Tag Archives: Oshkosh WI

Time to Celebrate Founder’s Day – The EAA’s 66th Birthday!

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Many of the FASF members throughout the country are active members of this great General Aviation organization, which was first begun in Wisconsin, 66 years ago this Saturday.  The majority of the two local or nearby EAA Chapters, the 555 in Las Cruces, NM, and the 1570 in Santa Teresa, NM, are active FASF members, for instance.  The growth of this non-profit aviation interest organization over the past 66 years is nothing short of phenomenal.

The EAA is  probably best known for its regular annual creation of the LARGEST AIR SHOW IN THE WORLD.  Each year at the organization’s headquarters in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the EAA hosts this huge AirVenture aviation extravaganza.

It’s a show that has been normally pulling in some half a million attendees each year, and this past season’s 2018 attendance hit 601,000.  Not just does it pull people in such large numbers to witness its exciting air show events, but it also brings in a record number of airplanes, too: 10,000 airplanes just this AirVenture 2018.  Usually held the from the last Monday in July each year, it runs for a full week.  People book at B&B’s, private homes, and Motels and Hotels a year in advance just to be sure they don’t miss this lavish exhibition of Aviation, from Civil to military. Many others use the ample campgrounds for tents or the more luxurious RV parking facilities.

Here, below, is a short (1:05 minute) FOUNDER’S DAY video clip to summarize the event. By clicking anywhere on this following image you will be taken directly to the EAA’s Founder’s Day homepage, where you can again click to see the video itself. While at the EAA site, you may want to see some of their other fascinating and informative videos, also accessible on that page.

Here below is the “Best of Photography,” a video collage of the some of the best photographs selected from the vast numbers taken and submitted for judging at AirVenture 2018.  The video is thanks the EAA itself, and for their efforts at choosing the top photos taken from those submitted this past year. The video (8:54 long) does a fine job of giving both the uninitiated – and the experienced AirVenturists, a clear idea of the vast plethora of colorful and impressive aircraft that gathered to show off during last July’s one-week celebratory convention in Oshkosh.  If at your computer, with a large screen monitor, remember to go full-screen to more deeply appreciate these fine photographs.

If you find this topic of enough interest, just do a search in our small search window at the above right side of this page, and enter the word “AirVenture” (without the quotation marks), and, voilà, you’ll find other great full-action videos we’ve posted over the years that cover various other AirVenture adventures.  Enjoy!

This last video (below) is 33 minutes of outstanding show material, all shot during the AirVenture 2018 event by the AirShowStuff professionals.  You will of course also find their homepage right where it has been listed on our LINKS page for many years. Visit them and see some of the most colorful and exceptional video of airplanes in action to be found anywhere. These people are masters at their craft.

 

 

A TRIP BACK IN TIME – THE AIRLINER THAT SHRUNK THE U.S.

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. . . and ushered in a new era for humankind. 

The inimitable Douglas DC-3, the airliner that changed the way the world traveled back in the mid to late 1930s, and that doggedly remains with us to this day (see 2nd video below), delivering cargo and people, often into places other more modern aircraft cannot safely fly.

The following video is from a promotional film from one of that famous airliner’s biggest customer-users, AMERICAN AIRLINES.

Your webmaster’s first ride on a DC-3 was beyond memorable.  It was back in 1948, when this airliner was still going strong.

I was visiting from the suburbs of Chicago, where I had lived most my life, and vacationing at my Grandmother’s in Hollywood, CA,, when I was suddenly wired by Western Union (remember those telegrams?) to report for my College Navy ROTC Physical Exam in NYC – – – in only a week.

I’d driven my car from Chicago for my first visit to California and it had taken me a grueling two week’s time to make the journey.  There was simply no way I could pack things up and report in NYC in only a week.

So, I immediately sold my car to a local dealer (I’d always sold autos on my own, after refurbishing them, for a handy profit) in a hurry, booked a ticket to Chicago with American Airlines, and flew back home to Chicago – – – on my first long airline flight, and in none other than that inimitable one-and-only Douglas DC-3!

When driving around CA and the LA area, we’d always honked whenever we saw another Illinois license plate drive by.  Interstate Freeways were still but a dream.  When I arrived in Chicago, I quickly reached over and honked my Mom’s horn at other passing cars – – – but she pointed out I was back home, where almost all the cars were from Illinois.

The short time it had taken me to fly home threw my sense of time and space completely off. But, I was now initiated –  by the DC-3 – into the realm of modern era long-distance air transportation!

Only 7 years later, now a college graduate and a USAF Pilot, I was given the privilege of actually being checked out to fly that same much admired DC-3, which we Air Force pilots affectionately called the “Gooney Bird” or C-47.  What a delightful plane it was to fly.  Easy to handle, stable as one would ever want, and, for a tail-wheeled airplane, still not hard to land.

However, after flying single-engined jets, where one sits only feet off the ground, this cockpit had me sitting almost two stories up. That was quite a change.

Without further ado, here’s the DC-3 story video, which is 25:12 in length.  Remember to keep your volume up – and to immediately switch to full-screen, so you can appreciate this film.

[As an aside: We’d like to bring your attention to the many other fascinating and meaningful peeks back into history provided by the good folks at Periscope Films.  Their catalog is loaded with great film/video materials on a broad variety of topics.  Check them out!]

And, here below, is another video, showing how we are now refurbishing this great workhorse flying machine, and making it good for many more years to come.  From THE AVIATORS Season 3 – “GIVING THE VENERABLE DC-3 NEW LIFE” – This video is just shy of 13:00 minutes long: