My first full day of the 2012 ICAS Convention ended well. The exhibit hall opened in the morning shortly after the jet team announcements and it was time to check out all of the new stuff for the 2013 season.
The Aerostars hosted a Redbird G1000 C-172 in their booth and I had a chance to fly around Niagara Falls, including an ill-fated attempt at a wingover abeam the falls. With all of my airshow flying, I haven’t had the opportunity to get much instrument work in this season, so I’ve been dependent upon a Redbird unit at Solo Aviation at the Ann Arbor Municipal Airport for currency. Both this unit and the Ann Arbor installation are great units.
Franklin’s Flying Circus brought the new Dracula: The Rise of Vacul aircraft and it’s drawing a lot of attention, taking up multiple booth spaces with lots of production value. I love the huge control surfaces and the apparently massive engine. This one if going to be fun to watch this season.
No ICAS convention would be complete without hanging out at Le Central (the “circle bar”) with airshow pros. I had the chance to meet Ryan Keough in person after all these years, as well as hang out with Matt Jolley, Billy and David Werth, and Liza Eckardt. And, of course, just sit there at the bar and watch my heroes walk by like it’s ICAS or something. I hit the hay at 0200L and I’m not firmly on Pacific Time. This can’t bode well for my condition upon arrival Thursday morning back in Detroit. But it’s ICAS . . .
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