Home Sweet Home

It was sad to have AirVenture 2011 come to an end. The folks I met and the friends I saw were what makes Oshkosh so very special. At 16:00h on Sunday we closed the doors on another year at Oshkosh and I have to tell you that the Jeppesen crew were the best I have seen, bar none. Everyone was energetic to the very end of the show.

The fun part for me was to clean the plane for her trip home. In the morning I wiped the dirt and dust off her and by 15:00h the west ramp crew at Oshkosh came to get her. We parked her on the fringe of Show Center for the night, then made sure she got her tanks full of fuel for the early morning departure.

This morning we arrived at the airport at 05:15h Denver time. Due to the fact so many people were around N505, we gave her a really thorough preflight. During the preflight we took samples of fuel. We always talk about what water in the fuel looks like but I am not sure everyone has seen what water looks like in the fuel sampling tube. Well this was a great moment to show everyone what water looks like in a sample. It took 5 full samples on the left fuel tank and 4 full samples on the right fuel tank before it was clear of water. what a great teaching moment. This happened again at Fort Dodge, Iowa and Grand Island, Nebraska. There must have been some crazy rain in these cities the night before.

This was not just a trip to Oshkosh, it was an adventure in aviation. All along the way to Oshkosh and on the way home we learned so much. The one take away for me is that the new Mobile FliteDeck is a must, and please do not ever take it away from me. I used it more than I used the Garmin G-1000.

I want to thank again all the folks that helped make our wonderful adventure such a joy to do. Stephanie and Karen were the best. Mike Cetinich (the weather GURU) you rock! Ken (Doc) Shockley thanks for the advice on the spark plugs (another story for another time), the Jeppesen crew who helped us get N505JF into her comfy spot next to the Jeppesen Pavilion, Mark Smith for taking the time to tell us to flow with the weather... boy did we flow with the weather! And last but not least, the Jeppesen Mobile FliteDeck team for making such a wonderful product. It truly was fun to use - stay tuned for more feedback.

In the words of That 70's Show "We Love you Wisconsin!"

Perseverance and Friendships

You are probably wondering why the headline.  

Yesterday at lunch, I talked with a TBM850 owner who flew in from the UK to Oshkosh for the week - his long-standing ritual.  He shared with us his less than positive experience in clearing US Customs in Sault Ste Marie. To be honest after hearing his story, I'm not sure I would have persevered.  At the end, he smiled because he knew he was coming to Kosh, seeing friends, sharing stories and attending the Gathering of Eagles dinner with other TBM owners. 

The big event yesterday was the arrival of the Boeing 787. The flyby and landing was PHENOMINAL - I had goose bumps, it was so cool. The crowds started gathering very early on around Conoco Plaza wondering where the line would form to see a glimpse of the interior. Once the 787 was in place and all the media and VIP tours ended, the public finally entered the aft door and quickly made their way to the front of the plane. I was manning the exit ramp throughout the day and I heard numerous people comment that they had traveled that morning from places 3-8 hours away just to see the 787. I think all of us coming into the show yesterday have stories of how long it took to get into the show - that was validated when I heard on the local news this morning that the backup to get into the show was over 10 miles and at one point extended almost to Fond du Lac (about 20 miles south).   As people made their way off the plane, I experienced the excitement and enthusiasm in their faces and conversations.  Something special I experienced is that as people were leaving the plane, a large number of folks stopped at the bottom of the air stairs and shared hugs, exchanged business cards, contact information and departed finding a new friend.  Clearing customs, traffic jams, and long lines show that perseverance and friendships do go together.

Exploring Day at AirVenture 2011

Today, I became one of the masses and wandered the grounds of AirVenture 2011.  I started off the day by watching the 787 land at Oshkosh. It was an impressive site to see such a large aircraft land and stop by show center then pull off the runway to go to parking.  Once the Boeing 787 was parked the crew allowed everyone the chance to go aboard the aircraft. As expected the lines were long (too long for me to stand in). So I walked around Boeing 787 serial number 1 and took some pictures.  The best picture was the one that had the verbiage above the front door that said "Experimental."  Yes I believe it was the largest experimental aircraft at the show this year.  To show everyone just how bit it is, I took another picture looking down the side of FiFi (B-29 Super Fortres ) and up to see the tale of two tails.  The B-29 tail was tiny compared to the B787 tail that rose above the B-29 like a sky scraper. After taking a few pictures of the B787 it was off to see some of the exhibits around the different hangars.  After that it was off to the aircraft manufactuers to look at all the brand new aircraft (I am still a Cessna man at heart).

I then met up with Stephanie and we traveled over to the sea plane base.  The sea plane base had both float planes and sea planes, there were big planes and very small planes, there were production planes and home built planes but the best thing of all is they all used the water as their takeoff and landing strip. I saw one float plane wandering in an "S" pattern and remember that float planes do not have brakes; she was just trying to buy some time before it was her turn to take off.

 After the sea plane base it was off to see the ultra-lights and classic planes.  There were two rows of Cessna 195 aircraft and they were so pretty.  I saw a row of Queen Air aircraft - yes, I did say Queen Air.  If you do not remember Beechcraft made both the Queen Air and King Air. The Queen Air aircraft are piston engine driven and the King Air aircraft are turbo-props.

By the end of the day, I had put 26,564 steps on my pedometer, drank about 3 gallons of water, and I had a chance to improve my Wisconsin accent "don’t ya know."  Oh I forgot to tell you; at the end of the day the whole Jeppesen was given permission to tour the B787.  There were a lot of water barrels on that plane. 

It's 787 Day!!!

I spent about an hour in traffic this morning to get in to AirVenture and see the 787 land. I was reminded of years past where my family and I waited on Highway 41 when the Concord, SR-71 Blackbird, Voyager, and several other famous aircraft arrived for their debut at KOSH. We were backed up for quite a way but although we were anxious to get into the show, it was amazing to see all the fellow aviation enthusiasts and pilots just as excited to get in and see the aircraft.

I was so excited I could barely sit still as aircraft took off of Runway 27 - there must have been 7 departing aircraft in the time we were stuck in traffic. And then the Farmer's Insurance Zeppelin took off right over our vehicle!

Watching the 787 for the first time in person fly by and then land was like watching a child walk for the first time. That airplane just made me PROUD! The most beautiful part is the unique wing design and, unlike the Concord, the engines were much more quiet!

It's going to be an exciting day at KOSH - off to the seaplane base for the first time ever and then to watch the airshow.

Young Eagles

Thursday was an awesome day here at AirVenture 2011.  Jeppesen introduced the new iPad app called Mobile FliteDeck.  The Jeppesen pavilion was humming with media wanting to know more about the new application. What a great day to work at Jeppesen!

I was honored to go to the Young Eagles dinner and all of the greats in aviation were there.  I had the privilege to talk with Harrison Ford and  Bob Hoover. 

To be honest I have to pinch myself every day to make sure this is real.  I am like a little kid in a candy store and all of my favorite thing are in the store.