August 2, 1998 Leaving EAA AirVenture '98

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by	Rick Durden

About the Author ... Rick Durden is a practicing aviation attorney who holds an ATP Certificate, with a type rating in the Cessna Citation, and Commercial privileges for gliders, free balloons and single-engine seaplanes. He is also an instrument and multi-engine flight instructor. Rick started flying when he was fifteen and became a flight instructor during his freshman year of college. He did a little of everything in aviation to help pay for college and law school including flight instruction, aerial application, and hauling freight. In the process of trying to fly every old and interesting airplane he could, Rick has accumulated over 5,400 hours of flying time. In his law practice, Rick regularly represents pilots, fixed base operators, overhaulers, and manufacturers. Prior to starting his private practice, he was an attorney for Cessna in Wichita for seven years. He is a regular contributor to Aviation Consumer and AOPA Pilot and teaches aerobatics in a 7KCAB Citabria in his spare time. Rick makes it clear he is part owner of a corporation which owns a Piper Aztec — because, having flown virtually every type of piston-engine airplane Cessna manufactured from 1933 on, as well as all the turboprops and some of the jets, he cannot bring himself to admit to actually owning a Piper.

A Merlin engine goes to full power, the shattering sound crackling across the aircraft camping area at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Your head snaps over, you take a look at the airplane and say, "Oh, just another Mustang."

At that point you realize it is OK to go home.

When the extraordinary in aviation becomes normal, you have been at Oshkosh long enough. It doesn't mean you have to leave, but it means you have seen and absorbed enough of what fascinates you so that you can leave without too many regrets or too many thoughts of, "Oh, I wish I had looked at or gone to that..."

So, you re-read the departure portion of the NOTAM, pack up the tent and the stuff you bought, and all the literature you were handed, and all the goodies you bought, stuff it in the airplane, secure the cargo net over the pile, pull the airplane forward and turn it to face down the alley, and finally, fire up.

There is one more bit of adventure to be had, because the departure from EAA Oshkosh is unlike most any you ever make. You taxi, after listening to the ATIS, and without making a radio call, toward the active runway, following the signals of the men and women with orange paddles. You get a bit of a thrill when the marshallers hold a P-51 for you, then you get in line behind assorted production aircraft from the last fifty five years, a Spitfire and a new Cessna 172. Somehow, in the stream of arrivals, a voice comes over the radio summoning four airplanes, two from each side of the runway to take positions on the left and right sides of the runway, two and two. Then, one is cleared for takeoff on the right side. As it accelerates, one on the left side is cleared to go, followed shortly by one on the right and the last on the left. In another few moments an airplane lands. Then there is a space to shoehorn in four more departures.

Finally it is your turn. You are cleared into position on the left side of the runway. A 172 launches off the right side, only a few seconds ahead of you. Then you are cleared to go. Power up, a quick check of the engine instruments, keep it tracking straight, airspeed coming up, rotate a little and fly off, keeping it low. The 172 ahead is climbing steadily, you are overtaking him, so stay low, no need to climb much, the max altitude is only 1300 msl because of the inbounds you must cross under at 1800 msl. The 172 slides to the rear above you and now you are coming up on a Warrior and the end of the runway. Start a gentle turn to start in the direction of home, keeping in mind the heading restrictions on the departure routing until you are clear of the Class D airspace. Ease it up to 1250 making no sudden moves. Zip. A Lancair blows by you. Whew, that's why you make no sudden moves.

OK, outside the five mile radius, so start to climb, but keep a sharp eye out for those high speed machines which are probably out here. Turn on course, climb to altitude and, when about thirty miles out, turn the transponder on. Yep, ATIS said they wanted it left on standby until that far from the airport.

Now there is time to think. What was this Oshkosh like? Why did you go? Will you go back? You spent more money than you intended, (don't we all) got sunburned, schlepped a long way to the showers each morning (but went early enough to get warm water), stood with your mouth open as the Twin Beech smoothly looped and rolled and as Patty Wagstaff made an airplane do things you could not even name, and put up with massive crowds.

So, you think about what you saw. About the flight line operations folks who did such a smooth job, and despite what you were told, set up a system to fill holes as airplanes left that worked. For the first time you could remember, it was possible to fly in on Friday or Saturday and not only get in, but get a good parking space.

Moving the opening day to Wednesday seems to have worked. The airport did fill up on Wednesday, but only temporarily. It opened back up shortly afterward as the early arrivals streamed out Wednesday after the airshow.

You saw incredible new homebuilts and new add-ons to existing ones which boggled the mind. You marveled at the quality of the workmanship on so many of the homebuilts and wondered how in the world the judges could possibly decide which ones were the best. They all looked perfect. The warbirds again impressed you with their power and grace. Again, you felt that there was no tougher looking airplane on the planet than a Corsair rolling out with the flaps extended while the most gracefully deadly warplane ever built had to be the Spitfire. And you smile to yourself at the egos of some of the warbird pilots as they swagger around and sweat in their long-sleeved flight suits while the senior Confederate Air Force pilots put on civilian, short-sleeved shirts after flying, because they don't need to show off.

You think of the incredible work done by the volunteers, few of whom receive any recognition, and without whose efforts airVenture would not be possible. Of the FAA folks who are at OSH to help out at the FAA's large building, gently pushing safety to ever increasing crowds. Of the FSS briefers who handle the crush at OSH when they could be at their home shop dealing with a normal pace. And, you say a silent "thank you" to all of them.

You wonder about the pilots who haven't gotten the briefing and taxi around on grass without pulling the wheel back and of the funny conversation you had with a friend about the matter. The two of you came to the conclusion that the chumps who didn't pull the wheel back to keep the prop away from the ground were renters, those who did have the wheel back were owners.

As you fly, you realize that this year there was no show-stopping event as there has been in the past. When the Concorde first came to OSH it was incredible and told the world that EAA Oshkosh had arrived. Now it is almost taken for granted, because the EAA AirVenture is so big and impressive, that sort of thing is expected. In a way the show has become a victim of its own success. How does it do an encore to the incredible? It cannot have the SR-71 and the B-2 for the first time more than once. It cannot have the world's largest formation of World War II aircraft every year.

It is a little like Alaska, it is incredibly big and awe-inspiring, but everyone expects big and awe-inspiring, so the EAA does not get the credit it deserves for the massive show it stages. The EAA's successes in the past have raised people's expectations so high, that unless there is a moon launch during the convention, some people will be disappointed.

Little things stick in your mind. Of the copilot of the Concorde hanging out his window as the airplane was being towed to parking. He was taking pictures of the massive crowd taking pictures of him. He then pulled out a china cup and saucer and had a bit of tea. Where else can you see that sort of thing?

Where else outside of Alaska can you see dozens of seaplanes together, on a sheltered inlet, and watch them arrive and depart with some frequency?

Where else could you see a MiG 15 in formation with an F-86, passing over a homebuilt which was only five minutes slower than a Hawker Sea Fury in a race from eastern North Carolina to OSH? And, where else will both such a revival of the long-distance free-for-all racing and vintage fighters from opposite sides of a war be something that you expect to see? That does not make you jaded, that just makes EAA AirVenture so incredibly good that visitors can legitimately have such a level of expectation and can have those expectations satisfied. The most devoted cynic leaves EAA Oshkosh muttering and upset because he cannot find enough about which to complain.

Where else can you go to forums on homebuilding techniques which are taught by the very best of the very best in that area? The Port-O-Lets were always clean. How in the world do they do it? It is a mark of a well-run organization that such details are attended to effectively.

You think about the new locations for so much that you have gotten used to being elsewhere. Everything has moved south, making the center of gravity farther from airplane camping, to the regret of your feet. It means the Fly Market is bigger, but you discovered there were no real bargains there this year and the books were horribly over-priced compared to what you could get on the Internet. But, it also meant the forum tents were not constantly surrounded by noise, making the forums more valuable because you could hear.

It showed that the EAA has gotten the word that aviation has to be marketed to the general public, because they are the future. If it cannot be sold to those who are not flying now, it will die. That means more glitz and show biz in the presentations, but, that is marketing, you sadly realize. It means that pilots who fly in are the minority at the convention. While they require a tremendous amount of the volunteer effort to deal with their airplanes, the majority of visitors arrive by car and the center of the AirVenture is now more convenient to them. While emotionally a little difficult to accept, it is necessary. For we have to get those who are currently driving to become a part of the group who are flying.

The EAA is going about it in the correct fashion by marketing to that group effectively. You just hope that the EAA will never get to the lowest common denominator in its marketing, the silly jet truck is bad enough. The rumor of ferris wheels on the west ramp was pretty bad. What was worse was that you initially believed it could be true.

Musing, you try and think of bad parts of the experience. In the past there were always several. This year was simply different, there were so very few truly bad experiences. The weather was as nearly perfect as can be imagined; the showers didn't flood while you were in them; only one pilot was enough of a jerk to taxi at half throttle, ride the brakes and make a turn so as to blow the food off the plates at your campsite. You did see some litter on the ground and you picked it up. Seeing some litter at all was a unusual. Seeing people who were there with the job of picking up litter was a first for you. Sad.

There were a couple of folks who felt it was so important they depart early that they ignored the 6:00 am airport opening restriction and woke up hundreds of people. Thanks, fellows. Hope some of the people I spoke with never find out who you are.

The parking people were incredibly polite this year, more so than any time in the past. The only sour note seemed to be the Civil Air Patrol. Why did the senior member captain yell at the two guys who crossed the flight line rather than walk over and act civilly to them? And, why did that more senior officer act so rudely to those campers when he followed up on the incident with the captain, so much so that an EAA official came and apologized for the CAP officers' behavior? Why did those two cadets strut through the vehicle only area and challenge the police officer to drop the rope across the road? Why in the world did those four cadets walk shoulder to shoulder south on Knapp Road Saturday morning and force people to jump out of their way? CAP is such a good organization, it recently was given recognition for absolutely outstanding work in spotting wild fires in Texas, why are some minority of its members doing things to sully its name in the midst of the biggest aviation event in the world?

There were so few bad experiences. There wasn't a closure of the airport ahead of the published time, stranding departing airplanes, there was no controller slowdown for IFR departures, people were so very friendly to each other. Most people in authority seemed to bend over backwards to be accommodating. It was a good year for EAA AirVenture.

What was so very important, though, was seeing friends again and meeting new friends who have the same dedication to aviation. Yes, you met old friends at the arch east of the control tower as you always do. You spent time watching the airshows under the wing of an airplane, with a cold one in hand, out of range of the announcers. Despite flying aerobatics over the years, you still are amazed by the airshow display and you enjoyed discussing it with friends. You learned a lot about airplanes and operations and repair in the many interesting conversations you had. You talked airplanes with perfect strangers, because each of you were excited about them. What a place.

Will you go back next year? To the heat and noise and crowds? After all, the ideal campsite is supposed to be next to a babbling brook, in the trees, surrounded by silence. Yours had none of the above except when the water jug on the wing tip started leaking, and the noise required fingers in the ears at times. Would you have traded it for the brook and silence? Nor would I.

This was probably the best organized EAA Oshkosh event ever. If the budget allows next year, you'll be back and you will arrange to meet up with even more friends, for, as it all works out, the airplanes are wonderful, but it is the people who make it why we just keep going back year after year.

See you in 1999!