by ANN Correspondent Scott Wagner

I'd been on the ground at Oshkosh for three hours -- three action packed hours. Then I realized: the show hasn't even started yet. Man, this is going to be great.

As I walked the grounds in search of a story, a B-25 and a P-51 flew an overhead pattern, with a right break for landing. I looked up and thought "When was the last time I saw something like that?"

The answer came quickly. It was at AirVenture 2001, the last time I was here.

Since then, the world has changed in ways I never could have imagined, but one thing has remained the same. AirVenture is THE place to see things you won't see anywhere else. Even though the ground crews were still putting the final touches on the landscaping and the exhibitors still setting up, I was already deep into AirVenture mode.

A quick trip on foot revealed more: In the classic area, four beautiful blue and yellow Stearman biplanes were lined up in perfect formation. They looked like they were waiting for their young Lieutenants to come back and take them up for their afternoon training hop... training to prepare them to fly the B-25 and P-51 that had just landed.

My mind jumped to wonder if anyone in 2066 will care about the T-37's and T-38's that are preparing today's brave pilots for war.

A J-3 Cub sat in the shade. A great plane, definitely.. but nothing really remarkable there. But wait... this wasn't a normal Cub; it's black, with a yellow lightning bolt. I'll find the owner sometime this week; there might be a story there.

In the exhibit area, Paul Poberezny's old Mustang, Paul 1 sat innocently in the middle of everything. Anywhere else in the universe, other than AirVenture would have found me staring at any P-51 for at least 20 minutes, but I walked right by. I've seen Paul 1 before, I've seen it with Paul driving it, so I didn't need to stop.

Was I already calloused? Had I lost my passion for things with wings? No, that wasn't it. AirVenture is an overdose of aviation, even for an addict. You have to pace yourself. There is too much to see, and moreover... THE SHOW HASN'T STARTED YET!

All the while, the North 40 and Camp Scholler were filling up, the B2OSH, C2O and the Mooney Caravan all arrived, along with an endless string of homebuilts, warbirds and classics. All things considered, it was a very good day, and it's going to get better. If you are on your way, hurry up... you might miss something. If you're still thinking about it, let me decide for you... get here!

And if you can't make it, you have my sympathies. Start planning now for next year.

FMI: www.airventure.org