Around the Field
The Cozy Girls…the
amphib from Ontario…Ann & Fred reminisce…departure time
Story and photo By Jack Hodgson
Early Saturday morning, a
lot of people are starting to pack. Tents are being folded up, and back
seats loaded to the max gross.
If you look close in the
grass, you can see the "ghosts" of the planes that have
already left.
Christine Bush and
Randi Kelcher are the "Cozy Girls." They’re from St.
Louis, Missouri, and they’re building, yes, a Cozy.
They’ve been coming to
AirVenture for about five years.
Back when the urge to
build a plane hit them, they didn’t waste any time.
"Five years ago my
50th birthday was coming up," says Christine, "and I was
making the list of ‘things I have yet to accomplish.’ One of the
things that was important to me was ‘get my pilot’s license.’"
She consulted with her
friend Randi, who decided that the first thing they needed to do was
build an airplane. "That’s the kind of person Randi is."
At first, Christine
considered an ultralight, but Randi vetoed that idea because she wouldn’t
be able to ride along. So Christine got a copy of Kitplanes
magazine and went through it. After paging through the issue they
selected the Cozy Mk 4.
"Literally,"
says Christine, "from midlife-crisis decision list to ordering
plans was a 30-minute process. And when the plans arrived, we had
everything ready, and I think we mixed epoxy that night."
Building a plane was not
enough. This past January, Christine and Randi took over the late Ken
Brock’s aviation parts business. They’ve renamed it CG Products, and
it’s become their full-time job.
Oh, they got their
nickname from the members of their EAA chapter. They walked into a
meeting one day, and the guys greeted them with, "Hey, it’s the
Cozy Girls," and it stuck. They even have a website: www.CozyGirrrl.com.
Murray McLellan is
from Tamworth, Ontario. This is his seventh visit to AirVenture.
When we talked, he was
packing up his gear to leave after eight days at the fly-in. He spent
the week camped in the Homebuilt Campground.
Murray came to the fly-in
this year in his homebuilt GlaStar. He spent six and a half years
building it, and he just finished it this past April.
One unique aspect of the
plane is that it’s on floats.
"I live on a lake. I
park the airplane on my front door. It couldn’t be better."
The ability to operate on
floats is one of the reasons he chose the GlaStar. He enjoys flying out
to the homes of friends who also live on the water.
Although he keeps his
airplane at his home, he’s a member of a flying club in Sterling,
Ontario.
"I just love to keep
in contact with those guys. It’s great to go to their fly-ins and
support them."
Ann and Fred Criswell
have been coming to the EAA fly-in for a really long time. They
started in 1958, when the fly-in was in Rockford.
They’ve raised four
kids over all the years they’ve been coming here, and now have six
grandkids. Two of their kids took up flying, and now their 12-year-old
granddaughter would like to attend the EAA Air Academy next summer.
They’ve had a great
chance to watch AirVenture grow into what it is today.
"The thing I think
about," says Ann, "is the learning and the teaching that’s
going on up here at the field. Everything you go into, you’re learning
or teaching something. It’s just fabulous."
Fred and Ann arrive each
year in Oshkosh about two weeks early to help get things set up. Ann
volunteers with the pre-convention Operation Thirst program, providing
refreshments to all the early workers, and then works with the
Activities tent during the fly-in.
Fred works with South
Maintenance painting and repairing the buildings and grounds for the
convention.
After almost 50 years
working on maintenance, is there some other job he’s always wanted to
try?
"Oh sure," says
Fred. "I’d like to work the AeroShell Plaza once. Working with
the big iron. The stuff that’s really drawing the crowds."
They’ve watched the EAA
grow up all these years. It was a little different back when.
"We knew everybody
staying in Rockford," says Fred. "I took the president of this
operation and helped him over a fence once. His sister, she was big
enough, she could get over the fence. But he couldn’t. How many people
can say they boosted the president over a fence?"
What do they think it is
that makes AirVenture great?
"I think the expanse
of the planes that they bring in," says Ann. "The warbirds,
planes like the Challenger, last year the SpaceShipOne. Every year they
bring new things to see, but still you have the first-time builder who
is just thrilled with being able to be here with his plane. It’s
phenomenal."
It’s time to head
home.
I’ve collected many new
memories this week that will inspire my flying in the coming year. And
they’ll help me get through until I can come back again next year.
When we return it will be like we just left. But right now it seems so
far in the future. I can hardly wait.
See you next year.
