I'm back from the National. I arrived at Jacksonville on Thursday about noon. It was pretty cold and sporadically rainy. The temperature was in the 50s and the wind was blowing 10-15 with gusts to 20+.
It was interesting to watch: as each shower or "mild" thunderstorm went by, one, two or three Coupes would pop out of the sky and land. The gaps between rains *seemed* (may not have been so) to produce fewer Coupes than did the rain. They said this seemed to be the pattern on Tuesday, also. Thursday continued in the same vein though I'd say that more people arrived between showers than in them. I had on five layers and wasn't very comfortable standing around on the flight line. It was just too cool. We did have the large hanger to ourselves and a small lounge area in the main terminal that we used. When I got there on Wednesday, there were maybe 15 planes. By Thursday evening, there were about 25. By Friday evening (the weather did get better) we were up to about 50. Friday, while still somewhat cool, was better. The sun even showed through some. Saturday was better yet and Sunday, naturally, was gorgeous. On Thursday, the tour went to a small town (New Salem I think) where they saw log cabins and an example of Illinois life in about the 1830s period, I think. Friday they visited Lincoln's tomb and some other sites in Springfield. Most of the people who had arrived went on the tours (though I did not). Total attendance was 67 planes, 63 Coupes, and about 170 people were at the banquet. Pretty good considering the weather. -- more about technical lessons in the next post. -- Ed Burkhead East Peoria, Ill. N3802H, 415-D
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