I got to go to Sun and fun, this year as a guest after twenty years a volunteer quite a change.

Each year there seems less and less, vendors and spectators, there were five Ultralight Type’s, three from the JDT Mini Max Company, they have rebuilt the Air-bike and covered the plane with a body, priced about right, but not an Ultralight, overweight with a Hirth Engine.

 John Moody, so lovely to see, now walking, and Flying, I am told he flew his Easy Rider all week long. And the designer has over the last two years designed a new one, plus he has sold ten of the original foot launchers. I am going to write an article sometime soon to get you up to date.

I had two visits the first my back played me up so bad I cut it short but saw a lot of friends I miss so much having retired, my replacement Michael McCellan did a super job, and I feel happy I didn’t let Dave Piper down. Finding a replacement. Which was almost impossible to find, as the second question any prospect asked was “How Much Do you Earn”? Or How much do they pay you? Michael was the exception.

My second visit was Friday I had been asked to attend the U.S.U.A. annual meeting, where I was presented with a very smart Trophy for Volunteer Service, Charles my son came with me. This is a new USUA award.

 I had hoped for years to have won the John Moody Award, the highest honor that is possible to get, I have been nominated several times for it, but yet again it was won by someone else. I tell it at it is as you all know and I wasn’t very happy, because I did not know this year’s recipient, and I thought you had to do more to win such an award. However it’s a greater honor to have an award named after you.

Borrowing a Golf kart I looked around Chopper Town, very sad, nothing there, though I am told there was a new helicopter, I saw only one gyrocopter, so didn’t even stop, no one I knew there. I missed seeing the RAF Gyrocopter people who have been about for so many years.

Hummel Aviation lost an Ultracruiser, the pilot crashed in the Geico car Park though the pilot was hurt but not life threatening injuries thank goodness; no one seemed to know what happened.

Though Paradise City looked like a lot was there, it seemed to me spread out more, and I didn’t see anything new. LSA aircraft hold no interest for me, so cannot say if there was anything I hadn’t seen before, and the most interest seemed to be a very small Subaru van a dealer had at his booth. I have seen lots of these in Europe.