OK, so it Wednesday, and time to start thinking about return weather. Not planning to leave until Friday morning, but it’s a good idea to start getting into the rhythm of what’s going on in the atmosphere. Looking at the Prog chart for Friday morning, it looks hopeful for getting out of Wisconsin and pretty far west, so there’s no reason to pack quick for a departure a day early. We’ll keep the fingers crossed and an eye on what actually happens.
Meanwhile, the day started with donuts! Wednesday is officially donut day at Homebuilt Headquarters, and yes, I DO keep track of where you can find free donuts on a daily basis (observant readers will have already noted this). We caught up with a few homebuilders we hadn’t run across this year, so a cup of coffee and a French Cruller and conversation were worth the trip… and I had to remove the cover from the Valkyrie anyway.
I got to spend another delightful hour behind the book signing table at the EAA Wearhouse, and that gave me a chance to catch up with Waldo Anderson – the DPE who gave me my private pilot checkride in Minnesota almost 50 years ago. At age 90 he is volunteering at the Seaplane Base this year and still flying! Take THAT aviation insurance underwriters who think anyone over 70 is a problem risk.
It was a pretty morning when I got out of that gig, so we grabbed the company golf cart to go check out the South 40 and visit the Ultralight area. I was shocked to see just how much farther the show has gone – it’s now all the way to the road well south of Wittman. Truly, this is “North Fond Du Lac” as the parking folks joke.
There was just time to grab some Cheese Curd Tacos (I kid you not!) for lunch as I was given a ride to the Pilot Proficiency Center for an afternoon of Angle of Attack training sessions, forums, talk, and conferencing with “stakeholders” – a suitably foggy name for a wide variety of interested parties. But there were snacks, and that makes up for any sort of meeting agenda.
I always have trouble with the Wednesday Night Airshow – as much as I know it is a good show, I have been up for a long time by the time it starts, I hate crowds, I’ve had late nights all week, and will have another on Thursday….so we bailed out and headed to the rental house for a pleasant evening in the yard with birds chirping and the sound of airplanes departing Oshkosh overhead at 500 feet. Ahhh, Wisconsin in July!
