Saturday was a completely unscheduled day and it was fun to just wander around and take in the random wonders of AirVenture. The day started by meeting up with Paul Plack of www.aero-news.net. If you’re not familiar with Paul’s work, then you’re missing out on an informative and fun part of general aviation. Paul spent more than 25 years in front of the microphone at a variety of radio stations around the country. He now applies his creative energy to understanding all facets of general aviation and produces daily podcasts for Aero-News Network. The guy is a pro and I highly recommend his podcasts.
We recorded a podcast related to…
my 2008 National CFI of the Year and then hung out for about two hours talking about what was new and interesting at AirVenture. Later, we went to the National Association of Flight Instructors, or NAFI, tent where I introduced him to Jason Blair, NAFI’s new executive director.
A few minutes later, I bumped into Jim Campbell, who runs Aero-News Network, and jumped into his golf cart, so that we could have a few minutes to talk. Jim never stops moving and indeed he was chasing down details of a rather interesting story, now available online. Little did I know just how active the previous night had been at Oshkosh. Needless to say, it was interesting to be a fly on the wall as Jim probed to understand the conflicting details of this story and considered how best to handle it. Never a dull moment at Oshkosh
Later, I spent about an hour at the Learn to Fly center. It is right on the main access to AeroShell Plaza and it replicates many of the same displays used at the very successful KidVenture exhibit. It differs in that perspective pilots can apply for their Sport Pilot student license and walk out with it in their hands. CFI’s staff the booth to answer questions and to identify potential flight instructors for student pilots.
The volunteers’ enthusiasm was almost uncontainable. All were charged up by helping potential pilots identify next steps in getting their license. I quickly understood why when I became an impromptu volunteer at one booth. The first gentleman I talked with got his student pilot license in the tent a year ago but hadn’t started lessons. Together, we set milestones for him. The first was to not just call a local instructor during the next week, but to actually complete the inevitable phone tag and talk with him. Next we agreed he should have his first lesson by the end of August, and plan to complete his license before the next AirVenture.
The next person expressed an interest in learning to fly, although he didn’t want to fly anywhere! I assured him this was reasonable as completing a license is fun and?satisfying in itself. I gave him directions to an FBO at the nearby Appleton airport. Afterwards, I realized that I’ll be spending time this year helping to revamp the Learn to Fly center for next year, and will undoubtedly spend lots of time volunteering there next year.
After a quick lunch, I did a full tour of all of the exhibits in the four main hangars. I’m always looking for something new and different and here’s a sampling of what caught my eye.
The first find was MotoComm. They offer a complete video camera and digital recorder setup for $360. Originally designed for motorcycle riders to record their trips by sticking the camera on their helmet or handlebars, the system is perfect for recording flight lessons. In the past, I’ve used a Hi-8 camcorder to record a landings lesson for pre-solo students, but I’ve stopped doing it because of the large amount of time required to edit the tape afterwards. With this setup, one could record the entire lesson on a 1 or 2GB SD memory card and simply give the card to the student after the lesson. The DSR-100 system sells for $360. I plan to buy one to use with my students.
Next stop was the Women in Aviation booth, where I ran into two Silicon Valley friends, Pam Bohner (left) and Sandra Clifford (right), who were staffing the booth. They had participated in a photo, taken earlier in the week, of 800 women pilots, which is apparently the largest gathering of female pilots in history. Moments later, Dr. Peggy Chabrian, the WAI President walked up. She’s also an EAA director and she informed that my CFI of the Year award includes a free, one year membership to WAI. That’s great news, as it includes their magazine, edited by good friend Amy Laboda with whom I exchanged hugs earlier in the week. The organization has 14,000 members and gives away more than $500,000 in flying scholarships each year. I attended their convention in San Diego this year and was impressed by the high caliber and focus of the young people who attended, many of whom were there to work on getting an airline job. Their next convention is in Atlanta in February, 2009.
A large ADS-B sign caught my attention and brought me to the NavWorx booth. They sell an ADS-B In receiver which costs about $1500. It ouputs nearby traffic onto a display, such as a portable GPS from Garmin. It can also be panel mounted. The rub of course is that it only works in areas that have the ADS-B ground infrastructure, which is currently the eastern seaboard, part of Washington state and a few other areas including Oshkosh. However, ITT is rapidly rolling out new sites as part of their FAA contract and by 2010, they will have filled in most of the right and left coasts. Pilots living in these areas looking for a low cost way to accurately display traffic in the cockpit may want to check out this system.
As a general aviation advocate, I was intrigued by BeHeardToday.com, even though they don’t make an aviation specific product. Instead, they’ve created an easy way for people to write a letter to their elected officials. You can write five letters for free and more with a subscription. The service provides more than 300 sample letters for both sides of various issues and addresses for elected officials. They mail the letters with your signature written in one of 1000 different fonts, so that each letter looks like it’s signed by the originator. So next time you’re asked to contact Congress, for example regarding the FAA reauthorization bill that will someday make its way through the Senate, consider this service.
I stopped into see the Mutt Muffs ladies who sell ear protection devices for dogs. Michelle and Cheri are always a riot and I can only imagine what they must be like at a party. I complimented them on the website, which I’d reviewed after Sun ‘n Fun. They showed me one of their new videos which is pure silliness and worth a few seconds of your time to watch. You'll find even more by searching on youtube.com for "Mutt Muffs."
You might think that my magical week couldn’t get any better but it did. At 4:30, I made my way to where EAA offers Ford Trimotor rides. As I arrived at the plane, the pilot called out “Who’s the CFI of the Year” and he sent me to the front of the plane to take the copilot’s seat. After the passengers were loaded, he fired up all three radial engines and we headed for the runway.
The plane is perhaps one of four remaining Ford Trimotor aircraft in flyable condition. It was built in 1929 for Pitcairn Airways and later flew as Eastern Air Transport, which became Eastern Airlines. In the 1930’s it began working for a Cuban airline and in 1946 became the “Air Force One” of the Dominican Republic. It came back to the U.S. in 1949 as a crop duster and 
later as a fire bomber for the U.S. Forest Service. It later appeared in a movie and was used to give rides around the country. In 1973, it crashed while near the ground during a thunderstorm, breaking it into 3 pieces. EAA purchased the wreck and began a 12-year restoration project leading to a static display for six years. In 1991, EAA began offering rides in the plane at AirVenture.
After the air boss cleared us for takeoff, we lifted off at 65 mph and climbed to 800 feet where I took over the controls. I made a few turns and discovered that the aileron and rudder forces are much higher than a typical GA aircraft. It also exhibits a lot of adverse yaw in turns. It was a lot of fun and was over all too soon.
In this last photo, note that the engine gauges (three of them) are mounted vertically on the pylon that secures the engine to the wing. In case you’re thinking of buying you own Trimotor, plan to buy about 50 gallons of Avgas per hour to keep it running. Also, plan to smile a lot as you fly it!