EAA (Experimental Aircraft Assocation) AirVenture 2008
Entrance to the EAA AirVenture 2008
My husband and I recently treated our kids (and ourselves) to the EAA AirVenture 2008 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It was a lot more exciting than your average weekend family outing. The day we went, it was waaaay too hot to walk through the entire grounds. Buy the time we reached the Warbirds area, we were melting. Luckily, a storm blew past in the afternoon to cool us down, so we stayed to see most of the air show… which, by the way, was fantastic.
They call the EAA AirVenture “The World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration”, and they’re not kidding. There was so much to see and do that it was almost overwhelming. We missed some things including the museum, but it didn’t really matter. There were plenty of vendor exhibits, aircrafts on display, demonstrations, videos, workshops, and the like to keep a person busy for days. For $40 you could even go on a helicopter ride, and $55 would get you on a Tri-Motor flight. B17 rides were available for a whopping $425.
Here are a few pictures of the air show…
These parachuters carried the American flag and trailed red smoke behind them as they descended to the ground.
A Navy plane being pulled down the runway.
"The Collaborators" - They skillfully created patterns in the sky.
I was really excited to see not one, but TWO women pilots showing off their stuff in the air show! Aviation is one of the last strongholds men have as a profession in the U.S. Or, in this case, I’m not sure if this is their profession, or if it’s more like a serious hobby. I was also surprised to learn that one of the women, Chandy Clanton, is actually close to my age (30 something) and a stay at home mom raising two kids. Go, girl! :)
Here’s an awesomely futuristic gadget (see below). For $100,000, you can buy your very own Martin Jet Pack. According to their website at http://www.martinjetpackusa.com, the first customer deliveries are expected in late 2009.
The Martin Jet Pack
Cool stuff! I would've been even more impressed if this guy had demonstrated for us.
Another one of my favorites is this aircraft by Sadler. http://www.sadleraircraft.com/
This experimental aircraft by Sadler is called the Vampire.
U.S. Coast Guard helicopter
Well, that’s about it. I wish I had more photos but the camera seemed to be malfunctioning due to operator error. LOL Have you ever flown an aircraft? Or rode in something special? I’d love to hear about your experiences.