How *was* AOPA Expo?

On Oct 10, 7:38 am, B A R R Y wrote:
Even though I live 20 minutes from HFD, I missed the show!
.......
I wasn't able to put together a R.A.P. get-together. If you expressed
interest in past weeks, you didn't miss it. G

So, how was it?

It was quite nice. We only spent one day there and could attend
only one talk, checked out about 60% of the booths and spent about one
hour checking out the outside display.

It was a nice unexpected bonus for me to get Patty Wagstaff's
autograph. I signed up for Project Mentor with a student pilot and we
each got a little backpack. Patrick, my mentee seemed to enjoy the
show tremendously. I hope the experience will boost his enthusiasm and
commitment to aviation. He is jumping through hoops now trying to get
his medical after a surprise episode of atrial fibrillation.

I was quite impressed with the static display. Few years ago when
we attended the APOPA expo in Philadelphia, sport planes were unheard
of and I don't recall seeing a VLJ. Now, there are so many
manufacturers and models to choose from. I find it amusing that as I
was leaving the gate heading back to the convention center, I had the
last look at all the planes and the only one that I wanted to take
home was the yellow Top Cub on floats. To me, it speaks of carefree
and fun adventures, of leisure flights, of exploring the sky and
water. I will have to check the payload to see if it can carry my
scuba gear ;-)

BTW, thank you for mentioning about the microbreweries in Hartford.
We walked to the City Steam Brewery Cafe and had a delightful after
show dinner there. I had a city steam blonde export lager. It was
quite good.

Hai Longworth