Oshkosh 2003 Redux

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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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"

"newsman" wrote in message
news:5815109.e8pYJrlQiE@loopback

Not to be too much of a wet blanket...

Speaking of wet blankets, would you *please* trim your posts in the future?


--
John T
http://tknowlogy.com/tknoFlyer
__________

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.

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"

"John T" wrote ...
Speaking of wet blankets, would you *please* trim your posts in the
future?

Agreed... Why is it that some people see fit to quote a long post, just to
put a "Me too" at the end of it? Is it so difficult to just snip out the
relative parts that you are replying to? Laziness, probably...

Plus, by creative snipping, you can take something completely out of context
and have more fun with it... grin

"newsman" wrote
very little, without trimming a bit.

I say, TRIM when you reply, man!
--
---Jim in NC---

"Grumman-581" wrote in message
...
"John T" wrote ...
Speaking of wet blankets, would you *please* trim your posts in the
future?

Agreed... Why is it that some people see fit to quote a long post, just to
put a "Me too" at the end of it? Is it so difficult to just snip out the
relative parts that you are replying to? Laziness, probably...

Plus, by creative snipping, you can take something completely out of
context
and have more fun with it... grin














Me too.

--
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

From: "Jay Honeck"

Hey -- you guys looked GREAT in the show, by the way...

Thanks. Hopefully we'll have more participants next year!!
VL