What began as a small collection of booths hosted during a day of safety seminars has grown into the 28th Annual Northwest Aviation Conference & Trade Show, slated for Feb. 26-27 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 2011, according to organizers.
The pilot safety seminars will cover many facets of the industry including helicopters, seaplanes, ultralights, mountain and IFR flying, weather training, and navigation software, as well as presentations from the FAA and the AOPA Air Safety Foundation. Highlights include a presentation by Joe Kittinger, aviation legend, test pilot and first man in space; safety seminars presented by the AOPA ASI’s chief pilot, JJ Greenway; a mountain flying workshop presented by Lori MacNichol; an address from AOPA President Craig Fuller; and much more. The full schedule and event program is available online.
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.
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 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.
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 300 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, AJAC, General Aviation News, Seattle Avionics, King County International Airport, FAA, Pacific Coast Avionics, Spencer Aircraft, SIM Flight Center, Lightspeed, Fire Boss, Wipaire, Trade-A-Plane, Clear, Adamson Aviation and Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS).
The 28th Annual Northwest Aviation Conference & Trade Show will be held Feb. 26-27 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 per person, which is good for both days. Kids and students get in 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
