It’s Not Just a Fly-In

AVweb continues its coverage of EAA AirVenture 1998 … .

Hey, it's noisy at OSH!Arriving two days before the official opening of AirVenture 98 turned out to be a great idea. Jerry and I were able to get some sense of the lay of the land, but to tell the truth, I still didn't know where anything was. No matter, because we still had two full days before our scheduled departure Friday morning.

The winds of Tuesday gave way to clear skies and calm winds Wednesday. Jerry and I decided to split up for the morning, but we carried small walkie-talkies so we could get together for lunch.

My wanderings led me to the Fly Market first. I had heard so much about it, both good and bad, that I had to see it myself. The big knock about the Fly Market I had heard from longtime Oshkosh visitors was that there are no longer and good bargains to be found there. They complain that non-aviation exhibitors have taken over. Well, I would see for myself.

The first booth I spotted was for those amber colored glasses that block out the blue wavelengths. Okay, maybe that's aviation related. I mean, it could be, right? Next booth, special drill bits. Next, super-duper cleaning compound you can use on jeweler, clothing, and anything else. When the barker at the next booth was wearing a microphone to address passersby, I began to wonder if this was the Fly Market. Then I hit several aviation type booths in a row, each carrying bins of parts I couldn't identify. The collection of spinners made for interesting modern art. Hundreds of plastic bags contained screws, nuts, washers, bolts, and metal pieces I had never seen. They must have been important parts, though, because people were hovering over them. I think some of them bought bags of parts in hopes of finding something good in there.

Aviation art was a biggie, with one or two such booths on each row. More amber sunglasses. Military surplus stuff. Old aviation books. Hey, this is getting to be interesting. A special table saw? Wind socks, of course. Well, this is okay, but my impression is that there's more flea market than Fly Market here. On to the big exhibits.

Buildings A, B, C, and D, huge metal barns, are home to hundreds of exhibitors. I wanted to see if Garmin was doing software upgrades for handhelds, but I couldn't get close to the counter-too many people. The avionics retailers had used radios, GPS's, and anything else you can stick into a panel. I started to look at the used nav-coms, but decided, once again, to delay that decision. My radios work just fine, and I just know that one of these days those panel-mount GPS units will come down in price. I can wait. Stopped by to visit with the CorrosionX folks, since I used their product on my fishing reels and firearms. Well, what have we here? Oxygen systems. I don't fly high most of the time, but for some reason I have been thinking of getting a portable oxygen system.

At the first booth I looked over the Kevlar tanks and cannulas, but they wanted more than a grand for a two-person system. That seemed steep. I kept walking. Out of that building, into another. More avionics makers, more toys. Some of these systems cost more than my Skylane. Sheesh!

Old warhorseA family goes by with four children riding an inline stroller. Have to get a picture of that. I spot another oxygen system. I've heard of Aerox. The helpful fellow behind the counter explained the various options, different size tanks, how to use the cannulas, and what system might fit my needs. He asked several questions about my plane, its service ceiling, how and where I fly, how many people I usually take. A 1959 Cessna 182, about 19,000 feet (if I remember right), in the South and East (no mountains), mostly alone or with one passenger, but sometimes with four. One thing I hadn't thought about that he explained was that having the ability to go high can provide the option of picking up favorable winds. Still, I wasn't sure.

As we are talking, up walks Brent Blue, the flying M.D. from Jackson, Wyoming, who has written about oxygen use in small planes. I met Brent when I arrived Monday. He's the one with the Cessna 340 that wears the Rubber Chicken Airline decal. (I'm going to have to ask him about that.)

I ask Brent about the need or wisdom of buying an oxygen system, given that for most of my flying the highest obstacles are 18-wheelers on the interstate.

"Do you fly at night," he asked.

"Yes."

"Do you fly above eight thousand feet?"

"Yes."

"Then you need oxygen," he proclaims.

Lots of helpThat's all I needed, permission from "my" doctor. The nice man at Aerox said yes, they do take credit cards. Unfortunately, they didn't have a behind-the-seat carrier for the M size tank I bought, but they would ship it to me. Not a problem for the trip home. With all the gear we will have behind the seats, we'll just stick the tank between two duffle bags, and there won't be room for it to move.

Brent asked if I had been to the consignment area, which, of course, I had not. As a veteran Oshkosher, he lead me there. Radios, props, parts, and assorted stuff-all aviation! Hey, this is more like it. Then I did what may turn out to be my dumbest move at Oshkosh. I bought two life vests. They were shrink wrapped, two-cell design, and carried a sticker that said they had been inspected or reconditioned, or something, in 1995. And they contained strobes, too! Normally $70 or $80, I just couldn't pass up these bargains at $15 each. Now, I know that bargain survival equipment might not be the brightest decision, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. Now I'll have to blow them up to find out if they do, in fact, hold air.

From the consignment tent, Brent and I headed to Aviat, where he introduced me to the folks who make the Pitts and the Husky. Since I learned to fly in Alaska, the Husky really got my attention-a Super Cub on steroids. Now they have it approved on amphib floats and 31-inch tundra tires. Neat.

Jerry and I hook up by walkie-talkie and head to the Cessna outdoor exhibit. The new Skylane is beautiful-leather interior and all. Still, it's just more than I can muster to understand a price tag that approaches a quarter million bucks. It made me appreciate my old bird even more.

To the flightline! Airshows were slated for 3:30, with fly-bys before that. Jerry and I settled onto the grass in time to see an amazing formation flight of T-6s. Sixty planes spelled out T-6 60 to celebrate 60 years since the aircraft's introduction. The P-51's, Corsairs, a Sky Raider, T-34's, zoomed past, The sounds of big props at high speed ripped the air in an exhilarating assault on the senses.

Patty's ExtraFor me, though, the highlight was Patty Wagstaff's show. I'm not an air show junkie, so I had never seen her routine. That's not to say that I had never seen her fly, though. In the 1980's, when I lived in Anchorage, Alaska, I used to sit on my back porch and watch a small aerobatic plane turn itself inside out against the background of the Chugach Mountains. It turned out I was watching Patty practice.

That say that the first opera or symphony affects people differently. For me, watching Patty's routine was more than exciting. It was moving. It was a symphony. It was a stunning work of art. I found myself wiping my eyes as she finished.

Several more shows, including the Gee Bee (which I fell in love with when I watched the move "The Rocketeer") were wonderful, but I felt drained from pounding the pavement all day, and from Wagstaff's performance, so I headed back to camp. As I walked back, world-class air show performers continued, and it occurred to me that only at Oshkosh would you walk away from such shows.

Then it happened. What's that squishy feeling in my shoe? Could it be a blister? Oooh, yeah. That's what it is. My first Oshkosh blister, smack dab on the ball of my foot. I hobble the mile back to the plane and camp, break out the medical kit I always keep in the plane, and cut out moleskin to protect the blister. We'll just have to see how that works.

Where to we sign up?Next item was to attend the dinner of online friends scheduled to be held at Walter Atkinson's Twin Beech 50 yards from our camp. I looked forward to meeting even more of the names I had seen and gotten to know online, and I also wanted to cook up the Louisiana meat pies I had promised to bring.

The dozen or so people we expected to attend kept growing. At one point I counted more than 50 folks there, having a great time. Walter's wife, Pat, cooked up five gallons of her special Louisiana gumbo. Brent Blue whipped up pesto. And the deep fried meat pies were a hit. I think people would love shoe leather if you deep fried it.

Dawn Thursday, our last full day at OSH, broke with rain on the tent. Just a light drizzle, with the sun lighting up the sky in the east. Walking back from the showers at 5:30 I was treated to the most spectacular sunrise I can remember, a fitting way to kick off our last day here.

I'll hobble my way around, nursing this darn blister, and try to see just a few of the things I have missed. Tomorrow (Friday), Jerry and I head out, though the weather looks iffy down around St. Louis, where I plan to drop him off before I continue to Nashville. We'll see.

Lessons learned from my first Oshkosh? Thank goodness I read Rick Durden's OSH Survival Guide on AVweb prior to visiting Oshkosh before I came. You really do walk miles and miles and miles. Sun screen-you really do need lots of it. A big hat for shade. Carry a water bottle and drink from it often, you can always refill it. Understand from the beginning that you can not see it all. Just enjoy wherever you are. If there's something in particular you want to see, go there first. You'll get distracted, diverted, and you'll find wonderful things along the way. Introduce yourself to people. If you see a warbird pilot, walk up and shake his hand, and thank him for bringing his plane. Those guys spend big bucks to keep those historic pieces flying.

Big stepSay hello to everyone. Realize that the buses may be full when they get to you. Drop a quarter in the contribution box every time you get on the bus. The show is big. Really bigger than you can imagine. It's like the Grand Canyon. No matter how much someone tries to tell you about the size, when you first see it, there's just no way to comprehend the scope. Don't worry about anything. There's help available, and you can stop anyone and ask directions and advice. The veteran Oshkosh attendees will be glad to direct you, so just ask.

I know I have missed far more than I've seen, and that's great. It just gives me another reason for returning next year. And, I will. Maybe by that time Jerry will have his own plane. He already had the bug, but after several days of exposure to this environment, it had grown to a raging fever.

I'll leave here happy to have seen the exhibits, the booths, the displays, the shows, the spectacle, but mostly I'm filled with the warmth of making friends. These are good people. These are my kind of people. Aviation people. I'll be back.