A taildragger incident today

Dudley Henriques wrote:


You're right about winter flying, especially for the VFR occasional
pilot. The air is usually clearer, more stable, and for those flying out
of small fields, there's even a "lift" bonus :-)

There are other pluses and minuses as well - at least in New England (maybe
elsewhere as well). X-C pilotage is affected. On the one hand I find it
easier to detect railway and powerline trails when there's snow on the
ground. Finding lakes/ponds can sometimes be a little more challenging when
they are iced over and snow covered.

Gregg

I keep forgetting how deeply you are tied in to fly in guests. Do you have
any walk in's at all Jay, or local business types renting rooms for
business meetings?

Actually, less than 5% of our business is from fly-in guests, Dudley. There
are just one heck of a lot more aviation enthusiasts (and regular, sane
people, too) driving nowadays than there are flying...

Heck, their money is green, too...

:-)

Obviously, that percentage is different at certain times of the year...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

There are other pluses and minuses as well - at least in New England
(maybe
elsewhere as well). X-C pilotage is affected. On the one hand I find it
easier to detect railway and powerline trails when there's snow on the
ground. Finding lakes/ponds can sometimes be a little more challenging
when
they are iced over and snow covered.

Wow, does that bring back memories. I had forgotten how hard it was to
navigate solely by pilotage in the winter...

I remember training in Wisconsin, in the winter, and being stunned by how
different everything looked in the snow. I had the devil of a time getting
my bearings!

I don't miss that one bit. Nowadays, winter or summer, we punch in four
digits, and we're on our way to...anywhere!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:8kPkf.381008$084.201150@attbi_s22...
I keep forgetting how deeply you are tied in to fly in guests. Do you
have any walk in's at all Jay, or local business types renting rooms for
business meetings?

Actually, less than 5% of our business is from fly-in guests, Dudley.
There are just one heck of a lot more aviation enthusiasts (and regular,
sane people, too) driving nowadays than there are flying...

Heck, their money is green, too...

:-)

Obviously, that percentage is different at certain times of the year...

So you have access from both directions (air and ground) which must be
great. Sounds like you have the best of both worlds going for you out there.
Of course not knowing the area all that well I have no way of knowing how
seasonal you are, and I see immediately what you're saying about winter
flying. I see you're thinking about sponsoring some sort of an air show.
Before you get in too deeply with that, you might want to sit down with the
FAA and just hash over the particulars. Things have changed a lot from the
old days when we used to have a local show at our field. Insurance and
lawyers have changed the climate quite a bit, and you want to really get a
handle on exactly what your personal responsibilities would be doing a show.
I remember one FBO who actually formed a separate corporation to handle a
show to isolate personal assets from the lawyers.
Check it out thoroughly with the FAA and see what they say anyway.
Just as a winter business thing, have you thought about an ad in
Trade-A-Plane sponsoring a fly in weekend at the hotel? Might create some
interest for those who need a slight "shove" to get out there and fire up
the ole' bird during the winter months.
Anyway, the best of luck with your airshow plans. I hope it all works out
for you.
Dudley

So you have access from both directions (air and ground) which must be
great. Sounds like you have the best of both worlds going for you out
there.

We like to think so! Small hotels need more than one source of business,
especially in a non-tourist-trap area like Iowa.

Of course not knowing the area all that well I have no way of knowing how
seasonal you are

Well, we're basically full from May 1st to the last football game in
November. Then, it's like a light switch -- bang! We literally go from
running our a**es off, trying to keep up, to sitting in the lobby, staring
at each other, in the space of 24 hours.

The first couple of years I really freaked out when this happened, but now
I've come to realize that it's just the way it works. As our business has
grown, the slow times are getting less slow, however. Thankfully.

Although this is the time we get back to the remodeling of the theme suites.
We're still working on the Apollo Suite, the Cub Suite, the Oshkosh Suite,
and the Barnstormer Suite, as well as other various projects and upgrades.
Winter may be slower, but we keep busy!

I see you're thinking about sponsoring some sort of an air show. I
remember one FBO who actually formed a separate corporation to handle a
show to isolate personal assets from the lawyers.

See www.BigKidsToyShow.com We (the group of organizers) have already
formed a separate 501(c)3 non-profit corporation, for the sole purpose of
putting on this show every year. We're still debating whether to add "air"
show acts, as opposed to just static displays of aircraft. I think the only
way we'll be able to make it work, since we're not charging admission, is to
have the acts sponsored by local businesses. Something like "The Red
Barons, brought to you by HvVee Foods" -- or something. We're meeting
tomorrow to discuss it further...

Just as a winter business thing, have you thought about an ad in
Trade-A-Plane sponsoring a fly in weekend at the hotel? Might create some
interest for those who need a slight "shove" to get out there and fire up
the ole' bird during the winter months.

Yeah, we've done this a couple of times with the Cherokee Pilots
Association. Once it worked well, once it was wiped out by winter weather.
It's a TON of work to have it all go down the tubes like that...but that's
the game, isn't it?

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

That Children's Museum is a wonderful idea and I wish you tons of luck with
it.
I know what you mean about the bottom falling out on a seasonal basis. I
used to push a Cessna 337 for a friend of mine who owned several motels and
hotels in Wildwood Crest New Jersey when I could break away from my other
aviation related activities. Naturally, his season ended on Labor Day, but
he had regulars who booked a week or two after that. For all practical
purposes, the day after Labor Day in Wildwood Crest, you could stand on
Atlantic Avenue on one end of town and shout all the way to the other end
and someone there could hear you. Flying him down there in the winter was
actually eerie. The place was cold and sealed up. I have expected tumbleweed
to come flying down the street. I mean it was deserted!!!
Of course, your place isn't reliant on vacation booking only so God willing,
you'll never know what that feels like :-)
Just a shot on performers, but I know Vlado is free during the winter. I
guess you've already thought of that anyway.
I was paid by the local Chamber of Commerce at some of my shows.
I think your idea of local businessmen as sponsors might generate some
interest, especially if the local business is connected nationally or
internationally. Sometimes a parent company will shell out some money to
local outlets on their advertising budget.
Knowing your head for business, I'm sure you're up and running on all of
this anyway.
Dudley

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:zeQkf.381087$084.289265@attbi_s22...
So you have access from both directions (air and ground) which must be
great. Sounds like you have the best of both worlds going for you out
there.

We like to think so! Small hotels need more than one source of business,
especially in a non-tourist-trap area like Iowa.

Of course not knowing the area all that well I have no way of knowing how
seasonal you are

Well, we're basically full from May 1st to the last football game in
November. Then, it's like a light switch -- bang! We literally go from
running our a**es off, trying to keep up, to sitting in the lobby, staring
at each other, in the space of 24 hours.

The first couple of years I really freaked out when this happened, but now
I've come to realize that it's just the way it works. As our business
has grown, the slow times are getting less slow, however. Thankfully.

Although this is the time we get back to the remodeling of the theme
suites. We're still working on the Apollo Suite, the Cub Suite, the
Oshkosh Suite, and the Barnstormer Suite, as well as other various
projects and upgrades. Winter may be slower, but we keep busy!

I see you're thinking about sponsoring some sort of an air show. I
remember one FBO who actually formed a separate corporation to handle a
show to isolate personal assets from the lawyers.

See www.BigKidsToyShow.com We (the group of organizers) have already
formed a separate 501(c)3 non-profit corporation, for the sole purpose of
putting on this show every year. We're still debating whether to add
"air" show acts, as opposed to just static displays of aircraft. I think
the only way we'll be able to make it work, since we're not charging
admission, is to have the acts sponsored by local businesses. Something
like "The Red Barons, brought to you by HvVee Foods" -- or something.
We're meeting tomorrow to discuss it further...

Just as a winter business thing, have you thought about an ad in
Trade-A-Plane sponsoring a fly in weekend at the hotel? Might create some
interest for those who need a slight "shove" to get out there and fire up
the ole' bird during the winter months.

Yeah, we've done this a couple of times with the Cherokee Pilots
Association. Once it worked well, once it was wiped out by winter
weather. It's a TON of work to have it all go down the tubes like
that...but that's the game, isn't it?

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

("Jay Honeck" wrote)
Something like "The Red Barons, brought to you by HvVee Foods" -- or
something. We're meeting tomorrow to discuss it further...


When we last saw the Red Baron Pizza Squadron it was brought to us by ...Red
Baron Pizza :-)

They had their own (Squadron) pizza truck on the ramp and were selling hot
slices of pizza from it.

http://www.redbaron.com/publish/squadron_schedule.htm


Montblack

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:zeQkf.381087$084.289265@attbi_s22...

See www.BigKidsToyShow.com We (the group of organizers) have already
formed a separate 501(c)3 non-profit corporation, for the sole purpose of
putting on this show every year. We're still debating whether to add
"air" show acts, as opposed to just static displays of aircraft. I think
the only way we'll be able to make it work, since we're not charging
admission, is to have the acts sponsored by local businesses. Something
like "The Red Barons, brought to you by HvVee Foods" -- or something.
We're meeting tomorrow to discuss it further...

Hy-Vee would probably be a good sponsor. Check with some of the other
'local' companies like Casey's, Menard's, Pamida, etc., to see if they'd
help to sponsor also. They'd probably like some advertising...

-Greg B.

Jay Honeck:

Nowadays, winter or summer, we punch in four
digits, and we're on our way to...anywhere!

Hope you have backup plans for when the GPS is toast... :)

Montblack wrote:
When we last saw the Red Baron Pizza Squadron it was brought to us by ...Red
Baron Pizza :-)

They had their own (Squadron) pizza truck on the ramp and were selling hot
slices of pizza from it.

http://www.redbaron.com/publish/squadron_schedule.htm

Montblack

Kewl.....