Borden Flying Club at Airventure 2006, Oshkosh WI

By Paul Richardson

Airventure Oshkosh, sponsored by the Experimental Aircraft Association (www.eaa.org,  www.airventure.org) is the world’s largest annual gathering of aircraft and aviation enthusiasts and several members of the Borden Flying Club traveled there this year. We had a rented house that was close to the airport so our accommodations were convenient, clean and comfortable. Glen Alton and John Galloway along with their guest Rick Robinson flew CMQ VFR to Oshkosh. Fred Simpson, John Hakner and their guest, Doug Jamieson rented a Cessna 172R and flew on an IFR flight plan. Weather was unstable the whole week, but CMQ left a day ahead of schedule and arrived without incident. According to Glen, flight time was approximately 6 hours one way and 5 hours return (it took me 13 hours of driving as fast as I dared). Poor Fred. He filed IFR and ATC delayed him and sent him miles out of his way. An evening thunderstorm appeared over Oshkosh and he had to stop short and fly in Tuesday morning. While I didn’t meet him, Glen told me he that Robert Horne, our AME was down there as well.

Airventure 2006 was an event of almost unbelievable proportions. There was literally a sea of airplanes that had flown in from all parts with their owners camping beside them. There is an air show every day which gets more elaborate as the week progresses. A Ford Tri-motor chugs around all day long giving rides as well as their B-17 bomber “Aluminum Overcast”. Formations of T6 Texans (we call them Harvards) and T-28 Trojans flew over at different levels while individual warplanes circled the runway. At one point, there must have been over 40 aircraft in the sky at once. There is something to see everywhere you look, from the ancient flying “limo” used by the founder of Johnson’s wax to find Carnauba trees in South America to the ultra modern Honda jet. The major manufacturers were promoting their products from kit planes to the new LSA (Light Sport aircraft) to top end certified aircraft. Parts and gadgets galore could be found in the fly-mart and exhibit buildings. The EAA has a permanent museum containing many interesting artifacts of historical significance, the latest being the X-prize winning space plane designed by Burt Rutan. The museum offers many unusual aircraft on static display, mini movies and a hands on activity centre for younger future pilots. (It was also a good place to cool off!)

We went our own separate ways on Tuesday, Glen, John and Rick searching for SeaBee parts, myself just wandering aimlessly through the displays and aircraft. I didn’t see Fred or John Hakner all day as they flew in that morning. Wednesday, we all met at the Hangar Café for lunch and checked out the museum together. We picked the right time to be indoors, as torrents of rain poured down while we were inside. At the end of each day, we regrouped at the house, enjoyed some refreshments and had dinner at nearby restaurants. All the restaurants had an hour long wait before dinner, but it was a good time to chat and trade stories, so nobody minded. I drove out early Thursday morning and was home again after another 13 hours. Glen & John flew CMQ back on Friday and Fred was going to fly beside them, but poor Fred, his rental plane developed a fouled plug and he was delayed a couple of hours getting it fixed.

Despite the snags, I’m sure everyone had a great time and will have some stories to tell at our next meeting.

Go to the club's website to view more pictures from Air Venture 2006
www.bordenflyingclub.com/oshkosh06.shtml

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