AirVenture 2004!
Article and Pictures by Brian Gilomen
It doesn't get much better than this!
Five of us (me, Kevin Bertorelli, Bill Mills, Ricky Anderson and Barry Ward) got off the ground from Clow only seven minutes after our agreed-upon wheels-up time, drilling holes in the air at 6:52 on Wednesday, July 28, 2004. We took a very leisurely flight to Galt, deviating to the West of the DuPage VOR, and landed at Galt in almost exactly an hour. The air on the way was smooth, if a bit hazy. The only thing that marred that first leg of the journey was a lady who insisted that we clear "her corporate frequency" -- 122.875 -- the frequency that FVFC has long squatted on for air-to-air squabbling. After sever verbal go-rounds, we politely informed her that we would try to keep the chatter to a minimum, but that it was impossible for us to coordinate moving as many as 16 pilots to a new set of numbers.
Yes, 16! That's how many of us eventually showed up at Galt, the first "all together now" gathering-up and gassing-up point. The 5 of us from Clow initially joined up with Brad Wolf, Phil Bolenbaugh, Phil Duff, Don Woods, Al Kammerer, Gordy Gillen, Neal McCann, and John O'Neill. The "rear guard," consisting of Paul ("MiniMeAirBoss") Syverson, Mike Benevelli and Larry Gehrig ultimately joined us. There was the usual long line for petrol, and the usual shaking of heads by pump attendants as we each, in turn, asked for a whopping 3-5 gallons of gas:
As the group gathered up to leave Galt, the first of several problems surfaced. I passed John O'Neill, who had pulled off the taxi way with some engine problem. I gestured whether I should stay and assist. John gestured that I should keep going; apparently Al was his able wingman and he was ready with a wrench, if needed.
So, I followed Barry as we taxied for departure. That was slow going, because Barry stalled his engine on the way, not once, not twice, but three times. At that point me, Kevin and Rickey more than strongly suggested that Barry pull over, get out, and survey the situation. John and Al passed us by, smiling all the while...
The four of us remaining started going over Barry's fuel system. When we got to his fuel filter the problem was obvious: yuck! That filter had done what it was supposed to do, but for quite a long time, it appeared. The following is the entry on the subject from my trip log:
"Barry dies back-taxiing on Galt runway 3 times. Gas filter is full of crap and WATER! I loan him my spare, and me, Kevin & Rickey bitch-slap him for the trouble."
It was truly a lesson in humility:
The four of us got airborne at 9:12, embarking on the longest leg of the journey: to Dodge County. The weather continued to be favorable, with no thermals, clear skies and a tailwind. Enroute we heard that the folks who landed at Palmyra were greeted by locked doors. Apparently the person I had talked to two weeks previously, to verify that there would be gas at Palmyra, didn't know squat. But, those resourceful MX pilots moved some fuel around between planes. Me, Rickey, Kevin and Barry came down low for the last 20 miles or so before Dodge, zipping through the gentle rolling hills and valleys along our flight path. Everyone eventually arrived safely at UNU. I myself got there at 10:26, after a leg taking 1:14 and covering 76.8 miles.
Dodge: the land of expensive gas. Rich Wild has bitched about this in the past, for good reason. At Dodge they gouged us to the tune of $3.06/gallon. Funny thing that the 100LL at Oshkosh -- only 40-some miles away -- cost just $2.49.
I carefully briefed our assembled 16 pilots (that's right: we DIDN'T LOSE ANYONE BETWEEN GALT AND DODGE!) and made the obligatory call to the Red Barn at OSH. They know us well up there by now, and I got only the most cursory admonition to follow the NOTAM. But, it took us a while to gather up for departure after that call, so I rang up the Red Barn one more time about a half an hour later. Good thing: they had flipped the runway/pattern from 33 to 15.
I left Dodge at 11:50, and -- with the rest of our crew -- skirted the prehistoric swamp bog to the North. We found our pre-arranged circling-point over the quarry about 5 miles Southwest of the OSH ultralight field and made ourselves dizzy waiting for the few stragglers to form up. When we were all together we made a well executed entry into a crowded pattern, and tried to bring all of our 16 birds down. That proved to be somewhat difficult. Many of us had to go around. Some had to abort more than one landing. But eventually, everyone was on the ground, safe and sound. I showed a touchdown at around 12:35.
TIME TO EAT!
That's right. What else is there to do at Oshkosh but look at airplanes, watch air shows, sleep, smoke cigars (sorry, Rich), and ... EAT!
Well, it was too early to sleep, and most of us hadn't even pulled our tents out yet. The air show wasn't due to start for over an hour. The beautiful planes could wait. Mick, Jim, Jude, Rich and Vance had come up the day before and had prepared our campsite, so it was time to EAT! Rickey soon demonstrated the proper respect for a well-cooked hamburger:
Others got to know food at Oshkosh in their own ways:
We'll all be sharing the photos that we took while at Oshkosh, and we all spent days seeing the sights, so I'll only include here a couple of what I thought were my most "interesting" or "unusual" pictures.
Kevin demonstrating his Popeil Pocket Razor:
Rickey demonstrating the practical application of the FAA's proposed new SuperMicroUltralight rules, FAR Part 103.007, designed to replace the current Part 103 now that they have finally released the Sport Pilot/LSA rules:
MCI's new Corporate Aircraft with Mission Statement Logo:
And, my favorite floatplane pilot:
As Oshkosh came to a close, FVFC members departed in waves. One contingent left Saturday morning. Those who became members of the "mile high club" during the leg from Dodge to Dacy enjoyed a wicked-fast tailwind and ultimately made it to Clow in less than 2:40 air time. By contrast, a Sunday-departing contingent fought a wicked-fast headwind, with ground speeds in the 40s, and an air time approaching 4 hours.
All-in-all, this was one of the best-attended Oshkosh gatherings in years. 20 FVFC planes made the trip: 2 on Tuesday (Mick/Jude and Jim), 16 on Wednesday, and 2 on Friday (Joe Simosky and Bruce Vandeventer). As many as 35 (or more; I never got an exact count) members, family and friends had gathered. We ultimately got the recognition we deserved: Friday morning the EAA came over to take a group picture of our planes, pilots and ground crew. Look for it in an upcoming issue of Sport Pilot!
My pilot log showed 361.5 miles traveled in 6:15 hours for an average speed overall of 57.84 miles per hour (including taxi time and a couple of trips around the patch while at Oshkosh). I started with 16 gallons of fuel, added 7.8 at Dodge the first time around, and landed with 7 upon returning to Clow for a total burn of 16.8 gallons for the trip: 2.668 gph/21.5 miles per gallon.
Where To Now?