What began as a small collection of booths hosted during a day of safety seminars has grown into the 27th Annual Northwest Aviation Conference & Trade Show, 
slated for Feb. 21-22 in Puyallup, Wash. Each February more than 10,000 aviation enthusiasts and their families flock through the Blue Gate at the Western Washington Fairgrounds for the show, which has expanded again for 2010, according to organizers.
The pilot safety seminars will cover many facets of the industry including: helicopters, seaplanes, ultralights, mountain and IFR flying, survival, weather training, and navigation software, as well as presentations from the FAA and the AOPA Air Safety Foundation. Keynote speakers include the AOPA ASF’s chief pilot JJ Greenway; mountain flying pilot Lori MacNichol; AOPA Foundation President Karen Gebhart; author and flight instructor Bruce Williams; and many more.
The conference will begin early with a registration-only event on Friday. Teaming up with Civil Air Parts (CAP) and Emergency Response International (ERI), the 2010 event will host a Part 135.331 Crewmember Emergency Training (CET) Course. This training must be conducted every 12 months by FAR 135 flight crews and includes topics such as rapid decompression, fire and smoke procedures, ditching and evacuation situations, illness, injury, first aid equipment, and other abnormal situations involving passengers or crewmembers. This course is open to the general public as well.
Included in the survival series for 2010 will be a four-hour Egress Training Course. The first hour will be a free public egress and ditching general session. In the afternoon, pre-registered participants will meet at the indoor pool at the nearby Holiday Inn for three hours of training. The participants will have the opportunity to get into the Shallow Water Egress Trainer (SWET) and be inverted in a controlled and safe environment. Cost for the SWET training is $99. Space is limited, register online or by phone at 866-922-7469.
Once again national industry and government experts will be presenting at the FAA approved maintenance seminars on Saturday. For the cost of gate admission, IAs attending the maintenance classes earn credits toward renewal of their certificates. This certificate not only provides documentation to meet specific FAA requirements but provides a record which you may wish to submit when you apply for or renew your aircraft insurance. The certificate is provided on site at the end of eight hours training. This program is available now for registration online.
Airport managers and operators, pilots, business owners or other interested individuals are invited to participate in an Airports Workshop on Saturday. This workshop is designed to bring together state and federal aviation leaders, as well as airport personnel and general aviation airport users. This event is co-sponsored by the WSDOT Aviation Division, the FAA and the Airports Support Network (AOPA.).
Thanks to the continued support of the National Weather Service, the conference also will be hosting a Weather Workshop. This seminar series is presented by operational meteorologists from the National Weather Service Forecast offices in Seattle and Spokane, Washington, Portland and Medford, Oregon, and the National Weather Service Unit co-located with Seattle ARTCC. These seminars were written especially for pilots and are intended to increase pilot knowledge of meteorology in general and aviation weather in particular. Guest speaker for the 2010 Weather Workshop is Cliff Mass, professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Washington and weekly guest on KUOW radio.
The Northwest Aviation Conference & Trade Show is hosted by the Washington Aviation Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion and protection of aviation businesses in the Northwest. The event provides a venue for aviation businesses & customers to network and showcase technological advances in the industry.
The conference also will have 350 booths, including museum displays, aircraft and a hands-on mock runway project presented by the FAASTeam.
Major sponsors of this year’s conference include: AOPA, Flying Magazine, General Aviation News, Seattle Avionics, King County International Airport, FAA, Spencer Aircraft, Lightspeed, Air BP, Wipaire, Trade-A-Plane, ClearWire, Dynon Avionics and Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS).
The 27th Annual Northwest Aviation Conference & Trade Show will be held on February 20 & 21 in the Americraft Showplex at the Blue Gate of the Western Washington Fairgrounds in Puyallup. Hours are 9 am to 5:30 pm on Saturday and 10 am to 4 pm Sunday. Admission is $5/person, which is good for both days. Kids and students free. Parking is free in the Blue Lot. Fly-in attendees can land at the Pierce County Airport, where there are additional functions and free shuttles to the event courtesy of Spencer Aircraft.
For more information: Washington-Aviation.org or 866-922-7469.
