Boston-Oshkosh-California 2003
an exhibit for friends by Philip Greenspun
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Boston-Oshkosh-California 2003an exhibit for friends by Philip Greenspun |
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11,000 airplanes, 770,000 attendees over 7 days. Joris, my helicopter
instructor, and I fought headwinds for 8 hours to get there from
Boston. We flew over Canada and across Lake Michigan before lining up
behind some really slow antique airplanes at Ripon, Wisconsin. We
pitched tents next to my Diamond Star DA40.
On our first day we wandered up the flight line to look at old and homebuilt airplanes...
Every day at 3:30 pm there is an airshow.
At night we'd come back to our campsite briefly and then either go out to dinner with our friend David who had rented a car or walk to the adjacent Hilton Garden Inn and enjoy 120V power, high-speed Internet jacks next to the restaurant tables, and "fresh peach cobbler" (made with canned peaches).
On our third day we made it over to the EAA's museum and took a ride in a Bell 47 helicopter, the first mass market helicopter and a staple of the Korean and Vietnam wars. The blades are wooden and there is no life limit. You're allowed up to 10 cracks up to 12 inches long before replacing them. Our helicopter ride revealed the vastness of the RV and tent camping areas. We might have seen these on our way in for landing if not for the constant terror of colliding with another airplane.
The Carhenge area also contains other car-based sculpture.
Here are some pix:
On to Bryce, where the National Park Service has invested in a forest of "no dogs allowed signs"...
fortunately tours in turbine-powered helicopters are allowed...
From my back roads excusion to Grand Staircase Escalante ...
