ANN-E-I-C Note: As you read this, over 2 dozen ANN
staffers, stringers and associates are finally arriving back
home after working their (expletive deleted)'s off at the annual
Oshkosh aerial insane asylum. We shot a record amount of material
(and dozens of amazing Aero-TV and Aero-Cast programs are now
undergoing development), wrote more stories than ever before and
quite simply, had a blast working ourselves into a state of
semi-consciousness with the BEST Oshkosh Crew we've EVER assembled.
We will be re-running our carefully crafted Aero-TV Daily reports
each day this week so that those of you who were at the "Big
O" can see what we did while you were in Wisconsin trying to dry
off and relive the best of the truly amazing (if soggy) week
that was Oshkosh 2010.
Following that, we have some surprises for you... big
ones -- REALLY big ones. And that means more than just dozens
of REALLY great new stories, even greater Aero-TV programs (using
some really slick new cameras that will blow you away), and some
truly amazing Aero-Casts... and then... well... how about ANN's
most aggressive site upgrade in the last five years?
That's right! There's a whole new ANN site coming
SOON... and it will debut in a matter of days... and
that's ONLY A SMALL PART OF THE GREAT NEW THINGS WE HAVE COMING
YOUR WAY... stay tuned!!! -- Jim Campbell, Deeply Fatigued and
Somewhat Soggy Editor-In-Chief/CEO (Guy Who Takes The Blame).
**************
USA Today, which for whatever reason now has a standing policy
of talking down general aviation, was out on the second day of
Oshkosh 2010 with a cheap shot at EAA AirVenture.
Tuesday's story on page 3A appeared under a subhead that reads,
"Air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin has history of fatal crashes. The
writer, Alan Levin, did acknowledge that the fatals to which he
referred did not involve the airshow at Oshkosh, and that most
involved obvious pilot mistakes, and many weren't even in the
area.
Also below the fold, Levin admits that the incidents involving
fuel exhaustion, stall/spins, and encounters with weather beyond
the skills of the pilots are a microcosm of accident causes
everywhere in GA.
But the most disturbing sensationalized distortion is a claim by
Levin about homebuilt aircraft. "Accident data show that such
planes have about a five-fold higher risk of crashes." Levin
doesn't attribute that statement to any actual statistic, so we
have no idea where he picked up that misinformation.
ANN CEO and Editor in Chief Jim Campbell got reaction from Dick
Knapinski, EAA's Director of Media Relations.
In better news, Flight Design announced the availability of its
popular CTLS on floats. We got details from Tom Peghiny.
We were introduced to a new company at Oshkosh this year. Oma
Sud brought its unique Skycar to Oshkosh this year.
Electric aircraft technology is a growing story again this yea
at Oshkosh. Sikorsky brought its Firefly electric helicopter
technology demonstrator.
And finally, the ever-inventive crews of ANN and Aero-TV offer
you a sunny look (now that the rains nave subsided) at the more
positive side of Oshkosh... the one apparently never seen by USA
Today...
Join us again tomorrow for our next daily update on EAA
AirVenture Oshkosh 2010... from Aero-TV.