|
The
official daily newspaper of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
|
|
|
Volume 7,
Number 2
|
July 24, 2006
|
|
The early birds
By James Wynbrandt
 |
|
Wendy Gluhushkin (l)
and Elaine and Al Bieck got to pick their own spots. Photo by
James Wynbrandt
|
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
2006 officially begins today. But some attendees have been enjoying the
sights and sounds of the fly-in for several days.
"We want to get here
early and watch everybody else fly in," said Judy Walsh on
Saturday. She and her husband, Sean, arrived in their Mooney M20F for
their sixth AirVenture three days before the fly-in started.
Sean listed another
reason they always come early. "I sort of like it more because
everybody who’s here now is flying in; everybody is a pilot."
Early birds also seem to
enjoy socializing with each other, and look forward to catching up with
people they’ve met here over the years.
 |
|
Judy and Sean Walsh
give a thumb’s-up on arriving early. Photo by James
Wynbrandt
|
"Every year we meet
a bunch of friends of ours from Texas and we sit around and talk all day
and watch airplanes," said Judy.
Getting here early also
means early birds have their pick of parking places, another reason many
cite for getting to Wittman Field before the fly-in starts.
"To get a good spot,
like this is, that’s the main reason," said Al Bieck of Toronto,
Canada, sitting by his Commanche 250 with his wife, Elaine, in the North
40 on Saturday. With them was their friend Wendy Gluhushkin, from
Brampton, Canada, whose Commanche 180 was parked beside the Bieck’s
airplane. She and her husband, Sergie, like to come early so they have
more time to enjoy the experience.
"There’s so much
to do that if you wait to come in until it’s already active, it’s
like, ‘I’m missing this, I’m missing that!’" Wendy said,
"so you get everything done, and when the gates open, we’re
already in the mode, and we don’t miss anything."
Al Bieck nodded in
agreement. "If you come here and the show is already going, you’ve
got to set up the tent, you’ve got to organize everything, but if you
come early, you can do all that at an easier pace, take your time, and
then look forward to the thing starting," he said.
 |
|
Don Amos, daughter
Melanie and Carlton Mefford came early to watch arriving traffic.
Photo by James Wynbrandt
|
Don Amos, who arrived
with his daughter Melanie and her friend Carlton Mefford from Gentry,
Arkansas, in the Amos’s C-172, listed plane spotting as the main
reason they arrived before the show officially began.
"We wanted to come
early and watch the planes land," Don said. Moreover, they’d
heard flying in once the show started was more challenging, a
consideration since Don and Melanie both got their pilot’s
certificates just last December.
"I actually landed
the plane here and it was pretty fun," Melanie said. As for
learning to fly at the same time her father did, "It was actually
very helpful," she said. "We studied together and it was
pretty good."
Her friend Carlton passed
his checkride last Saturday.
"My dad was a pilot,
my grandpa was a pilot, and it’s just kind of a family thing, so it’s
something I’ve always wanted to do," Carlton said.
Sometimes people come
early simply because of their schedules, as is the case of the Armstrong
brothers, Brad, Trekker, and J.N., here with J.N.’s sons Logan and
Ryden, Trekker’s daughter Tatum, and family friend Moncho Sagaceta.
They arrived in Brad’s C-172 and J.N.’s C-210.
"Part of it was
timing," said Brad Armstrong, from Hinton, British Columbia.
"We all have
different schedules," agreed J.N., who lives in Calgary, as does
Trekker, "and it’s a good opportunity to get everybody
together."
 |
|
The Armstrongs with
friend Moncho Sagaceta (third from left) scheduled an early
arrival. Photo by James Wynbrandt
|
"One more
thing," Brad added. "Even though it’s ahead of the show,
things have already started. It’s already happening. So it’s not
really like the show starts Monday. It starts now."
Some early birds also
leave early. But others can’t get enough.
"Every time my
husband and I say, ‘Yeah, let’s stay a couple of days and then maybe
we’ll leave a little bit early,’" said Wendy Gluhushkin,
"And we’re the last ones to leave. We just have too damn much
fun."
"There’s nothing
like Oshkosh," summed up Sean Walsh. "I mean this is it. If
you fly, you gotta be here."
|
|
