Here is an excerpt from Volume One of "Around the Field: The stories of the people places and planes of the Oshkosh Fly-in". Excerpt from Wednesday July 29, 1998.
Sometimes an early arrival is not early enough. Carol and Bill flew their Cessna C205 from Livingston County Airport in Howell, Michigan. Unlike most attendees from the east they came straight across Lake Michigan. No problem.
"It was a real clear day. We could see the far shore when we were about 20 miles out over the water," says Carol. "Some days you fly for about 20 minutes in the middle of the lake where you can't see either shore."
In their tenth year at the fly-in, they come well-equipped for camping in the North 40. Their gear includes an inflatable, queen-sized mattress, and a TV that they hook up to an old airplane battery.
They thought they were arriving plenty early this year. "We expected to get row seven," says Carol, "but we only got row 20."
No flightless birds here. Inspired by the Christian Eagle bi-planes, Dennis Sherwood and Vernon Kispert designed a paint scheme of rainbow colored feathers, and nose art of a stylized bird for Dennis' 150 h.p. 1960 Cessna 150.
"We showed it to a friend who said it looked like a thunder chicken. So that's what we decided to name it." They soon added the name "Thunder Chicken" to the nose art.
Dennis and Vernon are from Canton, Texas. They packed the C150 with themselves and their camping gear for the 10 hours of flying from Texas to the fly-in. Weather forced them to spend one night in Branson, Missouri where they were so anxious to continue on to Oshkosh that they passed on seeing any of the towns many shows.
Another of the guys' inventive designs is to take an off-the-shelf 20-inch bicycle, cut it in half, just in front of the seat, then bolt it back together. The unbolted halves can then be comfortably loaded into the back of even a Cessna 150.
"You know those fancy folding bicycles that a lot of people have?" asks Dennis. "Well one of those weighs more than three of ours."
Learn more about Volume One of "Around the Field: The stories of the people places and planes of the Oshkosh Fly-in" and other books about AirVenture, the Oshkosh Fly-in here.
General Aviation, Flying, Airplanes, EAA, Experimental Aircraft Association, Wittman Field
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