Looking ahead to the Sebring LSA Expo

The holidays approach like a lumbering airliner on final, sure and certain. With its arrival, aviation in America can take stock of the year and begin the anticipation for a new season to dawn once the days begin to lengthen. Winter in many northern states is a time of reduced recreational flying activity but (speaking as one who endured many Minnesota winters before permanently flying south) the short days and cold nights help to build excitement.

In the world of Light-Sport Aircraft and light recreational aircraft of all kinds, the focus now gathers on the Sebring U.S. Sport Aviation Expo, or more simply the Sebring LSA Expo. Last year’s event drew more than 16,000 visitors to a trade show oriented to help buyers view all the airplanes from which they can choose. You can do plenty more than look, however, as the big airfield has ample room for a steady stream of demonstration flights, one of the key values in this ninth running of the event.

For northerners in cold, dark states, the event in the third week of January in mid-southern Florida offers a pleasurable break from the long winter months. Sebring also kicks off the aviation calendar helping to warm up those engines for the SUN ’n FUN show to follow, this year over April 9-14. At Sebring visitors can expect to see nearly the entire fleet of 130 FAA-accepted Light-Sport Aircraft models, making the Sunshine State event arguably the very best at this precise focus.

At the 2012 event, Sebring enjoyed four perfect days of weather with light winds, blue skies, and 80 degree temperatures. That will be a hard act to follow but the promise is present along with a greater variety of airplanes than you can imagine. I encourage you to put the dates on your calendar now and plan to make your way to the land of bright sun, oranges, and Light-Sport Aircraft: January 17-20, 2013.

For more information on Sport Pilot and LSA: ByDanJohnson.com