Oshkosh 2009. I looked forward to this for most of the year. I'd hoped to fly in but didn't quite complete the plane in time. I flew in commercial and arrived just in time for the annual Velocity Cook Out hosted by Andy and Theresa Millin.
Jerry Brainerd mans the grill.
_______________________________________________________________
The obligatory "Eagle One" pose.
_______________________________________________________________
Ken Baker in Brat attack mode. Note the "Zone of Denial" maintained around him for safety sake.
_______________________________________________________________
Duane and Bonnie center court.
_______________________________________________________________
Darrell and Nora Kufalk flew their Velocity to the show for the first time. Congratulations on a great achievement. This one will be hard to beat.
______________________________________________________________
Sad but true.
_______________________________________________________________
Duane Swing and Bob Buls.
______________________________________________________________
Rutan's latest and greatest - the carrier for Spaceship 2.
_______________________________________________________________
Artwork under the fuselage.
_______________________________________________________________
The Virgin Galactic Mothership Eve in flight. Pretty grandiose. I took this from the fried chicken tent - a personal show hilight. The old lady next to me looked up, watched it go by and said "I don't get it."
_______________________________________________________________
The A380 was ginormous. Its tail was 80 feet tall and towered over everything. The takeoff was impressive. Take a look at the dust storm it kicked up on takeoff using the above measurement for scale.
_______________________________________________________________
Ken Baker pointed out this gorgeous Lancair Legacy. This is by far the most beautiful paint job I have ever seen. The colors, the scheme and most of all the carbon fiber stripe. Look at the closeup. I have no idea how they achieved this effect, but I'd bet it wasn't easy or cheap. If this guy doesn't win an award, he was robbed.
_______________________________________________________________
The new PiperJet. Nice.
_______________________________________________________________
Talk about fully equipped! Here is a Breezy with missiles and an "air male" box. (his spelling)
_______________________________________________________________
This is the new Subsonex. It is a single seat, single engine jet (!?!?) from Sonex. Neat ship, but it does remind me of the German V1 buzz bomb.
_______________________________________________________________
This is the Piaggio Avanti. It's my "if I won the lottery" choice. Just gorgeous.
_______________________________________________________________
The last night out at Kelly's with my friends, the Keighans. This weather is unheard of for Oshkosh in the summer. Note the jackets. It sure was comfortable sleeping in the dorms this year.
_______________________________________________________________
Saturday morning. I had to catch the bus to Appleton airport at 10:00, but didn't want to just sit in the dorm and waste even a little time in Oshkosh, so I got to the grounds at 6:45. It was COLD and windy. Note the long pants and jacket. This was the weirdest weather ever at Oshkosh. It was cold, hot, wet, sunny, humid and dry, often in one day. The grounds were changed and improved (new walkways, more space, flush toilets, new tower, etc.)
There were huge numbers of aircraft and big crowds. The Virgin Galactic ship was a crowd pleaser as was the A380. Above all, the spirit of the show was alive and well. There was that upbeat cameraderie - the feeling that you were among friends again, being around what we all love.
For me, Oshkosh remains a hilight of my year. More than ever, I look forward to flying into the show next year in my new XL and sharing my love of this place with my kids. It was great seeing all of my fellow Velocity builders, pilots and wannabe's at the show. Keep at it and we'll see you there next show!
Below is a video of the A380 for those of you who missed. it.
No comments:
Post a Comment