Occasionally, the third time really is a charm.
After postponing events twice since last year, the DeLand Sport Aviation Showcase was cleared for takeoff and had a fairly smooth flight last Thursday through Saturday.
Jana Filip, the event’s administrator, said there were intermittent weather issues — Saturday morning’s fog, in particular — and fewer volunteers this year, but the showcase was otherwise a success.
“They really stepped up to the plate,” Filip said Monday of those who helped with the event.
The inaugural event at the DeLand Municipal Airport took place in November 2016, and it’s been a growing success since, save for last year.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the November 2020 showcase was postponed.
In January, Filip planned a smaller event, one that would include Tesla test driving, but the pandemic forced her to cancel that one, too.
With the state’s COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations trending downward in recent weeks, Filip went from yellow light to green light when she received the all-clear 60 days out.
Attendees, of which at least 7,500 were expected, were still encouraged to wear masks when social distancing wasn’t feasible. The number of attendees wasn’t immediately available.
Filip said she had about 100 vendors set for the showcase, and all but two made it.
Navy veteran Andres Velarde attended the showcase for the first time as a keynote presenter on Thursday.
Velarde, a Winter Park resident, owns Simulator2go, a mobile Part 61 Flight School that makes getting a private pilot’s license more affordable and convenient.
His company became fully operational in April after receiving Federal Aviation Administration-approved Basic Aviation Training Device certification.
Velarde got the idea for affordable and mobile flight training after his daughter expressed an interest in aviation and he learned how expensive training was.
He said he found during the showcase that not many people are aware of alternative training options.
“They just know you go to an airport,” Velarde said.
And not every airport has a simulator.
“Our simulator doesn’t do any motion, but that brings the cost down to the students,” Velarde said. “The only thing they have to adjust to is the G-forces in flight.”
Students may work on their instrument rating through an FAA-approved syllabus.
Attendees, vendors travel far for event
Georgia Turner, director of the West Volusia Tourism Advertising Authority, said the showcase has clearly established its place in the light-sport aviation industry.
“People are coming from all over the country specifically for this event,” Turner said Monday.
The showcase saw visitors from as far north as Canada.
There also were international vendors.
Turner said the crowds this year were as big, if not bigger, as they were in 2019.
“I think that’s probably the most exciting thing, just to watch something that’s relatively new in the aviation world grow and bring more people here.”
While the final numbers aren’t yet available, the Sport Aviation Showcase is expected to have had a significant financial impact on the local economy.
It brought about $1.5 million to the area in 2019, Filip said.
Next year, in addition to the three-day annual showcase, Filip is hoping to schedule a couple of other events, including the one with Tesla vehicles.
