Dawn over Warbird Ground... It's time to make the donuts (013)

"Around the Field" at the 1998 Oshkosh Fly-in, AirVenture 013

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 Auguat 1998.

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It's 6:15 a.m. and the sun has been up for half an hour. Near the edge of the North 40 campgrounds a few early risers are slowly moving to the showers.

Inside the Warbirds fence, Mike Wagnon, coffee in hand, is looking forward to another day of directing planes and keeping the EAA AirVenture crowds out of harms way.

Mike is from Seattle, Washington where he is an engineer for Boeing at Paine Field. He's been a Warbirds line-operations volunteer at Oshkosh for eight years now. He says most of the line volunteers come back every year. "A lot of them are retired guys who travel to fly-ins all over the country - here, Sun 'n Fun, Arlington - just to help out with these airplanes."

Mike, and many of the rest of the line crew, will work all day, from early in the morning until the field closing at sunset.

Around 6:30 a.m. the line people will start preparing for the arrival of the aircraft crews. Early morning flights often consist of photo missions, rides for VIPs, occasional last minute training missions, and of course, just going out to fly for the joy of it.

Time to make the donuts. One of our favorite times and places at the fly-in is early morning at Ace's Cafeteria where we get our coffee and a fresh baked donut. The donuts are the product of Bill Stiedemann and his crew.

Stiedemann arrives each morning during the fly-in at 4:30 a.m. The cafeteria opens to the public at six, but Bill also puts together orders for the volunteer committees here at EAA AirVenture. "It's one of the perks of volunteering, free donuts," he says.

Bill's not really sure how long he's been making donuts for the fly-in. "I forget when I started. I think it was about 12 to 14 years ago." He estimates that these days he and his crew make from 2,500 to 3,500 donuts each day during the convention.

You can say good morning to Bill, and pick up a fresh baked donut, each morning at Ace's Cafeteria which is just south of the NASA exhibit hall.

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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 by Jack Hodgson here.

General Aviation, Flying, Airplanes, EAA, Experimental Aircraft Association, Wittman Field

AirVenture's Fly-in Row... Remembering WW2's greatest Ace. (012)

"Around the Field" at the 1998 Oshkosh Fly-in, AirVenture 012

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 August 1998.

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You could call it "Fly-In Row". In the southwest corner of the EAA Action Pavilion are the booths of four smaller EAA fly-ins. For those of you who can't get enough this week you can stop by and talk with representatives from these exciting regional events.

The Golden West Regional EAA Fly-In is held September 25-27, 1998 at Castle Airport in Merced, California. "We're in the geographical center of 25% of all registered aircraft and pilots in the U.S."

The Copperstate Regional EAA Fly-In is held October 8-11, 1998 at Williams Gateway Airport in Mesa, Arizona. "We're the 4th largest EAA fly-in after Oshkosh, Sun 'n Fun, and Arlington."

The EAA Southwest Regional Fly-In is held October 15-18, 1998 at Abilene Regional Airport in Abilene, Texas. "We're the 'Big Country' fly-in, we'll have 500 aircraft of all kinds, fly-bys, forums, exhibits and much more."

The Virginia State EAA Fly-In held June 26-27, 1999 at Petersburg Municipal Airport in Dinwiddie, Virginia. "In addition to conventional general aviation airplanes, we feature ultralight, powered parachute, and radio controlled aircraft throughout the entire fly-in."

"He would have loved EAA and the fly-in," said Marge Bong Drucker, widow of WWII Medal of Honor winner Major Richard I. Bong. But he never had a chance because, soon after the war's end, the Wisconsin born hero of World War II was killed while test-piloting a Lockheed P-80 "Shooting Star".

"He would have been thrilled by all the airplanes and activity," said Mrs. Drucker.

By the fall of 1943 Major Bong was an American "Ace of Aces", having shot down 21 enemy planes, and by the war's end he had shot down 40 enemy planes, a record that still stands today.

Now Major Bong is being remembered in a new Museum that is being built in Superior, Wisconsin. Here at the fly-in you can learn more about the "Richard Ira Bong Heritage Center," and talk with Marge Bong Drucker, at Booth #4115 in Exhibit Hangar D.

"With his P-38 he would have been up there in the skies with the rest of them showing off." Who knows, maybe he is.

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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 by Jack Hodgson here.

General Aviation, Flying, Airplanes, EAA, Experimental Aircraft Association, Wittman Field

AirVenture Forums recordings... the legendary Duane Cole

"Around the Field" at the 1998 Oshkosh Fly-in, AirVenture 011

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 August 1998.

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Twenty-five years ago EAA member Dave Yeoman told founder Paul Poberezny, "Someone should be recording the forum sessions at the fly-in, because otherwise, once they're spoken, they're lost." Paul thought this was a good idea and recruited Dave to take on the task.

"I didn't even own a tape recorder back then," says Dave. "I begged and borrowed machines to record those early sessions.

"One year I got here and realized I didn't have enough machines for all the forums that would be happening at one time. I didn't know what to do. Then I remembered that some of my machines were stereo. So I ran long microphone cables and recorded two forums on one machine."

Dave's recordings are available for sale every year here at the fly-in. What's less well-known is that Dave still has all the forum tapes that he's ever made. All the way back to 1972.

By the time AirVenture Oshkosh '98 is finished Dave will have recorded over 5,000 sessions. And any of them can be purchased on cassette. Want to hear the 1988 forum "'Catbird' Design Philosophy" by Burt Rutan? Or the 1972 "Tailwind" forum by Steve Wittman or "EAA Acrosport" by Paul Poberezny? Those and thousands other are available.

A complete list can be found at the Forums Office at the south end of the EAA Forum Plaza.

The legendary Duane Cole is not reluctant to speak his mind. At his EAA Forum at AirVenture '98, he filled us in on a few of his thoughts.

"Now I'm gonna talk about the FAA. I wasn't gonna talk about the FAA... but damn, it's hard not to talk about the FAA."

"They don't call them ARSAs any more 'cause they thought they were talking about the FAA."

Expressing his dissatisfaction for the style of todays' airshows: "The airshow here is all up and down, up and down. Except for Sean Tucker, who's all sideways."

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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 by Jack Hodgson here.

General Aviation, Flying, Airplanes, EAA, Experimental Aircraft Association, Wittman Field

The Antique/Classic Red Barn... Fly-bys of the AirVenture "Ornithopter"... and Wisconsin's "California Burger" (010)

"Around the Field" at the 1998 Oshkosh Fly-in, AirVenture 010

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 July 1998.

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Changes are everywhere. The traditional Oshkosh fly-in admission badge buttons, that are made by the Antique/Classics Division, have been updated to reflect the new fly-in look and logo. They now sport the AirVenture emblem with a bold "98" in the background.

The new buttons can be had for a dollar each at the Antique/Classic Red Barn east of the Theatre in the Woods.

Yes, we have no avocado. The food gets better every year. Clearly someone is thinking about the fly-in's food offerings and making improvements each year. But we would like to know what there is about a hamburger with cheese, onions, lettuce, and tomato that makes it a "California Burger"?

Would you ride an airplane with one of these things? Regular fly-in attendees will have seen the Ornithopter. It's the tongue-in-cheek, mostly wooden, wing-flapping, wing-walker-carrying, contraption that rolls around the grounds. Well the Ornithopter is the mascot for a more serious, historic exhibit of working, antique engines at the north edge of the big West Ramp.

Steve Hay, Jim Hay and Joe Kohli will tell you about the workings of four historic aircraft engines. The 1913 Gnome Rotary, the Henderson Engine, the 1902 Manly Engine and, our favorite, the 1903 Wright Engine.

You can not only look but touch too. "You can touch everything," says Steve. "We have rags," adds Joe.

When Steve fires up the 1903 Wright, and it starts belching smoke and going chunka-chunka, we found ourselves imagining what it was like that day 95 years ago on the sand dunes, as the Wrights flew that fragile looking plane.

Sixty seconds later, when the engine finally coughs to a halt Steve says, "One minute. The length of the longest flight that day."

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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 by Jack Hodgson here.

General Aviation, Flying, Airplanes, EAA, Experimental Aircraft Association, Wittman Field

"Around the Field" at the 1998 Oshkosh Fly-in, AirVenture 009

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 July 1998.

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Do you think that the folks who work at the fly-in every year get jaded? Nope. Just talk to Jenny Dyke, Chairman of EAA Forum Tent #9. "I've got this guy speaking in my tent who is 98 years old and still has his medical."

Ralph Charles worked for the Wright brothers in the 20s, has designed numerous airplanes, and is a gold mine of aviation stories. "I'd love to take him home and have him tell me stories every night," Jenny says.

According to Jenny, Charles is quite a character. His private strip lands down a hill to the bottom where he must veer to miss the barn, then roll up another hill to slow down. He makes no drawings of his designs. It's all in my head, he says, I think about it and I go do it.

Charles is speaking in EAA Forums Tent #9 at 1:00 p.m.

For the past three years the Homebuilt/Custom-built judges have been recording scores and results, out on the field, using small handheld computers.

The project is spearheaded by Bob Reece, Chairman of Homebuilt/Custombuilt Judging, and an EAA National Director. Bob and his team of volunteer computer engineers created the software that lets judges enter their scores directly on computer using a "stylus" pen.

Every few hours the judges visit the judging headquarters where the scoring is transfered to a central database. From there the information is automatically compiled, and reports are created that show the progress of the judging process.

Using the earlier, paper-based system, says Reece, "we can no longer do all the judging in the available time." He says that the new system is four times as fast as the old one.

Even the most reluctant of old-timers are embracing the new system. One veteran judge was persuaded to try the new system alongside his old reliable ring-binder paper method. After a few hours the judge marched into the judging trailer, threw the old black binder across the trailer, and yelled, "I don't want to see that thing no more."

This year 3COM has become a corporate sponsor of AirVenture Oshkosh '98 and donated 100 of their Palm Pilot Pro handheld computers for the project, replacing the previous units. All the other AirVenture judging groups, except for Warbirds, are sampling the system this year with the intention of adopting it fully next year.

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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 by Jack Hodgson here.

General Aviation, Flying, Airplanes, EAA, Experimental Aircraft Association, Wittman Field

"Around the Field" at the 1998 Oshkosh Fly-in, AirVenture 008

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 July 1998.

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Roy & Roy are neighbors at Waunakee Airport, a fly-in community near Madison, Wisconsin. Here at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh '98 they've set up their lawn chairs under the wing of a Piper Cub and are keeping an eye on the crosswind landings.

They drive to the fly-in so as not to take up space that can be used by attendees from further away. Roy owns two Cessna 150s, a 195, and a one-third finished Tailwind.

Cleared to land runway 18L. "They see that narrow little taxiway and near to have a heart attack," says the man with the big sunglasses from Niles, Michigan.

"That little thing would be just about right for my airplane." His plane is a 1946 Taylorcraft that he's owned since 1965. "I bought it from the only other guy who ever owned it."

The sunglasses man and his wife come to the fly-in every year. They drive around the lake real early, this year "a week ago Saturday," and stay until after it's over. They do day trips in their car until the show starts, "then I look at airplanes and my wife reads books."

Son, can I borrow the airplane keys? Harry Julian and his son David are admiring the Fisher Tiger Moth on display in the outdoor exhibits area. This plane is modelled after the legendary, original Tiger Moth.

Many years ago, Harry learned how to fly in a Tiger Moth. Years later, David inherited his father's appreciation for the old classic biplane and wished he could one day own one. "I love the way they sound," he says, "the way they fly, the sense of history in them."

A few years ago David bought a classic biplane kit. His plan was to build it, and then sell it to raise part of the money for the plane of his dreams. Then fate stepped in. David suddenly had the chance to buy a fully restored Tiger Moth. Of course he jumped at the chance, but, "I didn't tell dad I bought it. I just flew down and surprised him."

David, with some help from his dad, has put about 40 hours on the plane since getting it in February. And he still plans to finish the kit biplane.

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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 by Jack Hodgson here.

General Aviation, Flying, Airplanes, EAA, Experimental Aircraft Association, Wittman Field

"Around the Field" at the 1998 Oshkosh Fly-in, AirVenture 007

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 July 29, 1998.

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The grounds and facilities here at the EAA AirVenture are always in tip-top condition. That's due to people like the mother/daughter team of Karen and Michelle Lamb. We found them one evening, after dark, after the crowds had left, driving around the convention grounds in their John Deere Gator, watering the flowers and tending to the plants.

"Before the fly-in starts we can do our work during the day. But when the crowds arrive we do part of our work early in the morning, and continue in the evening."

Karen is a year-round EAA employee, who works the rest of the year on things like decorating the Museum for the holidays, and creating displays. Michelle is a sophomore, studying elementary education, at Martin Luthor College. She works for the EAA during the summers.

Sitting in the shade under the wing of his 1950 brown & tan Cessna 182, Al Plapp watches the arrivals on runway 18. Between landings he reminisces about the days when he learned to fly.

"I worked for Ron Dornink at his airport in Illinois. I painted fences, and shoveled, err, stuff, in exchange for flying lessons. It's called Ronald K. Dornink Airport, but we called it Dornink International. I stop back there as often as I can. It's still a grass strip.

"Someone has taken all the old first solo shirt tails and stitched them together into a quilt that is now on display. There must be 80 to 100 shirt tails. Mine is there.

"I think he's still got a couple of kids working for him, learning to fly."

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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 by Jack Hodgson here.

General Aviation, Flying, Airplanes, EAA, Experimental Aircraft Association, Wittman Field