Re: Oshkosh 2003 Redux

[Montblack]

(Jay Honeck wrote)
<snipped stuff>
>And our rec.aviation get-together was a rousing success,

> I'm hoping [Montblack] snagged the beer before some EAA lineguy did... :)


Random thoughts, because I'm tired - haven't unpacked yet...

I did find the "abandoned" beer cooler - thank you Jay. And please thank
Mary for me.

Jack Allison and his brother, another Steve, were at the
(rec.aviation.N40festival) - He flew a 172 in from Sacramento California,
IIRC. It was nice to meet everyone who was there. Went to Friar Tuck's twice
this week. I recommend the $3.50 Chef Salad and the $3.95 Little John or
Mini-Tuck or (whatever), long bun beef melt thing - excellent. Stay away
from the onion rings. Pitcher prices were ok-reasonable. Cheeseburger was
the size of a car hubcap - $3.50. I liked the place.

Never did bump into Jim Weir ...at the dorms (I was 2nd floor Fletcher) or
at Friar Tuck's. I'll have to attend one of his seminar(s). Next year.

Never been to Oshkosh before this year. Will return.

I kept stumbling across Australians and New Zealanders. Lots of them -
everywhere you went ...there they were. It got to be kind of spooky after
awhile.

Quick blurb on today - Sunday

Woke up in the dorms. Planned on meeting Jay, Mary and their two OshKids for
breakfast. Larry, from rec.homebuilt, couldn't make it to breakfast with us
because of morning forums. Everyone else I knew at Oshkosh had already
headed for home.

Packed up the room, checked out, loaded the car and drove over to the
Hilton, which is practically on the field. We hung around Jay's plane from
8:30am until enough voices pleaded, "I'm hungry" - then we walked 100 yds
over to the Hilton for buffet breakfast. Had a relaxing and enjoyable
breakfast.

After breakfast, Jay and Mary were planing their Sunday departure options.
Looked iffy for VFR. I said good-bye and caught the school bus over to the
warbirds, before Mary could put me to work packing up the camp.

Bus dropped me off by Fighter Ally (or whatever it's called). Many of the
planes were all rev'd up and in line to depart. I think most pilots saw a
weather window and figured it's now or ...who knows when?

Sat on the grass for over an hour watching the parade of (mostly) warplanes
taxi in front of us (me, and 100's of other gawkers). Poor planes were in
quite a traffic jam - I was worried some might overheat. There was one
emergency declared while I was listening on my scanner. A Warrior type took
off, declared emergency - "engine out" (his words), and returned to the
airport safely. He seemed to have some power when he returned. There were
other return-to-the-airport planes, but that was the only person who
declared "emergency".

Next year I'll bring an earjack for the scanner. All those warbirds, in a
departure parade traffic jam, made too much noise for me to be able to hear
the scanner all that well

Saw more of the vendor tents today. Went through many buildings today.

Carried a plastic bag (with handles) around for info sheets, brochures, my
scanner and a 32oz PowerAde/Gatorade bottle - for water. Water faucets
everywhere. I went through over a gallon per day (5-6 bottles).

Riley Superskyrocket was scheduled for a space (#65) but were a no-show. The
juicy scoop I got from SMA Diesel was, SMA is -- "no longer in communication
with Riley". (Read between the lines)

Symphony planes had the right idea - remove the wings and doors, then
display the plane. People could walk right up and see the roomy(?) interior.

Enjoyed talking with the Russian "Sherpa" kit plane folks. They had a
t-shirt that had (in big red letters) OSHKOSH 2003. And because it was
theirs, and not EAA's, it only cost $5.00. Perfect gift!!

D-Jet was cool at Diamond. Single engine ..."Williams 44"

Mustang has a MONSTROUSLY HUGE display screen in their panel.

Eclipse had a fun tent. From a "big picture" cynic's point of view, however
....it looked like a damage control display as much as anything else.

Ran out of time, didn't see the Adam A-700 Jet.

Didn't see any booths for the other small jet players.

Looked like rain, so I dropped plans to watch the afternoon air show and
headed back to the busses. Jay was gone, beer cooler was waiting for me
<vBg>. I got to my car, a short distance away, just as the rain started. Air
show was on hold because of lightning. I listened to the Oshkosh EAA AM
radio feed, driving back to Minnesota. They threw together an abbreviated
effort for the visitors - car was out of range after a while so I couldn't
hear how it finished.

300+ miles (6 hours TT) got home around 10 pm. Nice relaxing drive - no
deer, no tickets.

Other fun stuff, must sleep. Zzzzzzzzzzzz.....mmm...D-jet
(2006)....zzzzzzzzz

--
Montblack

[Peter R.]

Jay Honeck ) wrote:

<snip>
> - Once again Oshkosh was heaven on earth for one week, and the ONLY place to
> be during the last week of July. Our 21st consecutive Oshkosh was as
> fabulous as the first -- better, since we now know a bunch of you guys and
> gals! -- and we're already making plans to attend again NEXT year...

Jay, thank you very much for providing your Oshkosh experiences here. The
Lightspeed story was apropos, given all that I have been through as well.

With all of the rain and t-storms there, you were able to leave VFR? I was
watching the weather closely the last few days and noticed line after line
of storms in the area of Oshkosh.

--
Peter












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[John Thompson]

Its amazing how much stuff one can miss that others report on!

I was tempted by the cessna 120 "project" plane in aeromart, but with no
information (telephone number, logbooks, dataplate, etc), just didn't
take it too seriously. Only $3K, and probably could have made more than
that parting it out if it wasn't worth fixing.

[Jay Honeck]

> With all of the rain and t-storms there, you were able to leave VFR? I
was
> watching the weather closely the last few days and noticed line after line
> of storms in the area of Oshkosh.

Yep -- it rained every day we were there!

We departed yesterday knowing (from our North 40 FAA weather briefing) that
there was a line of showers/storms stretching North/South down the state
about 60 miles west of OSH. The radar was your typical summer shot of
popcorn -- showers appearing and building out of no where, and then
dissipating just as quickly. They weren't moving east much, just kind of
developing in place.

We launched figuring we'd be able to slide down the east side of the line,
and eventually pick our way west in between the cells. In the Midwest, in
summer, when faced with a disorganized line of storms (and with a good
ceiling of at least 2500 feet), this is quite doable.

Of course we called Flight Service in the air, who immediately advised us to
"land in Madison for a weather briefing, as things look tough ahead for
you". We were just east of Madison at that time, could see one big cell
bearing down on Madison, with clear all around. We thanked him very much,
bid him adieu, and simply flew around the cell.

With one or two more minor diversions, we were home free. Didn't see another
cloud until we arrived at Iowa City, where there was yet ANOTHER summer
storm cell sitting over the airport. It moved on just in time for Mary to
land on the wet runway.

Typical August flying around here.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jay Honeck]

> Its amazing how much stuff one can miss that others report on!

Oshkosh is so big, there is simply no way for any two people to see the same
show.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jay Honeck]

> This was a different OSH for me... the first year with kids in tow.

Boy, John, you sure nailed that on the head.

I remember coming to OSH in the early 80s, just Mary and me riding a
Kawasaki 750. (Brought my first propeller home lashed to Mary's backrest on
the bike!) We could walk, and walk, and gawk, almost running from plane to
plane. I was a pilot wannabe, and Mary was fairly indifferent to flying --
boy did that change!

Then, along came the kids. First in the back-pack, then one in the pack and
the wagon -- then BOTH in the wagon. We were suddenly able to only cover
25% of what we could once see, and the show became totally different for us.

Now, at 9 and 12, the pace is picking up again. Soon, they'll be able to
run from plane to plane, and I'll be too old and tired!

Life is a river, eh?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"
"john smith" > wrote in message
...
> My kids and I had a great time at the North 40 Festival 2003.
> Sorry I didn't join everyone at Friar Tuck's, we had just come from
> dinner at the Hilton prior to arriving at the party.
> I enjoyed meeting everyone. I wish that Colonel Jim had been in
> attendance so we could have "roasted" the non attendees.
They
> enjoyed KidVenture, the Beluga and the NASA building, but didn't have
> any patience for the "Dad stuff". My son had his first Polish sausage
> and kept asking to go back for more.
> The worst thing that happened was my daughter losing her bandana in the
> Wright Flyer tent. That took alot of consoling to bring her out of her
> depression. I was fortunate to be at my campsite when the windstorm hit
> on Tuesday afternoon. I managed to get the tarp off my wing before it
> got whipped to shreds. I learned my lesson last year and bought the
> heavy duty, reinforced eyelet model this year. I need to get a bigger
> one for next year.
> Jay had a good location in front of the Hilton... perfect for displaying
> the Alexis Park Inn banner.
> WalMart should fire the real-estate person who moved the store two miles
> down the road. Why anyone would give up sales in the middle of summer
> that probably outdo Christmas is beyond comprehension. Target reaped the
> gain, selling out of sleeping bags, tents, and coolers and restocking
> quickly.
> I did things differently this year. Instead of sleeping bags, I brought
> fleece blankets and sleeping pads. This worked really well and required
> less space in the airplane. The bulky item was the stove and propane
> tank. It was heavy and took up space, but it paid off when it came to
> cooking meals and cleaning up. Fresh food was purchased from Piggly
> Wiggly each afternoon following the airshow.
> We walked the length of the flightline, from "North Fond du Lac" to the
> Warbirds. Wednesday, the airport was full!
> Looking at what was on the field Sunday night, I didn't think attendance
> would be as good as it was. Monday and Tuesday brought alot of arrivals.
> The rains which began Tuesday afternoon and continued each afternoon and
> evening thereafter, lead to many premature departures Thursday, Friday
> and Saturday. My tent, clothes and campsite stayed dry throughout as I
> was on the high ground.
> I need to point my airplane the other way next year so I can see the
> runway from under the tarp. It's the small touches that make the
> difference.

[Jay Honeck]

> What I want to know is what he said about fixing the quality control and
design
> problems?

Lightspeed appears to have re-designed almost everything. The headband is
different, so it won't break. The battery box is completely re-designed,
and now comes with a little plastic "holster" that can be clipped (or
permanently mounted) to the side panel. This takes the weight of the
batteries off the wires, and sure looks nicer than the paperclip kludge I
came up with...

The ear pieces are now made of a different material that supposedly won't
delaminate from the underlying foam. The microphone is a bit different --
maybe it won't loosen up and flop down so easily.

They've even addressed the "tinny music" issue, which I had never even
complained about, by adding a "bass-boost" and a "treble boost" button on
the battery box. This feature makes formerly ANR-corrupted music sound much
closer to normal.

We'll see if he comes through, but I'm fairly impressed so far...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jim Fisher]

"john smith" > wrote in message

Fresh food was purchased from Piggly
> Wiggly each afternoon following the airshow.

Speaking of that, did you hear the news that Dolly Parton was buying up all
the Big Star, Piggly Wiggly's, and Harris Teeter stores up there around
Wisconsin?

Yes, she plans to put them all under one name: Big Wiggly Teeters

--
Jim Fisher

[Snowbird]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message news:<b0yXa.64573$Ho3.9416@sccrnsc03>...
> > What I want to know is what he said about fixing the quality control and
> > design problems?

> Lightspeed appears to have re-designed almost everything. The headband is
> different, so it won't break. The battery box is completely re-designed,
> and now comes with a little plastic "holster" that can be clipped (or
> permanently mounted) to the side panel. <.....>

All true. The 30-3G is a redesign.

However, judging from Peter R's experience with sending back
3 different headsets, and judging from my experience having
a battery box which shorted out less than a month after receiving
the headset, the QC issues could still use some work.

The point of my other post was, it is nice that the President of
Lightspeed offered you a free headset. It will be nice for you
if he comes through.

But there are plenty of other folks out there who spent comparable
amounts of money on Lightspeed Headsets to you and Mary (ourselves
amoung them, we own 3) and who are having recurrant problems, and
what are they doing for us?

I have to say it, and if you'll send me the guy's name and address
I'll say it to him: we're very concerned that we've spent more than
$1000 on comfortable headsets which we enjoy very much, but which
are going to keep breaking, and that the great service and support
to fix them will only be around as long as the company is.

If they don't fix their QC issues and do *something* for their
(current crop of) loyal customers who keep having to send in their
headsets for repair, how long is that going to be?

IMHO they need to do something beyond "supply the occasional free
headset to a guy in the right place at the right time". They need
to come up with (at least an attempt) at a retrograde fix for the
20K, 20XL, and 25XL design problems.

Cheers,
Sydney

[Blueskies]

We had a lot of hail around those boomers, some as big as golf balls, and some leaving 2" of pea sized on the ground.
Gotta watch those temps aloft...

--
Dan D.



..
"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message news:swtXa.62680$uu5.6087@sccrnsc04...
> > With all of the rain and t-storms there, you were able to leave VFR? I
> was
> > watching the weather closely the last few days and noticed line after line
> > of storms in the area of Oshkosh.
>
> Yep -- it rained every day we were there!
>
> We departed yesterday knowing (from our North 40 FAA weather briefing) that
> there was a line of showers/storms stretching North/South down the state
> about 60 miles west of OSH. The radar was your typical summer shot of
> popcorn -- showers appearing and building out of no where, and then
> dissipating just as quickly. They weren't moving east much, just kind of
> developing in place.
>
> We launched figuring we'd be able to slide down the east side of the line,
> and eventually pick our way west in between the cells. In the Midwest, in
> summer, when faced with a disorganized line of storms (and with a good
> ceiling of at least 2500 feet), this is quite doable.
>
> Of course we called Flight Service in the air, who immediately advised us to
> "land in Madison for a weather briefing, as things look tough ahead for
> you". We were just east of Madison at that time, could see one big cell
> bearing down on Madison, with clear all around. We thanked him very much,
> bid him adieu, and simply flew around the cell.
>
> With one or two more minor diversions, we were home free. Didn't see another
> cloud until we arrived at Iowa City, where there was yet ANOTHER summer
> storm cell sitting over the airport. It moved on just in time for Mary to
> land on the wet runway.
>
> Typical August flying around here.
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
>
>

[Scott Marquardt]

Jay Honeck wrote:

> Mary and I just returned from six glorious days camped next to Atlas on the
> field in Oshkosh! We're tired, sunburned, our feet hurt -- and damn, if
> we didn't want to stay another week or three...

Yup.

I hadn't been back for years, and it was good to bring my kids. A lot
of highlights, but I guess it was good to cap it all off at Sunday's
session with Burt Rutan. Iconoclastic as ever, he offered a persuasive
argument contrasting the space program's historic trajectory with that
of aviation in its early days. The R&D timeline's empty space to the
right of the shuttle and Soyuz in his power point presentation was the
coup de grace, IMO.

We'd never camped at OSH, so it was fun to get a spot on 56th, a
stone's throw from vintage and conveniently near the Farm. What
fortune -- in contrast with the misfortune of waking up in a tent
floating westward past 35th on Wed. night. Heck, that meant we had to
dash a quarter mile back just to get to our ark for the night (5
people in a ford minivan). [no, not even my exaggeration tops your
story; are you sure your tent wasn't just trying to qualify for use as
a parafoil at the Farm?]

> - Almost saw a disaster, though, when a Mustang taxied out in front of
> landing traffic on RWY 27. Amazingly, the Mustang driver simply firewalled
> it and actually OUT-accelerated the Cessna (that was trying land OVER him),
> and took off in front of him. Boy, it was close, though...

There was one more. I believe it was Julie Clark whose Saturday flight
scared the crap out of me. Coming down just in front of us a couple
hundred yards left of center, she disappeared below the runway
(heading north), apparently clipping the grass on its east side. I
couldn't see even a piece of her for a moment. Everything got real
quiet for a bit, and no one wanted to say much for a while.

I'm darned glad that Velocity was the only real incident -- but I
didn't know it was a Velocity till you posted that. Figures. I'm an
inactive pilot with a hankerin' -- someday when I can afford it -- to
build that plane.

Till then, maybe I'll strap one of those fans on my back, like I saw
up at the Farm. I can probably afford that once I have my daughter
past college, following her brothers. Let's see, she's 5 now...

- Scott

[Montblack]

Buy her an old used set of encyclopedias (1950's - 1980's) at a garage sale.
Sure, most of the African countries have new names, here in the 21st
century.

The point is, Daddy wants to fly ...now!! Let her get her own darn
scholarship. :-)

--
Montblack

("Scott Marquardt" wrote)
> Till then, maybe I'll strap one of those fans on my back, like I saw
> up at the Farm. I can probably afford that once I have my daughter
> past college, following her brothers. Let's see, she's 5 now...

[Jay Honeck]

> There was one more. I believe it was Julie Clark whose Saturday flight
> scared the crap out of me. Coming down just in front of us a couple
> hundred yards left of center, she disappeared below the runway
> (heading north), apparently clipping the grass on its east side. I
> couldn't see even a piece of her for a moment. Everything got real
> quiet for a bit, and no one wanted to say much for a while.

Hey, we saw that too! My son and I were walking along the flight line,
kinda half-watching the show (I've seen Clark fly, like, a jillion times),
when I saw her pull up WAY late.

I, too, thought she was going to belly in, but she made it -- somehow. I
figured it must've been an optical illusion, cuz it looked like she couldn't
have been more than a foot or two off the grass.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[nafod40]

Jay Honeck wrote:

> Mary and I just returned from six glorious days camped next to Atlas
> on the field in Oshkosh! We're tired, sunburned, our feet hurt --
> and damn, if we didn't want to stay another week or three...

Just got back too. Third time there, but first time working a booth as a
paid employee (of the US Navy, Hanger B). I'd volunteered once, and been
a tourist the other.

Thoughts:

Segway - I was bummed they were charging you to ride it, because I wanted
to. I had a great idea for a new sport. Segway jousting. Each party has
ten foot poles with a pillow on the end. If the Segway gyros are too
quick to ever let you fall, make it Segway Chicken Fight Jousting.

Rocket Powered Waco - I love that thing. The best airshow I saw was the
Masters of Disaster, when the three biplanes just flew around in a big
furball. It was the only show I saw that made me want to jump in an
airplane and join them.

Storms - Never mind the tornadoes, I thought a hurricane was coming that
one night (Tuesday night?) at zero-dark-thirty. I tied myself to a tree
and sacrificed a squirrel to the weather gods, averting disaster.

Planes - The pulse detonation engine and the fuel cell powered planes
were cool ideas. Some really nice Skybolts completed this year. A Hatz
again finished in the money (reserve grand champion plans built). Cool.

Food - costs too damn much.

Museum - Very nice!

I had a great time and was exhausted by the end. Can't wait for next
year!

**************

Mike

[Sydney Hoeltzli]

nafod40 wrote:

> Segway - I was bummed they were charging you to ride it, because I wanted
> to. I had a great idea for a new sport. Segway jousting. Each party has
> ten foot poles with a pillow on the end. If the Segway gyros are too
> quick to ever let you fall, make it Segway Chicken Fight Jousting.

Mike -- you should write the company and suggest this. Sales would
skyrocket. People are always willing to pay more for their fun. Look
at that weekend-warrior paintball stuff.

Best,
Sydney

[Jim Weir]

Respectfully disagree. The Vertex/Yaesu got one of our "BEST OF SHOW" awards
this year for doing things the Icom can only dream of.

Jim



"Jay Honeck" >
shared these priceless pearls of wisdom:

->
->- The ICOM A-5 handheld com radio is the best portable com available. (It's
->actually smaller and lighter than just the BATTERY of my old A-21!) I bought
->one, even though it meant busting my budget...


Jim Weir (A&P/IA, CFI, & other good alphabet soup)
VP Eng RST Pres. Cyberchapter EAA Tech. Counselor
http://www.rst-engr.com

[john smith]

nafod40 wrote:
> Just got back too. Third time there, but first time working a booth as a
> paid employee (of the US Navy, Hanger B). I'd volunteered once, and been
> a tourist the other.

If you were part of the NavAir booth, my hats off to you guys!
You had some really good give-aways!
My kids an I really appreciated the carabiners and my daughter cannot
wait to use the glow stick.
Thanks!

[Robert Perkins]

On 4 Aug 2003 23:22:08 -0700, (Scott Marquardt)
wrote:

>Yup.
>
>I hadn't been back for years, and it was good to bring my kids.

Well, whaddayaknow.

You getting back in the left seat, Scott?

Rob

[Jay Honeck]

> Respectfully disagree. The Vertex/Yaesu got one of our "BEST OF SHOW"
awards
> this year for doing things the Icom can only dream of.

Dang -- I KNEW we shoulda made it to your forum! :)

What's it do that's so cool? (Heck, my ICOM even records transmissions for
later listening!)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jim Weir]

It is a geek thing. It has both AM for the aircraft band, FM for amateur
2-meters, the whole FM broadcast band AND a spectrum analyzer to see what
channels either side of the one you are on are being used.

I gotta agree, that digital recorder is a pretty nice feature also.

Jim



"Jay Honeck" >
shared these priceless pearls of wisdom:

->> Respectfully disagree. The Vertex/Yaesu got one of our "BEST OF SHOW"
->awards
->> this year for doing things the Icom can only dream of.
->
->Dang -- I KNEW we shoulda made it to your forum! :)
->
->What's it do that's so cool? (Heck, my ICOM even records transmissions for
->later listening!)


Jim Weir (A&P/IA, CFI, & other good alphabet soup)
VP Eng RST Pres. Cyberchapter EAA Tech. Counselor
http://www.rst-engr.com

[Jack Allison]

Ah, at least *somebody* remembered me and my brother. Must have been the
schnapps that affected Jay's memory. :-) Yep, flew from Sacramento, CA in
a 2000 model super spam can. Made it home in two days though so we've
proven to ourselves that yes, it is possible to traverse a vast portion of
the country at speeds of 90-130 kts. You just get to enjoy more of the
landscape this way.

Firsts:
1) First time flying into and attending OSH for me. Got a "Nice job white
Cessna" after putting it down slightly past the white dot on runway 9.
Arrival was a rush and it was great hearing those words from the 9/27 tower
controller. ATC guys/gals did a super job during our arrival and departure.

2) First time flying through Bravo airspace on our way through Salt Lake.
Great view of Hill Air Force base and Ogden as we dodged clouds getting
lined up to go over the pass.

3) First time landing within Charlie airspace as we gassed up in at Reno
Intl. Ah, the perks that come with 100LL at $3-something a gallon.

4) First time flying through more states than I can count on our way to/from
OSH. Very cool, very tiring, very much worth it. Definitely added to my
bucket of experience without taking too much out of my bucket of luck.
Logged a tad over 16 hours of PIC time. Total time on the airplane was 32
hours. Never before have I logged so much time in such a short timeframe.

5) First time camping next to our plane, getting my sleeping bag wet and
attempting to dry it out before the next storm.

6) First time sleeping in a parked airplane as it was the only thing not
leaking during one of the early storms. I'm glad the seats reclined.

7) First time meeting some folks from the newsgroup. Had a blast at Jay's
little get together and as Jay said, didn't have the urge to try flying
after consuming a fair quantity of adult beverage. Great chance to put
names/faces together.

8) First time flying within 10 miles of a lightening strike. Over Salt Lake
on the return trip, we were headed toward an area of clear weather. To our
right was a rain squall about 10 miles away. Kept an eye on it and when I
saw two bolts hit the water, called for plan-B from brother/at the time
navigator. Managed to divert north and get over the MOAs and around the
weather.

Managed to avoid sunburn and dehydration but man did my feet hurt. Will
post pictures and description of our trip when I get some time. The trip
was definitely worth it and we're talking about coming back next year. The
plan is to drag our Dad with us. As a retired Air Force fighter pilot, he'd
get an absolute kick out of attending, especially since he's flown many of
the warbirds that are displayed.

--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

[[email protected]]

I arrived around noon on Monday and was surprised to find that traffic was
not as heavy as I had expected. Parked at the very west end of the North
40, which was nearly full by the middle of the next day (as Jay pointed
out).

My intention was to stay until Friday morning, and to attend Jay's Thursday
evening shindig, but Ma Nature intervened. Between the thunderstorms of
Wednesday afternoon and especially Wednesday night, most of what I had with
me was wet, including my sleeping bag. So, I reluctantly departed Thursday
afternoon, right before the airshow closed the field (and right after yet
another drenching in a thunderstorm as I untied and preflighted). I was
afraid that I might not make it out between the time the storm moved east
and the field closed for the show, but things did work out. Heading west, I
had to dodge numerous cells, but it wasn't all that bad. Sorry I missed the
RAO gathering, but at least I spent Thursday night in a dry bed.

This was my fist time at OSH, and I was suitably blown away. Way, way too
much to see and do.

-Elliott Drucker

[Greg Burkhart]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:e6kXa.59188$o%2.29570@sccrnsc02...
> Mary and I just returned from six glorious days camped next to Atlas on
the
> field in Oshkosh! We're tired, sunburned, our feet hurt -- and damn, if
> we didn't want to stay another week or three...

This was my first trek to Oshkosh. Here's my own recollections (probably not
in any particular order either):

-Drove over to OSH on Wednesday. Arrived about 8PM, parked at Piggly Wiggly
and entered the N40 to look for Jay's plane. Walked on the north side up to
the Hilton when I ran into someone and asked where I could find a plane.
They told me to go back around to the south side and check with
registration. Got to the registration area and found it was closed. Started
walking up and down the rows looking at the N-numbers and see if I
recognized any. Gave up after about 60 rows or so and went to Friar Tucks
for a few beers then returned to my car to sleep for the night. Needed the
beers to get sleep in the driver's seat of a Miata!

-Awoke Thursday to the sounds of aircraft taking off about 6:20 AM and went
into Piggly Wiggly for something for breakfast and get some spending cash.
Re-entered the N40 and walked to the registration to find that Jay was
parked in row 567. Walked around to where Jay was and he suggested I move my
car to either the Super-8 or Hilton and it would be closer. I went back for
the car and took it over to the Hilton and got a cup of coffee. I had a
slight head ache from the beers from the night before (I wasn't flying
anyways!) and was sore from sleeping in the Miata. Jay recommended that I
could set up my tent next to Brian and Christina's (right?) plane. It would
be better sleeping horizontal on the hard ground than crumpled up in the car
again!

-Went back to the registration booth and paid $83 for EAA membership, 2-days
of the airshow, a program and a 'free' hat. Made a bee-line through the
warbirds to where EAA's B-17 was sitting. Looked around at some of the other
warbirds and made my way south. Found the tent that had the type-clubs and
listened for a bit to the Ercoupe club people talking about motor mounts
then asked them about the trim tab mod. I wandered around looking at the
various displays. Went through the venders hangars gawking at all the
goodies available wishing I had the money to buy some of these to upgrade my
plane.

-My cousin wanted me to check out the price of Condor tires while I was
there. Saw the Varga booth and found the 'Oshkosh' price. Spent most of
Thursday walking and looking. Got caught in one of the afternoon rain
showers and was in the AOPA tent at the time. AOPA gave out the plastic rain
ponchos to anyone that asked. Saw the EAA ponchos were being sold for $3.
Found the 'Reopen Meigs' tent and signed the petition -- for what it's
worth. Saw a bunch of other stuff Thursday afternoon and then finally
returned to the N40 and met up with the Alexis Park Inn party group and met
more people from the groups than were at the Pre-Oshkosh party. Had a few
'ground-softeners' then over to Friar Tucks. Slept better Thursday night
than I did the night before...

-Woke up again Friday morning to the sounds of aircraft taxiing and taking
off. Walked over to the showers and back to the camp site. Met with Jay's
family and we decided to go to the Hilton for breakfast. Great breakfast! I
tagged along with Jay's family for a while as we walked through the warbirds
again watching the P51/Cessna incident happening and over to the Fly Market
area. Jay and I went on to the vendor hangars, I was going to order the
tires for my cousin and he was searching for the Narco and Icom radios,
artworks, etc. We went back to the Fly Market to search for an allen wrench
so Jay could swap the Narco radios. After a while I wandered off and looked
around on my own at the Segways at $10 for a 10 minute demo, the 8 Ercoupes
parked in the vintage area and various other 'stuff'. I then walked down to
the south end to catch the bus for the Sea Plane Base for the Friday night
fish fry. Met Jay's family there and enjoyed watching the Russian sea plane,
the sea-ultralights, and looking over the hovercrafts. Heading back from the
sea-plane base, we watched a lot of the various ultralights coming in for
touch & goes then walked up the flight line towards Theatre in the Woods for
the Neil Armstrong talk. Also enjoyed the 13y/o violinist, etc., that
preceded Neil. Still don't know who the emcee was. Headed back to the N40
and had a ground softener and watched the space station pass over Oshkosh at
10:53.

-Left Saturday morning and did my non-Oshkosh stuff, headed to Mackinac, MI
for the weekend. Left there Monday about noon and drove across Wisconsin.
Found the geological marker that says '45°N and 90°W'. Taking out my GPS, it
said that point was 0.20 miles from where the plaque was. Stayed the night
in western Wisconsin and finally made it home this afternoon.

Conclusion:
Bring more money and spend more time! There are a lot of things that I
missed and wished I saw. Now that I have 'some' idea what Oshkosh is like, I
may attempt to fly there next year and spend more time (and money). Great to
meet some of the people from these groups!

-Greg Burkhart

[Jay Honeck]

> Conclusion:
> Bring more money and spend more time!

A) It is not possible to bring enough money.
B) It is not possible to spend enough time.

: )
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Scott Marquardt]

Robert Perkins asked:

> Well, whaddayaknow.
>
> You getting back in the left seat, Scott?

Hi Rob!

Heck, Oshkosh is, itself, a left seat. Just about as much fun. I'm
extremely pleased that my kids got to hear Bud, Chuck, Bob, Burt, and
all the others in person. For my part, an hour at the Farm (just
watching) is more fun than I have around Chicago in a year.

The issue is entirely cash, so no, I won't be in the left seat for a
good time to come. It's these dang kids! It's their fault!

Meanwhile, inspired by the rash of scooter designs plaguing urban
police forces and Oshkosh booths this year, I'm mulling over a new
ultralight design. Enough, already, with sedentary flying! How about
the ultimate -- a Segway with a prop!

If I won the lotto (unlikely, since I don't play it), it'd be the
Velocity. That determination hasn't changed since it won my affection
from the Q2 years ago (alas, Dave Thompson). Before the Q2 it was a
Mooney 201 I wanted, but that was just a childhood fantasy.

As I said to my kids of the paralite skycruisers, though, "I'd strap
one of those to my back anytime, anywhere."

Happy flying...

[Paul Dowgewicz]

Let's see, what can I add.

I did find out that if you get there after 5 PM, you get in free with
the next day's admission.

Listened to Yeager/Andersen/Roy Clark on Wed. night. Best moment was
earlier when someone got an award for his work with Young Eagles. He
went on for about 15 minutes and wasn't close to being done. Someone
whispered to him to wrap it up. He just abruptly said "Thank you" and
left. Does any organization give out more awards than EAA? I guess I
juat say that since I don't have one yet.

Parking at the Museum and taking the shuttle bus over works well most of
the time, but when the evening program gets over at 10 PM, I found the
busses don't run. Walked about 1/2 way. Then the storm started. I
guess you can only get so wet. After that it doesn't matter. Walking
across an open field with an umbrella probably wasn't a good idea.

On to better things. I didn't avoid eating on-site food. I heard the
fresh donuts were good, but I found them greaasy, and no bargain at
$1.25 each. I hate to say it, but McDonalds seems to have the best
on-site prices. I did make another convert to Culver's Butterburgers
though. I should work at starting a franchise in the New England.

The Orbis eye surgery DC-10 was impressive. I wouldn't think they would
need such a facility, but after taking the tour, I'm convinced they're
doing it right.

Listened to Burt Rutan talk about his sub-orbital project. One thing
that doesn't sound too good is that on reentry there will be a 15 sec.
time of a 5G load. The pilot needs to fly the craft during that time
too. Sounds like it's not for everybody yet.

Another unusual thing was the plane with the fan underneath powered by a
450 HP Mazda engine. I can't find its name right now.

Went to the web editor seminar. Held at the same time as Rod Machado,
but I figure I can hear him at AOPA in Oct. I was hoping to get more
tips on web content instead of how to set one up.

Also saw Dick Rutan's Voyager talk again which always reminds me of how
underachieving I am. I wanted to see Kent White do some magic with
aluminum, but didn't make it over.

Saw Scott Shields on the efforts of his rescue dog finding victims of
the WTC collapse. It was an amazing dog, but he was REALLY attached to
it.

Finally, I saw Richard Graham on the SR-71. I believe he said the
record to climb to 80,000 ft and accelerate to Mach 3 was 14 minutes.

EAA's streaming audio was nice to have on the days I wasn't able to be
there. It would have been nice to add the ATC for the day before the
show, but the price was still right.

[Bob Fry]

"Montblack" > writes:

> Random thoughts, because I'm tired - haven't unpacked yet...

Tired...flying an Aircoupe 4 days to get back to California, I'm
tired...

Here's one observation that sticks with me. I was parked in the
Vintage Camping near the North-South runway, sort of half listening to
the announcer (who was far more often annoying, than helpful), when
something he said caused me to pay more attention. Some kind of high
wing plane, powered by a 300 hp geared-down diesel, went zipping by as
a demo. You could hardly hear it, so well muffled was the engine, and
the prop geared to 2000 rpm. Amazing quiet.

[Aubrey Adams]

"Montblack" > wrote in message
.. .
>
> I kept stumbling across Australians and New Zealanders. Lots of them -
> everywhere you went ...there they were. It got to be kind of spooky after
> awhile.

Yep - hehehe - we turn up everywhere!

:-)

After Canadians and Germans us Aussies are usually the biggest "out of town"
contingent at Oshkosh.

Wasn't me this year though :-(

Spent an unforgettable 5 full days there in 2000 though - ahh heaven.

It's been great to read everyone's reports for 2003. At this stage 2005
looks like it could happen - so here's hoping. If it does come off a night
at Jay's place will also be on the itinerary.

Aubrey

[Dave Butler]

Just want to add my thanks to Jay for organizing the rec.aviation get-together,
and my apology for not making it. Maybe next year. Do it again, please, Jay?

My story in brief: arrived Tuesday afternoon before the airshow, amazed at the
number of planes there. It seemed more than any OSH I've been to before. I was
camped two down from the hole-in-the-fence by Friar Tuck's.

Missed Jim Weir's forum, but got to Richard Kaplan's, which was very well done.
Thanks, Richard.

Favorite show airplane: the Hughes Racer.

My tent leaked buckets. Memo-to-self: get new tent before next year.

Left Thursday around noon for my brother's in northern Michigan. Left there on
Friday afternoon, only to be stopped by tstorms in southern Michigan. Did an
unscheduled remain-overnight in Lansing.

What a great time! Now trying to catch up on work :-(

DGB

Jay Honeck wrote:
>>Conclusion:
>>Bring more money and spend more time!
>
>
> A) It is not possible to bring enough money.
> B) It is not possible to spend enough time.
>
> : )
Remove SHIRT to reply directly.

--
Dave Butler, software engineer 919-392-4367
We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.

[Jack Allison]

> Hey, I remembered you -- just not your name! :)
>
> Seriously, as soon as someone started passing around a "sign-in" sheet, I
> immediately stopped trying to remember names -- since I *knew* that I'd
have
> it written down for later review. Ha!
>
Ah, the fool proof plan failed. Don't you hate it when that happens? At
least somebody had the good sense to think of name tags.

> Hey, my plane even leaked! The sheepskin on the co-pilot's seat was
> soaked...

Suddenly, Mary is flying the departure and Jay is sitting on plastic bags...

> Luckily, my tent did not, as I was up on a 6 inch thick air bed.
> Some water did pool some down into a low spot...where my poor son happened
> to be sleeping. He was miserable!

Good strategy, kids in the low spot. The tricky part at OSH is trying to
dry out a sleeping bag between storms. You walk outside after a seminar or
after going through the booths, see nasty dark clouds, hear a thunder clap
and *know* you won't make it back to your camp before it starts raining. My
bag finally dried out after about three days. Felt like I was sleeping in a
sponge the first night after it got wet. Ah, but it was all worth it
though. I'm hooked and already thinking about next year.

--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

[Morgans]

"Jack Allison" > wrote

The tricky part at OSH is trying to
> dry out a sleeping bag between storms.

The trick at OSH is to not let that sleeping bag get wet in the first
place.<g>

Really, with a queen sized air bed, it isn't that hard, keeping the bag out
of the water.

Keeping the clothes out of the water has been the hard part for me!
--
---Jim in NC---

[Jay Honeck]

> Really, with a queen sized air bed, it isn't that hard, keeping the bag
out
> of the water.
>
> Keeping the clothes out of the water has been the hard part for me!

Exactly!

Mary and I were "high and dry" on a self-inflating queen sized air bed (the
best damned camping investment we have EVER made, by the way) -- but my
clothes bag was sitting in a puddle... :(
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jay Honeck]

> It's been great to read everyone's reports for 2003. At this stage 2005
> looks like it could happen - so here's hoping. If it does come off a
night
> at Jay's place will also be on the itinerary.

Aussies and Kiwis are always welcome at the inn! :)

This year Mary and I kept running into South Africans, for some reason.
This group had special hats, back-packs and shirts made up -- and there sure
was a BUNCH of them.

They were pretty quiet, though -- not like folks from "down under" at all...
;)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jack Allison]

In our case, the sleeping bags were on an air mattress...mine must have been
touching a part of the tent that leaked. Oh, and the trick for keeping the
clothes dry? Keep then in the plane...assuming, of course, that the plane
doesn't leak.

--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

[Orval Fairbairn]

In article >,
"Morgans" <post/the/group.here.net> wrote:

> "Jack Allison" > wrote
>
> The tricky part at OSH is trying to
> > dry out a sleeping bag between storms.
>
> The trick at OSH is to not let that sleeping bag get wet in the first
> place.<g>
>
> Really, with a queen sized air bed, it isn't that hard, keeping the bag out
> of the water.
>
> Keeping the clothes out of the water has been the hard part for me!
> --
> ---Jim in NC---
>
>

The best trick is to have relatives or friends who live in Oshkosh.

We got there on Tuesday, got parked in the Far South 40. Went back on
Wed. AM to see if we could move to a better parking spot. I had Linda
save a spot in the Classic area while another friend and I went to get
the plane. Along the way, I suggested that we try a "legal" move and
contacted the Vintage volunteers.

They gave me a prime spot, just a few planes away from the
giraffe-painted Sikorsky S-39 and the zebra-painted S-38. We went back
to Linda and told her that we had a better parking spot and to meet us
at the Aeroshell motorhome.

It was a good thin that we released her, as it began to pour rain just
after we got to the plane! The old Johnson Rocket got a prime spot.

I got to see the ill-fated Hughes Racer (wht a magnificent piece of
art!). I think that it was scheduled to fly on Thursday, but the rain
interrupted that demo. I was shocked to read this week that both it and
Jim Wright were lost in Yellowstone Park. My condolences to everybody.

--
To get random signatures put text files into a folder called ³Random Signatures² into your Preferences folder.

[Margy Natalie]

Jack Allison wrote:. The tricky part at OSH is trying to

> dry out a sleeping bag between storms. You walk outside after a seminar or
> after going through the booths, see nasty dark clouds, hear a thunder clap
> and *know* you won't make it back to your camp before it starts raining. My
> bag finally dried out after about three days. Felt like I was sleeping in a
> sponge the first night after it got wet. Ah, but it was all worth it
> though. I'm hooked and already thinking about next year.

The "trick" is to hang things inside!! We have a HUGE tent (Eureka - "The
Lodge") that has a sleeping room and a porch (no floor). Both rooms have huge
windows and we keep the ones in the sleeping room closed at ALL times we are
away from the tent. Both rooms have rings you can hang ropes from for drying
things and for hammocks for stuff you want to keep off the ground. We do string
a laundry line outside also, but only for things we have duplicates of (towels,
etc.). We have a queen size air mattress so the bags don't get wet. I also
pack a couple of days clothes in plastic bags. Sometimes I just leave a bunch
of things in the plane for dryness sake. You really can stay high and dry in
OSH with a bit of advance planning.

Margy

[Michael Pilla]

"Margy Natalie" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> Jack Allison wrote:. The tricky part at OSH is trying to
>
> > dry out a sleeping bag between storms. You walk outside after a seminar
or
> > after going through the booths, see nasty dark clouds, hear a thunder
clap
> > and *know* you won't make it back to your camp before it starts raining.
My
> > bag finally dried out after about three days. Felt like I was sleeping
in a
> > sponge the first night after it got wet. Ah, but it was all worth it
> > though. I'm hooked and already thinking about next year.
>
> The "trick" is to hang things inside!! We have a HUGE tent (Eureka - "The
> Lodge") that has a sleeping room and a porch (no floor). Both rooms have
huge
> windows and we keep the ones in the sleeping room closed at ALL times we
are
> away from the tent. Both rooms have rings you can hang ropes from for
drying
> things and for hammocks for stuff you want to keep off the ground. We do
string
> a laundry line outside also, but only for things we have duplicates of
(towels,
> etc.). We have a queen size air mattress so the bags don't get wet. I
also
> pack a couple of days clothes in plastic bags. Sometimes I just leave a
bunch
> of things in the plane for dryness sake. You really can stay high and dry
in
> OSH with a bit of advance planning.
>
> Margy

I'll second Margy's comments about hanging things up. I even was able to do
this in a small, backpack tent that I carried with me on a business trips
some years and was able to steal a couple of days at OSH. In my case, I
just had to be sure that nothing touched the rip-stop fabric (avoid wicking,
obviously), but it was doable even in a small tent. In my larger tent, it
was a piece of cake. Thanks for the reminder, Margy.

As an aside, there's nothing like trying to sleep in a tiny, orange rip-stop
nylon tent when lightning is all around. You would swear that the tent blew
away and the light part of the "show" is right above you. Eventually, I got
used to it. :-)

Michael Pilla

[Morgans]

> I'll second Margy's comments about hanging things up. I even was able to
do
> this in a small, backpack tent that I carried with me on a business trips
> some years and was able to steal a couple of days at OSH. In my case, I
> just had to be sure that nothing touched the rip-stop fabric (avoid
wicking,
> obviously), but it was doable even in a small tent. In my larger tent, it
> was a piece of cake. Thanks for the reminder, Margy.
>
> As an aside, there's nothing like trying to sleep in a tiny, orange
rip-stop
> nylon tent when lightning is all around. You would swear that the tent
blew
> away and the light part of the "show" is right above you. Eventually, I
got
> used to it. :-)
>
> Michael Pilla
>
>
My trick is a small rubbermaid type of organizer, then sit the suitcase
(soft sides) up on top of that. My tent is too small for hanging much.
--
Jim in NC--

[Montblack]

("Michael Pilla" wrote)
<snip>
> As an aside, there's nothing like trying to sleep in a tiny, orange
rip-stop
> nylon tent when lightning is all around. You would swear that the tent
blew
> away and the light part of the "show" is right above you. Eventually, I
got
> used to it. :-)

One word: Dorms :-)

--
Montblack

[Jay Honeck]

> One word: Dorms :-)

It's funny -- I've had several people who stayed in the dorms come to me,
offering their sincere and heartfelt condolences for our "terrible time"
spent camping at Oshkosh this year. (We lost our tent in the first
storm...)

As wet as the week was, I still wouldn't have traded places with you. To be
able to wake up on the field each morning and see 11,000 airplanes parked
wingtip-to-wingtip, as far as the eye can see -- man, there's nothing else
like it.

When it comes to Oshkosh, I'm drip-dry! :)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Dave Butler]

Jay Honeck wrote:

> It's funny -- I've had several people who stayed in the dorms come to me,
> offering their sincere and heartfelt condolences for our "terrible time"
> spent camping at Oshkosh this year. (We lost our tent in the first
> storm...)

Lost your tent??? Wow! As in "...where did our tent go?"???

>
> As wet as the week was, I still wouldn't have traded places with you. To be
> able to wake up on the field each morning and see 11,000 airplanes parked
> wingtip-to-wingtip, as far as the eye can see -- man, there's nothing else
> like it.
>
> When it comes to Oshkosh, I'm drip-dry! :)

Me, too! I tried staying the dorms the last 2 years after getting thoroughly
soaked in my tent 3 years ago, but I missed waking up on the field. There's
nothing like it. I got soaked in my tent again this year, but I'll be back for
another soaking next year.

I kinda miss the guy that used to yodel on the PA system in the early morning,
though (what happened to that?), and the the guy that used to fire up his AT6
the second the airport opened in the morning. I didn't hear either of those this
year.

Remove SHIRT to reply directly.

Dave

[Margy Natalie]

Dave Butler wrote:

>
>
> I kinda miss the guy that used to yodel on the PA system in the early morning,
> though (what happened to that?), and the the guy that used to fire up his AT6
> the second the airport opened in the morning. I didn't hear either of those this
> year.

You should have been camping in the show plane area. We heard him loud and clear.

Margy

[Jay Honeck]

> Lost your tent??? Wow! As in "...where did our tent go?"???

No, as in "Holy crap, how did my tent get lifted up onto my wing!?"

I came back from spending the day shopping to find it laying over the
starboard wing. One of the one-inch aluminum poles was actually bent over
the trailing edge of the wing. (Those wings are a lot tougher than they
look.)

The wind actually snapped off three plastic stakes, and threw the tent --
gear inside and all! -- about ten feet. We found our ground cloth three
rows down, wrapped around the nosegear of a Skyhawk...

> I kinda miss the guy that used to yodel on the PA system in the early
morning,
> though (what happened to that?)

???

We heard him everyday! And we were waaaay out by the new Hilton.

Maybe that mid-range "pilot's deafness" is creeping up on you, eh? ;)

(I wouldn't have minded not hearing those first departures at 6:22 AM... :)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jay Honeck]

> So that's what I heard from row 538! Couldn't figure it out since it
kinda
> sounded like the gal singing the national anthem (at least on Tuesday's
> airshow) trying to time the ending right.

That was hilarious! I've seen her "miss" a few times over the years, but
not *that* badly...

(Didja notice the next day? She had to sing it double-time to get it done
before the flag hit the ground!)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Morgans]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:HwSYa.99403$YN5.69827@sccrnsc01...
> > One word: Dorms :-)
>
> It's funny -- I've had several people who stayed in the dorms come to me,
> offering their sincere and heartfelt condolences for our "terrible time"
> spent camping at Oshkosh this year. (We lost our tent in the first
> storm...)
>
> As wet as the week was, I still wouldn't have traded places with you. To
be
> able to wake up on the field each morning and see 11,000 airplanes parked
> wingtip-to-wingtip, as far as the eye can see -- man, there's nothing else
> like it.
>
> When it comes to Oshkosh, I'm drip-dry! :)
> --
> Jay Honeck

Amen, brother!!!!!!
--
Jim in NC--

[Michael Pilla]

"Montblack" > wrote in message
.. .
> ("Michael Pilla" wrote)
> <snip>
> > As an aside, there's nothing like trying to sleep in a tiny, orange
> rip-stop
> > nylon tent when lightning is all around. You would swear that the tent
> blew
> > away and the light part of the "show" is right above you. Eventually, I
> got
> > used to it. :-)
>
> One word: Dorms :-)
>
> --
> Montblack
>
Been there, done that. I like the immediacy of tent camping. Besides, you
can get up early and walk around the planes to take pictures - the dorm
folks are still having breakfast and/or waiting for the bus. :-)

Michael Pilla

[Dave Stadt]

"Montblack" > wrote in message
.. .
> ("Michael Pilla" wrote)
> <snip>
> > As an aside, there's nothing like trying to sleep in a tiny, orange
> rip-stop
> > nylon tent when lightning is all around. You would swear that the tent
> blew
> > away and the light part of the "show" is right above you. Eventually, I
> got
> > used to it. :-)
>
> One word: Dorms :-)
>
> --
> Montblack

Two words: hotel room.

[Ray Andraka]

My plane gained weight this year, and I only went by proxy (had someone buying an
engine monitor for me).

Margy Natalie wrote:

> Jay Honeck wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > The only casualty thus far: Our waist-lines. We actually GAINED weight at
> > Oshkosh -- something that has certainly never happened before!
>
> Gee, I always gain weight at OSH :-(
>
> Margy

--
--Ray Andraka, P.E.
President, the Andraka Consulting Group, Inc.
401/884-7930 Fax 401/884-7950
email
http://www.andraka.com

"They that give up essential liberty to obtain a little
temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
-Benjamin Franklin, 1759

[Bill Higdon]

Dave Butler wrote:
> Jay Honeck wrote:
>
>> It's funny -- I've had several people who stayed in the dorms come to me,
>> offering their sincere and heartfelt condolences for our "terrible time"
>> spent camping at Oshkosh this year. (We lost our tent in the first
>> storm...)
>
>
> Lost your tent??? Wow! As in "...where did our tent go?"???
>
>>
>> As wet as the week was, I still wouldn't have traded places with you.
>> To be
>> able to wake up on the field each morning and see 11,000 airplanes parked
>> wingtip-to-wingtip, as far as the eye can see -- man, there's nothing
>> else
>> like it.
>>
>> When it comes to Oshkosh, I'm drip-dry! :)
>
>
> Me, too! I tried staying the dorms the last 2 years after getting
> thoroughly soaked in my tent 3 years ago, but I missed waking up on the
> field. There's nothing like it. I got soaked in my tent again this year,
> but I'll be back for another soaking next year.
>
> I kinda miss the guy that used to yodel on the PA system in the early
> morning, though (what happened to that?), and the the guy that used to
> fire up his AT6 the second the airport opened in the morning. I didn't
> hear either of those this year.
>
> Remove SHIRT to reply directly.
>
> Dave
>

In The "old" days Ray Hegy used to fire up his little bird and buzz the
place.
Bill Higdon

[John Thompson]

The Yodeler and the radial engine sounds are traditions, going off at
7AM. I didn't hear it every morning though, and while the yodeler (Both
are recordings actually) usually starts after the radial, I did hear it
the other way once.

John

[Margy Natalie]

I don't think the yodeler is a recording and he also did a rather awful
rendition of Dixie one morning.

Margy

John Thompson wrote:

> The Yodeler and the radial engine sounds are traditions, going off at
> 7AM. I didn't hear it every morning though, and while the yodeler (Both
> are recordings actually) usually starts after the radial, I did hear it
> the other way once.
>
> John

[David O]

Margy Natalie > wrote:

>You should have been camping in the show plane area. We heard him loud and clear.
>
>Margy

I would like to know who the hell that idiot was, Thursday or Friday
night. who belted out songs, continually, as loud as he possibly
could, a cappella, till almost midnight. I came close to launching a
personal mission to find the inconsiderate ******* and silence him.
It sounded very much like the morning wake-up guy and it seemed to
emanate from the area bordering the southern end of the ultralight
runway where the show related RV's were parked. Then, that same night
around midnight, came the marauding teens on two John Deere
four-wheelers who road south past the ultralight field and continued
on for 1/2 mile or so before turning back north whooping and hollering
the whole way. When they got back to the ultralight area, they did
doughnuts in the road with the four-wheelers before heading back to
God knows where.

The next day, I happened upon a county sheriff sitting in his car near
the ultralight area and told him about the marauding teens. He was
surprised and asked if I knew where security was at the time. I told
him that I didn't see security come by on patrol until about 1/2 hour
after the incident. He promised, in no uncertain terms, that he would
see to it that such incidents were not repeated. They weren't.

David O -- Row 111 next to the road -- http://www.AirplaneZone.com

[Jack Allison]

Nope, didn't watch the air show up close on Wednesday. Too busy heading in
and out of vendor displays and tagging along with my brother visiting all
those RVs...man there were a lot of them. So, I guess if you average out
her singing, she might come close to ending on time (?). She'd do the
anthem much more justice if she'd just sing it and end it normally. How
many breaths did she take extending the ending on the first day? I remember
at least a couple...

--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

[Paul Tomblin]

In a previous article, "Dave Stadt" > said:
>Two words: hotel room.

I understand that if you want a reservation in the Super 8 on the field
there, you basically need to have the previous reservation holder leave it
to you in your will.


--
Paul Tomblin >, not speaking for anybody
If you're not part of the solution, be part of the problem!

[Jay Honeck]

> I understand that if you want a reservation in the Super 8 on the field
> there, you basically need to have the previous reservation holder leave it
> to you in your will.

Actually, I was told that on January 1st, at 6 PM, they start taking
reservations for the fly-in. First come, first served.

Of course, paying $150 per night -- with a 7 night minimum stay (for a
"Super" 8 room, of all things!) -- is insane, if you ask me.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Paul Tomblin]

In a previous article, "Jay Honeck" > said:
>> I understand that if you want a reservation in the Super 8 on the field
>> there, you basically need to have the previous reservation holder leave it
>> to you in your will.
>
>Actually, I was told that on January 1st, at 6 PM, they start taking
>reservations for the fly-in. First come, first served.
>

The guy who arranged our accomodations this time called them on January
1st at 8pm, and they laughed at him.


--
Paul Tomblin >, not speaking for anybody
---------------- hit any user to continue ----------------

[Jay Honeck]

> The guy who arranged our accomodations this time called them on January
> 1st at 8pm, and they laughed at him.

Well, shoot -- if we sell out for University of Iowa Homecoming a year in
advance, what can you expect from the Super 8, adjacent to the world's
largest airshow?

I'll bet they were sold out by 6:15 PM, depending upon how many incoming
phone lines they can handle.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jay Masino]

In rec.aviation.owning Jay Honeck > wrote:
>> The guy who arranged our accomodations this time called them on January
>> 1st at 8pm, and they laughed at him.
> Well, shoot -- if we sell out for University of Iowa Homecoming a year in
> advance, what can you expect from the Super 8, adjacent to the world's
> largest airshow?

It's a shame that the hotels sell out so quickly. That's the only way
I'd be willing to even consider going to Oshkosh. I'm not camping and
I'm not staying in a dorm. The few times I went to Sun-n-Fun, it was
awesome, but only because I could go back to a nice air conditioned room,
with a nice King size bed.

-- Jay

__!__
Jay and Teresa Masino ___(_)___
http://www2.ari.net/jmasino/ ! ! !

Checkout http://www.oc-adolfos.com/
for the best Italian food in Ocean City, MD and...
Checkout http://www.brolow.com/ for authentic Blues music on Delmarva

[Morgans]

"Jay Masino" > wrote in message
...
> In rec.aviation.owning Jay Honeck > wrote:
> >> The guy who arranged our accomodations this time called them on January
> >> 1st at 8pm, and they laughed at him.
> > Well, shoot -- if we sell out for University of Iowa Homecoming a year
in
> > advance, what can you expect from the Super 8, adjacent to the world's
> > largest airshow?
>
> It's a shame that the hotels sell out so quickly. That's the only way
> I'd be willing to even consider going to Oshkosh. I'm not camping and
> I'm not staying in a dorm. The few times I went to Sun-n-Fun, it was
> awesome, but only because I could go back to a nice air conditioned room,
> with a nice King size bed.
>
> -- Jay
>
> __!__
> Jay and Teresa Masino ___(_)___

Rent a nice big RV with a generator. Find a way to go!
--
Jim in NC--

[Jay Masino]

In rec.aviation.owning Morgans > wrote:
> Rent a nice big RV with a generator. Find a way to go!

Yea. We've considered doing that, too. That may be the way to go.

-- Jay

__!__
Jay and Teresa Masino ___(_)___
http://www2.ari.net/jmasino/ ! ! !

Checkout http://www.oc-adolfos.com/
for the best Italian food in Ocean City, MD and...
Checkout http://www.brolow.com/ for authentic Blues music on Delmarva

[john smith]

Mike Adams wrote:
> (sniP)
> Thursday we dried everything out,
> re-staked the tent, added some additional guy lines and it rained all Thursday
> night but no problems.

AHA! There you have it! Read any backpacking magazine, and they will
tell you to add additional guys to the fly at a distance (not in close)
to withstand heavy winds. The distance from the side of the tent creates
a lower angle on the guy, giving the stake more holding power (surface
area) against the force.

[john smith]

Jay Honeck wrote:
> > Ah, at least *somebody* remembered me and my brother. Must have been the
> > schnapps that affected Jay's memory. :-)

Note for N40Fest04... eat first, drink after (more, longer).
BYOSB (bring your own sleeping bag)

[Aaron Coolidge]

In rec.aviation.owning Jack Allison > wrote:
: So that's what I heard from row 538! Couldn't figure it out since it kinda
: sounded like the gal singing the national anthem (at least on Tuesday's
: airshow) trying to time the ending right.

Huh, row 538? Funny, that's where I was, too... Grey, red and blue Mooney
(N5636F) with the gigantic waterlogged tent out front. Tues & Wed only.

--
Aaron Coolidge (N9376J)

[Gerry Caron]

"Jay Masino" > wrote in message
...
> It's a shame that the hotels sell out so quickly. That's the only way
> I'd be willing to even consider going to Oshkosh. I'm not camping and
> I'm not staying in a dorm. The few times I went to Sun-n-Fun, it was
> awesome, but only because I could go back to a nice air conditioned room,
> with a nice King size bed.
>

My wife feels the same way. We have stayed with relatives in the past, but
a hide-a-bed and sharing a bath with 3 others didn't go over real well
either. So she took it on herself to find us a hotel room. Got us a suite
3 miles from the field. Made the reservation last March. We're on the list
for next year.

Most hotels have their own waiting list. They start taking it during the
show, giving priority to current guests. There is a 5-night minimum at most
places. Forget the 800 number reservation lines. You have to talk to the
hotel directly. My wife just kept call until she connected right after
someone cancelled.

If that doesn't work, wait until the last month or so before the show. Then
use both the hotline and direct calls, but be flexible, you might be able to
get in for 2 or 3 nights. There were a number of people who left on Friday,
leaving room for a few new arrivals over the weekend.

Gerry

[Nafod40]

(Jay Masino) wrote in message >...
> In rec.aviation.owning Morgans > wrote:
> > Rent a nice big RV with a generator. Find a way to go!
>
> Yea. We've considered doing that, too. That may be the way to go.

We went as a team of seven. One of our guys decided to stay in a
hotel, and got a room in Appleton for the duration only two months
prior. Another guy got a room there for the duration on Sunday before
the convention!

Appleton is about 1/2 hour away, so not too far.

The rest of us stayed in an RV and tents at Scholler, and had a great
time.

[Jay Honeck]

> Rent a nice big RV with a generator. Find a way to go!

Yep, now THAT'S the way to visit OSH. Fly your plane in, park it in the
North 40 (so you can absorb the inimitable ambience) -- and then toddle on
over to your $100,000.00 RV for the night.

The guys who fly the warbirds in seem to have a fair number of lackeys who
drive their motor homes in for them, and park them right over the fence from
their Mustangs...

When I get old and gray, that's the way I'll go. Until then, my queen-sized
self-inflating bed is heaven! (Especially compared to the "olden days" when
I slept on Wittman Field's rocky turf unaided...)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jay Honeck]

> Note for N40Fest04... eat first, drink after (more, longer).
> BYOSB (bring your own sleeping bag)

Agree 100%. We all got waaaay too buzzed, waaaay too fast. (Although it was
worth it just to see Margy, Christine and Mary dancing on the wing of
Atlas!)

After spending a day hiking around OSH, you are dehydrated, tired, and
certainly haven't eaten properly. In our case, we hadn't eaten since
breakfast. To suddenly chug an almost unlimited supply (thanks to everyone
who brought beer!) of ice cold adult beverage down certainly guarantees an
early (if intense!) buzz, followed by an equally early burn-out. It didn't
help that the rain started up again, so we really couldn't sit around the
plane after dinner and solve all the world's problems... (And with my kids,
I couldn't hang around the bar all night...)

Maybe next year we can figure our how to do a cookout at the site? That
would tend to slow things down a bit, and provide a little starchy
back-fill, so to speak... :)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Montblack]

"Jay Masino"
> It's a shame that the hotels sell out so quickly. That's the only way
> I'd be willing to even consider going to Oshkosh. I'm not camping and
> I'm not staying in a dorm. The few times I went to Sun-n-Fun, it was
> awesome, but only because I could go back to a nice air conditioned room,
> with a nice King size bed.

I'm not the smallest fella - dorm bed was fine.

Fridge and microwave was nice - mmm ...oatmeal in the morning. Cold anything
at night - grapes, oranges, diet pop, water, etc. After the day's show I
would shower and then read from about 10:30pm -11:30pm. (I never got back to
the room until after 10pm)

Two 16" pedestal fans blowing. I thought the dorms were fine. Quieter than I
thought they'd be. $20 per bed - two beds per room. $40 bucks per night.
Comfortable place to crash, spend my money elsewhere.

--
Montblack

[Margy Natalie]

Jay Honeck wrote:

>
> Maybe next year we can figure our how to do a cookout at the site? That
> would tend to slow things down a bit, and provide a little starchy
> back-fill, so to speak... :)

Maybe Friar Tuck's would cater :-)

Margy

[Jay Honeck]

> Maybe Friar Tuck's would cater :-)

Doubtful during *that* week -- but I'll bet they'd let us do carry-out! :)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Dave Stadt]

"Jay Masino" > wrote in message
...
> In rec.aviation.owning Jay Honeck > wrote:
> >> The guy who arranged our accomodations this time called them on January
> >> 1st at 8pm, and they laughed at him.
> > Well, shoot -- if we sell out for University of Iowa Homecoming a year
in
> > advance, what can you expect from the Super 8, adjacent to the world's
> > largest airshow?
>
> It's a shame that the hotels sell out so quickly. That's the only way
> I'd be willing to even consider going to Oshkosh. I'm not camping and
> I'm not staying in a dorm. The few times I went to Sun-n-Fun, it was
> awesome, but only because I could go back to a nice air conditioned room,
> with a nice King size bed.
>
> -- Jay
>
> __!__
> Jay and Teresa Masino ___(_)___
> http://www2.ari.net/jmasino/ ! ! !
>
> Checkout http://www.oc-adolfos.com/
> for the best Italian food in Ocean City, MD and...
> Checkout http://www.brolow.com/ for authentic Blues music on Delmarva

I have never had a problem finding a hotel room in OSH during the
convention.

[Jack Allison]

Hmmm, can't say I remember your Mooney...were you facing East or West? We
were a white C-172 SP (N717SP) facing East right next to a beautiful
Yellow-Orange/white Citabria. Tuesday and Wednesday were days were our row
was pretty full and if you were facing West, there's a good chance I missed
it. So many planes, so little time :-)

--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

[Mike Adams]

Gee, I thought it was my problem, that I couldn't keep up with you
professional partyers. Now you're making me feel better. :-)

Mike

In article <suDZa.116909$Ho3.15591@sccrnsc03>, "Jay Honeck"
> wrote:
>> Note for N40Fest04... eat first, drink after (more, longer).
>> BYOSB (bring your own sleeping bag)
>
>Agree 100%. We all got waaaay too buzzed, waaaay too fast. (Although it was
>worth it just to see Margy, Christine and Mary dancing on the wing of
>Atlas!)
>
>After spending a day hiking around OSH, you are dehydrated, tired, and
>certainly haven't eaten properly. In our case, we hadn't eaten since
>breakfast. To suddenly chug an almost unlimited supply (thanks to everyone
>who brought beer!) of ice cold adult beverage down certainly guarantees an
>early (if intense!) buzz, followed by an equally early burn-out.

[john smith]

Jay Honeck wrote:
> > Note for N40Fest04... eat first, drink after (more, longer).
> > BYOSB (bring your own sleeping bag)
> Maybe next year we can figure our how to do a cookout at the site? That
> would tend to slow things down a bit, and provide a little starchy
> back-fill, so to speak... :)

First, need to get all the airplanes parked together.
Second, get the high wings lined up.
Third, tarp and guy the high wings (40 foot tarps work really well
across two wings!)
Four, I have the gas grill.
Five, others bring cooking utensils (skillets, pots, etc)
Six, in addition to beer, we add food items to the admission charge.
Seven, once the beer and food have arrived, you have a party.

[G.R. Patterson III]

Jay Honeck wrote:
>
> Maybe next year we can figure our how to do a cookout at the site?

If I'm there, I'll bring a two-burner stove.

George Patterson
They say that nothing's certain except death and taxes. The thing is,
death doesn't get worse every time Congress goes into session.
Will Rogers

[G.R. Patterson III]

john smith wrote:
>
> First, need to get all the airplanes parked together.

Well, there are usually several groups (type clubs and such) that are
allowed to park together, so there's probably a way to do it.

George Patterson
They say that nothing's certain except death and taxes. The thing is,
death doesn't get worse every time Congress goes into session.
Will Rogers

[Jay Honeck]

> First, need to get all the airplanes parked together.
> Second, get the high wings lined up.
> Third, tarp and guy the high wings (40 foot tarps work really well
> across two wings!)
> Four, I have the gas grill.
> Five, others bring cooking utensils (skillets, pots, etc)
> Six, in addition to beer, we add food items to the admission charge.
> Seven, once the beer and food have arrived, you have a party.

Good God, I was pretty amazed that we were able to get a dozen or so people
to actually remember the date, the time, the place, and the beer! What
you're asking requires more coordination and planning than most fly-in
breakfasts! :)

But I'm with you, man. Next year, it's a COOKOUT! :)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Greg Burkhart]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:ltYZa.124340$uu5.18517@sccrnsc04...
> But I'm with you, man. Next year, it's a COOKOUT! :)

Sounds great! Just don't use the $1.99 avgas for starting the cookout. ;-)

I hope to FLY to Jay's 2nd annual Pre-Oshkosh party and to OSH next year...

[Jim Weir]

Yeah, that $1.99 a gallon avgas after years of outrageous high prices from the
same folks. I hope those of you who bought gas at Oshkosh recognized what the
$1.99 a gallon fellers were trying to accomplish. Once competition is gone, gas
will go back up again.

Yeah, I paid 20c a gallon more to encourage the other guys to come back again.
And, they promised us AUTOGAS next year.

Jim


"Greg Burkhart" >
shared these priceless pearls of wisdom:

->Sounds great! Just don't use the $1.99 avgas for starting the cookout. ;-)


Jim Weir (A&P/IA, CFI, & other good alphabet soup)
VP Eng RST Pres. Cyberchapter EAA Tech. Counselor
http://www.rst-engr.com

[Ron Natalie]

"Jim Weir" > wrote in message ...
> Yeah, that $1.99 a gallon avgas after years of outrageous high prices from the
> same folks.

Well Basler never was excessively outrageous. I didn't pay much different at OSH
than other places en route. Of course, competition is good. Had a long talk with
their marketing director while he filled my buddies plane the day after the show (he was
the only one who knew how to drive the manual transmission'd loaner fuel truck they
borrowed). Orion certainly has a good attitude, and they are actually a real full service
FBO (flight instruction, etc...). They're also locally owned. Basler sold out a few years
back.

[Jay Honeck]

> Yeah, I paid 20c a gallon more to encourage the other guys to come back
again.
> And, they promised us AUTOGAS next year.

We were somewhat aggravated by the fact that the EAA greeters were
trumpeting the fact that BOTH FBOs were charging $1.99 per gallon. Since
this was the case, we opted to give the new guys on the block, Orion, our
business.

Imagine our surprise to find out that we'd been the victims of "bait &
switch" (inadvertently, I suppose, by the EAA) when we had to pay $2.10 per
gallon before departing! The lady in the booth apologized profusely, and
offered the somewhat lame excuse that "they had *asked* the EAA to stop
spreading that information". Of course, I had personally spoken with the
Orion truck driver as he filled the plane, and joked about the $1.99 price
that they were "both charging". He conveniently never mentioned anything
different to me...

When I asked the lady why they didn't simply match Basler's price, she
responded that they would just cut another 20 cents, in an effort to drive
them off the field.

It seems to me there are State-dictated minimum prices for gas in Wisconsin,
in an effort to prevent the "Big Boys" from running the "little guys" off
the playing field -- although I'm not sure if those laws apply to airport
FBOs. Either way, I didn't object to paying $2.10 -- but I DID object to
not knowing how much I WAS paying...

Ah, well -- if they get autogas next year, all is forgiven! :)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Russell Kent]

Jay Honeck wrote:

> > Yeah, I paid 20c a gallon more to encourage the other guys to come back
> again.
> > And, they promised us AUTOGAS next year.
>
> We were somewhat aggravated by the fact that the EAA greeters were
> trumpeting the fact that BOTH FBOs were charging $1.99 per gallon. Since
> this was the case, we opted to give the new guys on the block, Orion, our
> business.
>
> Imagine our surprise to find out that we'd been the victims of "bait &
> switch" (inadvertently, I suppose, by the EAA) when we had to pay $2.10 per
> gallon before departing! The lady in the booth apologized profusely, and
> offered the somewhat lame excuse that "they had *asked* the EAA to stop
> spreading that information". Of course, I had personally spoken with the
> Orion truck driver as he filled the plane, and joked about the $1.99 price
> that they were "both charging". He conveniently never mentioned anything
> different to me...

Jay, I'd write a letter to Orion. I personally saw a $1.89 sign on the Orion
truck on the South end of the field. I presume that was per gallon 100LL, but
then again the sign said only "$1.89". BTW, the Orion truck's sign appeared
several days into the show (Friday August 1, IIRC), many days after Basler's
"$1.99" sign appeared on its truck. Days prior to that, I had seen Orion's
price posted on their kiosk as $2.19 and no sign whatsoever on their truck.
Perhaps you filled up early?

> Ah, well -- if they get autogas next year, all is forgiven! :)

Early in the show (actually, Monday July 28, IIRC) I personally visited the
Orion booth on the South end of the field and asked about mogas availability.
After explaining that mogas = autogas = that stuff you put in the Chevy, they
called someone to see if they had it. After determining that they didn't, I
explained about the EAA and Petersen STC's and the use of auto conversion
engines, and bluntly suggested that carrying mogas next year might engender
quite a lot of goodwill. We'll see.

Russell Kent

[Greg Burkhart]

"Russell Kent" > wrote in message
...
> I personally saw a $1.89 sign on the Orion
> truck on the South end of the field. I presume that was per gallon 100LL,
but
> then again the sign said only "$1.89".

Did Orion have different prices for the South and North ends???

[Russell Kent]

Greg Burkhart wrote:

> "Russell Kent" > wrote in message
> ...
> > I personally saw a $1.89 sign on the Orion
> > truck on the South end of the field. I presume that was per gallon 100LL,
> but
> > then again the sign said only "$1.89".
>
> Did Orion have different prices for the South and North ends???

I'm not in a position to say: I never saw the fuel truck on the North end. I
would certainly hope not.

Russell Kent

[Jay Honeck]

> The rest of the story turned out well, however. I'm standing at the fuel
> payment booth waiting my turn, while some guy is giving them hell for
charging
> too much, accused them of false advertising, etc., etc. generally making a
> pain of himself, and they finally call the boss who caves in and gives him
the
> 1.99 price to make him happy. Well, I step up to the window and calmly ask
> them if I have to pay more for being a nice guy, and she looks at me and
says,
> "you know, you make a very good point", and calls her boss and gets the
1.99
> price for me too. So, I'd say, yes, it was misrepresented at first, but
> competition is a good thing, and Orion is trying to make a go of it, so
power
> to 'em.

Good job, Mike. Now I wish I had been more of a pain!

Oh well -- if they use that extra $8.00 I paid to survive until next July,
it'll be worth it...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[John Thompson]

FWIW, when I was waiting for someone to show up at flightline security
shack so I could volunteer, I noticed a memo on a table. It was a list
of what the fuel suppliers could or could not do, such as they could not
"chase" new arrivals hoping to make a sale, nor could they block the
competitors trucks, or otherwise intimidate the competition, and a few
other things. This was apperently the result of complaints the previous
few days.

All the prices on the trucks I saw were 1.99. Wisconsin law says that
the lowest shelf price must be honored. IOW, if the truck you are
getting fuel from says 1.99 on the sign for the gas you get, you pay
1.99, not 2.10.

John

[Jay Honeck]

> I only saw those signs on Basler's trucks.

Same here.

TECHNICALLY Orion was correct in charging me $2.10/gallon. But their driver
never corrected my erroneous observation about "everyone being a buck
ninety-nine...", either.

Oh well -- I'm still glad they're there.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"