OSH '08 Redux -- The Torch Has been Passed, Part II

"Jay Honeck" wrote:

(Continued...)

Wednesday, July 30th
After sand-bagging (figuratively) yesterday, we hit it hard today,
getting an earlier start on the show, and to get ready for our big
HOPS Party. We also realized that we hadn't seen much of our son,
who had made friends in Vintage and become nearly self-sufficient on
the field -- except for that whole money thing. I had given him my
credit card for his trip up, and agreed to pay for anything that we
would normally buy (camping, food, etc.), but I figured it was time to
repo the card before he went out and bought a 496 for the Ercoupe...so
we hooked up with Joe early.

For flying into Airventure, the Vintage folks give out a plaque with a
picture of you and your plane -- a very nice touch, and something Joe
will treasure forever, I'm sure -- so we went to pick that up. He
also wanted a mug, and a shirt, and...you get the picture.
Understandably proud of his achievement, we nevertheless had to put
the brakes on some of his "wants", since everything came with a price
tag on it.

The Vintage guys tried to talk us into joining, but they weren't able
to get their computer to accept us as a "family" membership, even
though Joe is only 17. They weren't sure if it was because Joe was
turning 18 so soon, or what, but it was aggravating, so I passed.
We've been EAA members for 27 years, so that'll have to do, for now.

We spent a long time in Vintage, hanging out at Joe's campsite,
enjoying the day and trying to get over the weird feeling that the
baton had been passed to a new generation. Joe had made a circle of
friends in Vintage, and proudly introduced us to them all. We then
wandered over to Addison Pemberton's awesome Boeing 40 -- the only one
flying in the world. I tried to get close enough to say "hi" -- he
and his family have stayed at the hotel before, and are coming back in
a few weeks for an airmail reenactment -- but the mobs around the
plane were such that we just kept moving. What an awesome airplane,
and a great effort to get it flying again!

There were dozens and dozens of Ercoupes on the field (including the
oldest one, a 1941 military model) since the national fly-in had been
held just a few miles away from OSH earlier in the week, and we really
enjoyed strolling the rows, checking out the different models and mods
that are available. We were gratified to note that our little 'Coupe
(christened "Sweetie") stood up well against the group, and Joe puffed
with pride whenever someone would stroll up to ask about "his"
Ercoupe.

That's one thing you rarely get in the North 40, and is something that
is really fun about the Vintage camping area. There were rarely ten
minutes without SOMEONE wandering up to ask questions about the
'Coupe, and there was often a line of folks gawking and taking
pictures. It's an unusual looking plane, rarely seen anymore, so the
public is naturally interested in it -- and they are REALLY interested
to hear about a 17 year old pilot flying a 60-year-old airplane! By
the end of the show Joe was getting a bit tired of the whole scene,
but -- for the most part -- he was really in his element.

Then, it was time to head back to our campsite for the Sixth Annual
HOPS Party! As always, this event could not be staged without the
direct support and assistance of this group's own Jim & Tami Burns,
Montblack, and Jack Allison -- and we all went shopping to nearby Pick
& Save for beer, pop, hard lemonade, and any number of snacks.
Montblack took care of the food, buying a ton of pre-cut sub
sandwiches from nearby Subway, and Tami supplied potato salad, too.
A veritable feast was laid out, and then we waited...

Soon, the airshow was over, and the people began to wander in.
Getting to this party is never easy -- we're two miles from show
center, in the middle of a giant field -- but come they did! Soon,
hangar flying and a general celebration of the Oshkosh experience was
well underway, with beers brought in from all over the country! We
ran out of food (which Montblack promptly replenished) and a great
time was had by all!

A group of us stayed up till 1:30 AM, discussing everything and
anything, and we were all happy when we at last toddled off to bed...

Thursday, July 31st.
That happiness didn't persist past dawn, however. It's not possible
to "sleep in" at OSH, even with eye-shades and ear plugs, since the
morning sunshine rapidly raises the in-tent temperature to
blast-furnace levels. So, we toddled off to breakfast, feeling punk
and not wanting to do much of anything but sleep.

So, we made our way South of Aeroshell Square, to the forested area
that surrounds the Theater in the Woods, found a shady spot -- and
promptly fell asleep. It was a lovely day (in the shade), with a
nice breeze and low humidity -- so sleep came easy.

We all awoke refreshed, and proceeded with the show. This was the
first time we'd ever done this at OSH, and really showed how
picture-perfect the weather was! In fact, the weather has never been
better at Oshkosh, and we were rarely too hot or too cold. Stranger
still -- it NEVER stormed all week, although it did look nasty a
couple of times. That's another first for AirVenture!

The airshow today was simply awesome, with the Marine Corps V-22
Osprey making it's first Oshkosh appearance. I've always wondered
about the military spending billions on this aircraft, but -- now that
I've seen it fly -- I understand their reasoning. This thing is FAST
-- way faster than a helicopter -- and can get the good guys in (and
out) much faster. Speed is life, in that sort of thing, so the V-22
suddenly makes sense -- and what a fun thing to see fly!

Then, the awesome F-22 Raptor did it's "usual" (if that word applies)
flight demonstration. Words can't describe this aircraft's
capabilities, and seeing one fly is simply breath-taking. As always,
the crowd loved every minute of it.

We trundled our way back to our campsite, now weary from four days of
constant walking. Tonight was "Family Night", though -- Mary has
several aunts and cousins in the area -- so we had a good dinner to
look forward to! Unfortunately the group selected a fairly new
"Applebees", which is mediocre under the best of circumstances, and
was truly awful under the stress of the Oshkosh crowd. (We knew we
were in trouble when we couldn't get water -- after requesting it
three times...) In the end it didn't matter -- we were there to see
family, not eat -- and a good time was had by all!

Friday, August 1st
Where did July go? Where did *summer* go? Amazing, how fast time
moves in summer...

We were up bright and early this morning, so I was able to take some
nice sunrise pictures. Without the usual "Oshkosh deluge", Atlas was
as dirty as I'd ever seen him, with the morning dew providing the
catalyst for dust-induced mud to form each day. After four days, the
filth was quite pronounced, and we had neglected to bring any cleaning
supplies with us. All I could do was hope that the crud wouldn't build
up to a depth where lift was no longer developed by the wings.

After days of being on his own, Joe realized that Oshkosh was more
than half over and we hadn't done our usual "Guy thing" of exploring
the Warbirds, just the two of us. This has been a tradition with us
since he was a little boy, and I was wondering if he was going to
remember! While Mary and Bec went off to join in the "world's
largest gathering of women pilots" on Aeroshell Square, I gladly
forced my weary feet to endure another five miles of walking with Joe,
as we strolled up and down the rows of Mustangs, Warhawks, Corsairs
and Avengers. I couldn't help but marvel at how time has flown past,
and noted that it wasn't that long ago that I was teaching him the
history of the various warbirds, and describing the differences
between a "C" and "D" model Mustang.

Now, his knowledge easily matched my own, and exceeded it in certain
areas. I've taught him everything I can about airplanes, aviation, and
flying, and there is little else I can impart to him. Strolling up
and down the rows, stopping to examine an intake here, a folding wing
there, we were both comfortable discussing these aircraft as equals,
both having flown in, both knowing what the other knows. I realized
that -- with disconcerting suddenness -- my son had become a man, and
I swelled with pride and a little sadness as we came to the end of the
line. The torch had been passed again.

Friday has become our traditional "Seaplane Base" day over the years,
because they throw a traditional Wisconsin fish fry that can't be
beat! Also, by this point in the week, we're more than ready to get
away from the hustle, heat and noise of Wittman Field, and trade it
for the quiet coolness of Lake Winnebago. So, that afternoon we rode
the trams to the far South end of the field, caught a big yellow
school bus, and rode 15 minutes to the seaplane base to spend time
with our friends Markus, Jack, and Montblack.

As always, the contrast was stunning. After a short walk through a
darkened forest trail, we popped out onto the shoreline, waves lapping
the beach, seaplanes bobbing at anchor in the little harbor. It was
absolutely idyllic, and completely different from the rest of
AirVenture. We found a quiet place to sit, and enjoyed an hour of
quiet conversation, until....

We'd been watching darkening clouds approach, and suddenly the wind
shifted. First it got much warmer, then it switched again and grew
much colder! We could see shafts of rain in the distance, out over
the water, and then the wind doubled in speed -- and then doubled
again! A real storm was brewing, and we could see the whole thing
from across the water.

Then the PA system came to life, warning that a tornado had been
spotted nearby, and that everyone should seek shelter. It was easy
to spot the native Midwesterners, because we all immediately went to
the shoreline to see if we could spot the twister! Nothing was
visible, but the waves rapidly grew until they were tearing apart the
rickety old piers that the coast guard was tied to, and the lake
actually rose over a foot, driven our way by the increasing wind.
It was fun to watch, and very unusual in that nary a drop of rain ever
fell. The entire storm skimmed off to the North, leaving us (and,
thankfully, Wittman Field) untouched.

Within a half hour the weather had returned to normal, the lake was
reverting to its glassy former self, and folks from outside the
Midwest were left shaking their heads. The rest of us just smiled
knowingly.

The fish fry was awesome, as always, although they raised the price
considerably to a whopping $13 per plate! Apparently Walleye Pike has
gotten a lot more expensive (and they *did* provide huge portions) --
but $52 for a home-made cookout seemed a bit steep. Nevertheless, I
loved every minute of it, since we can't get any kind of decent
fresh-water fish in Iowa.

Eventually we grew bored with the silence, and longed for the hub-bub
of Wittman Field again -- but the seaplane base sure is a wonderful
place to recharge your batteries after a week of craziness. We rode
the bus back to the field, where they proceeded to drop us off at the
more centrally located bus tower. This pleasant turn of events
allowed us to check out Aeroshell Square, and to get a few more pics
along the way, before retiring to our campsite for an evening
cocktails and conversation, exhausted but happy.

Saturday, August 2nd.
We'd been closely watching the Prog charts since Wednesday, eyeing a
system that was approaching from the Great Plains. At first predicted
to be terrible, Sunday was then pronounced "good" by Flight Service --
only to be once again pronounced as "iffy" last night. So, with one
more check of the progs, we decided to leave today after the airshow
rather than wait for Sunday as planned. Discretion being the better
part of valor, we also figured that it would be nice to have a day at
home to scrape the topsoil out from under our nails, and have some
time to check email, etc.

But first, we had to get Joe launched. Having been on the field a
whopping ten days, he was more than ready to head for home -- but was
understandably nervous about flying out of OSH during the show. We
sat down with the NOTAM and went over the possible variations, and I
offered to fly with him -- but he ultimately declined my help,
preferring to do the "whole Oshkosh enchilada" himself. By the time
we met up with him at 9:10 AM he was fully packed and ready to go.
To help with his useful load, we agreed to take his tent and a folding
chair he had purchased -- every ounce helps in an Ercoupe -- and we
spent a few nervous minutes going over the radio frequencies and
procedures.

Once satisfied that he was good to go, we left the 'Coupe and headed
to the hangar buildings to hunt down Lightspeed's Alan Schrader once
again, to work out a deal on a pair of Zulus. He agreed to swap out
my old pair of Twenty 3Gs in exchange for a half-price deal on two new
Zulus -- as good as it's gonna get -- and we headed back to the
Vintage area so Joe could "test" one of the new headsets in the
(incredibly noisy) Ercoupe.

(Note: No ANR headsets had been found to work in the 'Coupe, due to
it's very loud engine/wind noise combination. This is true in most
airplanes of this type, from 'Coupes to T-6s, but Alan swore up and
down that the Lightspeed Zulu would work perfectly in the 'Coupe -- so
we wanted to test this assertion. Joe reported that they worked
perfectly, by the way...)

At last ready to go, the Vintage guys on scooters escorted him through
the sparse morning crowds out to Rwy 36, his mother, sister and I
proudly watching him all the way. Eventually, after a few minutes of
waiting for arrivals, it was his turn to depart, and we heard the big
85 horsepower Continental wind up from a quarter-mile away. He
trundled down the runway, gathering speed, and then levitated
beautifully into a graceful right turn, coming to an Easterly course
and staying South of the tower, just as briefed. He was off into a
clear blue sky, alone, headed for home.

Heart full, we headed back to Aeroshell Square, absent-mindedly
snapping pictures and slowly working our way Northward. I couldn't
concentrate, my thoughts being in the 'Coupe with my son, hoping that
all was well on his 2.5 hour flight...

We headed back to our site to break camp and get Atlas packed so that
we could enjoy the airshow and then blast off for home. This
unpleasant task always takes longer than setting up, but (for once) it
wasn't ungodly hot, so everything went smoothly. Jack soon came
around, and we decided to eat at Friar Tuck's one more time, given
that we had only eaten their once during the week. While on our way
to lunch Joe called to say he was home, safe and sound. It was with
relief that we could enjoy our last meal in Oshkosh for the year, and
Thanks, all, for making OSH '08 our best, yet! Only 357 days until
OSH '09! Hope to see you there!

Great report, Jay. We couldn't make it this year, but we're planning for next year!

Mike

"Jay Honeck" wrote:
Thanks, all, for making OSH '08 our best, yet! Only 357 days until
OSH '09! Hope to see you there!

Great report, Jay. We couldn't make it this year, but we're planning for next year!

(sorry about the earlier mis-fire. I meant to trim all that quoted text)

Mike

Great report, Jay. We couldn't make it this year, but we're planning for
next year!

Just think -- only 351 days until the the 7th Annual Fly-in Pool Party!

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
Ercoupe N94856
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay:
When can we expect a preliminary report on the your new ZULU's?
You used them on your flight home, did you not?

bdl wrote:

The volunteers would be there to basically make sure that nobody was
trying to jump off the thing, steal radios, or trip over those cables
you mentioned.


What's the best was to make sure nobody trips over a cable and severs a
connection?



As an added bonus, perhaps one of the ATC guys over at the NATCA tent
could hop on up for 15 minutes every once in a while to be an
"expert", while getting a good word in for NATCA ("after the tour your
welcome to come down tot he NATCA tent where you can hear about our
contract negotiations").


There are no "experts" at the NATCA tent.

On Aug 7, 5:11*pm, "Steven P. McNicoll"
wrote:
bdl wrote:

What's the best was to make sure nobody trips over a cable and severs a
connection?

Well in the real world you put them under cable tracks.. Or up in
cable runs. I've never been in the tower, so I don't want to
speculate on the nature of the environment. But if an organization
can fly a 50 year old 4-engine bomber every day for a week for paying
passengers, I'm sure they could figure out a way to avoid damaging
anything in the tower. Where there's a will there's a way.


There are no "experts" at the NATCA tent.

I put it in quotes. I meant it as a euphanism for anybody in a pink
shirt that week. I know the few ATC forums are usually well attended.

-- Brian
N9093K

When can we expect a preliminary report on the your new ZULU's?
You used them on your flight home, did you not?

See it on Pilots of America.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
Ercoupe N94856
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

bdl wrote:

Well in the real world you put them under cable tracks.. Or up in
cable runs. I've never been in the tower, so I don't want to
speculate on the nature of the environment. But if an organization
can fly a 50 year old 4-engine bomber every day for a week for paying
passengers, I'm sure they could figure out a way to avoid damaging
anything in the tower. Where there's a will there's a way.


A way was found. People that didn't need to be there were kept out.

On Aug 8, 6:09*am, "Steven P. McNicoll"
wrote:
bdl wrote:

A way was found. *People that didn't need to be there were kept out.

Which was a shame.

Brian