Oshkosh 2012 bound!
There's probably not a single aviation event in the world better-attended by pilots than the annual Oshkosh Experimental Aviation Association's Airventure gathering each July in Oshkosh Wisconsin and if you hold a pilot's licence you are required by oath to attend at least once in your lifetime-it's kind of like an Aviation Haj. This year my good friend Randy suggested we pack our two boys (my son Erik, 4 and his son Conan, 6) in his Piper Cherokee and make the pilgrimmage-a four hour hop from Centralia across a couple of lakes, interspersed with a couple of enroute stops (free hotdogs for Oshkosh bound pilots and a radiation scan at Saginaw plus a last minute request for a number 2 break from one of the boys before crossing lake Michigan). With five days of good weather in the forecast I couldn't say no.
Picture at left: Erik checking out the scenery at departure on his very first ride in a light plane.
Picture at left: Erik checking out the scenery at departure on his very first ride in a light plane.
Saginaw
Saginaw is midway from Centralia to Oshkosh and a good place to clear customs-American flight service providers are an exceptionally friendly and helpful lot and their FBO's geared as much to private pilots as the commercial guys.
Shot at left: Dow Chemical maintains a fleet of three private jets at Saginaw which travel back and forth each week to Texas. Pilots enroute to Oskosh are treated by the staff to a free barbeque lunch-I love Americans!
Shot at left: Dow Chemical maintains a fleet of three private jets at Saginaw which travel back and forth each week to Texas. Pilots enroute to Oskosh are treated by the staff to a free barbeque lunch-I love Americans!
Fond Du Lac
Fond Du Lac is a logical choice to land at when you arrive 5 minutes after the control zone closes for the afternoon airshow at Oshkosh as we did. Another very nice FBO and friendly staff.
Oshkosh Campsite
A small section of the GA campground.
Plane Spotting
The downside of plane spotting on an airport is the lack of shade trees (for obvious reasons) so when the heat comes, a cold bottle of water and the shade of the nearest plane's wings is the preferred method of plane spotting.
Bugatti
So it turns out that the famous Italian carmaker also made a very nice prototype fighter plane during WW11 but had to hide it before the Germans got a hold of it. Hidden away and forgotten for many years, this very futuristic looking plane from another era now resides in the EAA museum. Check out the website of the guys making a flying version (the original suffers from dry rot unfortunately and will never fly)
Eon
Conan checks out a neat little new sport float plane with retractable gear which would be a great little plane to have were it not for the fact that it can't carry any payload.
Rainy afternoon
View of a P-38 Lightning and Grumman Duck from the EAA mock-up control tower.
Ford Trimotor
Dad, I don't care if Amelia Earhart is about to land, I've seen enough planes for one day.
By the way, you're covering the lens again.
By the way, you're covering the lens again.
B-25 Mitchell bomber
Son enjoying vintage aircraft ramp (with the help of some stickers)
Erik's photos
So it turns out the key to engaging a 4 year old at an airshow is to crown him the "Official Photographer" of all airplanes.
P-38 resurrected
This P-38 was found buried under 200 feet of ice in Greenland after having crashed along with 5 other fighters that ran out of gas during the 2nd world war. The carcass was hauled up through a hole that the restorers melted with essentially a huge heated ball. It has been returned to flightworthy condition.
Inside the EAA museum
Too many historic aircraft to list...
Outside of the EAA museum
Son enjoys a break on the grass.
Goodyear blimp
Goodyear blimp takes off.
F-16
The coolest single engine jet fighter of all time.
DC-3
Probably one of the most ubiquitous aircraft of all time.
Airshow!
Faux bombs explode as Japanese Zeros recreate the bombing of Pearl Harbour while a smiling DC-3 remains oblivious to the action.
RV parking
To get an idea of the scale of Oshkosh, this is a shot of the field where they park only aircraft from Van's aircraft-nothing else.
Erik checks out the vintage jet fighter flightline.
Oshkosh control tower
Main control tower shot by son Erik as we ride the tram back to the bus which circles the airport periphery delivering pilots back to their aircraft. Listening to the controllers accurately identify and guide aircraft onto the runway as we approached the airport was nothing short of astonishing. These guys know their aircraft inside out and were landing planes three at a time by directing them onto different colored spots which had been painted at different lengths down the runway.
AirVenture
You can't go to Oshkosh without getting a photo under the Airventure sign - Randy, son Conan, me and Erik.