mature, high school mariachi band as well as a raffle benefiting a local charity. It also had Larry Vetterman, Doug Reeves, Bob Brashear, and of course Red Marron. As I have said before, the trip is worth it from anywhere, just to hear Red. He defines dynamic, and is always fun to listen to and super hospitable. All the champions were announced and all the prizes were given out.
I was a bit discouraged by the food line at the banquet, so waited till it dissipated. But, there was good news. Van decided it would be fun to make a stylish entrance to the hangar banquet, so he taxied the RV-10 up to the the hangar door. He may be more mischievous than we suspect? So I spent the time looking, for the 23rd time, at the 10 and chatting with RV builder legends I have heard about for years.
It Was Pretty After the Hangar Banquet
Good Night
Guess It's an LOE Tradition Now. TP'ed Grand Champion.
Van, Rian Johnson, Jerry VanGrunsven and Ken Krueger Planning Their Flight On the RV-10 Wing
Web Master and RV Promoter Extrordinaire, Doug Reeves, Leaves for Dallas
RV-7A and RV-10 Leaving for Oregon
On Sunday morning, EAA 555 had their breakfast. Frank Borman was not in town, so we had to do without the P-51 fly-by's. On Saturday, his hangar was opened up for browsing though.
A lot of people contribute to making this a great event. Adventure Aviation deserve special credit for trying harder every year. Among other things, this year they offered complimentary refreshments late in the afternoon. A very popular gesture.
This is a real nice event.
No, I'm not going to sue anybody, but I do think it is common courtesy to ask permission and give credit if you use any of the pictures or text on this site.
Larry Pardue
Carlsbad, New Mexico