OSH '07 Redux -- Part III -- The People & the Party

The People and the Party
Having flown in together, we camped with a great group of folks, many
from the rec.aviation groups, as well as the Cherokee Chat. The
daily ritual soon settled into a pattern, with some of us eating a big
breakfast off-field at either LeSeur's or the Hilton, skipping lunch,
and then getting back together for "cocktail hour" to watch arrivals
and departures. Then, after the last arrival/departure, dinner would
be at Friar Tuck's or the Charcoal Pit. Being camped near the fence
line made getting to these excellent restaurants a snap, especially
after we bought our bikes on the second day.

Although it was usually not possible to get seated together - waiting
for a "table for 13" during AirVenture is a good weight-loss strategy
- it was fantastic having a fun and knowledgeable group of folks to
visit with. We thoroughly enjoyed our time together, and it seems
very strange to know that I won't be seeing y'all for dinner tonight!

As always, Montblack and Jim & Tami Burns were the key players in the
Wednesday Night HOPS Party. With off-field transportation (and, this
year, Montblack even had a REAL pass to drive onto the field - no more
schmoozing the gate guards!), we were able to obtain everything
necessary for a great party, from tables and chairs to food and drink,
without too much trouble.

Unfortunately, the heaviest rains of the week swept through right
before the party began, forcing everyone under cover. (Jim & Tami
ended up sitting in our tent back-to-back, huddled together with us
until the storm passed.) This discouraged a fair number of
attendees, I'm sure, but the rain ended (thankfully!) and we still had
anywhere from 30 to 50 people (no one really counted, and people came
and went).

We know it was a healthy crowd, as we had to make a food run half-way
through the evening (this year was sub sandwiches and KFC chicken!) -
but I have spoken with quite a few folks who simply didn't want to get
doused and stayed away that evening.

Jim Burns, evil man that he is, pulled out a bottle of Bombay Gin, and
proceeded to whip up some marvelously tasty (and quite deadly) gin &
tonics. Many folks brought GREAT beer from their home bases, so we
(of course!) had to sample each and every one of them.
Needless to say, the night went by too quickly, and everyone had a
great time!

Things that were messed up
After the 2006 arrival fiasco, 2007 was an exercise in precision and
coordination. In fact, our arrival was almost easy.

Nonetheless, I felt terrible for the arrivals who tried to get into
the field after the Mustang accident Friday, because (for reasons
known only to them) the powers-that-be decided to accept NO arrivals
into OSH that evening.

That would be none. Zero. Zip. I simply can't imagine how many guys
got off work early Friday afternoon, planning to spend the weekend at
AirVenture, and ended up endlessly holding over Rush Lake - only to be
told, nope, you can't come in. Hell, even the EAA Photo Plane got
caught in the air, and was told to land somewhere else.

Now I understand that a fatal accident on the main runway (18/36) is a
problem - but OSH has TWO main runways, located (literally) miles
apart. The tower reported that the reason for the decision was
because fire equipment was tied up at the crash site, and wouldn't be
available if needed on Rwy 27 (and they had a broken-down fire truck,
too), but this seemed pretty lame. The fire at the accident scene had
been extinguished within five minutes of the incident, hours earlier,
and equipment was certainly no longer needed there after they had
hauled the wreckage away.

At first the tower announced that the airport was closed for the night
to both arrivals *and* departures. Imagine, if you will, having
taken down your campsite, loaded your plane, and sat in line to leave
when you are told that, nope, you've got to spend another night in
OSH! I can't imagine what we would do. (I'd probably just lay my
sleeping bag under the wing...)

Needless to say, airport management ultimately relented and allowed
departures on Rwy 27. In a mass exodus that exceeded even Oshkosh's
standards, they launched one every few seconds for close to an hour
before the back-log was depleted.

And, in what was certainly the coolest departure of the week, the Air
Force C-17 cargo plane was forced to depart on Rwy 27, right over our
tent. He only used half the runway, but it was awesome to have a
plane that size fly over, and the gang - by now firmly ensconced in
"Cocktail Hour" - cheered as he flew over.

Annoyances and Trivia
For the third year in a row, someone with a bean up their butt about
EAA (or pilots in general) decided it would be great fun to drive the
perimeter of the airport with his horn button depressed. This
wouldn't be so bad in the daytime, but he performed this exercise
between 4:30 and 6 AM, daily. Needless to say, we campers were not
amused.

We learned long ago to wear earplugs while camping at OSH, but we were
so close to the road this year that they were only marginally
effective against a car horn. So we simply adapted to the fact that
this was our call to hit the porta-potties, and go back to sleep.

One morning, unable to sleep, I resolved to catch the *******.
Standing on my wing at 5 AM, holding my camera (and freezing to death
- it was the one cold morning this year), I lay in wait...

Suddenly, a car stopped, the door opened, and a guy stood up and
started yelling "Hey Iowa is THAT-away! How ya doin', Jay? Great
week, no?"

He was yelling this at the top of his lungs, and I was mortified,
surrounded as I was by no-longer-sleeping campers -- so I started
waving the "Shush!" signal, but he didn't get the message and kept
yelling. Not knowing what else to do, I finally turned my back on
him, and he drove away - and I never *did* catch that damned horn
blower! (And all I know is the shouter's name was "Larry"
something. Larry, if you're reading this, that was one of the Top Ten
Stupid Things I've ever seen at OSH.)

Scooters and golf carts (or "IGICS", as in Idiots In Golf Carts") were
the bane of Oshkosh yet again. I don't mind carts for the
handicapped, but all week long we only saw a handful of disabled
pilots riding the grounds, while the rest were simply too obese to
walk. I know America is getting bigger, but if I have another
scooter pilot run up on my heels in those big, crowded exhibit halls,
I'm gonna disconnect the battery.

The biggest "Ass of the Week" award, though, has to go the driver of a
"Border Patrol" SUV who simply double parked his truck right in front
of the tram, smack in the middle of the tram path, and left it
unattended. I wouldn't have blamed the tram driver if he had kicked
the guys' door as he inched his way around the moron.

The main road around the North 40 continues to deteriorate. It's
only used for the show, I suppose, but the potholes and cracks are
getting pretty severe. The buses are forced to slow down in parts,
and riding a bike with thin tires is pretty scary, especially in the
dark. I hope they can get a grant to patch that road before next
year.

Attendance early in the week appeared to be very strong, with the
North 40 camping area reaching saturation by Tuesday. By mid week,
however, many people were leaving, and (unlike in past years) there
was no "Second Wave" of arrivals to take their place. Our group
slowly dwindled through the week, and we never had any "new neighbors"
- an indication, perhaps, that the "hard core" flyers are still out
there, but the "sorta-want-to-be-there" folks being put off by the
fuel prices? (Some years we've had three different neighbors, as "in-
filling" the campground took place. Not this year.)

The Bonanzas to OSH group continued to demonstrate their coherence
with a big turnout. They even had a STAGE set up in the North 40, for
cookouts and karaoke nights. Many of us could live without the
latter, as it went too late into the night - but that's what ear plugs
are for...

Although they're a fun bunch, they also demonstrated that they're
largely an urban lot, as we saw prop locks (in the North 40!) and
chain locks in their group. Kinda sad.

Kids and young people were EVERYWHERE at OSH this year, which was
wonderful to see. Just look at our group - three of us brought our
kids, ranging in age from 8 to 16 - to see the future of general
aviation is perhaps more secure than I've feared.

To be continued...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"