AircraftOwner Online

Like all other aviation junkies, I do my best to make the annual pilgrimage to Oshkosh, Wisconsin the last week of July to attend the EAA AirVenture, which to me is still called simply “Oshkosh”. My views about what makes Oshkosh so special have changed over time since my first visits in the early 90’s. Back then, the trip was all about the journey, travelling first in a friend’s Beechcraft Bonanza, and then a few times in my own Piper Lance. Landing OSH as PIC for the first time is about as big a thrill as I have ever had.

Back then, I was primarily interested in all of the brand new gadgets, do-dads, engines, airframes, and miscellaneous “stuff” that made up the show. While I still take in these items, the show is now more about aviation connections and contacts for me now than it used to be.

The longer you go to Oshkosh, however, and the more connected to the aviation industry you become, I have found, the more you find out about the “other Oshkosh” that is not in the program. There are a number of events that have been going on “unofficially” on an annual basis among the yearly participants. Also, many of the exhibitors have rented houses locally and hold “invitation-only” parties and dinners. The ability to network, to make new friends, and to talk about all things new and exciting in aviation, is magnified at these events. For me, this new “other Oshkosh” has become the thing that I most cherish about each year’s show.

This year’s “other Oshkosh” had several highlights for me. Top among them would have to be the evening I shared with one of the four NTSB Administrative Law Judges, Roger Mullins, and several NTSB accident investigators and report writers. Judge Mullins had driven his new RV up from Chicago and was camped in “Camp Scholler”. Sharon and I were invited to meet him at his RV and to attend the annual “swine fest” put on by one of the EAA Chapters as an annual Oshkosh event in the campground. Aside from the food, beer, Karaoke (about which the less said the better), and general camaraderie , the evening boasted an opportunity for me to sit down with some pretty important people: Fred Tillman – the Federal Air Surgeon – and Warren Silberman – the Manager of the Civil Aeromedical Institute (CAMI), among others. I was able to thank both of them for their recent enlightened policies on anti-depressants, and to discuss a few, general medical topics. I was also there when Dr. Silberman got a personal update on the condition of Jack Roush, who had been injured in a crash two days earlier at the show.

We had had the opportunity to discuss the particulars of that crash as it had occurred while at another annual dinner two nights earlier. A client of mine who owns an L-39 warbird invited us to attend the annual warbird “steak night” in the warbird campground. Among the attendees that evening were several of the air traffic controllers who had worked that day. Their phones went off with the news of the crash, and several of the jet guys in the crowd started to talk about how a certain landing procedure in force at OSH might have been a contributing factor for jets. Later, other attendees started appearing fresh from the scene with photos of the accident itself. All were thankful that the injuries did not appear to be serious. This conversation also eclipsed the earlier “highlight event” of the day: a Piper Saratoga had descended on top of a Piper Cub (a classic high wing above low wing scenario). The prop of the Cub had struck one of the main gear tires of the Saratoga. Neither pilot knew what had happened, but the “thump” they both felt got them separated. Each landed safely, although the Saratoga ground looped because he did not know that he no longer had one main gear tire. The moral of the evening: “Any mid-air you can walk away from is a good one.”

Apart from the dinner invitations, one of the great things about Oshkosh for me is the constant reminder of how small the aviation industry is. This was illustrated to me this year in many ways. On the evening of the first day, I was walking out of the EAA Wearhouse and ran smack into my friend Pat Phillips. Pat is a great aviation attorney from the Orlando area. He is also a muckety-muck with EAA and a former airshow entertainer. He has served for recent memory as the “Airboss” at Sun N Fun. Pat invited me to assist in speaking at one of the Legal Forums being held on Wednesday because it appeared as if his originally-scheduled co-presenter was not going to be able to attend. As it turned out, although his co-presenter did show up, I was made a part of the forum anyway, and got my first – but hopefully not my last – opportunity to speak at Oshkosh.

I was also privileged to be invited to a private home rented by one of the exhibitors with whom I have a relationship in a personal aviation development project. In the course of the evening, I was introduced to several people with fascinating backgrounds, as well as others who would be great contacts into the future. One of the people I met was a private adjuster for aviation insurance claims. We were just chatting, and he started telling me about a case he had been working on. The facts sounded earily familiar. I pulled out my PDA to show him that just that afternoon, I had received an e-mail inquiry concerning the very same matter. Small world.

It was also great fun to attend the first-ever “night air show” at Oshkosh. Sharon and I are a little jaded about this because we have attended two prior night airshows at Sun N Fun in Lakeland, Florida, and had seen most of the acts already. But it was fun to watch others who had not had this privilege experience a night airshow for the first time. The night show has a totally different “vibe” than the one during the day. First, it is not hot. Second, the cloak of night lends a feel almost of intimacy to the acts. Most acts are set to music, and paint lovely patterns in the air with lights and pyrotechnics. The view of intense lights seen through airshow smoke on a cloudless night really has to be seen in person to be understood. The show ends with fireworks and – a first for me – the “wall of fire” at night. The pyro guys who make it appear that bombs are going off during the day airshow put all their drums of gasoline and explosives together in a line and light them off all at one time at the end of the fireworks display. The result is – literally – a “wall of fire” that looks like an F-105 just delivered a Napalm drop ahead of you. Fortunately, the purpose of this wall of fire is merely to awe and impress spectators with the fire and light; rather than to do injury to anyone. My guess is that the night airshow will become a staple of AirVenture in the years to come.

I still enjoy all the new aircraft and do-dads. This year, I was particularly impressed with the Oma Sud Skycar, a 5-place, European-certified, twin-pusher, high-wing conveyance with Italian styling. I was also impressed by the dramatic increase in electrically-powered aircraft. And, of course, there are the exhibits from people who have done insane things to get to Oshkosh this year, and from people where you just have to shake your head and say: “there is NO WAY that this idea is ever going to come to market.” But thank God for those crazies. In 1903, had there been an Oshkosh, we might have said the same about Orville and Wilbur’s strange contraption. Aviation is made up of dreamers, and is all the better for it. Oshkosh is a place where all of us dreamers can come together and celebrate our love for the wonderful, exciting and magical concept that man can fly.