EAA at Oshkosh

Ask about any warm-blooded pilot “What is Oshkosh” and you’ll get an enthusiastic response. “Oh, it is wonderful. I’ve been there X number of times.” or “Yes it is on my bucket list. Maybe next year.” Young, old, male or female it seems to be in the genes. Pilots or aspiring pilots have a hankering to experience mecca (oops scratch that — Oshkosh) the annual gathering of aviation enthusiasts known as Air Venture. It is the annual week-long fly-in workshop, of the Experimental Aviation Authority, EAA, held at Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Talk about sensory overload! Some 10,000+ airplanes and 20,000 of us in campers were in attendance plus parking lots filled with day visitors arriving to graze the exhibitor’s wares and/or watch the daily airshow.

A great number of the airplanes present were those classified as “experimental”, note the E in EAA and are homebuilt. Yes constructed from kits or from blueprints by private individuals such as you and me. Many take years of labor to construct and the variety is almost endless ranging from 1930’s designs powered by Model A Ford engines to those of modern carbon fiber construction powered by the latest and most powerful aircraft engines.

Our military has discovered that such a large gathering of young people is a prime target for recruiting so a smattering of military aircraft were in attendance. This was designated “The year of the tanker”, a thing your old scribe knows something about and there was a KC-135 on display from the 128th Milwaukee Air National Guard. The 128th was an adopted sister squadron to the 46th Air Refueling Squadron that I commanded near Marquette, Michigan yea many years ago. Memories but none of the airmen present remembered this old guy from 38+ years ago. Also on display for all to see and touch was a KC-10 the aircraft flown by Brad Loper from McCook before he went on to fly for the airlines. A C-5 dominated the skyline, huge, and a C-17 currently being flown by Trevor Evans of McCook. “Doc” the B-29 was on display and the latest iteration of the bomber class of aircraft the B-1 sat menacingly nearby. To titillate the youth several F-18 fighter aircraft came and went as did F-35’s and F-22’s from the Air Force. Navy aircraft, Coast Guard, Army helicopters and all sorts of civilian aircraft from ultra-lite to larger people movers.

This old guy elected to pull my camper accompanied by cousin Chuck and we dry camped for the week. Later joined by Mary another cousin and a pair of nephews plus a couple of my annual deer hunting buddies. And that is part of the deal schmooze with old friends who have a common interest in aviation. Happily, we spent a fair amount of time with Mike Wusk, now an aerodynamic engineer for NASA who was helping man that organization’s booth at Air Venture. Mike came to McCook to work for me on the farm one summer when I had taught him to fly back in 1980. Memories.

Some 400 of the aircraft present were “War Birds” beautifully restored and privately owned, P-51’s, Corsairs, B-17’s, a B-29, 100 T-6’s, C-47’s and more all aircraft that served to help us win WWII.

Surveying that vast array of aircraft, 10,000+, the vast majority privately owned, flown in and will be gone tomorrow gave me pause to think what a privilege it is to live in this great country the USA where one can be successful in life to afford such expensive machines and fly them at will. We are indeed a privileged people!

The crowd that attended, many times the population of the city of Oshkosh itself, was special. No scrap of paper to litter the grounds, safe — no hint of crime, courteous and polite one and all. Even the weather cooperated.

I think too of the effort that EAA and the City of Oshkosh made to accommodate such a huge crowd of visitors. School buses and trams pulled by loaned new John Deere tractors. Food booths, portapotties by the score, sewage pumpers, volunteers by the thousands, bathhouses, the motels were full and many rented their private homes to visitors for the week. It is a huge effort for just one week out of the year. Here today and gone tomorrow but it all works and we visitors always leave happy and appreciative of the effort.

Visitors come from the world around. I personally visited with people from Australia, France, Iceland, and about every state in the union including Alaska and Hawaii. There was a large contingent from South Africa. “Hi I am Dick from Nebraska, where are you from?” I’d ask and always got a friendly reply. It is the way the world should be.

Nine hundred miles each way the road trip was also a delight. Across Nebraska, Iowa and Wisconsin I enjoyed the miles and miles of corn and soybeans. With good rains all season the roadsides populated with endless varieties of wildflowers mile after mile. Lush green as far as the eye can see. I recommend a road trip because as we all know it won’t last so get out and enjoy this wonderful country we are so privileged to live in.

That is how I saw it.

Dick Trail