The Wannabe Aviatrix Wants to Be Even More

I'm writing this sitting adjacent to a runway at KOSH, which is usually known as Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. If you've been reading my other posts, you know that people haven't been calling it that this week, but rather have been referring to it as Airventure.

We flew in on Friday morning, according to the rules of a very unique NOTAM which included instructions for watching for lots of other air traffic and not talking to ATC when they talk to you, but rather just rocking the wings of your plane to confirm receipt of instructions. My pilot husband truly impressed me with his consistently expert flying paired with our unique circumstances of flying into the busiest airfield in the world (that week). Although we were more than prepared by the NOTAM to follow aircraft in and maintain separation, as well as to adhere to any accompanying instructions from ATC, it turned out that we were the first ones in from our group approaching KOSH. The number and diversity of aircraft flying in behind us, for whom we had to promptly land halfway down the runway and taxi off more than made up for the lack of traffic ahead of us. My husband executed a beautiful landing on runway 36R (right-hand side runway) and away we went to the camp site.

There is so much I could write about all of the exciting, strange, historical, and just plain cool aviation I have witnessed this weekend - too much. Instead I will relate some highlights:

1) STOL! Our first night here, my husband asked if we could watch a STOL demonstration. I was game - my plan and actions were to be up for whatever exhibits he wanted to see this weekend as this trip is truly his aviation fantasy. The only way I can describe this experience is to compare it to that night that your friends want you to go to that party on the lower east side and you think you are definitely not doing that, as you have already picked out the sweatpants you will be wearing along with the ice cream you will be eating as you catch up on the latest Real Housewives drama. For some reason, they convince you to go and you don't redo your hair or even change out of that pajama top that goes so well with those sweatpants. You figure you'll spend 45 minutes at the party, an hour tops. And then you spend all night talking to the cute guy you met who ends up being your husband. No, I didn't meet someone new at Airventure! I met something new - the Just SuperSTOL aircraft. This is an airplane that specializes in Short Take-Offs and Landings (hence "STOL"). These planes are light and fly low and slow and, as the name indicates, require little runway length for taking off and landing. Watching them take off and land and fly the grass-strip pattern was like being back in muscle car-racing. This is the type of plane I want to fly, this is the way I want to fly, bouncing down on bush tires like slicks on a Camaro. Hard to explain, so settle for a few photos until I can tell you more next time:

2) Camping? Camping on an airfield is not my preference, especially since our mattress pad refused to fully inflate and we are parked equally far (and I mean far) from the makeshift bathrooms and the portapotties. However, one of it's charms is the alarm clock of planes landing and taking off by 6am. I truly mean this, as I am a morning person and a morning that starts with watching the orange orb of the sun compete for space in the sky with dozens of prop planes, sleek jets, and massive military aircraft buzzing for attention is pretty special.

3) The People. From the amazing team at Just Aircraft (SuperSTOL!) to the 99s female pilot who encouraged me to keep up with my flying and told me about her mother who was a WASP to the kind Canadian guys with telephoto lenses at the night airshow who could start a side business of selling professional prints, everyone we met could not have been kinder or more interesting. Like many other huge events, the people that you meet at Airventure are a massive part of the experience and this weekend did not disappoint. We also did our part to dispel the rumor that New Yawkers are rude! 

Standby for the next radio frequency and airport code...