Serbu Firearms, Inc., Tampa, Florida

[markserbu]

So I decide to fly over to Orlando from Tampa last night to attend the Van Halen concert instead of fighting traffic on the roads. My friend bought the tickets, I paid for gas. We land at KORL (Orlando Executive) which is only 3 miles from the arena and we tell the ramp guys that we're here for the Van Halen concert. They tell us that the King Air 200 we're parked next to brought the band here. Well, when we get back to the plane there's activity around the King Air, mostly in the form of babes going to and from it and the FBO. We're doing our preflight and before the King Air's engines fire up, the pilot looks over at us and gives the thumbs up; it's none other than David Lee Roth! Wow. So nowadays rock stars are not only sober, they're sober enough to fly airplanes AFTER a concert. The weather was perfect last night....calm winds and totally clear. It was a beautiful flight over and back, the concert was great, and being parked next to a legendary rock star (who flies a King Air!) was an added bonus. Not to mention that the people from the FBO drove us to and from the concert for free. This flying stuff is pretty cool!

[TCPilot]

Mark,

1) You'll discover that most (smaller) airports in this country are staffed by totally selfless people. I've had airport folks give me rides and even lend me vehicles for a day's use. That's a lot of the fun of flying. I'm stoked you're using your license. Trips like that really make you appreciate your achievement and add to the fun!

2) I saw VH here in CA back in January. I have to say, I think DLR is in better shape now than when he was 23. He must really be taking care of himself.

3) VH was huge when I was in high school. The advance of years, however, has really shown me that they are just a buncha soCal guys who hit the bigtime. Eddie is immensely talented, but their lyrics sure don't have the appeal to a 40yr old that they do to a 17yr old!

4) Too bad DLR has such crappy taste in airplanes. With his budget, he could dump that slow POS and get a Turbine Commander. 320 kts. at 31,000 feet. It'll leave a King Air in the dust, on 60% of the fuel!
_________________
Armed Pilot!

[TCPilot]

On another note, I was out test flying someone else's Aero Commander today, and met the pilot of an Epic LT, which is soon to become the certified Dynasty. Man, that thing is one sexy ride. He flew into Stockton, CA from Aspen, CO. In 2 hours. He was getting 320ktas. Plus, the fit and finish is as fine as anything you'll see on a $40M bizjet. And it has the Garmin G1000 glass panel.

I have airplane envy now. There isn't much that will ever get me away from the Commander line (and if I had the dough, I'd STILL probably get the Turbine Commander vs. the Epic), but the Epic stands the best chance. I hope that these guys make it in the market...

/TCP
_________________
Armed Pilot!

[markserbu]

Well, they might be selfless people but it was actually the policy at that FBO. I find that most FBOs either give rides or give out free "crew cars" for up to 3 hours. Your tax dollars at work! It is nice to have the option of flying. I saved hours of travel time and had an adventure at the same time. The night cross-countries bother me a bit, because all those nice fields that you can see during the day disappear at night.

I don't know...if you watch the old videos of DLR back in the early 80's he looked pretty tough. All those karate moves, doing the splits, etc. He's definitely in good shape now for age 51, but still.... Anyway, I'm going to stop now because this is sounding a little too gay.

The Turbine Commander sounds pretty kick ass, but I'd take a King Air, too!

[markserbu]

Yeah, I've read about those before. Incredible airplane!

[TCPilot]