My brother Ken and I loaded up his Cessna 182 and headed from Calgary to Oshkosh Wisconsin to attend EAA Air Venture. Departing from Springbank airport, we had a nice view of downtown Calgary at the start of our two day adventure to Oshkosh.
There really isn't much between Alberta and Wisconsin except a lot of farm land.
Some farms yards are more well kept than others.
Our first stop was in Willison North Dakota. We stopped there to clear USA customs and to have a lunch and fuel stop break.
A nice thing about small airports is that they usually have a courtesy car available. Some times the keys are just left in them and you can just take it at will. We took this Chrysler to go find some lunch.
While we were gone for lunch, the guy from the Phillips 66 FBO ensured the plane was refueled.
On the climb out of Williston, we saw few jet skis having fun in the water.
Another view on the climb out of Williston.
The Garmin 530 is all set up for the next waypoint of our trip: Alexandria North Dakota. This GPS sure makes it easy to find your way round the country.
On course and at a 9500' cruising altitude, it was time for me to take the cool pilot photo :) As co-pilot and rampie, I have more time than Ken to play with cameras, GPS's, etc.
Most of the farm land all looked similar except for this one. There was a large sprinkler system that rotated around the field.
According to the GPS, this airport that we passed had an open runway. Somewhere. Runways with an "X" marker are closed. Looking closer at this picture, I don't see an open runway. Do you?
As we headed farther and farther east, the number of lakes seemed to increase greatly. This area looked really beautiful from the air.
We made it Alexandria, our first stop for the night. Ken and I decided that we had enough flying for one day so we decided to find a hotel and get something to eat. The Alexandria airport is quite small but the terminal is very nice.
After a nice stay in Alexandria, we were back in the air the next morning. Our original plan was to fly-in and land at Oshkosh. However, we found out that they had a record amount of rain there and the grass parking areas were too soft for parking. So, we decided to fly to a different airport nearby; Fond du Lac. Also, Ken found out from the weather briefer that the weather on our route was not ideal. We ended up flying a more southern route to avoid the bad weather.
Cruising along...
As we continued onwards, the cloud cover slowly increased. We were able to stay VFR and flew over some clouds for parts of the route.
Trying to keep myself amused, I noticed these clouds and their shadows. It was neat seeing the shadows move slowly across the land below us.
If you have a keen eye, you may notice that the GPS is showing a ground speed of 139 knots (Scott, that's 250 KM/HR!).
As we approached Fond du Lac airport, I initially though there were some sort of runway markers to mark the runway. Those markers turned out to be parked aircraft! Once of the runways was closed to make room for parking.
On the ground in Fond du Lac, here we are now taxing among the aircraft seen in the previous picture. Ground staff directed us to the parking area. Normally you would be talking to a ground controller before taxiing but not this time. The staff basically waved at us and that was our indication to know where to go.
After being directed to a parking spot on the grass, Ken tied down the plane.
If you wanted fuel, all you had to do was put one of these markers on your propellor. Someone would refuel your plane for you and you just pay the bill before you leave.
Even the local airports surrounding Oshkosh can become extremely busy at times during Air Venture. The FAA had set up a temporary control tower in Fond du Lac. The guys in the pink shirts are air traffic controllers.
We're not even at the main event in Oshkosh yet and things are going on that you just don't see to often. Especially in Canada. We were still unloading the airplane in Fond du Lac when the Goodyear blimp started doing low passes over the runway.
There were even a few war birds flying around.
While waiting for the shuttle bus into Oshkosh, I noticed the Commemorative Air Force was offering rides in various WW2 aircraft. If a ride in the P-51 Mustang was only $500 I wouldn't have hesitated. But the $1500 price tag for a 20 minute ride was just too much. Knowing I wouldn't pay that much, I decided to make the call to my wife just to see if I could somehow swing approval for the expenditure. "Uh, I don't think so Kev!". Some day I'm going to do this!!
After taking a shuttle to our room at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh dormatory, we had finally made it.
This picture was taking during a ride in an old Bell helicopter similar to that used in the TV show M*A*S*H. Seen in this picture are lots of camping RV's.
And in this picture, lots of airplanes parked. These two pictures do not show the entire grounds. There are literally thousands of aircraft and camping RV's.
Can you imagine what it just be like for all these aircraft to arrive into the Oshkosh airport? It really is the busiest airport in the world. Well, for the week of Air Venture anyway.
On the grounds at Air Venture, there are hundreds of aircraft to see up close. Like this Cub.
The Buffalo Airways DC-3 flew in for the event. I was hoping to see Buffalo Joe but he was out and about somewhere else.
The USA Airforce had a few planes on display too. It was a very hot day and a lot of the pilots sought shade underneath their aircraft. Like the pilots of this F-16 did.
There were many older aircraft too. So many of these were restored to immaculate condition. I can't imagine the time and money invested in aircraft such as this one.
Do you know what this logo is for? You got it, it's Rolls Royce, manufacture of the Merlin engine that powers the WW2 era P-51 Mustang. Call me weird, but I do get excited when I am around this stuff.
This is what the Rolls Royce Merlin powers:
Here is Ken with Geraldine.
The four-blade P-51 propellor is HUGE!
There were other WW2 warbirds too, like this Corsair.
And this Bearcat (not sure if that is the right name??)
All the warbirds we saw were in fantastic condition. What a treat to see so many of them in one place.
This year was special for the DC-3. I think it is a major anniversary of it's production date, can't remember exactly. This DC-3 was pretty amazing. It must take a small army to keep it in show-and-shine condition.
Crazy shinyness!!
There were other things to see other than airplanes. This army camp might have been from the WW2 or Korean war era. Stepping into the camp felt like going through a time warp. The authenticity of the displays was incredible. It really felt like you stepped into the M*A*S*H TV show set.
This trailer had a few cases of grenades, ammo, and gerry cans.
Uh Ken, you had better stay back!
For some reason, I had the urge to grab this flag and return it to base!
There were several people role playing in the camp. They made everything seem even more realistic.
Moving out of the camp and closer to the flight-line, there seemed to always be something in the air. These planes, led by a F-4 Phantom, made a few low passes to wow the crowd.
These two Thunderbirds seemed to drop-in from nowhere. Must be nice to just hop in a F-16 and head to Oshkosh.
Even though I'm not a great fan of the company, the Oracle plane is pretty nice. The pilot put on a great show and did some amazing stunts.
Some of the planes had some real historical significance. Mrs. Lindberge was a passenger in this Ford Tri-Motor many many years ago.
Even though the air was filled with interesting aircraft, it was hard not to get distracted by things around me. This B-17 was amazing. I am in awe at how well these old planes have been restored.
Okay, I was finally able to focus on something flying for a few minutes. The pilot of this Beechcraft really put the plane through it's paces. It pretty well filled the sky with smoke and lots of noise.
Some of the bad-boys started strolling into town. A group of about 4 F-15's did a few flybys then landed. This is an amazingly powerful aircraft that really gets me excited when I see and especially hear it.
Taking a break from the main show grounds, we decided to take in the EAA Museum. Here is Dick Rutan talking about flight testing Space Ship One.
We also took a helicopter ride. I've never been in a helicopter before so it was definitely worth the $40 for 5 minutes of flying. What an incredible view of the show grounds!
I have to say the highlight of Air Venture was the Warbird air show. At one point there were over 30 WW2 aircraft in the sky.
These formations passed each other in opposite directions with a vertical separation of only 800'. These aircraft are all privately owned and operated.
You can't imagine how excited I was to hear not one, not two, but about 5 P-51 Mustangs in the air. The sound of those old engines is incredible!!
Another aircraft launches to take part in the air show.
Several B-17's also launched. It's amazing just to see these planes in a museum never mind seeing four of them flying in formation!
There were lots of fly-bys,
And simulated bomb drops.
For the air show finale, a formation of four B-17s, escorted by P-51 fighters, approached the crowd head on...
and dropped simulated bombs to create a wall of fire. The heat and shock from the explosions was incredible!
Seeing so many WW2 aircraft in the sky at one time was a once in a lifetime opportunity.
After three days of Oshkosh, it was time to start thinking of heading home. Here Ken is doing some flight planning in our University dorm room.
The weather isn't looking great for our flight home. The around surrounding Fond du Lac is reported as low ceilings and rain. Not good if you're flying by visual flight rules.
At the airport, the rain is lightly falling and the clouds are way too low for us to get out.
Not much to do other that wait it out. We headed back to the airport terminal and hung out with the other pilots waiting for the weather to clear.
We had a further delay due to a flat front tire. However, the staff at the FBO were very friendly and helpful in getting the tire fixed up.
I don't want to leave! Just before starting up our engine, a P-51 taxied by. Mustangs are everywhere here!
The weather wasn't as nice going home as it was heading to Oshkosh. We flew between 4000' and 5500' most of the way. Sometimes above the scattered clouds...
and sometimes around walls of rain. See the wall of rain in this picture? Ken's on-board satellite weather was very helpful in knowing what weather obstacles lied on our route.
One of the neatest things I saw from the air was a wind farm. This farm had about 15 wind turbines.
Our last overnight stop on the way home was in the town of Valley City, North Dakota. Here Ken and I were happy to find a place to park, eat, and sleep! Okay, I just wanted to take a fun photo, that's all that was going on here.
The Valley City airport was very picturesque.
No wind. Sunset. Surrounded by farm land. It's hard to imagine an airport as being beautiful, but it was.
The next morning, Ken signed the airport register, then we refueled and started out on our last leg of the trip home.
Passing overhead near Minot Airforce Base and I couldn't resist taking a few pictures of the B-52 bombers parked there. Minot AFB must be home to a major bomber squad.
We cleared Canada customs in Saskatoon.
After flying approximately 2000 nautical miles (3700 KM) round trip, we were home. Here we are on final approach runway 26 at Villeneuve airport. It's good to be home!
Ken did a great job navigating us to and from Oshkosh. Thanks Ken so much for taking me along! It was a fantastic learning experience to travel so far in a light aircraft. I learned so much and I promise not to be "Bitchin Kevin" so much next time we fly together!
This is a map of our waypoints.
EAA Air Venture in Oshkosh is an overwhelmingly incredible aviation experience.
It is huge, you can't see it all in one week.
It is amazing, you see things there that you can't see elsewhere.
It captures the spirit of aviation for people from around the world.
I hope I am able to return another time...
If you are interested in seeing more pictures, I put a bunch of them on my Flickr site.
1 comment:
Super blog Kevin. It was a life thrill to make the journey with my brother.
Ken
Post a Comment