NorthEast Fly-In 2012

[Dorsal]

We are planning for a fly-in @ 4N7 (Greene airport) on the weekend of June 9th. CDE2Fly will be providing a cookout lunch on Saturday followed by some afternoon flying and checking out planes (I will again bring a Dynavibe and a Carbmate for those who are interested). Camping is available on the field or at CDE's house or other accommodations can be arranged. Sunday should consist of a group flight for breakfast before heading back home. Ideas for activities, flying or otherwise, are welcome.
Please let us know if you can make some or all of this event by replying to this thread or send one of us a PM.

Hope to see you there:D

[airlina]

Count me in Dorsal for both days, Bruce Lina N199CL

[cainbird]

Hi Dorsal, you can count me in I will be there!

Thanks~Cain B

[kitfoxnick]

It's official, I'm coming up on saturday. I have to be back sunday am. Probably just stay for the day saturday. Hey chris why don't you take your massey and mow me a strip at your house. Then I can spend the night and not have to worry about fog in the morning. Looking forward to seeing you guys again, and meeting new friends.

[Dorsal]

Now its a party, are you brining your copilot along again?

For those following this thread I am sending out a postcard to every registered Kitfox in ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, VT, NY, PA, NJ (had to draw the line somewhere). Interestingly enough not all Kitfoxes are registered as a Kitfox so I will miss some. Hope we also get more folks from OH, MD, MI and the Virginias :)

[tommg13780]

My postcard came yesterday. I'm planning to come along with my Model 2, clipped wing, big tail.

[GT280flyer]

Looking forward to being there again, looks like I will have to drive down again, awaiting airworthiness inspection.
3488


3489

[Dorsal]

What a beauty, hope we get to see it in person next year.
(of course there is always that trailer :)).

[GT280flyer]

Nick, sorry about the double vision, hope to see a great group like last year and hope to join the ranks with my own Kitfox next year.

3502

3503

3504

[CDE2FLY]

With the second annual Kitfox Fly-In fast approaching I wanted to send out some info on logistics for the weekend.

Lodging:

Camping is available on the field with minimal amenities (port-o-potty, running water and electricity inside my hanger). I also have plenty of room at my place (5 miles or so from 4N7) for camping and the amenities are a bit better .

There are numerous hotels in Binghamton which is about 15 miles south . The Fairfield Inn is closest to the airport.



Ground Transportation:

I can provide cars for ground transportation for 10-11 people at a time. We can make multiple runs to my place or Binghamton if necessary. Rental cars are available in Binghamton. Binghamton Regional Airport is about 7 miles by air from Greene. It's an easy to navigate Delta Class airport with avgas and rental cars on the field. It's about a 25 minute car ride from 4N7 to BGM.





Chris

[Esser]

Sounds great. But unfortunately it won't work for me this year. Hopefully next!

[Dorsal]

2 weeks away and looking like a good turn out, if someone could arrange for some nice weather that would be greatly appreciated
We would like to gauge interest in flying activities such as flour drops or landing skills. If you think this would add to the fun chime in else milling about and ride swapping works for us as well.

[cainbird]

Dorsal,
Great idea! We could have a short takeoff and landing contest like they have in Veldez Alaska every spring. Sign me up for that and the flour accuracy drop!

Cain B

[kitfoxnick]

Count me in, I like to play games.

[kitfoxnick]

Does anybody want to meet at cherry ridge (N30) for breakfast? I thought I'd leave my house at 0800 and would grab breakfast at cherry ridge around 9:30. For me Greene would be another 35 min run.

[rwaltman]

Thanks for your effort organizing this.
I'm planning to attend, by car. Neither I nor my Kitfox are in flying condition now, but I'm sure going to enjoy seeing the other planes.
If the weather cooperates, we’ll arrive to the area late on Friday, stay overnight in an hotel and head back late on Saturday.
Can help ferrying people between 4N7 and their hotels.
(Small car though, can only take 3 imaginary FAA 170 pounds pilots or two real passengers at a time.)

See you all there,

Roberto Waltman
N93PV - North NJ.

[cainbird]

A quick question for anyone who attended the fly-in last year (or anyone who lives in the area), are there any fishing holes or rivers within walking distance of the field? Just wondering if I should pack my fish pole!

Thanks~Cain B

[CDE2FLY]

Hi Cainbird...lets just say be careful not to land short on Runway 25! The airport is in the valley of the Chenango River that runs along the runway. It's a smaller river with a gentle current and I've had great luck in the past with small mouth bass and assorted pan fish. Lots of fisherman in the area so I'm sure we can find some local bait that would work well!

[cainbird]

Oh that's great! Thank You~Cain B

[Dorsal]

All,

With much regret we are postponing the fly-in for this weekend, stay tuned as we try to find another date.
Very sorry for the late notice but the forecast just kept getting worse and has passed the no-fun line and is into the unsafe.

[kitfoxnick]

Bummer.....

[Dorsal]

I am depressed, I so wanted to play airplanes this weekend

[dholly]

Yes, a disappointment as the group has grow nicely from last year. Looking forward to the 'rain date'.

[Lion8]

One guy drove 4.5 hrs up from N.J. last night. A friend and I flew up this morning only to find no one there. What a waste of time. Sorry but we can't afford to do this again. Must have a better way of notifing people in advance before they travel all that distance. -Tom from N.J.

[Dorsal]

I am so very very sorry, we went back and forth based on the forecast and made the call we thought was safest. I would appreciate any ideas on how to do this better as this approach is stressful and clearly wasted other peoples time. Again most sincere apologies.

[Esser]

I would say let it go on and make sure the tie downs are ready. You might not get the turn out you wanted but it is the pilot's decision to fly or not. You don't see them postponing big fly ins because of the weather. Nothing kills an event more than flakiness. Why should people plan a month in advance for something that has been known to be cancelled at the last minute. Just my two cents.

[CDE2FLY]

Cancelling was a tough call for sure and Finn and I feel terrible especially for the folks who didn't get the info that we scrubbed for the weekend. The local forecast most of the week was excellent only to turn very bad Thursday and Friday with predicted rain all day Saturday and thunderstorms on Sunday. When we're socked in here as was forecast, it ofter includes mountain obscuring with clouds which Finn and I discussed. The last thig we wanted it for folks to try to push through the forecast conditions and not arrive safely. As it turned out, it rained all morning here but began to break up in the afternoon so the weather turned out to be better than forecast.

Going forward, I still feel the right thing to do is cancel if the forecast includes weather that isn't safe for a 1-2 day event (unlike a large event with a week long weather window). We'll post any cancellations a day in advance on the forum and you're welcome to call me to confirm if there is any quesiton. If you want to forward a contact numer to me off line, I'd be happy to call everyone in the event plans change.

Hoping for blue skys and favorable winds for the rain date!

[Lion8]

In regards to the Kitfox East Coast Fly In cancellation
I appriciate how much planning goes into a fly in. We do that a few times a year as well. Well, I can't lay blame on anyone other than myself as I had the contact phone number in my cell the morning before we departed. When we checked the radar for that area in the am, I should have been a little more proactive and made the call. Paraphrasing what the rules state, its the pilots responsibility to use every method available to ensure a safe flight, so I have to lay claim to this error. .
A recorded phone message or a group email text alert message to state weather of not the event is to go off would be an asset. I will be sure to use that rule next time. Sorry if I sounded a bit rash in my previous post.
-Tom- South Jersey

[rwaltman]

With regards to the cancellation, I believe the organizers did the right thing.
I checked the weather forecast daily and saw it turn from good, to 20% chance of thunderstorms, to 50% chance of thunderstorms, to ...
I was planning to go by car. Had I been flying instead, I would have cancelled my own flight even if the fly-in was still going on.

For next time, a few suggestions:

People can subscribe to a thread in this forum and have any new post e-mailed automatically. Encourage anybody interested in the fly-in to use this feature, by describing it clearly on every announcement.

Directly calling all interested participants is not a big deal if the phone list is divided between 3 or 4 guys. I can help with that.

Till next time,

Roberto Waltman

[jamesmil]

hi guys, sorry to see the northeast fly-in was weathered out, was trying to work out getting there but the dates did not work for me.
my wife and i were planing a trip out west the end of june but have had to move the trip to after the fourth of july and will visit famliy in western pa. instead and plan to go up the mid part of new york state and on in to maine.
will be watching the forum for the new date, thanks for the hard work to the folks putting on the fly-in

[Dick B in KY]

Dorsal, You went above and beyond trying to keep everyone safe. I commend you for your effort. Good luck with your re-schedule and hope the weather is CAVU.

Dick B

[SkySteve]

Dorsal,
Agreed. Good call. You not only made the right call, you did all you could do, with the info you had, to inform everyone.