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AirVenture Oshkosh 2008 – Day 1 – Part 2

July 30, 2008 by Leave a Comment


This is a regular blog post. Looking for show notes or show audio? Please check out the other posts.

This shot isn’t particularly well-composed or in focus, but I think I like it. The Harrier demo is usually among the loudest at AirVenture. Here it is hovering in front of the crowd and there’s this guy with his fingers in his ears. Okay, maybe I’ve blown out my ears with too much rock and roll, but I come here for the noise. Maybe it’s that this guy visually tells the story and gives the photo the noise element that the visual aspect can’t. Anyway, I like it.


I’ve seen Gene Soucy three or four times and, much as I continue to expect that some other aircraft is going to thrill me more, Gene’s ShowCat is just phenomenal every time. I saw him perform at Battle Creek in 2006 with a 1,000-foot ceiling – one of the few acts that could or did go up that day. Flying his heart out in a machine that made really wonderful noises and that is featured on the “Shut Up and Listen to the Airplanes” episode.

I also love that he turns toward the crowd to give you angles like the ones in these pictures. And either his smoke generator is oversized or he’s flying more slowly. Either way, his smoke trail is really thick and, in good light like we had today, it’s really dramatic.


That’s Theresa Stokes on the wing. I’m not fan of wing walking. I get the willies watching someone get out there and do something that depends for the thrill on the danger of the activity. I love to watch flying because it’s beautiful and graceful and can be done safely with the right precautions. I don’t think there’s anything in the pose or anything else in wing walking that adds much to the flying. I guess the defiant gesture in the shot here is pretty dramatic . . . I’m torn.

Can I say this without anyone thinking that I’m beating up on Theresa (or Gene)? I’m not. I met Theresa two years ago and she’s really together and is very good at what she does. And she’s an accomplished visual artist, too. And wing walking is a time-honored barnstorming tradition. But wing walking just isn’t my cup of tea. Doesn’t mean I won’t have the camera out and ready whenever she’s on the wing. And doesn’t mean that I’ll never get it. Just trying to reconcile what seems to be heresy when I actually type it.

More when I can get out on the net again. Connectivity here is really awful. Haven’t been able to get on the WiFi since I’ve been here. And haven’t talked to anyone who has.

And AT&T connectivity for wireless web is awful during the day. Couldn’t even tweet for most of the day, much less check e-mail. Kent suggested that it’s all of those iPhone users who had to take the AT&T service and who then descended on Oshkosh. I don’t know. I was a Spring customer last year, but didn’t depend as much on Internet access on my prior Blackberry device.

Anyway, it’s a little frustrating to be here with all kinds of content oozing from every crevice of the grounds and not be able to get any of it out without really working at it. I guess that, if you see these posts, it’ll mean that there’s at least some means by which to connect.

More later!

Follow me on Twitter as StephenForce!

And shoot me a friend request on myTransponder.com! Beta invitations are available from rod@myTransponder.com. I’ve already set up groups that address some of the things that you guys tell me you like best about the show, including Gooney Birds and Aviator Musicians, but it’s always better when you guys add your own thoughts, pictures, tips, and other content. Be a part of the rising tide that will give pilots and other aviation enthusiasts a genuine and authoritative community designed by pilots for pilots!

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AirVenture Oshkosh 2008 – Day 1 – Part 1

July 30, 2008 by Leave a Comment


This is a regular blog post. Looking for show notes or show audio? Please check out the other posts.

First full day at OSH! Every kind of people and every kind of airplane! I keep forgetting how much I love this place. I gathered and submitted three pieces for EAA Radio. One was a Dan Gryder DC-3 student talking about his type rating trip from Griffin, Georgia to Oshkosh and back. Then I got LtCol Frank Alvarez, a KC-135 driver from the Wisconsin ANG. Lastly, although it took more then four hours to coordinate, I got Bob Cardin, the man behind the extraction of Glacier Girl from her icy home of 50 years.


Cole spent most of the day taking pictures of Koala, his stuffed koala bear buddy, in nearly every aircraft on the field. It made for some slow going around the field, but he’s very into his project and I think it’s cool that he’s taking it so seriously. Here he is under a Husky floatplane doing a self-portrait.


I found out that Canon will lend you these huge lenses to go shoot the airshow. And here I thought that this guy was just making up for something. Alas, I’m a Nikon guy, mainly because that’s what Costco was pushing the week that I decided that I needed more than just a point-and-shoot for the show. It seems that about one in 50 of my shots with the 200mm lens is usable. The auto-focus just doesn’t want to lock onto airplanes, so I’m focusing manually. And I still blur the overwhelming majority of them. Not going to stop me from taking pictures, though.


Here’s a nice one that did work out. Not sure, but the rumor is that Lucas sponsors him.


I love the Super Decathlon. It’s close to the Citabria that I fly these days and it’s just so cool to see guys up there wringing gorgeous aerobatics out of the limited energy that you get with the engines in these things. There’s nothing at all wrong with hyper-tweaked engines with composite airframes, but I really appreciate what goes into these performances by airplanes that you might actually be able to rent and fly at your own local airport. Sutton Aviation has a Super-D and I’m going to get up in that as soon as Barry thinks I’m ready. The thrill here is that this is something that I can do without hitting the lottery or getting sponsors or anything else ridiculous. (And so can you!)

I had Airspeed Aerobatic Team tee shirts made up a few months ago, mostly as a lark. I actually felt a little disingenuous making them up because I wasn’t really an aerobatic enthusiast at the time. But after the July 8 session in the Citabria, I really think I like aerobatics. It gets the goosebumps going again. At the very least, you should find a qualified instructor and certified airplane and go do some upset recovery and spin training. And get a loop or two in just for fun. You might find that you like it. You may even find it addictive.

I thought that all of that “I need my vitamin gee” stuff was bravado and hangar posing. But it’s not. Not most of it, anyway. It’s genuinely wonderful stuff. Is there no end to the wonder of flying? Are we not the luckiest generation in history?

Follow me on Twitter as StephenForce!

And shoot me a friend request on myTransponder.com! Beta invitations are available from rod@myTransponder.com. I’ve already set up groups that address some of the things that you guys tell me you like best about the show, including Gooney Birds and Aviator Musicians, but it’s always better when you guys add your own thoughts, pictures, tips, and other content. Be a part of the rising tide that will give pilots and other aviation enthusiasts a genuine and authoritative community designed by pilots for pilots!

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Arrival at AirVenture Oshkosh 2008

July 30, 2008 by Leave a Comment


This is a regular blog post. Looking for show notes or show audio? Please check out the other posts.

I stayed at work almost all night Monday night and then packed the car and left around 10:00 EDT Tuesday morning. We arrived at Oshkosh around 6:00 CDT (nine hours through the Chicago construction, etc.).


First order of business was to get to the Orion FBO at the far end of the North Forty for Dan Gryder’s DC-3 charity event. Dan was hosting the event for Challenge Air and had assembled the DC-3 All Star Bluegrass Confabulation. I got to join in on mandolin for a few numbers and Dan was even kind enough to plug me in (my mando is set up for electric, although I rarely play it that way).


Cole spoke of nothing but the DC-3 on the way across the airport grounds and was really thrilled to hang out around the airplane. I think he got in and out at least a half dozen times. Here he is in the left seat.


We also got a shot out on the wing. Cole seemed to be genuinely impressed that I was typed in the airplane. He’s usually pretty difficult to impress. Or maybe it’s that he gets pretty regular access to stuff like airplanes and recording studios and radio stations and other relatively cool things and just takes some of those things for granted. In any case, I think a DC-3 is pretty impressive regardless of whether you hang around other airplanes on a regular basis.

The party was lousy with podcasters, too. UCAP, The Pilotcast, The Student Pilot Cast, and yours truly, as well as Rod Rakic from myTransponder.com, the new aviation-centered social media site. (Ask for your beta account by e-mailing rod@mytransponder.com!)


We got back to the campsite around midnight and managed to set up our condo-sized tent in the dark with some assistance from some very kind EAA Radio teammates. Cole was bushed and slept until 8:00, by which time the tent became a sauna and we started up the day Wednesday.

Follow me on Twitter as StephenForce!

And shoot me a friend request on myTransponder.com! Beta invitations are available from rod@myTransponder.com. I’ve already set up groups that address some of the things that you guys tell me you like best about the show, including Gooney Birds and Aviator Musicians, but it’s always better when you guys add your own thoughts, pictures, tips, and other content. Be a part of the rising tide that will give pilots and other aviation enthusiasts a genuine and authoritative community designed by pilots for pilots!

Filed Under: Stephen Force