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View Full Version : Good morning from a Brit, who'll soon be making a pilgrimage to AirVenture 2012



The Cameraman
07-09-2012, 11:45 PM
Good morning Ladies & Gentlemen,

I've been dreaming of this moment for many of my 50 years on this planet and the day will soon be here!

Due to my personal working situation (a nice way of saying 'I don't get paid much'), the cost of travel to the US have been beyond my budget but two years ago I started saving any spare funds that came my way. I also stopped attending UK and European Air Shows and put aside the average costs that I would have spent over such weekends. Other weekend activities were stopped, including my much loved camping weekends on my trusty Yamaha XT225, all to ensure that I get to Oshkosh.

Afterall, you're only 50 once, so my present to myself is a trip to AirVenture 2012.

Digital camera's have been cleaned, extra memory cards purchased, batteries charged, and I'm raring to go!

I'll be staying with my greatest friend from school days, Ste Owen (a well known figure on his scooter around the twin parking area) and aim to 'pack in' as much as I can into my stay.

Being a float plane nut, I'll be using the bus service to commute twixt the airfield and the water base, after helping out as a volunteer.

To say I'm a little excited is somewhat of an understatement. I can't wait to get there.

So it's a big hello to everyone on the website.

Kind regards

Stuart (Reggie) Martindale

Janet Davidson
07-10-2012, 03:32 AM
You're staying with Steve O? :rollseyes: You're a braver man than most.....

Inspector Fenwick
07-10-2012, 11:26 AM
Reggie, I assume you will venture over to the Seaplane base. Very serene place to "sit a bit". Now, if you are wandering around the Vintage area, stop at a grey and white Cessna 195 and enjoy a COLD beer.

The Cameraman
07-10-2012, 11:51 AM
You're staying with Steve O? :rollseyes: You're a braver man than most.....

Hi Janet,

I taught him all he knows!

God help us all.

Regards

Reggie

The Cameraman
07-10-2012, 11:53 AM
Reggie, I assume you will venture over to the Seaplane base. Very serene place to "sit a bit". Now, if you are wandering around the Vintage area, stop at a grey and white Cessna 195 and enjoy a COLD beer.

Hi Larry,

how could one refuse a combination of a cold beer, whilst photographing a beautiful aircraft!

I'll see you there.

Regards

Reggie

PS I'll be easy to recognise, I'll be the little bearded Brit, with a big grin and a camera permanently raised to my eye and a spare one around my neck!

Janet Davidson
07-10-2012, 03:03 PM
I taught him all he knows!

You have a lot to answer for!

The Cameraman
07-10-2012, 03:30 PM
You have a lot to answer for!

Hi Janet,

you're so right!

Even neighbors have instructed Pat to hide the paint brushes, after what we did to the front of his house in the midst of a party! No one had ever seen a Japanese flag painted across the whole of a white cottage before! Never mind the large black letters that said 'Made in Japan'! It even made the front page of the local news paper. The morning after the party, Ste had gone to work and I was awoken from my slumber. I went to the door and was met by a local reporter who asked if I knew anything about the painting on the house. I immediately said no. The reporter then asked me why I was covered in red paint splodges!

Those were the days.

Things are usually pretty OK until we get together, then anything can happen!

It should be a laugh, that's for sure.

Regards

Reggie

Janet Davidson
07-10-2012, 04:15 PM
If you make it here by the 22nd, tell him to drag you over to our pizza party. Just don't bring the paint brushes..... :rollseyes:

Joe Delene
07-10-2012, 07:55 PM
Welcome Reggie, you will have a great time.

The Cameraman
07-10-2012, 10:43 PM
If you make it here by the 22nd, tell him to drag you over to our pizza party. Just don't bring the paint brushes..... :rollseyes:
Good Morning Janet,

Yep I'll be arriving on the 18th, so I'll ask the big lad to get things sorted out!

Thank you kindly for the invite and I'm really looking forward to the social element of the event.

I promise not to bring either paint brushes not spray cans. They only let me use crayons these days!!!!!!

Hugs

Reggie

The Cameraman
07-10-2012, 10:46 PM
Welcome Reggie, you will have a great time.

Mornin' Joe,

I'm sure I will.

The weather could be a bit of a shock to my system, as we haven't had a summer this year, and it's the wettest on record! I'll ensure plenty of sun cream and a steady supply of fluids.

Regards

Reggie

Bill Greenwood
07-10-2012, 11:01 PM
Reggie, one way we can almost always tell a Brit is that after the first long day they are sunburned a bright red and in pain. The sun shines here, a lot, it ain't London. You need good sunscreen, 50 SPF, not that silly "sun creme" they sell in U K. and a good hat and sunglasses. And wear a light long sleeve shirt when you can and stay in the shade some.

The Cameraman
07-10-2012, 11:51 PM
Reggie, one way we can almost always tell a Brit is that after the first long day they are sunburned a bright red and in pain. The sun shines here, a lot, it ain't London. You need good sunscreen, 50 SPF, not that silly "sun creme" they sell in U K. and a good hat and sunglasses. And wear a light long sleeve shirt when you can and stay in the shade some.

Mornin' Bill,

some wise words there Good Sir! I'll be buying the sun screen in the US and it will be a high SPF product. No point in using cheap n nasty stuff when it comes to your health.

Heavy tinted specs have been ordered specifically for the event.

I do have a daft hat, that I always take when photographing. I usually wear Polo type shirts, as there's nothing worse than camera straps for rubbing on a sun burnt neck!

Regards

Reggie

Joe Delene
07-11-2012, 08:46 AM
There are lots of indoor stuff to look at too, all the exibits & vendors. We have had a very hot & dry Summer so far in most of WI, could be more of the same or a drastic change by the time Airventure rolls around. It is currently great camping & airshow weather, but it has been very hard of the farm fields. I wouldn't mind some rain, but I want nice VFR weather for the Fiske arrival.

The Cameraman
07-11-2012, 11:23 AM
There are lots of indoor stuff to look at too, all the exibits & vendors. We have had a very hot & dry Summer so far in most of WI, could be more of the same or a drastic change by the time Airventure rolls around. It is currently great camping & airshow weather, but it has been very hard of the farm fields. I wouldn't mind some rain, but I want nice VFR weather for the Fiske arrival.

Hi Joe,

I've had rain almost every day for the whole year so far, so if it does rain at AirVenture, I won't be best pleased! A little shower's OK but anything prolonged will be depressing!

Regards

Reggie

jscharpf
07-15-2012, 04:10 PM
Make sure you take 1/2 day and visit the museum, especially if you want to get out of the heat or rain.

The Cameraman
07-16-2012, 03:20 AM
Make sure you take 1/2 day and visit the museum, especially if you want to get out of the heat or rain.

Good Morning jscharpf,

I'll be arriving on the afternoon of Wednesday 18th July.

I'll be leaving on the afternoon of Thursday 2nd August.

So I'll have enough time to catch a lot of the show, not all of it but I'll be doing my very best to absorb as much of the event as I can.

I'll also be doing my utmost to wear out the shutters on my camera's.

During the stay we've booked a brewery tour, At Stephens Point, so that should be great fun and Mr Owen has no doubt lined up a few surprises!

I'll raise this as a separate thread but my favorite aircraft of all time is the mighty DHC-2 Beaver, so I wonder if anyone will be attending the event in one? If so would they allow me to perform a full walk round photograph record?

Regards

Reggie