Introduction

Context . . .
 
So this was the time big to tick off another ‘bucket list’ item – attend the week long Experimental Air Adventure air show and convention in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
 
It is something that I had been meaning to do for quite a few years but somehow never got around to attending, even when I was working in nearby Chicago.   The event is the 'mecca' for amateur builders and their aircraft, although lately it has become an excuse for all the aircraft, avionics and related industries to showcase their products and services.  And there is also the world's largest collection of warbirds and vintage planes on display and flying.

What is Oshkosh . . .

The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) was founded in 1953 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for people who were building or restoring their own recreational aircraft.  The first EAA fly-in was held in 1953 in Hales Corners, Wisconsin (near Milwaukee). In 1959, EAA fly-in moved to Rockford, Illinois. When it outgrew its facilities at the Rockford airport, the EAA fly-in moved to Oshkosh, Wisconsin in 1970.

Attendance . . .

It is estimated that 10,000–15,000 aircraft visit Wittman Field each year during the fly-in. The EAA estimates that between between 300,000-500,000 people attend each year – and some (like me) and on multiple days.  It is the biggest civilian airshow in the United States and people come from all over the US and around the world.


I was intrigued to learn that there were probably more non-pilots than pilots amongst the Aussies that I spoke with . . . and some people have been to Oshkosh many times over the years.  The unstoppable Bill, who is 88 years old, was on his 26th trip and numerous others were on their sixth or seventh trip - and a whole lot of those people were here last year as well.  I am delighted that they all enjoy themselves, but frankly once will be enough for me.

Oshkosh Itself . . .

The town is home to some 66,000 people.  Oshkosh itself was named for Menominee Chief Oshkosh, whose name meant "claw" Although the fur trade brought the first European settlers to the area as early as 1818, it never became a major player in the fur trade. It was the establishment and growth of the lumber industry in the area that spurred development of the town of Oshkosh. At one time, Oshkosh was known as the "Sawdust Capital of the World" due to the amount of lumber mills.  

Around 1900 Oshkosh was home of the Oshkosh Brewing Company, which coined the marketing slogan "By Gosh It's Good." Its Chief Oshkosh became a nationally distributed beer.
Most people know Oshkosh for Oshkosh B’Gosh, a manufacturer of overalls and children's clothing founded in Oshkosh in 1895. Originally a small-town manufacturer of adult work clothing, it became best known for its children's lines. Despite the name, OshKosh B'Gosh overalls are no longer made in Oshkosh, though the company maintains corporate offices there.

Arrangements  . . .
 
The big picture is that I departed Oz on Saturday 27th July and travelled via Los Angeles, Detroit to Appleton and then by car the last 20 miles south to the city of Oshkosh.  I stayed at the University of Wisconsin student accommodation and attended the air show every day – eventually departing for home on Tuesday 6th August and of course arriving home two days later on Thursday 8th August.

A Bit of a Plan . . .

The air show itself is a huge event and difficult to comprehend without a bit of a plan.  The EAA website has a good planning tool (which I used), but fundamentally I chose to break the entire event down into its components and tackled them as systematically as I could. 

First there are the main display sections, or neighbourhoods as the EAA calls them . . . International Aerobatic Club, Warbirds, Homebuilts, Vintage, Ultra lights (light planes and rotorcraft) and the Seaplane Base.  These more or less are in a north to south line to the west of Runway 18 - 3 and I tried to tackle one of these on separate days so I could have good look around. 

Second, there are many pavilions and displays spread out to the west of the 'neighbourhoods'.  The Phillips 66 Plaza is more or less the centre of the show and it has a number of very interesting warbirds and other aircraft (some on rotation) and it also is the location of the main stage.  Nearby is the Innovations Pavillion (where there were some interesting speakers), College Park, Fly Market and the Aeromarket Display.  

Third, four very large Exhibit Hangars (A, B, C and D) contain many vendors wanting to show of their own and third party wares. Pavand four very large Exhibit Hangars.  I chose to deal with these as systematically as I could by sectioning the various display areas and visiting a limited number each day.

Fourth, there are many workshops, forums and demonstrations - in fact it is simply impossible to see/do them all.  These occurred in many of the venues above as well as the FAA facility and the various workshops and pavilions in the Homebuilt area.  I tried to be as systematic as I could so I attended the ones that interested me.

Last, there was the daily air show and two night shows.  Frankly this became a bit tedious, but I did make sure I watched some of most the show on most days.

Day 0 - Saturday 27th July

 The Long Haul . . .

The distance across the Pacific hasn’t got any less since I used to make that trip very frequently. However, everything went very smoothly (except for a very prolonged check in procedure in Melbourne) and after a couple movies, meals and a little bit of sleep we landed in LA on time.  

The flight to Detroit was also uneventful despite quite a bit of weather in the Detroit area.  The final leg backtracking to Appleton was just over an hour, so it too passed without any dramas – and the guy was at the airport to transport me to Oshkosh.

Arrival . . .

The university was well set up to receive people with a 24/7 conference centre and 24/7 concierge in each of the halls of residence.  I stayed in the 1960s South Scott Hall . . . which probably would have been quite nice some 50 years ago but it is a bit dated now.  Still it appeared clean and comfortable and I really only needed a bed and a place to store my stuff.

Once checked in I grabbed some food from over the road and then crashed out for the night – and surprisingly I slept well and for a reasonable time and was pretty much time adjusted by the morning.  The colder wet weather around Detroit was also here and I began to wonder if I had brought the right clothes – but that can be tomorrow’s problem as I just needed to have a decent sleep.

Halls of Residence

View from my room

Pretty basic . . . but OK

Day 1 - Sunday 28th July

Getting Oriented . . .

By chance I met with Greg and Deb (I lobbed at their table for breakfast), an Australian couple from Queensland and their friend Ian from Melbourne.  They all intended heading to Walmart to get a few things with Ian.  So I shared a cab with them and we spent about an hour getting stuff – like a warm zip-up soft jacket and some ‘Lean Cuisine’ type meals (the room had a microwave and fridge) for when I arrive late back from the air show.  

Once back and all our stuff was dumped we all caught the bus to the airport.

First Impressions . . .

My initial impressions were that this show was big and comprehensive – but perhaps not quite as big and comprehensive as I had thought.  Sure, all the big names like Cessna, Piper, Beechcraft and the like were there, but some things seemed a little repetitive – which I will come back to later.

Getting Started . . .

Greg and Deb took a helicopter ride while Ian and I visited the Museum – which was very interesting and well done in an American kind way.  We eventually caught a bus back to the main show and wandered around the place, found the International Visitors tent, had a bite of lunch and wandered down the flight line of homemade and vintage aircraft.  I also got my bearings about where the various workshops were going to be held.

Very impressive museum

 

First private space tourism aircraft

RV section at the Museum

RV section again

Now I could do that!

Our new Californian friend's Luscombe

The Luscombe from the inside

Later in the day we came back to the University and decided to have a few drinks and nibbles in Greg and Deb’s room . . . which was a nice way to end the day and ready ourselves for the week ahead.

Day 2 - Monday 29th July

Getting Serious . . .

This was the first serious day of the show and of course I ‘executed’ my cunning plan to make sure I did and saw all the things I wanted to do and see.  I made my away across to Blackhawk Common for breakfast and made of point of getting chatting to some people . . . I was very pleased to meet a lot of Americans and even some Australians.

Fabric Covering 101 . . .

First cab of the rank was to attend a workshop to learn how to put fabric on a plane.  There was a 40 minute 'lecture' about fabrics, glueing and the process and then about an hour actually doing the work under supervision.

Like all things, I sure it would take quite some time to become confident enough that it would work out well – but the basics are surprisingly easy.  The newer materials can be formed with heat to go around complex corners, the new technology glues are very strong and easy to work with and it is fairly easy to do a reasonable job.

And I was keen to learn about 'invisible gloves' - a cream that you rub on your hands when working with glues and other things.  The glue obviously sticks to the dried cream and once finished working you simply wash off the 'gloves' with warm soapy water and it takes the other stuff with it.  Ingenuous.

The instructional setting

Raw materials

Rough edges taped and first side glued

Many hands make light work

Head sensitive material responds well to an iron

Moving Right Along . . .

From there I checked out the other courses and confirmed which ones I was going to do . . . which is 'sheet metal' and 'wood'.  I also executed my geographical plan focusing my attention the 'Homebuilt' neighbourhood . . . otherwise you just spend time walking around in circles all day. 

I was on the lookout for a fold out seat - and I found one in the Jeppersen store.  Being 'branded' by a named company (owned by Boeing no less) it was a little pricey, but it did the job all week.  And it also doubled as my day bag.

Homebuilts . . .

As previously mentioned, my focus for today was the 'homebuilt' neighbourhood - and so I did.

 

Monday's Wander . . . 

 

Lunch . . . 

My best move of the day was to 'invite myself' into the Continental Motors hospitality tent.  It is amazing what a little bit front can do . . . I just rocked and they asked if I had been sent the registration details and I said 'no'.  No problem, was the reply and I filled in a card and got my entry pass for the week!  So I was able to sit in the shade, have a reasonable lunch (seriously - especially for the USA!), a cool drink and watch some of the flying . . . and I got to meet and chat to a bunch of new people every day.

Much better than sitting out in the paddock

Air Show . . .


I found a shady spot near the 'brown arch' (pretty much centre stage) to watch the afternoon air show . . . which went from 2:30pm to 6:30pm.  In truth that was probably a bit long as there many gaps in the program.  I got chatting with an St Louis couple beside me - he is an engineer with Boeing working on the F-15 aircraft.  He is also a keen flyer and had been 'dispatched' to Oshkosh to acquire some specific avionics gear for his flying club.

And this was the year that the military decided not to come to Oshkosh - apparently because of financial cutbacks, but actually to put pressure on Congress to pass the various pending financial bills.

Phillips 66 Plaza . . .

The main 'centre' ring of Oshkosh is the Phillips 66 Plaza - which is not much more than a reasonably large parking area for reasonably large plans with a huge stage at one end.  The organisers put some very special planes here for the entire show and rotated others through the area - and it is was of course where the bands played.  Today's Plaza looked something like this . . .

Chicago . . .

The evening performance was a real highlight for me . . . the band Chicago played for two hours.  They of course did all the old favourites, but they didn't have two hours worth!  The band was very, very tight and it was a well rehearsed and slick act, but frankly the musicianship wasn't all that I thought it might be - except for the create lyricist trombone player.  It wasn't as if the horns or the rhythm section was going to explode.


So I headed back to the university at around 9:30pm and settled in for the evening - and tried unsuccessfully to call home on Skype.

Day 3 - Tuesday 30th July

Established patterns . . .

So the pattern continued for another day . . . I was up and about very early doing this and that I met up with some other new people in the breakfast room.  The buses to the air show were quite frequent and I was on one at about 7:00am.

Metalwork 101 . . .

Once in the show grounds I meandered my way to the workshop pavilions again and headed for the metal work area.  I managed to get a seat down the front so I could see what was going on.  The guy giving the lecture was a bit past it but he managed to give a reasonable understanding about what do.

Luckily the bloke who I was teamed up with knew all about riveting and he was happy for me to do the work will he instructed me.  He left about half way through and another guy stepped in to help - he is actually building a plane.  The process installing solid rivets is quite easy - but doing it without marking the metal and getting the right dimpling is quite hard.  In fact I spent the next week looking very closely at many home made metal aircraft and frankly not many are done that well . . . but it is too easy to be critical!

Homebulding line, again . . .

Next I took another quick look down the homebuilding 'line' . . . I plan to come back though this in much greater detail later - and then back my special hospitality area for another lovely lunch!





Composite workshop, sort of . . .

After lunch I attended the lecture for the composite workshop . . . but the bloke doing it was all over the place and I wasn't the only one to walk out - I will come back when someone else is talking.

Air show and Warbirds . . .

I decided to do a combination walk around and watch the air show - I figured that it was going to be much of the same stuff over all week, and I was right.  This time I headed north down the home builders line looking at aircraft and watching the air show intermittently.  Eventually I took up a position right down near the warbird section as many of them were firing up to participate in the show.  It was quite interesting watching them coming and going.

More hospitality . . . 

Eventually I made my way back to the main area of the airshow to orient myself as to where some of the specialist avionics manufacturers were before going back to the university.  Well, I certainly found one.  Bendix King were having a 'street party' and I obviously walked over to see what was going on.  Using the same process as yesterday I talked my way in . . . and had a lovely meal, a few beers and met some really interesting people.

And then there was another problem to solve . . . I arrived back at the 'bus park' at about 10:20pm to find the last bus departed for the university to 10:00pm.  There was a bunch of Canadians, a few Aussies and a couple of Americans standing around wondering what to do - so I walked across the road and 'hired' a local school bus to take us into town for $3.00 each.  So that solved that problem.