Copperstate Fly In just around the corner.

[DesertFox4]

Those still thinking about attending the last large fly in of the year should be finalizing plans now.
I've added the event to this months TeamKitfox Calendar.

Thurs., Oct. 24, 2013 - Sat., Oct. 26, 2013

41st Copperstate fly in info:

***Note*** Due to the change in Washington policy, this year there will be no FAA control tower set up for this event. That also means there will be no special arrival procedures as in years past.

Standard uncontrolled airport procedures will apply.

Please familiarize yourselves with the provided information found in the above link to the Copperstate website.

**They are asking pilots to make the cockpit signs like used at Oshkosh AirVenture to expedite parking of arriving aircraft. You can print them out from the above website.

Hope to see you there. Fly safe.

[Pilot4Life]

PING...

Starts tomorrow...I'll be riding my new Suzuki DR650SE in from Sierra Vista for the show early Saturday. I'll be camped out for the morning with the Kitfox crowd, just gawking. So, if you see a 34 y/o kid hanging around, it's likely me. Hoping to see some of you there also...

[DesertFox6]

Okay, Chris! We'll be looking for a 34 y/o kid; should be easy enough to pick you out from the rest of the local Kitfox Krowd as the rest of us have AARP patches on our sleeves!

We'll be there mid-day Thursday with the blue and orange Model IV Speedster pictured at left...and keep your lolly-pop-sticky fingers off the windows, kid!!!

"E.T." & Dee
Desert Fox Squadron #6
Opposing Solo

[Pilot4Life]

It's BIG LEAGUE CHEW, NOT LOLLIPOPS!...see you Saturday morning...BTW, what time do you "geezers" get up? I'll be in at about 8:30am and would hate to wake a sleeping bear!

[DesertFox6]

Actually, we "adults" party hearty all night long; that's the source of the Neal Diamond rock-music-blast keeping you awake until the lactic acid from your milk and cookies kicks in.

We're on-scene and still smiling (the smile is "plastered on"...if you get my drift) even before the first ultra-light jocks sneak off for a sunrise trip around the pattern...THAT'S what'll wake you up! Don't worry about us; we're right on top of thingzzzzzzzzzzzz(snork!)zzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

We catch up on our rest later...usually between 0900 and 1900 when we're ready to start all over again. Yup: Lipitor and all; we're pretty tough!

"E.T."
(Yawn!)

[Pilot4Life]

Good to hear DF6...looking forward to it. See y'all Saturday Morning!

[SkyPirate]

Ok i dont know which one of you did it but who ever got the last beer out of the cooler last night left the door open and the west winds blew a frost into missouri and knock the cozy 60 degree's down to 20! Brrrr it looks like a coors light commercial outside!

[DesertFox4]

2013 Copperstate fly in is over.
I was able to attend all 3 days this year by getting all my work done by Thursday morning.
Arriving just 30 seconds ahead of Mr.& Mrs. DesertFox6 at about mid day, we both found good parking near the Kitfox Aircraft display booth.

John and Debra, Paul Leedabrand and Phil Laker were all visiting with the early birds at the booth. Great to see our Idaho family again. Seems like last week we were all in McCall, Id. for the Kitfox factory fly in.


The weather was not windy or cloudy or rainy or snowy or cold. That could only leave of course sunny and warm with light breezes and sometimes no breezes. Airplanes were flying , helicopters were helicoptering, and an old red bi-plane seemed to stay in the air all day long, every day giving very slow rides.
Very fast glass would make periodic low passes and real slow tube and fabric antiques would, well, meander by on their low pass. All without the blessing or guidance of "Uncle Sam" (FAA). The pattern was most definitely full at times Ghost Rider, but no buzzing the tower ever took place by Tom Cruise or anyone else in an F-14 as there was no tower to buzz this year.


I didn't actually take count of the number of Kitfoxs in attendance this year but it was up from 2012.


I know I didn't get to meet or talk with everyone who flew in but got to visit with quite a few.

Pilot4Life made the trip up from Sierra Vista on his motorcycle and we got to visit for a while. Great to meet you Chris and sorry we couldn't get you into the air while you were there. DesertFox1 and myself, and you never know who else, are talking about a much overdue trip to your corner of Arizona soon.

You know what was fun? To watch the enthusiasm for the "round" engines displayed by Rotec in the adjacent display booth next to Kitfox Aircraft's booth.

Bill and Terri Prokes parked their beautiful model 4 with the Rotec 2800 engine install at the Rotec booth. A very little white sign displayed the 2 times of day that they would pull "Little Red" out and run the engine. Amazing the number of folks that would gather round each Rotec start/run and take in the nostalgia inducing sounds and smoke from that little internal combustion work of art. You would have thought Glen Miller and his orchestra were giving a concert for the troops. I actually heard applause.
I can only imagine we will be seeing more of these round engines on TeamKitfox members Kitfoxs in the future. Nothing can hold a candle to the look, sound and smell of these beautifully built engines.
WARNING!! These engines are not for social introverts.
If you install a Rotec radial on your Kitfox you must be comfortable speaking before large audiences. Like at every fuel stop.

Kitfox with Rotec radial audience.


If you missed Copperstate, you missed a great show with really nice weather. If you attended like I did, you got to spend good times with great people and lock in some more wonderful Kitfox memories.

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[DesertFox6]

Outstanding summary there, DF4! Beautiful pics too!

Then I went back and re-read SkyPirate's plight in "Muz-zer-uh;" I'm pretty sure they're all pronouncing it more like "Misery" back there today! GEEZ! 'Course, we're gonna get slapped pretty good out here in Arid-zona this week too; temps are gonna drop from 92 to 75(!) by Thursday!

I'll apologize right up front, like a gentleman should, about the beer cooler faux pas the other night, SkyPirate; no doubt about it...it was Mrs. DF6 for sure!

"E.T."

I gotta look into gettin' me one of those fancy new cameras like DF4 has, too. Izzat one of those new 'Polio-roids' er sumpthin'? It's been quite a while since I looked at cameras, and I remember some folks talking about their "'roids" a lot at the bar the other night but didn't feel knowledgeable enough about cameras to ask which kind of "'roids" they had.

[SkyPirate]

Well DF6 I will let it slide this time since we did recover from the white crystals glimmering in the morning sun the other morning to a blistering 61 degrees today and a hint of global warming forecasted to an unheard of 72 degrees tomorrow here in masura
DF4 great write up on the event, made me wish I was there enjoying the sites and company

Today here , started with an attempt by GaWilkie myself and Captain Maddie holding down the back seat in George's (GaWilkie) mooney as we flew south for breakfast only to run into a wall of clouds and rain about 10 miles from the breakfast tables at "horseshoe bend" AR 6M2, so we dida 180 and headed back to Houston MO M48 to have breakfast there and then George and I went up in my model 5 for a flight around the patch, George took the controls and sparked some incentive to get his model 5 done told him he is welcome anytime he needs the fires rekindled