Visit to the M.A.S.H Reenactment Village - AirVenture 2018

Thank you for stopping into Timber Life to see what's going on today...I know I've been speaking in memories the last few days because I didn't get a chance to relate my experiences at the time of my visit back in 2018; all my information  wasn't conveniently at hand.

On this day,my second full day at AirVenture, it  was already hot and humid by 9:46 A.M. as I walked from the Replica Fighters Association Headquarters down passed Fighter Town  on a reconnaissance mission Wednesday morning July 25,2018, my opportunity to checkout the M.A.S.H reenactment village .

I must admit I didn't go into the village because I was still recuperating from my respiratory difficulty and just wanted to get some pictures to add to my recollections of a past era in our country's history.

I shed a few tears as I stood in front of these trucks ...Who knows maybe my Dad had something to do with them in their time in history? I experienced some acknowledgements of passers-by in my expression of emotion as I stood taking pictures. Thank you for your acknowledgements if you should happen to read this little blog post.

Remember M*A*S*H the television show that captivated audiences for nine years? It was on my evening watch list in it's first run and occasionally I catch it now for nostalgic purposes.

The aircraft above was used in the award-winning M*A*S*H television series and  is a Bell H-13 Sioux, the U.S. Army equivalent of the Bell 47D-1.  The helicopter that flew in the television series has a history of being converted to an agricultural field sprayer before being refurbished once again for display at Fly-ins. 

Traveling Back in History

My Dad, John Koenig ,served in the 74th Engineer Heavy Equipment Company,APO 301 in South Korea. I hold a few of his letters and pictures home to his parents in the archives of his experiences...

Please check back for more of my memories of explorations of towns and countryside around Oshkosh during AirVenture 2018.

Until next time...Have a Great Day!

EAA AirVenture 2018 Airbus Theater

It was with  thankfulness to Corey that I was able to get down to EAA AirVenture Airbus Theater Tuesday evening July 24,2018, to catch the movie Dunkirk with him. I know he'd been busy with the guys at Replica Fighters Headquarters during the day while I stayed in Appleton inside recuperating from the respiratory illness contracted as we left from home Sunday, so I would be able to attend the movie. 

While the evening was settling in, the Ultralight people were getting their crafts put away...The sky writer was busy letting everyone know what the Experimental Aircraft Association felt about those in attendance and otherwise hectic schedules were beginning to take on a slower pace as night fell over the crowds wherever they chose to be.

After arriving to the open air theater for the evening showing, I began to experience some allergy symptoms and not thinking ahead initially I didn't place a person's best friend in that type of situation, kleenex in my purse. Corey was very helpful in going to  the car to get a supply so the evening wouldn't be a total loss with me feeling the pressure not to breathe. Since this was the only movie evening fitting into our schedule of which we were sure of the weather being half-way descent to sit out in the open.

The movie brought anxious moments for me just thinking about how the young men standing without any type of protection from enemy fire must have felt. The choices to leave the injured and dying because there wasn't any room to return to home.

If you have an interest in watching war movies , I would suggest this one because the outcome is one of heroics when the small boat fleet arrived to pickup survivors that otherwise may not have had a second chance at life.

The emotions of the Survivors often lead to choices to right what they see as a shortcoming in their own lives on the Battlefield. 

 

Thank you for giving us a chance to see the movie  at the AIRBUS Theater - EAA AirVenture 2018!

Afternoon Airshow EAA AirVenture 2018 Part 2

As I said in my previous post I wouldn't try to put every picture up on my blog that I took through Corey and my whole trip to EAA AirVenture 2018 but you never know...  I'm headed back to some more pictures of the Monday afternoon Airshow.

I would like to offer an apology to Gene Soucy for the misspelling of his name in the last post. You'll find his aerobatic skills aloft at AirVenture and other Air Shows throughout the country. I've discovered that one of his past aerobatic Team members happened to be Tom Poberezny   , they once formed the Red Devils Aerobatic Team along with Charlie Hillard.

When I wasn't snapping happy pictures in front of me I was checking out the  Jumbo Tron behind me to see what was in the staging area for next up on the field.

One of the female pilots  named Jessy Panzer taking the air Monday afternoon in her little Pitts Special reminded me of the free spirited pioneer women aviators Pancho Barnes or Amelia Earhart . I've found a video to let you see the skills Jessy shared with us on the ground. She is a graduate of the famous Emery-Riddle Aeronautical University starting her flying career at 18 years old.

As a woman it would be my opinion the purple,black and white paint job of the Pitts to be appealing. A little hot rod bi- plane.

As you can see in the collage I wanted to bring your attention to CriCri once again, the little planes ability to find itself up among the clouds. It's petite size didn't stop it from heading into perfect air to keep everyone captivated below. Were you there?

One more little plane that brought up the end of the afternoon show for us was  Navy Pilot  Justin Lewis in the high performance FLS Microjet ;  designed in the 1970's by Jim Bede of Bede Aircraft. Eventually the building rights ended up in the ownership of  Ed (“Skeeter”) and Richard Karnes when they started BD Micro Technologies, Inc. (BMT) in 1992 and they began distributing the Flight Line Series of kits for the homebuilder.

Imagine for a moment with me if you will a drag race between the Dracula Demon Bi-plane flown by Kurt Franklin and the Ford XROK driven by Vaughn Gittin's Jr..

Pictured on the Jumbo Tron above is the start of the Race  on the runway, of which I wasn't able to see sitting from my location on the ground.

In the short burst of speed we all know who led and headed on his way to meet every other aviator who was sharing AirVenture Airspace.

You may or may not know who I'm talking about! The Dracula Demon Bi-plane flown by Aerobatic expert Kurt Franklin of course.

If you should ever get the chance to see an Airshow go have some fun already !

Until next time have a Great Day!

Afternoon Airshow EAA AirVenture 2018

How far sidetracked can one individual get?!? Well, let me see...After a year and a month , maybe, I'll work on relating what I saw during my days at EAA AirVenture 2018.

I remember having some interesting conversations with Replica Fighters Association /EAA members while sitting on the front porch of Replica Fighters Association Headquarters. I must admit I wasn't at my best health-wise during Corey and my visit to AirVenture.

Monday afternoon Corey and I headed down to the Airfield after stopping to see about some Experimental Aircraft Association wearables and trinkets. We were successful in getting t-shirts but couldn't find the yearly hat pin for his hat.

The following pictures are those I  snapped as we sat in the hot sun. Spectacular sights were to be had with all the planes lifting skyward, looping, twisting and then gliding over the runway in front of us to a stop.

I'd come down with a respiratory ailment Sunday morning as we loaded the car to head north.  The respiratory difficulty was a replay of 2016 when I caught what was going around in our community, pneumonia like in expression : seems to arise during allergy season and of course the heat and humidity aren't my friend either when these symptoms take root.

I alternated visits  staying inside at our hotel with mainly  fresh air excursions at Oshkosh.

Tuesday, I stayed inside listening to music and sermons by Dr. David Jeremiah, getting time to be quiet and looking at all the Airshow pictures I took on Monday,  while Corey got to spend time with the guys as I healed from my respiratory ailment. I took my selfie in our room in Appleton after Corey had gone.

I'm going to put a few fun pictures in from the Airshow. I'd put every picture I took through my whole trip on here, but you know...

It looks like I'm going to write a few more posts about my experiences with Corey at EAA AirVenture 2018 at Oshkosh and just maybe add a few other ones about the birds and bees.The things I do to make my daily life a little more interesting.

No, I won't try to do it ALL today...

Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture 2018 Excursion - Day 2

Replica Fighters Headquarters as the day was winding down July 28,2018

Monday morning July23rd came into view and we headed off  from Appleton towards our day at EAA AirVenture 2018 to meet some of the guys at the Replica Fighters Association Head Quarters.

Of course Corey was a well known member of the club being editor to the group Replica Fighter's magazine and he introduced me to a few other club members present when we arrived.

The front porch of  Headquarters became a forum in itself. We sat discussing airplanes, past and present projects, as well as EAA group endeavors  to keep the art of amateur builders engaged into the future. How is your EAA group being challenged?

One of the most notable draws for Homebuilders during the week was that of the Bally Bomber.

We at the Replica Fighters Association were privileged to have the one-third scale B-17 Bomber, parked right outside the door. Most of the time people were milling about with everyone trying to get interviews and pictures of builder Jack Bally and his support team.

However, I was around in the evening after the crowds dwindled and the Bomber was being put to rest , preparing for another day.

There were several WWl planes on display  at the Headquarters during the week. Among the displays was this WWl Fokker Dr1 triplane owned by William French. He was given the "Best WWl" award at the Club Barbeque on Friday evening July 28,2018.

The Nieuport l7above was constructed by Dick Hartzler whoes business is crafting Spun Aluminum Cowlings for vintage aircraft. (please click on  Spun Aluminum Cowling to find more information)

My aviation interest spans many genre of planes, but of course WWI happens to be a favorite since Corey and I own Voisin 3/5. A design incorporating two different models of the French built Bi-plane Bombers.

I've heard  Corey speak of several individuals during his past encounters with gaining information on building and attending events where you can walk up to the plane to examine other builders concepts of a designers plans. It was my pleasure to meet a bunch of these people at Oshkosh...including Dick Hartzler owner of the Nieuport 17 and the owner of the "Fat Fokker"DVII, Daryl Porter both having used Robert Baselee's Airdrome Aeroplanes for their supplier .  We used the porch of the Replica Fighters Association to chat about what life brings to those in the serious pursuit of aircraft building and flying.

A"Fat Fokker" DVII built by  Daryl Porter

SE5a a British Bi-plane Fighter tethered at the Replica Fighters Association flight line and built by Randell Roy

In the afternoon Corey and I headed off to do some EAA merchandise shopping and ended up with a couple of T-shirts to commemorate my first Airventure and hopefully the start of a venue of exploration. One can always learn something new!

Next on our agenda for the afternoon was the daily Airshow. I had a great time photographing all the speeding jets, bi-planes and cars provided by Ford, now a sponsor for activities at EAA Airventure held in Oshkosh, WI. at Walt Whitman Field.

Once the Airshow was completed it was time for us to head back to our Hotel to relax and cool off...

Stay tuned for day 3, I hope to be back sooner than the last post.