Trying to get through my backlog of summer stories and photos… here are some miscellaneous thoughts from EAA AirVenture (“Oshkosh”) 2022, which enjoyed record attendance of about 650,000 people (stats; each member of our family might have been counted 7 times, however, because that’s how a weekly pass was accounted for, at least in 2001 (“The inflation of EAA attendance figures by the local media, by the Chamber of Commerce, and by the EAA itself is not a trivial matter.”)).
We wandered by the One Week Wonder, a kit airplane that goes from parts to taxi over 7 days. My friend said “How does this make people who are half-finished after 7 years feel?” The volunteer team started on Monday morning and here they are on Friday:
The airplane was inspected by the Federales and flew 2.5 weeks after Oshkosh, on August 18.
Who will paint it? From the world’s leading experts on aircraft paint, we heard good things about Aerosmith Aviation in Longview, Texas.
The predicted proliferation of $100,000 light sport airplanes continues, with approximately one type per certificated Light Sport pilot. Expect to pay closer to 400,000 Bidies, however, for the slick-looking ones. Here’s a French-built Elixir, new to the U.S. market:
You know that the real estate market has reached peak insanity when new airparks are developed. There were booths for The Fields near Chattanooga. Why use the 7400′ runway at KCHA that you paid for via your aviation fuel taxes when you can instead pay to build and maintain your own 4200′ runway? Another one is a through-the-fence project in Sandpoint, Idaho. The public airport to which the homes are connected has a 5,500′ runway.
The warbirds section was great as usual. We tried to organize a protest against the folks who painted a swastika on this ME-109, recovered from a lake in Russia and the subject of a 10-year restoration project:
Unfortunately, as with my attempts to get people to kneel during the national anthem at air shows, I was unsuccessful.
Another unusual airplane, the Bell P-63 (Wikipedia says that there are 5 airworthy examples in the U.S.):
The Lycoming engine disassembly/assembly demonstrations are worth watching. If they could manufacture an engine for the Robinson R44 Raven I that didn’t fail once a year (bad intake valves leading to dramatic in-flight kicking/yawing), that would be even better!
We found some good options for those traveling with a family. The University of Wisconsin’s Blackhawk Commons cafeteria has salad, vegetables, and fruit that can be tough to find in conventional restaurants. Plenty of space for kids to run around. I previously highlighted the “contains nuts” warning to the next generation of college-education geniuses (all paid for by the working class!) who are confronted with a pecan pie.
Those who want to enjoy an allergen-free dining experience have their own room:
Contrast to public school here in Palm Beach County, Florida. At a curriculum night for 3rd grade, the teachers noted that parents of a child having a birthday can send him/her/zir/them to school with a container of baked treats for the class. I asked “What are the restrictions on what can be included? If a parent sent cookies with nuts in Maskachusetts, the school building would have to be demolished.” There were none! Children who didn’t like or couldn’t eat what was sent in would get a backup treat from the teachers’ hidden supply.
A fun excursion is the Sweet Lair Cafe in Neenah, Wisconsin, which offers hundreds of board games for customers.
The airshows were great, as usual, including the epic fireworks after the night airshows. The performer about whom other airshow pilots wondered “How he is still alive?” is Skip Stewart, who likes to cut ribbons during low passes over the runway. We appreciated the afterburner-at-dusk show from Randy Ball, an Air Wisconsin captain, flying the MiG 17.
The USAF came out to show off the F-35. Nobody needs an assault rifle, certainly, which is a weapon of war that should be necessary only if there is an invasion (note that millions of asylum-seeking migrants coming across the southern border is not an invasion). EAA AirVenture is a gun-free environment, with firearms being strictly prohibited and visitors and bags checked to make sure that no knives or guns come in. Not exactly the war situation that President Biden said might call for an assault rifle. Yet the USAF decided that the parked F-35 should be guarded by… some guys with assault rifles. [Correction from a reader: the parked F-35 is actually a Navy plane, which means that there were at least two F-35s at OSH.]
We made the mistake of going to the seaplane base when there was a touch of wind/chop and, consequently, nobody was flying. The AirCam, now available with three seats, is always great to see!
Hope to see everyone at Oshkosh in 2023!
FYI. The F-35 pictured being guarded is the Navy’s version – F35C (folding wings, two wheel nose gear) not the USAF’s F-35A.
Bernie: Thanks for the correction. I guess it makes sense that there were TWO F-35s at Oshkosh, though I hadn’t considered that possibility until now. The USAF one was blasting around during every afternoon airshow, so it would have been a hassle to tow it out of this central show area. Someone in the US Navy must have wanted to come to EAA AirVenture!
Invasion is only an invasion when it threatens the power of the ruling “elite”. Opinion of you serfs on the situation is completely unimportant (until the pitchforks start making the appearance on the political scene, of course).
Regarding flying dildos (aka F-dildos), F-35A has a price tag of $148M, F-35C goes for $337M (everything considered). So these two F-dildos represent nearly half billion of tax loot spent for the glory of MIC. I guess the value of the rest of the birds present at Oshkosh together comes only to a fraction of that.
@philg: That F-35 looks like it’s parked next to a V-22 “Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time” Osprey! Did they actually fly the Osprey during the event? I’ve never seen real-life pictures of the interior, etc.
The AirCam is totally funkadelic and I love the colors. It’s like riding in/on some kind of giant insect. Wild stuff! I guess the people who own them rent them out for people who enjoy a little thrill to go along with their Lumix digicams.
I can begrudgingly accept the “no guns” rule while you’re on the grounds, as long as they don’t turn you into a felon and shame you if you make a mistake, let you retrieve the gun, etc. Times being what they are and so forth. It still doesn’t sit right with me, that kind of ban should be unnecessary. Anyway, Concealed means Concealed.
Alex: I think the Osprey did fly a few times in the airshow, but I try to block out any memories of this drain on the U.S. taxpayer.
Addendum: I’m baffled that the “one week wonder” folks didn’t build some kind of platform so they didn’t have to bend all the way to the ground to do their work. That’s silly! They have to bend and kneel on a concrete floor, etc. Everyone who has ever worked on a car (or really anything else for that matter) for major repairs knows that a lift makes everything much easier. Maybe next year.
I find the no guns sign sort of ironic considering how many airplanes have guns mounted on them. How was the turn out at your lectures?
Why all the Osprey hate? Aviation can’t move forward if we’re not willing to make big bets. Or we can continue flying Chinooks until they all fall out of the sky.
Philip, how come you could not organize protest or at least kneeling with precious aviation nerds who are willing to give up their nuts, perfume, pocket knives and Bill of Right protected rights to view air wonders? My mom’s first memories of WWII is hiding from diving (stukas?) and other bombers. She never over-reacts on swastikas on historic objects, maybe because her father survived fighting nazis in WWII with large positive score against them.
I am looking forward to our hosts thoughts on https://www.mvtimes.com/2022/09/14/migrant-workers-land-vineyard-via-texas/
Jane: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/06/us/politics/asylum-biden-administration.html says that the 1+ million asylum-seekers who have been welcomed by President Biden are not, of course, “illegal” in any way, but that it would be illegal for them to work, at least during the initial part of the 10-20-year process. So it makes sense for newly arrived asylum-seekers to live in vacation destinations such as Martha’s Vineyard. Also, there is comfortable housing, entirely vacant through May 2023, for at least 50,000 people on Martha’s Vineyard. I have no doubt that Democrats who own seasonal houses on MVY will agree to lend them and, if they don’t, I think the Commonwealth of Maskachusetts has the power, as a sovereign state, to force them to open the doors of their unused houses.
https://www.forbes.com/home-improvement/features/states-move-to-from/ suggests that there is plenty of room in Maskachusetts due to households having escaped the lockdowns and school closures by fleeing to Texas and Florida.
Finally, we are informed that migrants, even if they do not work, are too old to work, have no education, and have no work skills, boost an economy, reduce the number of crimes, and make everyone in a country or state better off. So, in the long run, there should be an arrangement in which Massachusetts reimburses Florida and Texas for the cost of transportation.