The eighth edition of the Latin American Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (Labace) starts Thursday at Congonhas Airport in São Paulo, Brazil, and show organizer Associação Brasileira de Aviação Geral (Abag) expects it to be the largest yet. According to Rogerio Sautner, Abag’s sales manager, exhibit space was sold out by June and the expected attendee count is 16,000, which would surpass the 14,834 who came through the gates last year. The exhibitor list stands at 165, up 15 from last year’s Labace. The aircraft static display will also be larger, with 64 airplanes, nine more than last year, and including for the first time an Airbus A318. The events actually begin tomorrow, with the Bombardier Safety Standdown Latin America. Last year, the standdown brought more than 200 attendees from all over Latin America, and the Canadian OEM expects this year’s event will draw an even larger crowd. Labace 2011 starts on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. with the opening general session, and the gates will open at noon. All of the major business aviation manufacturers will be exhibiting at Labace, and Brazil-based Embraer is unveiling a full-scale “near production” cabin mockup of its new Legacy 500 there.