I received a call asking me if I could fly down to Texas … I said yes and asked what was up… The reply, “It’s a secret” …I said OK,and checked my Itinerary on my computer… with the obvious curiosity, I tried to figure out what the event might be… but none rang true… then I received another call asking if I had a sleeping bag and a tent,,, because we would be sleeping out on the ground… suddenly I realized that it was the last of July …meaning that Oshkosh was about to start… I knew better then to get my hopes up because I had been trying to get to Oshkosh for the Biggest Fly-in, in the world for the last 12 years…
…so I packed my new sleeping bag and my tent and headed to PDX … I soared across the US to Denver then on to Houston … When I arrived and was met in Houston …They asked me if I had figured the secret yet… I told him Yes …I think its Oshkosh… They laughed and said they were sure that the sleeping bag comments would let me know what it was… and we all knew that it was still tentative based on business and weather…
Then it was take-off time for Oshkosh … When we arrived … It was overwhelming to see the thousands of aircraft of every make and model …DC-3s and C-47s lined up in a row… Warbirds standing proudly …antiques. some being the only example left in the world… on display for all to enjoy…and the countless number of other aircraft that were spread in every direction with colorful tents and awnings in their shadows… a wondrous sight indeed… as we went to register for the several days that we would be there … the sheer pleasure of hearing and seeing various groups and individuals talking aviation and sharing where they were from and "what did you fly in with"… it was great….
Basler Flight Services provided our aircraft tie down and camping area as well as transportation that would take us to the main show area.
Then it was "off to the show" We started looking at the various Show sections … The entire operation was well organized and efficient…the show used John Deere tractors to pull the passenger carts and they would take you to a section of the show …and you could ride these then board another and in this way get to where you wanted to get to in the show grounds… the venders had various area tents and show areas and the main exhibition areas were crammed with various product representatives… all extremely well organized… in yet another area they had great exhibition tents for the various seminars with everything from how to rebuild engines to several areas that build a complete homebuilt aircraft in the week of the show… with areas to encourage youngsters to gain an interest in this type of building… The food courts were well placed and although expensive they did their job of feeding the mass…
The following day we decided to make a trip if possible to see the conversion plant of Basler’s fantastic DC-3 conversion to turbo-prop engines and increased pay load and fuel capacity the “The BT-67”… at first contact we were told that Basler no longer gives tours during the air show… But the DC-3 museum was invited to join a Australian tour that would begin in about an hour if we could get there… We grabbed a cab and soon were at their office… When the “Ozzies” arrived we began the tour… we started our tour with a short movie telling about the company and then a look out of second story observation windows at the hanger operations below. It is a very neat and orderly operation… the “Ozzies” were being treated to a “hands on, touchy feely” tour and there we were, right in the middle of it all…
The Quality of workmanship At Basler is really outstanding and although we were not allowed to take pictures inside because one of the aircraft being worked on was a state department project, and others were being set up for Foreign heads of state…and we honored the secrecy required… it was the highlight of the trip for me…
If you are able and are a fan of Aviation …I would highly recommend that you attend OSHKOSH… and also support EAA and AOPA…These are the people who are fighting to save our rights in General Aviation to fly...
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