Oshkosh 2001 Audio Coverage: Day One – Monday, July 23
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Monday OSHtalk (July 23, 2001) - OSHtalk returned to its favorite spot, under the wing of the Twin Beech, for the night before the opening of AirVenture 2001 at Oshkosh, Wis. As the sun goes down, host Rick Durden first chats with Garrett Nievin and Roger Smith of Flight Line Ops to learn how things look for pilots who are planning to fly to AirVenture 2001 in the next few days. The annual question for pilots is whether Wittman Airport is going to fill up before they get to Oshkosh, an issue that is a littlemore pressing this year because a new hotel was built on the north side of the airport property, reducing the number of spots used to park airplanes. Garrett and Roger agreed that fewer airplanes than anticipated had arrived by the end of the day, indicating to them that there is a good chance that the airport will not fill up. They talked about the first-ever jet to park in the airplane camping area - a Cessna Citation - and give some background on a few "stupid pilot tricks" that have been observed.
Next, host Rick Durden speaks with aerobatic superstar Patty Wagstaff as she talks about the typical day in the life of an airshow pilot, the demands on her time for photographers, sponsors, fans and then the need to somehow get time for herself to mentally prepare for a 15-minute performance that requires every bit of her skill and concentration. Listen as she shares the juggling routine she must go through on a regular basis to do everything that must be done to be a successful airshow pilot. Patty also talks about the increasing interest in aerobatics as a sport and gives some hints on how to get started in flying akro. She alsodiscusses what she may do in the future; while she hopes to keep flying airshows for several more years she has created a Web site geared to those who want to get involved in aerobatics, to provide information and guidance for pilots of all skill levels. Finally, she comments on what she believes to be a very positive step in the education of even very experienced pilots: upset training; how to recover from a serious unusual attitude that can occur due to wake turbulence or weather. More and more airlines and flight departments have recognized that only a fairly small proportion of pilots have had aerobatic training and have become aware that putting pilots into serious unusual attitudes is one of the best ways to make sure a pilot can successfully recover when the airplane gets rolled upside down.