glider90
08-08-2017, 11:48 AM
It was another great year at Oshkosh. This was my 41st year, and one of the best in terms of Warbirds and weather. It is hard to say why Oshkosh is such a magical place to me. I grew up there for a week every year...it has always been the one place my family gathers every year to spend a week together. Now there are areas of the convention that can always be improved, but for an event this size I think the EAA does it as close to perfect as is possible. A couple examples...
This year I left a camera batter charger in one of the computer rooms at convention accidentally, and left without it for home. I made one call and spoke to a person explaining the item and where it was left. Without further contact my battery and charger showed up in the mail ten days after the show. Thanks whoever made all hat happen!
Also we made reservations for the whole family (ten of us) to tour the Poberezny home. This was an awesome experience, and the docents did a fine job of presenting the property and telling the story. I have met Paul and Audrey several times, even got his autograph on a 'Red Devils' post card at the convention when I was about 6 years old. The tour was bittersweet, but wonderful. There is simply no way to put into words what Paul has done for me, for my family, for aviation. Without getting into politics my young children asked me "Why are we going to tour a house?". I replied. "Well thousands of people go to Washington to see the White House each year because the Presidents all lived there you know? Well this house to me is equally important because of who lived here and the respect I have for Paul and Audrey". I was a bit teary during the tour, but decided upon leaving that I want to become a more active volunteer at the convention, to help preserve and celebrate what Paul and Audrey built.
So without further blabbing, here are my top ten Oshkosh airplane memories from 2017, warning a bit Warbird heavy this year.
#10) The Rod Lewis A-20. Waited all year to see it, and was lucky to see it being taxied Monday by Stu Dawson. He can be seen clearly pointing to where he wanted to go. It illustrates how narrow the canopy of this big airplane is.
6599
#9) The Blue Angels. They brought the noise, the funk, and the crowds. They do a great show. After having three military demo teams in the past four years at Oshkosh, I am hoping for a break in 2018.
6600
#8) The three ship F-86's, including the A-model (top) which was another airplane we hoped to see in 2016 but had to wait until 2017.
6601
#7) The USAF Heritage flights. Always worth seeing, and extra poignant this year with one of the A-10's wearing Vlado Lenoch's name as pilot to honor him as he was lost just before Oshkosh
6602
#6) P-63 three ship!!! Year after year there is a once in a lifetime gathering of unique specific airplanes at Oshkosh but they do not fly together for any of numerous reasons. It was so awesome to see this rare gathering of airplanes all in a flight together. Kudos CAF for making it happen!
6603
#5) The Spirit of St Louis reenactment. It had some glitches regarding timing, but the dusk flight on Saturday was magical. I loved seeing this airplane fly. The calm conditions and beautiful night sky were just part of that Oshkosh Magic that you can never forget
6604
#4) Warbirds at night. I did not get out really late this year but we did walk the grounds to Warbirds one evening. There is something special about being out there after the show crowds are gone that I had forgotten all about.
6605
#3) B-25's at dusk. Seeing over a dozen B-25's launch in the late evening was worth looking forward to. The exhaust stack lightning was an unexpected perk. Thanks for always having a couple really unique dusk events EAA!
6606
#2B (https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/2b)) B-1 "Bone" dusk flight. This thing is just a beast. I am not a big jet guy, but the B-1 is fantastic. Add on dusk, afterburners, and some vapor trails and you have a great sight. Oh, and the sound...you can feel it as much as hear it.
6607
#2A (https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/2a)) The B-1 VAPOR CONE. This happened Wednesday night due to the recent rain and humidity. Seeing this in person is like having a stranger walk up to you and hand you a $100 bill. It is uncommon, a surprise, awesome, and likely to never happen again. There are better pictures and video of this by people that know what they are doing.
6608
#1B (https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/1b)) Doc and FiFi together at last! In March it was not happening, then they got it worked out. Then the Tuesday flights were a tease. Finally on Saturday they delivered. Kudos to all involved from Jack Pelton to the crews wrangling these things in close formation. An Oshkosh memory that sits on the same shelf as the Voyager, Concord, SR-71, and the Martin Mars in my brain.
6609
#1A (https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/1a)) Doc, You beautiful polished girl. We watched the progress on this airplane for many years, hoping to see it grace the skies of Oshkosh someday. The polished aluminum is impressive, as is the 16 year task of hauling her out of the desert to get her back in the air where she belongs. I am proud to be a friend of Doc's
6610
Hard to believe it is over already. One of the greatest ever. Somehow they will find a way to make sure nest year is even better though I bet!
This year I left a camera batter charger in one of the computer rooms at convention accidentally, and left without it for home. I made one call and spoke to a person explaining the item and where it was left. Without further contact my battery and charger showed up in the mail ten days after the show. Thanks whoever made all hat happen!
Also we made reservations for the whole family (ten of us) to tour the Poberezny home. This was an awesome experience, and the docents did a fine job of presenting the property and telling the story. I have met Paul and Audrey several times, even got his autograph on a 'Red Devils' post card at the convention when I was about 6 years old. The tour was bittersweet, but wonderful. There is simply no way to put into words what Paul has done for me, for my family, for aviation. Without getting into politics my young children asked me "Why are we going to tour a house?". I replied. "Well thousands of people go to Washington to see the White House each year because the Presidents all lived there you know? Well this house to me is equally important because of who lived here and the respect I have for Paul and Audrey". I was a bit teary during the tour, but decided upon leaving that I want to become a more active volunteer at the convention, to help preserve and celebrate what Paul and Audrey built.
So without further blabbing, here are my top ten Oshkosh airplane memories from 2017, warning a bit Warbird heavy this year.
#10) The Rod Lewis A-20. Waited all year to see it, and was lucky to see it being taxied Monday by Stu Dawson. He can be seen clearly pointing to where he wanted to go. It illustrates how narrow the canopy of this big airplane is.
6599
#9) The Blue Angels. They brought the noise, the funk, and the crowds. They do a great show. After having three military demo teams in the past four years at Oshkosh, I am hoping for a break in 2018.
6600
#8) The three ship F-86's, including the A-model (top) which was another airplane we hoped to see in 2016 but had to wait until 2017.
6601
#7) The USAF Heritage flights. Always worth seeing, and extra poignant this year with one of the A-10's wearing Vlado Lenoch's name as pilot to honor him as he was lost just before Oshkosh
6602
#6) P-63 three ship!!! Year after year there is a once in a lifetime gathering of unique specific airplanes at Oshkosh but they do not fly together for any of numerous reasons. It was so awesome to see this rare gathering of airplanes all in a flight together. Kudos CAF for making it happen!
6603
#5) The Spirit of St Louis reenactment. It had some glitches regarding timing, but the dusk flight on Saturday was magical. I loved seeing this airplane fly. The calm conditions and beautiful night sky were just part of that Oshkosh Magic that you can never forget
6604
#4) Warbirds at night. I did not get out really late this year but we did walk the grounds to Warbirds one evening. There is something special about being out there after the show crowds are gone that I had forgotten all about.
6605
#3) B-25's at dusk. Seeing over a dozen B-25's launch in the late evening was worth looking forward to. The exhaust stack lightning was an unexpected perk. Thanks for always having a couple really unique dusk events EAA!
6606
#2B (https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/2b)) B-1 "Bone" dusk flight. This thing is just a beast. I am not a big jet guy, but the B-1 is fantastic. Add on dusk, afterburners, and some vapor trails and you have a great sight. Oh, and the sound...you can feel it as much as hear it.
6607
#2A (https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/2a)) The B-1 VAPOR CONE. This happened Wednesday night due to the recent rain and humidity. Seeing this in person is like having a stranger walk up to you and hand you a $100 bill. It is uncommon, a surprise, awesome, and likely to never happen again. There are better pictures and video of this by people that know what they are doing.
6608
#1B (https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/1b)) Doc and FiFi together at last! In March it was not happening, then they got it worked out. Then the Tuesday flights were a tease. Finally on Saturday they delivered. Kudos to all involved from Jack Pelton to the crews wrangling these things in close formation. An Oshkosh memory that sits on the same shelf as the Voyager, Concord, SR-71, and the Martin Mars in my brain.
6609
#1A (https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/1a)) Doc, You beautiful polished girl. We watched the progress on this airplane for many years, hoping to see it grace the skies of Oshkosh someday. The polished aluminum is impressive, as is the 16 year task of hauling her out of the desert to get her back in the air where she belongs. I am proud to be a friend of Doc's
6610
Hard to believe it is over already. One of the greatest ever. Somehow they will find a way to make sure nest year is even better though I bet!