Sport Aviation Expo

Florida Festivals and Events Association (FFEA) has chosen an Ambassador Committee to work together to help grow the industry. Ambassador Committee members will act as a resource to the members in their region, host regional networking events and workshops and act as an additional point of contact between FFEA and its current and future members. Here below is the new Ambassador Committee. South Nancy Stewart-Franczak, Festival Management Group Maggi Rosenberg, SOR Entertainment Lanie Shapiro, Touch Poll South Florida Katherine Phillips-Chaplin, Cocnut Grove Arts Festival Central Jana Filip - US Sport Aviation Expo Brian Craig - City of Clearwater North David Ballard - City of Gainesville Tasha Hyder - Town of Orange Park Amy Davis - Community Hospice Foundation Dutch Sanger - Panama City Downtown Improvement Board...

U.S. Sport Aviation Expo will take place Wednesday, January 14 to Saturday, January 17, 2015. Please mark your calendars! ...

Expo just caught up with  Thierry Zibi, President and CEO of Sam Aircaraft and he had this to say about the 10th annual show, " Sebring is my favorite show, by it’s size, it’s ambiance, the fact that demo flights can be done easily and also by the quality of the visitors, all very knowledgeable about Light sport and most of them pilots." "We had 11 demo flights with prospects and journalists and have 2 verbal sales agreement for the SAM LS ready to fly." To view images from their trip from Montreal to Florida, click here....

The 10th annual U.S. Sport Aviation Expo drew to a close on Sunday afternoon, January 19, after one of the most successful runs in the event’s 10-year history. Abundant sunshine all four days made a pleasing backdrop for the great variety of aircraft that enjoyed lots of flight time throughout the weekend. Pictured at left, the RANS S-20 Raven, which made its debut at the show, is shown flying over the Expo grounds on Saturday evening. Photo by Jim Koepnick. Sebring Regional Airport Director Mike Willingham called the event the smoothest running ever and offered his appreciation to Expo Director Jana Filip and her husband Gary, who manage the event. “Operationally, everything ran near flawlessly, and that’s thanks to Jana and Gary’s efforts.” Willingham also lauded the work of the 240 Expo volunteers who oversee the myriad of details necessary to keep an event like the Expo running, and he stated that gate traffic ...

Day two of the 10th annual U.S. Sport Aviation Expo is in the books, and it was great day for aviation shopping. Abundant sunshine and comfortable temperatures brought lots of aviation enthusiasts to the Sebring Regional Airport in Sebring, FL, to visit with the 140 exhibitors on site. A casual survey of visitors showed that people from all over the United States were attending this year’s event looking for an airplane or other aviation equipment to purchase. Throughout the day, we encountered shoppers from New York, North Carolina, Georgia, Minnesota, Kentucky, New Jersey, and numerous snowbirds visiting Florida who timed their trip to participate in this year’s Expo. In addition, we met people from South America and the United Kingdom, visiting Expo to narrow their choice of airplanes. “The Expo is a great place to see all the light-sport aircraft that are available, and it’s easy to get a demo flight here. That’s what...

Barry Hull shared his considerable knowledge today at the 9:30am Expo Forum. “It's common knowledge among aviators that the number one killer of pilots (within aviation) is pilot error. Pilot error is most often caused by bad decisions made through poor judgment.”   Learn more: Attend the seminar Saturday at 9:30 or stop by his booth: H105  ...

SEBRING, FL: Aeromarine-LSA announces the first USA flight of the new Zigolo SSDR concept motor-glider. The Zigolo is a FAR Part 103-compliant Single Seat De-Regulated (SSDR) aircraft which means it does not require any pilot’s license, medical, registration, or certification to fly it. The Zigolo is powered by a 25-hp gasoline engine; an electric-powered option is close to completion. The electric power will provide self-launching capability for gliding or quiet and smooth dawn patrols and evening flights and still met the SSDR criteria. The Zigolo is available in a classic kit for only $14,500. This price includes the engine, propeller, and a complete aircraft rescue parachute system. The build time is only 100 hours. An even better option is the Almost-Ready-To-Fly aircraft: a finished Zigolo disassembled, and packed in one easy-to-ship crate. “Some Assembly required” means a pictogram assembly manual and an afternoon ...

Two new aircraft made their debut today—the Zigolo ultralight motorglider from AeroMarine LSA (pictured at left) and the Super Petrel LS from Florida Light Sport Aviation. Those two aircraft book end the wide variety of aircraft on display. More than 120 exhibitors are displaying a variety of fixed-wing aircraft along with auto gyros, powered parachutes, weight-shift trikes, and the Maverick Flying Car/powered parachute. In addition, indoor exhibitors are sharing the latest in avionics, headsets, GPS units and other aviation accessories. Exhibits are open at 9 a.m. daily, with the event closing at 2:30 on Sunday afternoon. Aircraft manufacturers will showcase their aircraft beginning at 10:30 a.m. each morning and again at 2:30 each afternoon with individual fly-bys of aircraft. Anyone interested in purchasing an aircraft may arrange for demonstration flights throughout the weekend. This year, Expo organizers have offered ...

Photographs courtesy of Jim Koepnick: jimkoepnick@mac.com...

The World Directory of Light Aviation (WDLA), the ultimate Guide for all Ultralight Light Sport and General Aviation Aircraft will be available at Expo next week. Flying Pages—publisher of the World Directory has been a supporter of U.S. Sport Aviation Expo since the beginning. The World Directory is the world-wide leading sourcebook/buyers guide for light Aviation. It is published in four languages: English, French, German, and Chinese. Willi Tacke—publisher of The World Directory states, "Sebring is for us always the first important show in the new year. This specialized show gives the best overview for the U.S. LSA market, and the outlook for all the markets around the World." "As a result of the success with the Chinese Version of the WDLA in the last two years and from Flying pages we launched Flying China in  2013—the first and only independent UL – LSA and GA magazine in China, which we will also bring to ...