Sun 'n Fun Report

[Bob Patterson]

Sorry this is so late (and so sparse .... :-) )

Well - it was another great week in the Sun !! We arrived LATE
on Saturday (actually, 1 AM Sunday) thanks to ##$^$%$&*&* Air Transat !!
Fortunately, we were able to overnight in Venice in one of Howard's
motor homes, then continue on into Lakeland in the A.M. (We ended up
flying to Ft. Meyers because of flight availability & scheduling .....)

The first couple of nights were cool (34 degrees !), but the
days were LOVELY !! Richard & Howard got there ahead of time, and really
got us a nice setup - the 5 motor homes were circled to give us a
coutyard for parking & parties !! Great work, guys !!

Murphy unveiled a complete new booth - 2 long tents end-to end,
and a small information tent in the middle of the display. Very
professional looking, as were all the staff, in their new uniforms
(except yours truly, of course, wearing the traditional Tilley vest
& hat - scruffy, as usual :-) ) The factory brought along new
brochures - a spiffy, 6 fold full colour effort on glossy paper -
really sharp ! To top all this, they brought new, lower prices !!
This is the end of "show specials" - thank goodness !! We now have
show special pricing ALL YEAR LONG !! No more big rushes at the factory
after every show ... :-) So tell your friends NOT to wait - order
NOW !!! ;-)

The booth was once again graced by the presence of Phil & Sandi
McKenzie's beautiful Rebel, and the same outstanding Renegade we were
fortunate enough to have the builder bring last year.

As if all that wasn't enough, we showed the first Quick Build
Super Rebel wings & tail, and announced the QB pricing - an extra
$10,000 US for a kit with the wings FINISHED except for a section of
bottom skin, left open for inspection, and a fuselage READY FOR THE
GEAR, except for the controls & floor !! This is reduced to only $8,000 US
for the first 20 orders - but hurry, the first 4 are gone already !!

The quick-build (VERY !!! - actually, completely finished !)
1800 Amphib Floats were there too. These are only $4,000 US more than
the kit cost, and are complete with pump-outs, and solid rivets.
(solid rivets are much cheaper than Avex .... :-) )

The final surprise was .... A COMPLETELY <NEW> MURPHY AIRCRAFT
KIT !!! Darryl has been working away secretly on a new design -
a LOW-WING Ultralight !! Tentatively named the Murphy Mosquito, it
is a single seater of about 24 ft. wingspan that is designed to be
a legal Ultralight in the USA - that means 254 lb. COMPLETE !!!
This is an even greater challenge to an engineer than building the
Maverick to meet the Japanese regulations ! Randy Schlitter, of RANS
Aircraft, has bet Darryl a steak dinner that he can't make it -
this should be fun !!!

Plans for the future include a stronger (and heavier) model
of the Mosquito for the European market. This will be a +/- 6 G speedster,
with a FAST cruise !! The showing of the prototype fuselage at
Sun 'n Fun was primarily to see just how much interest there might be
in this new design - and there was a lot !!

Angus McKenzie and Ed flew down from St. Thomas, Ontario on
Sunday, coming through some VERY cloudy VFR, ;-) to arrive somewhat
frazzled ! Their Rebel, with the McKenzie STOL kit (cuff & fences)
installed, was a big hit, and joined Dave Bangle's Subaru Rebel and
Folis Jones' pretty Subaru Renegade (alias 'Poosemoth' !) on the flight
line, where the numbers of Murphy Aircraft are slowly growing - and
winning prizes !! :-)

The highlight of the week, of course, was the Murphy Cajun Cookout
Builders Dinner, at Lakeland South airport! This is a <DON'T MISS> event
that just gets better every year ! A BIG thank you to our hosts and
cooks, Larry , Debra, Marty, and Belinda - you really SHONE this year !!
They even installed a new stove in the hangar to speed things up ..
The deep fried Cajun Turkey, Gumbo, Spicey Brisket, and all the goodies
were just SUPERB !!! It seemed like over 150 happy Rebel Builders
(and all of the folks from the RANS booth !) were there to share the
food, fun, and ample refreshments !! ;-) There were draws for prizes,
and one of the RANS guys won one - wonder if he'll wear a Murphy T-shirt
in the RANS booth ??!!! :-)

All in all, a GREAT week !!! MUCH better than Oshkosh .....
We're seriously considering shortening our visits to Oshkosh unless
they smarten up and treat folks who fly in IN HOMEBUILTS and want to
CAMP with their aircraft, a WHOLE LOT BETTER !! Seems to me that
WAS the original idea behind Oshkosh .... ???

Air Transat are consistent !! They were over 2 hours late getting
us home, too !! I think they are now our 'number last' choice for air
carriers !! :-)

Hope we'll see you all at Sun 'n Fun next year, if not before !!
Tune in to the Rebel Ramble news at: www.dcsol.com/murphy-rebel -
mailists section ....... and come fly 'n camping with us to the West
Coast this year !!!

.....bobp ( & Anna )




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[Charles Skorupa]

As usual, great report, Bob. Not sparse at all, just concise and very
informative.

-Chuck Skorupa-
----- Original Message -----
From: Bob Patterson <bob.patterson@canrem.com>
To: <murphy-rebel@dcsol.com>
Sent: Friday, April 21, 2000 7:00 PM
Subject: Sun 'n Fun Report

Sorry this is so late (and so sparse .... :-) )

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[Bob Patterson]

Thanks, Chuck !!
Flattery will get you anywhere !!

I hope it carried a bit of the flavour (Cajun !) of the show,
for those who couldn't be there ( THIS year ...). See you there NEXT
year !!! And on the NEXT Rebel Ramble !!! And on the lakes and
beaches of the world !!!! Just finish that Rebel, and come ENJOY
life !!!!!

I'm just REALLY cheerful tonight - we went out and put a couple
of hours on Rebel #001 this afternoon. I <LOVE> that airplane !!!!
Just knocking the winter rust off (me, not the Rebel ..) - it stalls
at 34 mph clean, and 24 mph with full flap ! With full flap and 3/4
power, I flew level at 28 mph, and rolled into a steep right turn,
reversed to a steep left turn, and didn't lose a foot - she's steady
as a rock at that speed, and safer than houses !! :-) :-)
Cruise is 97 mph, burning a whole 3 gallons/hour !! THIS is really
CHEAP, FUN FLYING !!

Just for fun, I sideslipped on approach with full flap -
got 1,800+ fpm descent, with lots of rudder left !! There <was> a
15 Kt crosswind from the right .... She's SUCH a pussycat on landing
- I'm sure I could WALK faster, and yet with full control !! She
sure makes my landings look good ... (from a distance, anyway ;-) )

Breaks my heart to sell it, but we've finally finished #068,
and can't keep them BOTH :-( (unless I win the lottery !)

Anyway, KEEP on BUILDING - it <IS> worth it !!! :-)
''
Czesc !
....bobp

--------------------------orig.----------------------------------------
At 06:33 PM 4/22/00 -0700, you wrote:

As usual, great report, Bob. Not sparse at all, just concise and very
informative.

-Chuck Skorupa-
----- Original Message -----
From: Bob Patterson <bob.patterson@canrem.com>
To: <murphy-rebel@dcsol.com>
Sent: Friday, April 21, 2000 7:00 PM
Subject: Sun 'n Fun Report

Sorry this is so late (and so sparse .... :-) )

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