Wednessday OSHtalk (July 25, 2001) – After a cool, pleasant day, it turned downright cold at AirVenture 2001. Host Rick Durden and the visitors to OSHtalk shivered under the wing of the Twin Beech, but the chilly weather didn’t mean the conversations were any less interesting. Jim Terry, an aeronautical engineer of some experience and repute, shared with Rick some of the results he has obtained in a full-scale crashworthiness program he ran in the process of working to improve the survivability of general aviation accidents. His tests show a significant improvement in crash survivability of light aircraft through a systematic approach to impact attenuation via the design of the engine mount, lower cabin structure, seats cabin structure. Much of Jim’s work is on the cutting edge of crashworthiness technology and we get to hear about it on OSHtalk.
Cindy Rousseau, President and CEO of Women Fly Inc., a company known to the aviation community for apparel asserting that women are an integral part of aviation, joined host Rick Durden and talked about her eye-opening, first-ever experience in coming to Oshkosh: After being blocked by weather, she and her husband drove 15 hours to arrive at 3:00 a.m., only to be greeted by a delightfully friendly and alert volunteer at Camp Scholler. That experience set the tone for 36 hours of enjoyment that caused them to return year after year and to eventually purchase Women Fly Inc. about a year ago. Her exciting descriptions of what flying and Oshkosh mean to her are infectious.
Next, it got crowded under the wing of the Twin Beech as Rick welcomed Aviation Explorers Robert Beuligmann, Jim Baker, Cristine Plecki and Kris Harvey as well as advisors Robb Szymik and Ken Sack. The Aviation Explorers are part of the Boy Scout program, but is co-ed and the men and women themselves drive the organization’s activities. As a result, each Explorer Post can literally explore what interests its members in aviation. The Aviation Explorers have been coming to Oshkosh since 1972 and, because of their background and expertise, have volunteered to assist with the custom parking services for the homebuilt aircraft.
This year was much more stressful than most because a major storm destroyed the Aviation Explorer Base at Oshkosh two weeks before the start of AirVenture. Sheer hard work got the area cleaned up, a mobile home moved in and equipment transferred in time for AirVenture 2001.
Lest U.S. pilots get too jaded about how good they have it in this country, Caeser Heyne and Jan Cocheret of the Netherlands joined OSHtalk host Rick Durden in the fourth segment. Caeser and Jan hold both Dutch and U.S. pilot certificates and explain some of the very unpleasant differences involved in flying in Europe, including what was a $200 landing fee each time Caeser landed at his home airport. Both had made three flights over the North Atlantic and shared some of their experience with Rick, getting him even more excited about the idea of flying to Europe in a general aviation airplane.
As the final light faded from the sky, Amelia Durden, age 12, joined her father for a few moments to describe the things a 12-year-old does at AirVenture. For those pilots who are considering bringing their kids, they can rest assured that there is so much to do at Oshkosh that boredom is not a factor.
