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Oshkosh 2008
EAA's Airventure is one of the largest air shows in the world, and certainly the single biggest venue for amateur-built aircraft. I've always wanted to go, but wasn't able to get there until this year. We flew to Chicago and rented a car. On the way to Oshkosh we also stopped in Brodhead Wisconsin for the Pietenpol and Hatz homecoming.Tabitha and I arrived in Oshkosh Wisconsin late on Sunday afternoon and set up camp. We went for a walk to go see how the show was shaping up and to see the venues at the Theater in the Woods. Ralph Hood was the star for Sunday, and I knew we would like to see him again. Our campsite was right at the camper registration gate, and we were glad to be able to park the car with our tent. Coming into town we saw the "Witzel Center" strip mall, and I took a picture for the benefit of Brandon and Nicole.
On our way to the show grounds I was pleasantly surprised by what would end up to be one of the best unexpected perks of the event- the collection of motorcycles. Several campers bring motorcycles of various sizes and ages, and we saw some real gems. Below you can see a 1971 Honda CL100, the little cousin to my 1970 SL175. They look very similar, except that the 100 was in much better shape! We also saw the young couple on the mini-bikes, and one of many BMW GS bikes with some great bumper stickers. They say things like "Bush and Bin Laden both believe god guides them" and "please Jesus, protect me from your followers." After seeing a unicyclist ride by, I was convinced that I had found my crowd.
It was very pleasant to stroll through the grounds at such a late time of day. We didn't see very many people and were able to have a nice leisurely stroll among airplanes that we've been seeing on the cover of magazines for the past few years.
Aeroshell Square was also very peaceful after the sunset, and I was able to take some long exposure pictures. I didn't have my tripod, so I just used the concrete. This wouldn't have been possible during the days that followed, because of all of the feet that would have been in the way.
Lots of people come to OSH for the air show, but I was there for the seminars and workshops. They run all day each day and range from lectures and speakers to hands-on instruction in aircraft building techniques. Our plan for the week was that I would stay from Sunday until Friday, and TB would be there for all but Tuesday and Wednesday. We sat down with the schedule beforehand and came up with a list of where we wanted to be for each time slot. We started out early on Monday morning to get to the Sheet Metal workshop.
Wait a second, that's not sheet metal! Well, the truth is that we were running a little bit late, and by the time we got to the Sheet Metal workshop, it was full. I guess we can blame Vans for that one. So we went instead to the wooden rib building workshop, which was also on our list. We've been thinking about building a Pietenpol, so it was time well spent. I especially liked the little saw that they had for cutting the 1/4" square spruce sticks. It is called the "Atlas Supersaw" and is much more ergonomic than the zona saws that I'm used to. We had a good time building the ribs and asking about how to build jigs and such.
I didn't take any pictures, but we went to a talk about how to make money with aerial photography. We learned some things from it, but the speaker had a hard time staying on the subject and ended up rambling quite a bit. This was common among most of the speakers, and while it wasn't really a problem worthy of complaining about, (especially since they were all volunteers) it did cause me to change my focus away from some of the talks.
The next class on our schedule was a talk about airparks, and it was given by the ladies from a company that specializes in marketing them. In the process of finding that seminar, we made our way through a few of the homebuilt aircraft. The discussion was interesting, but we left before it was over. We left knowing that we didn't want to live in the kind of airpark that the speaker lives in. She told us about how they have lots of restrictions about how the houses look. She told us about how they have lots of fun social times where everybody does this and everybody does that and it sounded a lot like everybody pretty much did the same thing and lived in the same kind of house. I guess some people would find that ideal, but it sounded like aviation's suburbia to us.
While we were at the seminar we saw a jeep drive by that was full of people dressed up in old clothes. Hmm... that's interesting.
The second major mission of our trip was for Tabitha to get to see, feel, and sit in the finalists for building projects. Our first stop was at the Rans booth to check out the S-7. They had a certified LSA version on display, and for our purposes it served nicely. I thought it was everything I was expecting. It was as roomy as they said it would be, and the visibility over the cowl was great. Tabitha wasn't too impressed though. She pointed out that the luggage area is very small, and if we both wanted to go somewhere, we would be limited for sure. She also didn't like the idea of not having instruments for the back seat pilot, but I think we overcame that concern by me explaining how little the instruments matter in a VFR airplane.
Finally we were back to the Sheet Metal workshop to learn all about building with it. We listened to an hour or so of lecture, then we put together a little sample piece. Tabitha seemed to enjoy herself, and we had a good instructor.
There was an area of LSA aircraft on display, and we had a nice look at the new champ. I took a picture of the booth for the copperstate fly-in, so that I could remember the date and try to make it one of these times. We ended up back at the Rans booth to talk more about the merits of tandem and side-by-side seating.
Then, we went to the Bearhawk tent. We've both liked the Bearhawk ever since we started reading about it last spring. I had seen a few up close but she hadn't. The Bearhawk is a 4-place tailwheel airplane with a major load hauling capability. Plans have been available for quite a while, and several have been scratch-built. Another company that is separate from the designer has started offering kits. In all, I'm very impressed with the design and design philosophy, and I've enjoyed talking with the designer on a few occasions. I also really like the quality of the kit and the level of completion of the kit, but the price is a major hurdle. We were also dissapointed by the Avipro display. One of our primary objectives in coming to OSH was to sit in the airplanes that we wanted to build. When I asked Mark if we could do so in the demo, he said that it was a customer's aircraft and that we couldn't. I can certainly respect the request of an owner or builder- but seriously- what kind of kit manufacturer comes to OSH and doesn't even have a plane that customers can sit in? So, what about a demo flight? "Well, how interested are you in buying a kit?" he said. That's enough of an answer for me. Here you can see a picture of the luggage compartment when the back seat is removed.
We went back to the Rans booth again to see the Coyote, since TB had been impressed with it. We also stopped by the "affordable flying center" to see the same Pietenpol that we had seen in Brodhead. Somehow we had left there without letting TB sit in the back seat to see how small it was. So, we were lucky to have one of the nicest and most accommodating builders there with his plane so that we could do so. After some lunch in the cafeteria, we went for a walk on the line.
It was fun to see some of the more air show-like sights, like the static displays.
We stopped by the Vans tent so that TB could see the RV-8. Oops, no RV-8. Seriously, how can they not have and RV-8 at the booth? Oh well, at least there are a few hundred on display in the parking area. We did sit in the 7, and though it didn't have tandem seating, we were able to talk about the low wing and bubble canopy. We walked around and saw some of the many -8s and at least got to talk about them too.
We took some pictures of color schemes that Tabitha liked.
The last picture above is of Bob's Bearhawk Patrol, which is a 2-seat tandem variation on the original design. The last picture below was a reminder of where we were. The yellow hummer has a cub stripe down the side of it.
We went to the movie and saw most of it before we decided to head back for showers and sleep. It was Flyboys and we had seen it before. We had fun eating the free popcorn and sitting on the grass.
Day 3: Tuesday
Tabitha left early the next morning, and I found my way back over to the workshops, starting at the ongoing tent of work. They were working on parts for several planes, including an acrosport biplane. I used to have a set of plans for one, but sold them on Ebay. It is a nice looking plane for sure! I took a picture at the composites tent on my way back out to get some lunch.
At the Honda tent I was very pleased to see a new addition to the 2008 product line. It's a small dual sport that will compete with the Suzuki DR200 and the Yamaha XT250. In a few more years these may be a great contender for wife-motorcycle on the used market. I also went through most of the exhibitors to see the displays. I was especially focused on tools. For some reason, I just feel better about buying tools after I've seen them in person. I've read about how quiet Sioux drills are, but I'd never heard one run. There were certainly some great displays worth seeing.
For example, check out this great display at the Avery booth of drills. How could this comparison of Sioux and Pan American drills be any better? By adding air of course! And what did the exhibitor say when I asked if I could hold a drill but "would you like to hook the air up too?" We talked some about the Sioux vs the Pan American. He seems to think that they are made in the same factory, but the yellow Pan Americans are much cheaper. They are selling out the Sioux drills that they have in stock and switching just to the yellow ones. The trigger on the PA actually seemed to be just a little bit smoother to start than the Sioux, and they were both very quiet. Just for comparison I tried the Chicago Pneumatic, and the difference was alarming. The next picture over is a combination brake/shear/roller that looked intriguing. Unfortunately, they only offer it in that single length. I also saw a very interesting Moto Guzzi motorcycle as you can see.
My next stop was at the welding tent. I had been through some gas welding instruction at Sun-N-Fun, but now having read a few books and tried to figure out which torch to buy, I had several more questions. It was great to hear it all again, but since the tables were crowded after the talk, I went walking instead of practicing. I went over to the Lincoln tent to see what kind of Oxy-Acetylene equipment they had on display. They had a show special on the Harris model 15 torch, and a nice looking starter package of non-aviation regulators and a torch and such. The staff didn't know much at all about the equipment, but it was great to see and feel some of it. The prices seemed pretty good, so I set out to find some internet access to verify that thought.
On my way I passed by the rocket racing demo. It was kind of neat, but also kind of less exciting than I thought it would be.
Another neat invention in the exhibit hall was this ball-mounted work vice. It seemed really clever, and perhaps more useful for motorcycles than for airplanes. From the exhibit hall I walked down the flight line towards the ultralights and helicopters. There were lots of great photo subjects along the way.
And the air show was going on all the while too.
My last stop for the day was to hear the Winnebego Barber Shop Chorus. I had not seen anything like that in person before, and it was a nice show.
I was looking forward to getting back to the camp area, having a nice shower and going to bed early. On the way back from the shower building I saw a couple of index cards pinned to the bulletin board that mentioned one of my favorite books, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I wasn't as tired as I though I had been, and I was in the mood for a walk, so I set out to find the campsite described on the cards. When I got there I found Lee Glover and his motorcycle. It turns out that he was an airplane nut and at OSH for an annual fix, but was also in the process of making a documentary film about the book. He had just picked up the bike from a seller in MKE, and was on his way to retrace the route in the original story. We had a good time talking about the book and about old motorcycles and of course the documentary, and we agreed to meet the next morning to tape some discussion.
Day 3: Wednesday
I figured I should take a picture of the view that I woke up to each morning- bright sunshine, fall temperatures (by southern standards), and a day of great expectations. I got to Lee's campsite a little early so I took some pictures of the scenery.
The motorcycle looked great in the sunshine too, so I was able to get some pictures of it. On my way to the early morning seminar about metal forming, I stopped by to get a picture of the motorcycle pod that attaches to the bottom of an airplane.
I spoke earlier about disorganized though informative speakers. I was pleasantly surprised to find a much more experienced speaker for the first session. Mark Townsend had a very well organized talk, and it was one of the most informative 2 hour sessions of my entire visit to OSH. It really started me thinking about scratch building. One of his websites is ch601.org, which has lots of great information about building metal airplanes and homemade tools.
The still air aloft made for great skywriting. I saw a few ads on my way to the forum about the financial aspect of airplane ownership. Mark Scott's discussion was a good one, and his analytical approach and meticulous record-keeping allowed him to present a well-organized program. I didn't know until I had gotten there, but he is building a bearhawk. I didn't stick around to ask him about his analysis of kit vs scratch building, but I figured it would sound something like Bud Davisson's magazine article about the same.
The first picture below is of a 1968 Cessna 150H that was restored by the University of North Dakota to commemorate the anniversary of the school. The choice of aircraft is what interested me, since it is the same type and paint scheme as Dad's first airplane. His wasn't that nice green color though... My next stop was at a seminar about becoming an aviation writer. The focus of the discussion was magazine articles, but it was good information and a good presentation.
Since the exhibits were closed I took a walk over to the warbird section. The fleet of mustangs was great, though most of them were far too shiny. I also found the area of reenactors. They had set up tents full of WW2 era equipment and it fit in very nicely with the airplanes of the same period. This must have been where the jeep was headed earlier.
After seeing most of the warbirds I went back over to the Theater in the Woods to see if I could get a good seat for Jeff Dunham. This is what I found:
Apparently they had advertized this part in the local paper, so there was a big crowd. They had also advertized it incorrectly, so the big crowd was there 2 hours early and got to hear what was probably a pretty boring talk about the space program. I thought it was interesting, but then again I've got some family heritage involved. I thought that I was going to be stuck with standing room only, but I was able to spot a seat near my college classmate Phillip. I had heard that he was there, but hadn't run into him yet.
Jeff's show was great, and though he included some Christmas material because he had been working on a new Christmas special, he also included some aviation jokes. That made it all worthwhile. I took this picture during the show just to remind myself that I was there, but the quality is terrible.
Day 4: Thursday
The winds aloft on Thursday were especially light, so the skywriting was impressive. You could see the old ones off in the distance as they were carried away intact.
My first class for the day was about forming metal wing ribs. This, like the other seminar about metal forming, was great. The best learning experience from this one was how to make lots of handy tools from discarded materials. The other talk also focused on home-made tools, which must be a big part of the scratch building experience. Below you can see a handy deburring tool made from a broken file and some wood. Also you can see the "lead slapper," which is handy, cheap to make, and effective, though perhaps not OSHA or EPA approved.
I had thought really seriously about buying the Harris welding torch at the show price, especially since it included shipping. Before OSH I had set my sights on the Smith Airline torch, and after talking with several welders, it seemed as though the differences were insignificant. I went to the Miller tent to try and see if they had a special on the Smith Airline, but they didn't even have any literature about it. I have always been impressed with the work that Lincoln does at EAA events, and I was sort of annoyed about the absence of a Smith presence. So I figured I would support the company that supported me, and I set out to the Lincoln tent to make the purchase. Since a different crowd was working that day, I asked them if they would be able to ship the torch and regulator kit without any additional charge. The exhibitor didn't know, so he had to ask the boss lady. She said no, and I didn't bother bringing up that the guy a day or two before had said the opposite. I walked out without giving them any money, and resigned to just buy the Smith torch later.
On my way to go meet Tabitha I passed through the parking area and saw some great motorcycles again. I saw the same CL100 that I had seen before, but just a few bikes down there was also an SL70. This is the little brother of the SL175, and it was great to see them together.
With her back in town, we went to a seminar that was completely packed. It was advertized as "John Travolta, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Nicolas Cage." What they meant to say was "stunt pilot for..." at the beginning, but somehow they didn't. As such, they were surprised by the big turnout. Corky Fornoff was the speaker, and he is a popular movie aviation consultant. We stayed for the talk, which was probably much more interesting than the famous people would have been. Then, a few minutes into the show we saw the ubiquitous pork chop sideburns walk up and take a seat. Corky kept carrying on about the times that he remembered working with Burt Rutan on the Bede project, until Burt finally let Corky know that he was in the audience. Everybody got a big laugh, and most of us (at least me) got a thrill from seeing one of homebuilt aviation's most important heroes.
I wanted to be sure to take Tabitha to see the reenactment and warbirds, so that's where we went next.
After going to three discussions about forming aluminum parts (though not having actually done any of it), I was really starting to consider the possibility of scratch building a Bearhawk. At first I had ruled out the prospect, but after learning about the techniques, I wanted to give it another look. I found a really nice gentleman from Missouri named Collin Campbell who had scratch-built his, and was quite pleased to see both him and Bob Barrows sitting under the wing. I joined them and tried to politely bombard them with the 100 questions that I had about the project. He spent 2680 hours on it and is now building the patrol version for fun. I talked with them both about materials and tools, and really started to think that it was a project that I could handle. It was good to let Tabitha see another Bearhawk up close, though I didn't ask him if we could sit in it. I felt like I had already bugged him enough, and the interior was in great shape.
The air show started, so we made our way over to Aeroshell Square. We noticed that John Travolta's 707 had arrived, and the CAF had opened up the B-24 for tours. On the walk over I was lucky enough to find a $20 bill that someone else had been unlucky to lose in the middle of the walkway. I figured we would just donate it to the young eagles program, so we walked over to their booth to do so. Well, it turns out that they didn't accept donations there. Oh well. Instead we gave it to the CAF and got to take a look at the B-24.
After a few more hours of looking at planes and the air show, we made our way back to the campsite. The exhibitors were all closing up, and things were winding down. We'd had a great time, but it was our last day before our early morning departure.
This last picture was what I saw on the way back to the tent. It was one more little last reminder that I had found "my crowd."
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