Skymaster/O-2 Meeting & Fly-in Scheduled for The dates, place and time have been decided for the seventh Annual Skymaster Meeting and Fly-in. The meeting will be on June 11 through the 14th, 2008 in Kalamazoo, Michigan at the Radisson-Kalamazoo, with optional social stops in Mackinac Island during the prior days. The meeting is being presented by the Skymaster Owners And Pilots Association (SOAPA). A great combination of topics and speakers are planned, covering a myriad of subjects of interest to Skymaster owners and operators. We'll have A&Ps intimately familiar with our aircraft, engineers who are experts on several facets of the Skymaster, experienced pilots who've been flying this aircraft for many years, and techies who are up to speed on the latest avionics. Our guest speaker for dinner on Friday night at the Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum will be Thomas Van Hare, who will talk about his upcoming book, covering the shootdown of Skymasters over the straights of Cuba in 1996. In addition, Mr. Van Hare will be one of our conference speakers, discussing Delta Hawk diesel engines in Skymasters. But it's not all work! for both attendees and significant others. Plentiful restaurants, taverns and shops fill Downtown Kalamazoo. For more information about the event or about SOAPA, or to volunteer as a speaker, contact: For questions regarding registration, payment, and hotel reservation, contact: In addition to those named above, the following folks are among those who helped organize this meeting, and we thank them for their efforts:
Arrival at the Kalamazoo airport (see airport and "getting-there" information further down this page) is planned for Wednesday. For those of you who intend to join us for a day trip to Mackinac Island, we suggest you be there early. For those of you who will be on Mackinac Island, we will meet you there on Wednesday morning For those of you who are flying direct to Mackinac Island, our inter-plane frequency is 123.40. Ground transportation is provided by the Radisson Hotel, and Duncan Aviation. The Radisson has a shuttle bus, as does Duncan, to take you from the airport to the hotel. You will find that there are a meriad of activities within a short walk of the hotel. Wednesday evening we will have registration at the hotel, and a happy hour, first drink on SOAPA Also, courtesy of the Kalamazoo Convention and Vistors Bureau, we will have 'Mixer on the Mall', featuring a local band, and dancing in the street!!. The meetings start on Thursday, covering exciting issues, including a presentation by L-3 Communication on Skywatch vs TIS, Stormscope vs Nexrad. Friday we will have presentations on formation flying and a host of other exciting topics. Friday night, we adjourn to the famous Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum. We will 'own' the AirZoo for the evening. You will get to fly the 3D simulators, tour the museum, have a fabulous dinner, and enjoy a presentation by Thomas Van Hare. Saturday morning, it's off to a local airport for a fabulous Michigan Fly-In breakfast, and a demonstration by the Michigan Flyers. The agenda table is presented here .
On top of the dinner and cocktail party mentioned earlier, we will have lots of activities for significant other and children. The Kalamzoo Valley Museum is located directly across from the Radisson. On Thursday, we will have a tour of the Museum. The Museum includes a childrens interactive area, the Challenger Learning Center, a planetarium, and many interesting exhibits (http://kvm.kvcc.edu/). We hope to be able to arrange a tour of the Kalamazoo Center for New Media for Thursday afternoon (http://newmedia.kvcc.edu/gallery.htm ). On Friday, we are planning a tour of the Kalamazoo Institute of the Arts (http://www.kiarts.org/), which has many interesting exhibits. All of these facilities are within easy walking distance of the Radisson Hotel. Registration is $175 for each person attending the event if payment is received on or before May 21, 2008, and $200 per person for registrations received after that. The fee will cover the reception cocktail, meeting rooms and cleanup, meeting room coffee and tea, presentation equipment rental, and, last but not least, the dinner at the AirZoo. For spouses and other companions not attending the meetings who wish to join us on our social outings, the fee is $75 per person, and for children under the age of 16 the fee is $35, if payment is received on or before May 21, 2008, and $100 per person for registrations received after that. Registration is 100% refundable if notification is given to Jerry or Herb by email before May 21, 2008. After that, refunds cannot be provided. To register, please a) click on the registration page, b) either print the page and fill it out by hand, or save it (it's a Microsoft Word document) and fill it out in your computer, and c) send the filled-out page and your check to the address listed on the page. Once your registration is received, your name will be added to the attendee list at the bottom of this page and Jerry DeSantis will call you or send you an email to acknowledge your payment.
Our meetings will be at the Radisson Plaza
Hotel at Kalamazoo Center. We will be meeting in the Stone
Theater, which is located on the lower level. HOTEL The hotel we are staying at is the Radisson Plaza Hotel at Kalamazoo Center ( http://www.radisson.com/kalamazoomi ). The hotel has extended us a group rate of $129.00 per night, plus applicable taxes, of course. The hotel features 341 rooms, is located in downtown Kalamazoo, and has a shuttle bus that will pick you up at the airport and transport you to the hotel. The hotel features 4 restaurants, a full service Spa, an indoor swimming pool. Most rooms also feature Sleep Number® Beds by Select ComfortTM with upgraded linens. All rooms have data ports with high speed internet access at no charge. Note, these are data ports, not wireless. The Wednesday Happy Hour will take place at the hotel. To make reservations, please call the hotel directly at 269-343-3333. Tell them you are with the Skymasters Owners and Pilots Association. Note, all reservations must be made by May 21, 2008. The hotel has set aside a block of rooms for us, but will not guarantee rooms after May 21, 2008. . Transportation from the airport to the Radisson is via their shuttle van. In addition, Herb, Jerry, and Larry will assist with ground transportation. There are rental cars available from most major rental car (Hertz, Avis, etc.) companies if you so desire.
Your arrival is at Kalamazoo's controlled (towered) airport (KAZO). Parking is at the public parking area, near Duncan Aviation. There is no parking fee, or handling fee. Fuel is available at Duncan Aviation, full service. There is also fuel available at the Kalamazoo Pilots Club, self serve, and considerably less expensive. In addition, the airport that we will have our Saturday breakfast at will have fuel at a reasonable price. The airport at Mackinac Island is uncontrolled, no tower, and no fuel. There are instrument approaches available at both airports. In addition, KAZO, and the nearby airports, KGRR, KSBN are served by most major air carriers. In this day of rising fuel prices, you may wish to consider flying on a commercial airline. 
At the suggestion of some attendees, we are offering a side trip, in advance of the meetings, to Mackinac Island. Mackinac Island is a unique town, in all of the United States. It is the only town where motorized vehicles are prohibited. It is, as the name implies, an island, located in the Straights of Mackinac, between the Upper and Lower Penisula of Michigan. The only way to get to Mackinac is by ferry boat, or airplane. The island has a 3,580 ft x 75 ft runway, Rwy 8 x 26. They have a website, http://www.mackinacisland.org/ . While it is famous for the Grand Hotel ( http://www.grandhotel.com/ ), it was also the setting for the movie, "Somewhere In Time" ( http://www.somewhereintime.tv/ ). The lilac festival is being celebrated during that time ( http://www.mackinacislandlilacfestival.com/ ) and there are lots of activities associated with that. The plan is that you may fly, on your own, to Mackinac Island, and spend the night, or nights. On Wednesday, we will lead a group to Mackinac for the day. We will ride the horse drawn taxi from the airport, to the town, spend some time in the town, ride back to the airport, and fly back to Kalamazoo. It is typically less than 1 1/2 hours each way. The town is interesting, cultural, and a pleasant place to visit.
The attendee list is here. < /p > < p > Please send corrections or additions to any content on this web page to Larry Bowdish by email. To print a copy of this page click File, click Print Preview and check that you are not missing any of the text at the right edge of the page; if you are, reduce the left and right margins to zero in File, Page Setup. If you only wish to print part of this web page (the Agenda table, for example), determine the page numbers in Print Preview and print only those pages. Please read credits and disclaimers below. |
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