Big Gray Trailer

[stummers]

Did anyone else notice the gray trailer with the large dish on top by the barn and silo in the vintage area. The emblem on door was the seal for the FBI.

[nigel hitchman]

yes, it was there all week, at the end of the row of Globe Swifts. CCTV cameras on it too, so a friend said and keypad entry doors. Obviously something subversive going on in the Swift group!! Or maybe the nearby Ultralights, good excuse for a trip to the fly-in for the FBI guys!

[Joe Delene]

And now all our planes have a small tracking device cleverly hidden. The 'crumb trail' will be added to the ever increasing DHS data base to look for suspicious tracks.

[rwanttaja]

And now all our planes have a small tracking device cleverly hidden. The 'crumb trail' will be added to the ever increasing DHS data base to look for suspicious tracks.

Actually, not as far-fetched as you might think. About twenty years ago, a number of aircraft owners found an additional electronic device secreted behind their panels. The planes were all based in the southwest and were heavy-hauler types. Speculation was that the Border Patrol was trying to track them....

Ron Wanttaja

[flyboycpa]

I'm glad I didn't bring my Swift this year!

[JimRice85]

I was planning on taking my Swift but had to cancel due about a month out.

[ifly1848v]

4054
Our engineer spotted this while we were setting up. He was interested, but kept his distance. We wanted to make sure we stayed out of the way of whatever it was doing and not cause any interference. He used a directional antenna and a spectrum analyzer to see what it was doing. His frequency analysis was all over the place (several bands, several channels/frequencies) but nothing out of the ordinary nor unexpected.

[Kurt Flunkn]

Just wait until they charge EAA a user fee for having the big gray trailer....and EAA signs a 10 year agreement! <j/k>

[gbrasch]

4056The National Guard pulled up one day near my airplane in a plain jeep, wearing plain clothes. They locked a device under and to a bench near by, but made no attempt to hide what they were doing when a friend asked, placing a radiation detector in place. And several other locations around the grounds.

[Fastcapy]

My brother, cousin, friend and I all noted that there seemed to be a lot more security roaming around than previous years. Like a noticeable amount more. And I have worked there behind the scenes when I was on the local sheriff dept here in Oshkosh. In addition this was the first year I had my bag checked as they checked every bag, not just random ones. (The bag checks are a whole different rant of mine) I even mentioned to my wife I wondered if they had some kind of threat, and that was before I knew of the gray trailer and radiation detectors. I can't recall if it was last year or 2012 but there was a threat, to the point local swat and fbi tactical units were deployed, and there were fbi snipers on the tower. Somewhere i have pics of them deploying from the tac vehicle with kosh tower in the background.

[jjhoneck]

We noticed the increased security this year, too -- although much of it was really just theater.

Example: We carried in an oxygen bottle onto the grounds from the N40 in a backpack (the Aerox guys filled it for free). It could easily have been a bomb, for all the cute little gal at the entry gate knew. But she just smiled and waved us through.

I did get a bit freaked out when we visited the museum, though. I wandered off by myself for a bit, and stumbled across a group of Muslim men on their knees, saying prayers.

I must confess to making a beeline out of the area. The museum was packed, and would have been a juicy target for any terrorist.

[Fastcapy]

I know the thunderbirds were under guard by USAF security police armed with m4's. So maybe they had a part in the increased security as well.

[Fastcapy]

I agree, just like the bag checks, all theatre. They checked 1pocket of 5 on my backpack. It was just a time waster as I could have taxied my plane over to homebuilt camping loaded with who knows what...

[krw920]

The facility I was volunteering at had the bomb sniffing dog come through it at least 3 times during the week. Might have been every day as I was out and about on the grounds doing deliveries.

[Jim Nelson]

When I was there Tuesday I saw several guys in dark suits with the clear curly cord earpieces in. Really stood out in the crowd. I figured that "someone important" was nearby but didn't stick around to see who.

[baboss]

When I was there Tuesday I saw several guys in dark suits with the clear curly cord earpieces in. Really stood out in the crowd. I figured that "someone important" was nearby but didn't stick around to see who.Probably the Gov of WI. He's left during the airshow the last 2 years, heard him on twr freq.

A nice young guy checked our backpack most mornings coming in from the N40 but one morning he had a young lady with him, maybe college aged. While he was checking my backpack she asked me if I was carrying a pocketknife. She must have seen the clip on my pants pocket. I said that I was and unclipped it from my pocket, blade closed, in case she wanted to inspect it.
Her words to me were "we don't really like you to have knives on the grounds." I'm usually not one for confrontation but her use of the word LIKE pissed me off. I replied that I didn't LIKE not having my knife on me and that the blade was less than 3 inches. I checked the rules beforehand knowing I was legal. I think she got the drift from my tone that I wasn't going to back down and went to get a supervisor. The supervisor knew I was correct and that my blade was legal. We were allowed in and no one ever asked me about my pocket knife again.

[Mayhemxpc]

Kind of silly since several exhibitors were selling knives. I am not going to say anything else in case someone reading this decides to use the information to "close the gaps."