Hawkeye’s Squawkbox

Had the great pleasure of spending part of the day with my eldest son and his family at the show yesterday. Though it was communications chaos trying to coordinate a meeting location, we finally did just as the afternoon air show was starting. The girls were excited about the airplanes, including the little balsa gliders the got from one of the exhibitors. The only part that seemed to bother either one of them were the jets. Especially the F-18E Super Hornet that was part of the Heritage Flight. It made a really noise takeoff and a sneak pass as part of the show. AWESOME!

I also reestablish my acquaintance with Dave Aiken, owner of Aiken’s Aeroplanes. Which is the go to place for die cast models of aircraft! Dave and I had a long chat about business and of course the air show. Dave and his family are regulars to AirVenture and they have a booth located in the famous FlyMarket each year. The whole family works very hard to bring a great selection of products at a fair price to not only the attendees at EAA, but also their on-line customers as well.

The arrival of the V-22 Osprey was delayed until Thursday from what I was told. I sorta expected that bit of news.

I added more photographs to my Gallery. Some of you have experienced a little difficulty viewing them. I encourage you to download the PicLens Software plug-in, it makes viewing larger photo collections much easier.

I had planned on being at the show today (Wednesday) but I had a few commitments to tend to on the business front. It gave me a day to recover from the heat and humidity, got a rather nice tan (burn) started. The wife accompanied me on Monday is recovering slowly from a nice blistering burn.

Word of advice, make sure you double check your cameras to ensure you have installed film or a memory card for those who do digital. Also be familiar with the equipment before you get to the event. Watched a couple folks have one of those “camera moments.”

One was clicking away and realized he had taken more exposures than his 36 exposure roll would hold. Opened the camera to find no film inside. Another gent was shooting his digital, only to discover all the shots were not captured, no memory card installed.

Probably the most funny and frustrating for one poor aviation enthusiast was his lack of experience with his new digital video camera…he recorded lots of footage of his feet walking the grounds, but not one frame of any of the aircraft and other sights he though he had. Keep your eyes peeled for a slightly used video camera for sale in your local paper…might just be this guys.

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Perfect day for an Air Show! Not too warm, sunny and a slight breeze. Though there were lots of aircraft already at the show, there is still room for more. I took a great number of photographs, still sorting through them but I have posted many on my website gallery to make it a bit easier to view them. Plus it is less labor intensive on this end too. So take a peek at my AirVenture 2008 Pictures.

Couple of highlights of today was the arrival of the Dreamlifter, a modified Boeing 747 used to transport components of the 787 Dreamliner. It is the modern version of the “Guppy”.  Another Boeing aircraft of not was the Boeing 40 that was recently restored and is now flying. I have some photos of it, but I will be taking better ones tomorrow.

I’ll admit I am somewhat sunburned, my feet are sore, and my joints are feeling a bit stiff. But I will be back there again tomorrow. My wife accompanied me today and we had a good time, tomorrow I am looking forward to spending part of the day there with my eldest son.

Time now to get my legs up and rested for tomorrow’s AirVenture 2008!

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Had the privilege of a visit from my friend Billy Crisler, publisher of AeroSpace Modeler Magazine, who spent a short stay with us on his way to the IPMS Nationals. He was here to discuss some business but we managed some time to venture down to Oshkosh to give him a quick tour of the airport and glance at the grounds.

We swung by Bassler Turbo Conversions to see what was parked on their ramp and while on the east side of the field we watched a P-51 Mustang and Hawker Sea Fury arrive for the show. Planes were steadily arriving and the North Forty Camping area was already about half full.

Our original plans were for Billy to stay for several days, then we’d head to the IPMS Nationals together. Unfortunately we’ve both had changes to our plans. I’ll be taking in AirVenture while he is on the road for business…I like my schedule better, though sadly I will be missing the Nats.

Given this is the Sunday before the actual kickoff of AirVenture, the air here around my abode is filled with aircraft making their way to Oshkosh or opting instead to land and stay at the Outagamie County Airport (Appleton, WI), KATW. It is less crowded and closer to many of their hotel accommodations and daily transportation is available to and from the EAA grounds.

In preparation for tomorrow mornings trek to AirVenture, I’m making sure I have the necessities ready to be packed into my back pack:

Portable Radio Scanner-To listen to the control tower and other informative sources.

Cameras-What would we do without pictures of the event!

Fully Charged & Spare Batteries-Gotta have the juice!

Memory Cards-Nothing worse than running out of film, same goes for digital cameras too.

Sunscreen-If you’re gonna look like a lobster…you might as well be buttered like one.

Gatorade Packets-These are helpful if you start to become dehydrated, just add them to a bottle of water.

Extra pair of Socks-Your feet are your primary mode of transportation! Lose them and you go home early.

Rain Gear-Some sort of coat or poncho. Not only does it help keep you dry but you can sit on it.

Note Pad and Pen-I don’t know about you but I can’t remember everything!

Sunglasses-Lots of glare, very straining on the eyes if not protected.

Head Gear-Something to shade your head and eyes.

Wallet-Perferably with money in it and your EAA membership card. Money helps one eat, buy neat things and take a dream ride on a rare aircraft!

Spare Car Key!-Yeah, been there done that. Stuff happens. Clip a spare key inside the backpack.

Backpack-The backpack itself should be one that remains secured. Zippers stay closed and don’t open on their own as you walk around. It should carry the load evenly and not cut into your shoulders, especially after you have loaded it up with literature and other nifty stuff you accumulated. (Make trips back to the car frequently to empty the load out.) The backpack should be water resistant, when it rains it pours and you may find yourself setting it on the ground occasionally. Mine has a built in raincoat that works like the hood of a jacket. Unzip and cover, tighten the drawstring to snug it closed.

There are other things to add, but one needs to travel as light as one can. Experience has taught me to be prepared but not overloaded. Hard to get from point A to B toting a ton of stuff around.

My only other suggestion is to take along some pain relievers. There are First Aid stations on the grounds, but one has to be prepared for headaches and joint inflammation pain. The heat, humidity, sunshine and constant walking (if you are inclined to do so) can all spoil an otherwise great event.

More tomorrow when I get back from the first day of AirVenture 2008. Wish you were here too!

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