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.