We’ve been here four full days already, and the fly-in is over – the actual show is about to begin! Someone in our rental house has a 0700 meeting on site, and I like to get ahead of the traffic, so I volunteer to drive in early with him. The traffic is heavy for 0630, but it’s far from being a traffic jam, and we end up in the “D” lot not too far from the main entrance. It’s two hours before the show officially opens, and the rest of the crew won’t be here for an hour, so I take the communal golf cart to retrieve a backpack I left in the car and visit Homebuilt Camping because I had heard a rumor that there would be donuts.
Yup – I scored a donut, saw a sea of campers, and took the cover off my RV-8. Gotta make it look nice for the tourists. That done, I checked with Homebuilt HQ on the numbers (a little down from last year for the same day), and dropped off the golf cart. Heading out on foot, I worked my way towards my personal target for the day – B&B Air Parts tent over in the “Fly Market.” This year I was good and began looking through my stocks of AN hardware back in June, making an actual shopping list for myself. The list included some Hartwell latches which I know they usually have in limited quantities, so I wanted to be there when they opened. Happily, they opened before the official show start of 0900, and by that time, I was on my way back to the Valkyrie with my baggie of hardware – and four of the precious Hartwell latches at a much-discounted price from new!
0900 – the show begins! I made my first stops in the kit manufacturer area to greet a few old friends and see what was new. I sat in the Sonex High Wing cockpit that was unveiled the day before and was pleasantly surprised at the space available. And then I hit my head on the wing center section getting out. I hear that Sonex President Mark Schaible did the same thing, so I don’t feel bad…
Next up was a scheduled hour in the EAA Warehouse doing a book signing. I met a number of folks that wanted copies of my book, enjoyed talking to a few others, and relaxed a bit in the air-conditioned space. Then I was back out the door for an appearance on the FMG Live video feed with AVweb’s Russ Niles.
Off to find lunch, along with another thousand folks. I settled on a sub sandwich for the sole reason that they had the shortest line to the counter – but it turned out to be a heck of a sandwich. I carried it to a picnic table outside Homebuilt HQ where I struck up a conversation with an Australian pilot – then noticed a plume of black smoke rising from a point source to the south. When all airplane noise stopped, I knew we’d had a crash – and sadly it turned out to be a double fatality. Won’t speculate on the details – just sad that it happens here at the show.
I now had an hour to visit a few more vendors and see what they were working on – then it was back to the Homebuilders Hangar to give my “Flight Testing 101” presentation to a full crowd. Good questions, and I only had to stop talking for the noise of afterburning jets in the airshow about a dozen times. The trials of afternoon presentations at AirVenture.
Then it was back to our office trailer for some writing, vendor visits in a couple of buildings – and then to the Vans Air Force Beer Bust just outside the gate for an hour and a half of mingling before making our way to the house for leftover BBQ, chips, and ice cream… and writing. There’s always writing.
And this was the result! And tomorrow is another day.
