A steady stream of arrivals kept the all-volunteer ground crew at AirVenture hopping all day. Whether they were experimentals, vintage, GA, or warbirds – they all had to be sorted and sent to the appropriate destinations on the field in Oshkosh. Beautiful weather meant lots of early arrivals , and estimates from parking personal were that there was approximately a 20% increase in planes compared to the same time last year. Many food vendors were open to serve the growing crowds of campers and others wandering around the grounds even though the show didn’t officially open until Monday morning.
Worried about a few wrinkles on your Homebuilt? It doesn’t seem to worry the Air Force on this B-52! See this BUFF on Boeing Plaza at AirVenture this week.
The weekend before the show has become a popular part of the annual event, sort of a Fly-in Before the Fly-in – a chance for pilots to get together and trade stories and news among themselves before the schedule of events kick in to high gear. Old friendships are renewed, new acquaintances made, and a casual attitude prevails as behind the scenes, preparations continue in the vendor area. most of the manufacturers that support the homebuilt industry are here and ready to help builders with their choices of airframes, engines and equipment – it is the place to be if you’re looking for your next project – or to finish the one you’re working on now.
With nice weather n the forecast for the next few days, Oshkosh appears to be the place to be!
See you here at the show.
The first tailwheel model RV-14 has arrived at the Van’s tent at AirVenture. Sporting a 200 hp Lycoming IO-360 engine and a structure that meets the aerobatic category standards of +6/-3Gs when flown at the aerobatic gross weight of 1900 lbs., the Van’s folks are telling us that they have a winner. But, the canopy cover stayed on it today as they worked on setting up their displays for tomorrow. We hope to get a closer look tomorrow!A steady stream of arrivals of all kinds – experimentals, vintage, warbirds – and certified GA – kept the ground handlers at AirVenture busy as they sorted them out to their destinations on the field.“Tsamsiyu”, an RV-3B flown into AirVenture by KITPLANES Editor-in-Chief Paul Dye, is already capturing the attention of passers-by out in front of the Sirius-XM tent. Dye and his wife watched the movie, Avatar, while building the plane and recognized the similarity between the performance of the Ikrans (reptilian-bird-like creatures used as flying transport by the indigenous warriors) and the RV-3B. The little homebuilt plane now displays a paint scheme inspired by the Ikrans and draws attention everywhere it parks. Scott Draper and GloCustom of Roanoke, Texas, painted the plane. The Sirius-XM tent is a short distance southwest of Boeing Plaza, near the tail of the B-52.
Bob Fritz presses on! In this installment, he powers up the Grand Rapids Technologies EFIS panel, solves a curious com antenna problem, installs the Zaon PCAS, fits the door to the fuselage’s curvature, and streamlines the air flow to the oil cooler.
