Flying

SUNDAY – July 29, 2007

Alan and I have a plan – Depart Oshkosh, head to Kankakee, Illinois. Next, we will fly to Cornelia, Georgia and then home. Of course, our plan was to depart at 7:00a for the airport but after talking and hanging out with Gary it was nearly 8:30 before we left the house. We had no problem this morning with our normal plan of going to Weeks Hangar and parking the car. It has worked out great as we park, head through the gate and then walk to the airplane. Alan and I have concluded if you just look like you know what you are doing then it is easy to move around.

I am in the airplane writing this after leaving Kankakee. Alan has the left seat and is doing a great job flying the airplane. Right now though, I wish we had a weather GPS. I spent most of the week looking at GPS. Which would be better? A Garmin 396, 496, Anywhere Map, or AvMap. As the week wore on and I went through the multiple sales presentations I concluded that the AvMap was the way to go. The price is $1495 and they had a show special of $1349 at West Cost Avionics for it. But, I am so tight when it comes to spending money on myself I did not buy it. As Alan and I fly between KIKK and KAJR right now though it would be nice to have. We checked weather at KIKK and everything looked clear, there are definitely building showers and we know we are flying into the afternoon convective activity. Just knowing though how it is building up over several hours, in this case, two hours, would be nice.

As I ride along, typing about what we did today and yesterday, I keep thinking about what I just saw happen at Kankakee. Alan and I were stepping into the airplane and I heard another plane start up. Within 1-2 seconds I heard a boom and turned to look; I saw the tail of a bi-plane bouncing up and down. The engine stopped and I realized it had collided with a Cherokee on the ramp. I looked and saw the pilot in a blue shirt and jeans jump, yell, pound his fist on the ground. I decided to run inside and tell the FBO. I wanted to let him know, most of all, no one was hurt. Wow, I am glad that is not me.

We made it into AJR (Cornelia, Georgia) with no problems. We had to fly the GPS approach, due to the weather, which was good practice for both of us. Mr. Tatum greeted me on the ground and we took on more fuel. Our concern, right now is the weather. After looking we decided to head into town and wait to see if it dissipates – all of southern Georgia is covered in storms. Alan wanted to see the cabin so we drove the crew card (an ancient BMW) out there and saw it. We headed to Helen next and had dinner. I think Leeann is really struggling with me not coming home. I miss her with all of my heart, but hope she understands. Fortunately, I had a note from her reminding me to be careful and that she knew I would be home if I could. I needed her to affirm that as it was the only pressure I was feeling to make a decision to go on.

I had a chance to talk to Haley just a little bit ago. She wanted to know if I saw John Travolta last night – no.

Here I sit, at the Hampton Inn updating pictures, worried about things to do tomorrow and a horribly busy week. But, I know we made the right decision regarding weather. Alan spoke to a friend that had to deviate at 45,000 feet to avoid the same storms.

SATURDAY – July 28, 2007

This morning was absolutely beautiful weather. A cool morning greeted us, clear skies and the smell of Wisconsin soil (cows and dirt). Alan and I had no plan this morning, just the President’s dinner pending tonight. After some discussion we decided to head to the airport – why not – meander around some more. We agreed that we had pretty much seen everything at the airport. So, our plan was to come back here and pack, change and shower for dinner around 3:00p. Then, we could head back to the airport and load round one of our baggage.

We had a chance to give Gary and Christine the wind vane this morning. Christine said that she would not see us again before tomorrow because she had to work tonight. Alan and I quickly grabbed the wind vane out of the car and brought it inside. Of course, it looks like and airplane and it should be perfect for their backyard. Christine started to cry, she said she always gets emotional. She was on her way out with her daughter and future son-in-law to work on wedding plans.

Alan and I drove to the airport about 10:00 and worked out way toward parking lot B. All week we have parked here so getting in and out has gotten easier as the week has passed. We both decided to travel light – cameras only and began walking in the gates. We stopped and visited with a salesman from Columbia Aircraft and then went to Cirrus. Both aircraft are beautiful, especially when put next to a Cessna 172. Bucket seats, leather interior, glass cockpits. For $500,000 you can easily cruise at 185-200 kts.

We headed back through Aeroshell square but decided we needed some pizza. Hey, we work hard, so why not? Sitting, eating pizza we talked more about the aircraft and I pointed out why not just get the RV-10 if you wanted a 4 place faster airplane. We saw one yesterday or Thursday that was $265,000 and looked just as good as these aircraft.

We made our way into one of the buildings to find the Oregon Aero booth. Alan wanted to buy a seat cushion for his plane. This would boost him up some and protect his back. Within a few minutes we had the cushion and I suggested we take it back to the car. I noticed right away that today’s crowd was much different – more families, girls, kids. Early in the week it was just old, sweaty men walking around. As we walked too, I noticed it was much warmer today. A quick trip to the car and we realized, “why not leave the camera and everything else?” Ahh, I lightened my load and now could just walk and enjoy.

We spent the next three hours walking through the pavilions, the vendors and into the aeromart. About 2p we decided we were hungry and needed corn pork sandwiches. We went back to the place we were on the first day, “Beerventure 2007”. The pork sandwich was great and hit the spot.

Packing went well. However, Alan forgot his hanging clothes in New Smyrna we came to discover. We had packed and headed to the plane to drop off the first load. Again, we parked at Weeks Hangar and just walked in. I was glad we did this on Monday night and learned how to get in and out without a problem. At the plane, where we thought the clothes were we discovered they were not there. Convinced they were in the Jeep back in Florida we found out from Amy later that they were actually hanging at home. I had to note this because our whole week had centered around getting to this dinner. We had talked about what to wear and coordinated so we ‘would fit in’. With an hour to go, no clothes. Alan adapts easily and he wore his new EAA shirt and a pair of khakis. No problem, but now we were running late. Again, not a problem as we found ourselves with a motorcycle escort (actually, a Honda scooter) headed to the parking lot where we needed to be.

Paul Pobernzy is the founder of EAA. Anything I say will not begin to describe what Alan and I experienced Saturday night. Honestly, my expectations were much more about celebrities and some wow factor. Instead, I felt privelaged to meet him, his son Tom, and be at their home for dinner. The home sits on 13 acres and is beautifully manicured. There were two buildings that we toured – a preview of “the Founders Collection”. Apparently, since 1953 he has never thrown anything away. The great thing about this is there is an entire history of the EAA.

My own perception of the EAA changed tonight. I had always considered the “experimental” aircraft association something that I did not understand. I fly in ‘real airplanes’. I learned this week that, in my opinion, these are the guys keeping things alive. Building airplanes is definitely not something crazy – it is how every airplane was built until regulatory control got in the way. Best of all, EAA is about youth. Alan and I noted many times this week there were ‘old guys’ walking around. But yet, there are huge numbers of high school programs out there to support youth and encourage flying through aviation clubs at schools.

FRIDAY – July 27, 2007

Alan and I had another great day – a little mellower than the others. I called Leeann this morning, I really miss her. She was in a great mood and we exchanged lots of ‘I miss yous’. Alan made me laugh because he said every time I call I get a different person – happy, sad, crying – all due to being pregnant. She has been very busy all week, work has been tough and she has had dinners to go to and been working bingo for Kiwanis. I am looking forward to seeing her on Sunday.

We started at the museum again, picking up a gift for our hosts. They have been great and we wanted to get them something nice. So, we picked out a wind vane with an airplane on it for their garden in the back. After we finished at the museum we went back to the card and worked our way back to our parking lot. Next, we headed in to the show and found ourselves at the tents, the pavilions where different workshops take place. We started in a welding tent where people can use and try an actual welder. Next, and very fascinating, we went to a fabric covering tent. Woodworking, sewing, and fabric lying were being done. When we asked what wing they were working the answer was, “it is an aileron for a DC-3.” I just learned something new, the aileron on a DC-3 is fabric covered, not metal like the rest of the airplane.

By the way, I confirmed this later today when we looked at the restored Piedmont Airlines DC-3. I paid a$1.00 each for us to tour that airplane. Up close I was able to confirm that these control surfaces were indeed not made of metal.

We slowly meandered our way toward the homebuilts. One thing I wanted to do was get dog tags for the kids, I had remembered seeing a dog tag making place up by the war birds and hoped to find it again. As we headed north we walked past Glastar, Velocity, and Van’s. I finally learned the difference between an RV-4, RV-6, 9, 10. John from last night said he has an RV-6A. I understand now – a 2-seat side-by-side configuration with a sliding canopy on tricycle gear. We met a man that had built his own airplane (RV-6A) and talked to us about what went well. We even helped him push it out so he could taxi away. By the way, he was using the “claw” for his tie down. He said for $93 it was the best deal to secure your airplane – ropes, claw, hammer, and bag all included. (Birthday gift?).

At the Van’s booth I saw Van sitting there and spoke to a salesman about the aircraft. He was building a RV-9A. The non-aerobatic version of an RV-7. The RV-6 is not made anymore. Wanting to learn more I bought a Van’s info packet and DVD to watch when I get back home. — By the way, did I mention that we watched “16R” (one-six-right) the other night? If you have not seen it I strongly recommend you watch the movie. You will understand more about general aviation than you ever did. – I had a chance to sit in the RV-9 and found it very comfortable. Alan and I then went to a tent right behind Van’s and ended up meeting Jan Eggenfelter (sp?) who owns an engine company and is based at Massey Ranch (X50) where I keep my plane.

We began heading south again and I finally found my dog tag place and had a tag made for each of the kids as a souvenir. Something different, something fun.

Within a few minutes we bumped into Finn again. Alan had a chance to visit with him more and discuss how his company, Tireswing, could help with web site. Hopefully something good can come of that for Alan.

At the Flightline Pavilion I discovered that ChevronTexaco was having a party in the other tent so Kevin Jensen was able to visit with me again. He was still grinning like a kid from a T-34 ride he had earlier in the week. Lucky dog! He talked about the F-22 Raptors coming in yesterday and that he had tried to get a ride on the fuel truck out to them. The Veeder-Root equipment has been running great at the show. While sitting there we found out that two P51s had collided at the south end of the runway and the air show had stopped. One of them had overtaken the other on landing and the pilot of the second aircraft was killed.

Alan and I found a tram and headed south to take more airplane pictures. I think my next airplane, in addition to the Saratoga, will be a Piper Tri-Pacer. What a great looking older airplane. I had a chance to photograph five or six different planes tonight. At the President’s BBQ I met a gentleman that actually owned one of the planes we photographed. He was very proud of the plane and very excited as it was his first time flying into Oshkosh.

Our final stop for the night was the President’s BBQ. We actually changed clothes in the parking lot so we would have on fresh, collared, shirts and shorts. It was nice to be in flip-flops and not tennis shoes too. Alan and I did not know a soul at the event. Finally, Pete who escorted us on Tuesday came up and said hello. We got our steaks and food and picked a table. It turned out we sat with the team that has conceived and is developing “Andy’s Airplanes”. The conversation was fun and we enjoyed learning about this as we had visited their booth yesterday. The children’s video series they have and the icon they have created are pretty cool.

After the BBQ instead of heading back we went to the theater in the woods. On Tuesday we had seen a small theater, thinking that was the theater. Wrong! It was a giant blow up theater with a great sound system. It is reminiscent of a drive-in theater of days gone by. We wanted to go because we realized the movie was going to be Apollo 13. More importantly, Jim Lovell was on stage to introduce and discuss the movie. Alan made me laugh because he pointed out that Jim had on the same green wrist band as an attendee that we did.

It has been a great week. I think we are both looking forward to going home Sunday. We just checked weather and I have re-planned our flight. We are going to go VFR to KIKK (Kankakee, Illinois) and then go IFR with a stop at KAJR again. It looks like rain and clouds in the southeast Sunday afternoon though, we will see what happens. I am not ready to get back to work as the week has been great. But, I can’t wait to see LeeAnn and then the kids on Tuesday.

THURSDAY – July 26, 2007

I stayed up way too late last night – Alan and I talked and I worked on this blog. I felt it this morning, I am tired. Worse yet, it is already raining outside.

Right now it is 11:30p Thursday night as I write about what I did today. Things get crazier and I have to laugh. Alan and I have commented that the trip just can’t seem to get any better. But, it does. Alan asked if I wanted to go in the Ford tent to look at the cars. Sure, why not I thought. Once in there I saw some Mustangs and concept cars. Jack Rousch was signing autographs near the door and we just walked by him. I wondered around looking at new cars for the future. Then, I saw a friend of mine, Finn Moller. Bob Hoover was walking with him so I shouted over to Finn. Fortunately, I have had a chance to meet Bob in the past, but I always enjoy talking to this amazing aviation legend.

Finn was shocked to see, what are you doing here he asked? Looking at airplanes….We talked for a few minutes and he asked about LeeAnn and how the baby is doing. I asked when he had come up and he said that morning with Gene (Cernan). I asked Finn if he would mind taking our picture with Bob and he said no problem. After all of the times I had met him I had never had my picture taken with him. Finn then introduced us to the other gentlemen standing in the group – Henry and Carroll. It took me about three seconds to realize it was Henry Ford (III) and Carroll Shelby. We continued to talk to Finn and then they headed out. Alan and I found ourselves laughing – yesterday it was Darrell Lowrance at the Lowrance booth and today Henry Ford at the Ford booth.

Our evening got even better!! For the first time, I got up close to the Goodyear blimp. In fact, I got so close I was actually able to climb inside the blimp. After that we walked over and took a helicopter ride. I have always wanted to ride in a helicopter but never had the chance. Alan had told me it would be like sitting in a lawn chair and lifting into the air – pretty accurate description.

This morning my friend Andy Millin called me to touch base. He is a big fan of Velocity aircraft and is 7 years into building one. Tonight a group of his buddies was having a BBQ at the tents. It was a chance to head to Camp Sholler and see what life in the campgrounds was like. I was impressed – a row of pop-up campers, tents and food, food, food. Alan and I found ourselves among a new group of friends. Andy and his wife, Theresa, greeted us with open arms, beer and burgers. The food was great and of course the conversation was about flying. As we sat the sky turned dreary and the rain began. We talked to John from Aurora, IL who has an RV6A. We talked to Steve, another EAA chapter member of Andy’s. Everyone shared stories and adventures.

Most of today was spent moving much slower. We walked through the pavillions again. I am looking at GPSs with weather and really wanted to focus on the Avmap GPS. It is a pretty slick unit and they should have weather ready versions by september. Alan had to pick up his EAA hat that he had his tail number embroidered on.

This morning we explored the museum, had bratwursts for lunch (Johnsonville) and again found ourselves talking to people we did not know about flying. We walked the warbirds and went in search of the Van’s tent to learn about those planes.

WEDNESDAY – July 25, 2007

I truly believe a good night’s sleep can make all of the difference about how the day looks. Last night when I went to bed I was beat, tired, exhausted, and just wanted to close my eyes. This morning I came out to the dining room with the sunlight streaming in the windows and quickly grabbed a cup of coffee. Alan beat me to breakfast today and we started to talk about plans. He had a project he needed to finish for work. This morning was relaxing, we sat and talked about log books, flying, he worked on his project and I worked on this blog. One of my more interested projects lately has been to update my digital logbook with distances. I have flown nearly 25,000 total miles and about 450 hours.

Alan mentioned that we got to land in two new states – Wisconsin and Michigan. This prompted me to start counting how many states I had landed in, 14 states and one other country: South and North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Maryland, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin and Governors Harbor, Bahamas, Always interesting to count. Of course, this was now my longest total cross country trip, 1054 nautical miles, the way we went – or 971 according to my flight planning software.

We headed to the show and quickly found our parking spot this morning. We decided to walk the pavilions and look at merchandise. Right away I found a shirt for Jack. Next, we found the Autolite spark plug booth and I got a t-shirt with Autolite Annie on the back. Alan was much more carried away than me and I think he bought one in every color. As we went through the buildings I looked at aircraft covers, GPS’s with weather, and flashlights. I have a fetish for good flashlights. But, I controlled myself and spent no money. I found the girls and planes booth and bought two t-shirts, one for Haley and one for Marcella. We continued to walk and then found ourselves outside in the heat, looking at airplanes. It looks like the Piper Mirage is the perfect upgrade airplane for me – more comfort, faster, and a higher cruise altitude. Sure, for $600k I can get one on trade. Why not?

After grabbing some lunch we worked our way in and out of more outdoor booths and then back into the vendor buildings. As we rounded the corner at the Lowrance GPS booth we ran into two of Alan’s friends: Keith and Darrel. Just across the aisle from there were friends of mine from past business, Fred and Mike, at the ASA booth. Interestingly, we started up the next aisle and ran into Mr. Wilson from Wilson Air Center, one of my customers. Who else could we see in the same building?

Alan finally found an embroidery vendor with a Varga! Of course, we had to order some shirts with his airplane and tail number on them. I finally found a Piper on a hat with a Piper in my paint scheme on it, but she would not sell it to me! She said come back on Saturday and I could buy her sample, I hope I remember. As we stood there it started to rain outside. Unlike Sun ‘n Fun, the building did not flood with people. This was kind of nice. We continued to prowl the aisles and look at merchandise and worked our way outside as the rain stopped.

Heading back to the VIP Flightline Pavilion we both discussed we felt better than yesterday, but were still thirsty. We found ourselves water, snickers bars, and air conditioning, aaahhhhhh……

The air show started and again we were dazzled with the performers. Personally, I wanted to walk, get some photos. So, we decided to walk the antique aircraft. We headed south as Patty Wagstaff took to the air. Again, a dazzling performance. I was interested in finding the Cessna 195s, the Beech Staggerwings and some classic Cessna 172s. As we walked though, I discovered the beauty of the 1940s through the Swift aircraft. I photographed the row of 195s, and walked by Piper Cubs. I saw a majestic Beech Super G18 and headed to a Cessna 140. All of these aircraft were in beautiful condition.

As I walked more I kept finding myself drawn to a particular Piper, the Pacer and the Tri-Pacer. What a beautiful airplane. I asked Alan what one cost – $20-30s. Hmmm, that is the perfect collector airplane for Leeann, me, and the baby. Jack could even learn to fly in a plane like that.

Alan called to me, “where’s the bag?”. I looked, I did not have the bag with his shirts. Uh-oh, I thought.

We had left it back by his friend’s SX300 and the Long EZ of a gentleman from Stuart Florida that I had met on Saturday at the Cornelia airport. We began the walk back north through the airplanes we had just seen. I had no idea we had walked this far. What a trek. We both agreed that we expected the bag would be there, hopefully someone had placed it under the airplane wing out of the rain. Sure enough, we rounded the corner and there it was lying on the ground. Things, keep working out.

We started to walk to the car tonight and the skies opened up with rain, again. Fortunately, we were at an EAA merchandise tent and ducked inside out of the mud and the storm. I decided to buy a DC-3 balsa wood model and finally found a 2007 AirVenture pin for my hat. Within five minutes we headed to the car and agreed to go to Wentzs for dinner – a seafood place down near the seaplane base.

Talk about good! We had perch and waffle fries with a beer for dinner. The fish was probably the best fish I have ever eaten. It was delicious! After dinner tonight we drove up the highway near the lake and found the seaplane base. What a site, seaplanes lined up on the creek, pointed the same direction in the evening light. Unfortunately, it was not good enough to take pictures so we headed home.

I called LeeAnn, I miss her a lot. She was crying from watching a show on television. My heart skipped a few beats because I thought something was wrong. Oh yeah, she found a Wii today – a Nintendo video game and bought it. I told Haley this afternoon and she screamed with excitement. I can’t wait to see Lee on Sunday evening and it sounds like she is having a great week at work.

A lot of typing tonight and time to go to sleep. Looking through pictures was refreshing. I also realized it is only 1.5 hours from here to my parent’s house. The world is getting smaller to me through flight.

TUESDAY – July 24, 2007

Sleep was great. I still can’t believe I am here. All of the months of planning still seem very surreal. It is 7:15 and I am in the shower waking up slowly, and unsure about what I will find when I get to the kitchen. Wow! Cantaloupe, Danishes, cereal, fruit, coffee, orange juice. So far the day is going well.

Alan and I headed to the EAA museum, planning to be there for a 10:00a tour. We were greeted at the museum and went to the conference room to wait for our tour guide. Pete Kelly was introduced to us and he quickly volunteered that he would do his best to show us around, but was to say that if we asked specifics his answers would be generic and he would say, “a lot” to anything we asked.

We made our rounds through the museum. I began to see beautiful aircraft, wow. This was going to be quite a day and quite a show. During our two hours with Pete today he took us to EAA kid venture, Compass Hill, the chapel, trough the war birds, past the classics, to the campground, and around by the presidents house where we will go the barbeque this week. As we approached lunch time we joked about a place that advertised beer and bikinis later in the week – Pete had already been there and said the food was great. We parked and walked to this outdoor tent on a private lot, there was no beer or bikinis. But, I had a shredded pork sandwich and an ear of corn that had been dipped in butter.

We parted ways with Pete and headed off on our own. Alan and I went to look at the gift shop at the museum and move our car closer to the show, to our ‘VIP’ lot. We began to walk through the ‘air swap’, a land of tents with vendors hawking sunglasses, old books, hammocks, aircraft parts, and a variety of items anyone would need. After about two hours of walking we decided to head toward the performer’s tent. Alan and I had passes for the day, to be in a tent and watch the air show from the front row.

Arriving at the tent I asked the man checking wristbands if we were in the right place. It turned out it was Pete! He jumped to his feet and said “no, but let me get you a badge to get in.” Suddenly Alan and I found ourselves walking through an air conditioned tent and being offered drinks and food. Pete took us to the rooftop gallery and explained we could watch the air show from there. Alan and I looked at each other and laughed, it just keeps getting better.

For about 45 minutes we sat, not a lot happening as a few airplanes buzzed overhead. In a moment, at 3:00 airplanes appeared from everywhere. I counted at one time at least 40 aircraft in the air. Soon, aerobatic pilots were performing in front of us, doing maneuvers that I could not imagine. Airplanes were going up, down, sideways and in ways that I could not imagine. As I looked around, I spotted Phil Boyer, head of AOPA, just a few feet behind me watching the same show from the same pavilion we were. I sat back and watched in awe, enjoying every second.

After the show, we headed out. It had been a long day. Tonight we ate dinner, after driving all over Oshkosh, at a restaurant called “Jansens”. An interesting neighborhood tavern where I had a delicious rib-eye steak. I lasted for about 15 minutes when we got home, ugh I needed sleep.

I enjoyed today. I realized that flying is not hard, scary, or intimidating. I have never felt that it is, but I probably pass up many opportunities to go places that I could easily reach in my airplane or “time traveling machine” as my friend Andy Millin calls it.

MONDAY – July 23, 2007

A beautiful day greeted me when I awoke this morning. I felt some anxiety to finish a few chores at home as I rolled out of bed at 6am. The sun was coming over the ocean when I walked downstairs to the office and it looked like a great day for flying. Finally! The day to go to Oshkosh was here. First, though, I wrapped up some final details and loved on the kids. LeeAnn was hard to say goodbye to – and of course I had to remind her how much I love her and how excited I am about the baby. Haley, Marcella, and Jack are headed out on vacation with their mother. Letting go of them ripped at my heart and I cried when I got in the car. I love them and will miss them.

Off to Alan’s house! I packed my gear last night and now just had to pick up Alan. Both of our wives wanted to make sure we did not starve – Leeann made two loaves of banana bread and Amy made two boxes of cookies. Alan and I were able to quickly load the plane and get ready to leave. I offered him the left seat and he eagerly jumped at the chance.

Our plan – X50->KAJR (Cornelia, GA), about 2.75 hours, we planned to leave at 8:30, but got in the air at 8:45. We landed Cornelia at 11:30 EDT. At Cornelia, where I just bought a cabin, we would get a car and go get lunch and then head on to Battle Creek, Michigan. The first leg went exactly as planned and we climbed to 5,000 and then 6,000 feet. We picked up 30 gallons of fuel at AJR and some Wendy’s for us. Next, we checked weather via the computer and filed our flight plan for a 12:45 departure, putting us in Battle Creek at 4:15 EDT.

Climbing out of Cornelia I was in the left seat and found myself in IMC within 5 minutes. I kept the climb steady for 8,000 and watched the instruments. Even after leveling out we were in hard IMC with nothing but gray on the windshield and an occasional glimpse of the ground. About 1.5 hours later, we passed Lexington, Kentucky and the clouds began to break. We were making progress. Enroute, we looked at the charts and decided to go a little further north and get close to Lake Michigan, so we decided to land at Tulip City, Michigan (KBIV). This should be easier and less expensive than going to Battle Creek; small airports tend to have some charm. We watched the Ohio River pass under us leaving Kentucky under gray and cloudv skies. Soon, we were crossing Indiana with bright sunlight, small lakes, and the beauty of the farmland.

Lake Michigan appeared in front of us as we made our final 30 miles into Tulip City. Wow, like an ocean size, the lake showed us how impressive it was. On the ground in Tulip City we ran into other pilots headed to Oshkosh – except they were in an open cockpit ultra light airplane. They looked beat up and weathered since they had left Baltimore about nine hours before. They planned to cross the lake at 500 feet, I planned for 6,500 feet with GPS routing to Hartford (HXF). We decided to have the tire on the plane changed since the cord was showing on the right main and we had about two hours we needed to wait so the field would be open at Oshkosh. So, we ate cookies, I talked to LeeAnn, and we checked the notams to see if the field was opening.

Not knowing any better, we filed a VFR flight plan for Hartford, Wisconsin and left with a plan to fly direct Hartford (HXF), direct RIPON, and direct FISKE. Alan and I climbed out over Lake Michigan with the sun in our eyes and Alan keeping a keen eye out for the ultra light at 500 feet. We steadily climbed to 6,500 and I thought to myself that the moment I was concerned about for the last seven months, the approach into Oshkosh was only 55 minutes away. I wanted to make a good landing and most of all I was concerned that I did not want to do anything wrong. About half way over the lake we tuned in the ATIS at Oshkosh – it did not tell me anything. So, I tuned in the FISK controllers and quickly heard them giving instructions to other aircraft following the approach. The same approach we had studied from Cornelia to Tulip City. When I heard her say, “Bonanza, great wing rock, enter the downwind for runway 27 at the gravel pit and monitor the tower 118.5.” Whew! I can follow those instructions.

Alan and I listened to the radio and quickly realized that we could follow these instructions. More importantly, there was not a lot of traffic from what we could tell from the radio. We quickly headed to the town of Ripon and watched for aircraft. We made the turn, spotted the railroad tracks and headed to Fisk. “Piper, give me a wing rock,” came the call. I rocked the wings hard.

“Great wing rock, Piper. Follow the railroad tracks and enter the downwind for runway 27. Enjoy the show,” she responded on the radio. We were on our way. As we approached the field we saw the dots and made our downwind. Interestingly, there was a Ford Tri-motor on final – but it turned out he was turning base for runway 18. Alan and I were told to land on the ‘green’ dot and I put the wheels down right on the dot with no problem as we slowed and headed straight into the sunlight. We turned off on the taxiway and headed for the grass. We parked within 60 seconds on the grass and had a volunteer enthusiastically greet and welcome us. Grinning like kids we tied up the plane and started to discuss our plan.

A friend of mine, Kevin Jensen, had left me a message that he saw my company logo on an aerobatic airplane and that I needed to call him. Sure enough, it was on the plane and he invited us to a ChevronTexaco barbeque at the Weeks Hangar. Alan headed that way and found ourselves with beers in hand and talking to the pilot, Julie Clark. So far the trip was going great. Shortly thereafter we realized we were beat and headed to the private residence where we planned to spend the week.

Christine and Gary greeted us with smiles and hospitality. We had borrowed Kevin’s rental car and found our way to the house, driving through Oshkosh for the first time. My bedroom is great – a double bed, towels laid out, a bathroom that Alan and I will share and lots of friendly welcomes from our hosts.