Brent, I have the "sander on a stick" (sanding pad on an angled handle), and it's handy for reaching into the insides of hollow forms (if the opening is big enough). I don't find it as effective as other sanding tools on other pieces, though.
I also have a Harbor Freight "close quarters" drill with a 2" sanding pad that's handy for more aggressive material removal. Unfortunately, it's a Harbor Freight tool, so its a roll of the dice whether it'll last or not. Stu and I got the same drill as the same time (from the same store), and although mine has worked for over a year, Stu's self-destructed in less than a month. There are other, higher-quality angled drills available, though. Any of them have the potential for leaving swirl marks due to the orbital sanding action.
My favorite, especially for finish sanding, is the little Grex ROS. Since it uses random orbits, the swirl marks are a lot less likely to happen.
http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=20343
It's not quiet, but it sure works nicely. You do need a serious compressor to power it, though. I used mine for over a year with a little Auto Zone buzz-bomb compressor, and I spent more time waiting for the compressor to catch up than I did sanding. Now that I have a real compressor, that's not a problem. Sounds like you have ample air to power one.
There's also this Metabo electric ROS that I know at least one production bowl turner uses and recommends:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004YBX5
Due to its geometry, it can't reach inside a real deep (or small) bowl, but it's also probably quieter than the Grex pneumatic.
For most of my sanding, I like the wave disks that Nancy mentioned, although I prefer the yellow ones over the green ones. I also use the wave backing pads, too.