Fall PNNA Tukwila/Seattle Show Report--Lesson Learned & A Museum Visit

airplanenut

There aren't too many significant shows in the Northwest, but the twice-yearly PNNA show in Tukwila (just south of Seattle) is well attended, has good material, and is far too close to home for me to miss. I usually aim to go Friday, arriving during dealer setup (or earlybird time, but thus far I've been doing a great job bumming a dealer badge from someone with a table every time I've attended) and sticking around an hour or two past the public opening.

I got up early on Friday (or late, I suppose, relative to my normal workday schedule) for an exciting physical therapy appointment, which ended up being my last after spraining my MCL back in June. So with some pep in my step (and permission to have said pep) I headed off to the show, arriving shortly after 10am. While there is routinely nice material available, the show is always hit or miss for me finding things I'm interested in. The spring show had a currency dealer from whom I bought numerous pieces, but he wasn't set up this time around. I saw some nice coins--one to be discussed shortly--but after walking the floor a few times, ended up not buying anything.

Beyond the coins, I really like the PNNA (along with the other shows I attend, though not regularly) because it's a chance to catch up with friends. I spent a lot of my time chatting with Charmy Harker (@ThePennyLady), Tim Larson (@Lakesammman), and Glenn Holsonbake (@PonyExpress8), as well as another dealer who retired from Boeing a few years ago, and with whom I worked quite frequently, meaning there was lots of coin talk during downtime over the years.

Tim had asked me to bring a specific coin I posted not long ago, and I happily obliged, and he enjoyed looking at it, even though the coin was worth more than the plastic surrounding it. I also showed him another piece and asked his opinion. It's a nice coin, properly graded, and I like it, but he pointed to the same flaw that bugs me (as I expected he would) and keeps me from really loving it. To that end, it wasn't my best purchase. We discussed it for a bit, and it ended up being a very valuable chat. Shortly after, I saw a long-time want in a dealer's case and asked to take a look. For the grade, between the surfaces, color, and strike, it was as nice as they come, and it was priced 30-40% below what they usually go for. But my eye kept going to one tiny flaw--an almost identical situation to the unrelated coin I discussed with Tim--and I realized that even at a "great" price, that mark would never let me love the coin, and I passed on it. Lesson not only learned, money saved. The coin I was looking at was 10x more expensive than the one I had. I paid tuition on the cheap piece, and all of a sudden, that buy became a really good one, all things considered.

When I stopped at Glenn's table, he introduced me to his new business partner, Wes Stepp, and mentioned that when he plans ahead (ie, confirms with me that he'll be in town) he can often cajole me into a flight somewhere. Wes mentioned that he's interested in being a pilot, but has never been in a small plane before. Well twist my arm! We planned to meet up Saturday night to take care of that.

When the show was over, I had one stop to make. Most years, the Museum of Flight (a phenomenal museum if you're in the area, and not just because I'm airplanenut) holds a photography competition open to photographers from around the world. A small subset of the hundreds of entries they get are selected to be displayed in the museum for a few months, and among those, three are selected as 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. My selected entry this year took 2nd place, and since I couldn't make the awards ceremony a few weeks ago, the curator had a few things to hand off. The museum is easy for me to get to normally, but not during weekday business hours. The PNNA show is held only a few minutes away, so it was a great opportunity to swing by, see the exhibit, and chat with the curator for a little while. Here's my photo under a plane that goes Mach 3:

Saturday night rolled around, and Glenn and Wes swung by my house to chat some more and play with my two furry friends for a bit. Then it was off to the airport. Significantly different weather readouts (namely visibility due to smoke/haze from nearby wildfires) for a few local airports put some question in my mind about what we'd experience in the air, but that was all accounted for before we took off, in the event visibility wasn't good enough for a flight. That worry ended up being much ado about nothing, and while we didn't have infinite visibility, everything nearby was clear and it was a great night to see downtown lit up and enjoy the calm, peaceful late-night air. We even got to fly directly over SeaTac, which is always a thrill. Landed around 11:45pm with two happy passengers, and then headed home. It's always fun to mix my two hobbies, all the more so when I can use one to introduce someone to the other.

So no, I didn't buy anything, but it was a great show nonetheless.

ricko

@airplanenut ... Thanks for the report and accompanying pictures. Nice shot of Seattle at night. Cheers, RickO

Rampage

Sounds like fun!

Swampboy

Great report!
Thanks @airplanenut

lermish

Thanks for the report and thanks for showing Wes a good time, he is a fantastic guy.

Flatwoods

Sounds like a good time.
I only go to shows to visit and get away. Rarely buy.
You sound like me when it comes to coins. Even though I love circulated coins, I want them perfect. I can usually always find something to balk at.
All my dealer friends say I'm too picky.
That's ok. You end up with nice coins that way!

Lakesammman

Nice report and great pictures! Enjoyed chatting with you at the show, as always.

Lakesammman

PS - got a pilot certificate in 1979 and could never bring myself to fly at night - looks like I've been missing out!

airplanenut

@Lakesammman said:
PS - got a pilot certificate in 1979 and could never bring myself to fly at night - looks like I've been missing out!

Just let me know when you want a ride!

ZoidMeister