Synopsis of my AirVenture 2018 Journey

 Sunday morning July 22,2018, came early at the Butcher household. Corey and I finished packing the car and headed towards the Mecca of the Airplane Home-builder at Oshkosh,WI,  AirVenture 2018. It would be my first time experiencing the sights and sounds of the World’s largest airplane extravaganza.

Reaching Oshkosh we made contact with Replica Fighters Association President Tony Pileggi and made plans for the following week.

Monday morning July 23rd ,came into view and we headed off  from  our lodging at 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 Fighters Association Magazine over many years and he introduced me to a few other club members present when we arrived.

 The front porch of  Headquarters actually became a forum in and of itself. We sat discussing airplanes, past and present projects, as well as Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter endeavors ,discussing how to keep the art of amateur builders engaged into the future.

One of the individuals Corey and I chatted with was RFA member Ernie Moreno. Our conversation included how challenges arise for the local EAA Chapters in coping with bureaucracy. As we sat conversing, one of Corey and my fellow local EAA 675 members,Dave McCurry stopped by to check to see if we made it up to AirVenture and let us know he and his wife were also in the area.

A notable draw for Home-builders during the week was that of the Bally Bomber, pictured below.

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. But I stood in awe at the one part of the day when all was quiet as if the Bomber had been put to bed for the night.

More current news as of June 21,2020, the Aviation Community lost the man,Jack Bally who lived his dream and drive to build the extraordinary replica the Bally Bomber...

As the morning flew along on Monday, Corey and I went to take a look around one of the Marts to look into a new power plant for the Voisin 3/5 rebuild. We didn’t find one that would fit our criteria but certainly gained some valuable information.

In our walk to the Mart from Fighter Town we met up with a gentleman from Ames,IA that
Corey knows in association with being an A&P Mechanic ,Wayne Bausch that has done  work on a plane he flew for a friend. I found out what a small world we actually  have when I finally attend an AirVenture.  During our brief stop this F- 15 bomber kept popping up over us so I dropped my camera bag ,readying my camera to snap pictures as I listened for the burst of the jet engine, then it would  come into sight .

There were always multiple types of aerial activities going on perpetually over the AirVenture grounds so it was hard for me to put  my camera down. 

One of the most notable among the variety of aircraft  aloft was  The B-29 Boeing Superfortress called "Doc" ; it was an exhilirating moment when I was able to catch him floating overhead.

  Since I’d not had a chance to see the  afternoon Airshow we headed off from RFA Headquarters to the EAA Wearhouse to do some shopping for T-shirts. We needed to add to our wardrobe to commemorate our week and then went over to the airstrip sideline  to get a good place to sit .

We spent the afternoon watching planes of all makes and models zipping by in front of us. Our heads followed the numerous loops above. plus so many other things happening closer to us on the ground.

With the end of the Airshow we headed back to our lodging to cool off. Time to get ready for the rest of the week

Please come back to see in what direction our days took us!

Until then 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!

Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture 2018 - Day 1

Sunday morning July 22,2018, Corey and I stirred out of bed to pack the car to start the journey to my first experience at what is considered the meeting of all meetings for those interested in buying kits or plans for creating home-built airplanes. It includes so many venues to do with the history of flight and the product of men's vision turned into reality.

Our trip had us headed northeast to the venue EAA Airventure  in Oshkosh,WI created by a man named Paul Poberezny. It was time to make a personal appearance at AirVenture to offer the possibility of getting a set of plans for Corey's concept plane the Voisin 3/5.

Paul Poberezny founder of the Experimental Aircraft Association stopped by the Replica Fighter Association's Headquarters to address a  forum the year Corey took his plane to introduce  the

World War l French Bomber design.

A definite highlight of  that trip so many years ago was being able to discuss the history of Aviation

spanning Continents  with Mr. Poberezny.

We had made our stop to obtain the admission bracelets for the week and once again got on the road to find  our accommodations.

Driving Wisconsin Highway 41 in front of AirVenture I was continually finding interesting photo subjects.

This  Billboard was an attention getter and a beacon  for a record breaking crowd at this year's gathering of Aviation enthusiasts.

 

Our destination for July 22-July 28,2018

The fastest way for some AirVenture  attendees to arrive was to set a Notam for Oshkosh's Wittman Airport. 

You can see the runways in the map above are adjacent to the EAA grounds.

As I look at the calendar I see it was one month ago today that I got to see some new territory.
 

Time to end my little post  for the first day of our excursion. If you got to go I hope you too can remember the sights and sounds of all the planes overhead and on display. The adrenaline rush that came with hearing engines rev to put the props or jets skyward.

Until next time...Have a great day!

Visit to Strategic Air Command

Today, I want to go back to the beginning of the month, Saturday, April 7,2018, to be exact. It had been in the planning stages off an on for the last couple of years...A trip to the Strategic Air Command in Ashland,NE. of course!
A small group of the guys from Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 675 decided to head out for a field trip. My husband Corey, long-time EAA 675 Newsletter Editor and I picked-up a young flight instructor from Perry,IA by the name of Jonathan Walter. So he too could enjoy an outing, walking under the wings of our historic giant Warbirds.

As we drove up the entrance drive to the parking lot we were met with this glass atrium enclosure covering the SR - 71 Blackbird.

I really liked the color contrast of the Convair SM-65 Atlas missle standing guard over it's surrounding backdrop. The air was crip and warming as the sun spent more time hovering overhead.We found a space to park...wandered around outside snapping a few pictures and then ended up inside to start touring at our own paces. Thank you to the gentleman and his wife that each added their push the button presence to our club cameras.

Paul Adams -Club President, Dianna Butcher, Corey Butcher ,to the back of Corey,Jonathan Walter,
Robert Richtsmeier,Joaquin Williams in front and Dave McCurry rounds out our entourage for the day.

I

I won't be adding any pictures today of the Planes we saw during our visit to the two spacious display areas. However, please keep checking back for my view of the mammouth Warbirds.

I would like to share the storyboard that I found sitting  beside the SR-71 as we waited to gather for the club picture.

Taking words from the sign... Let's

                  Imagine.Innovate.Inspire.

Have a Great Day!

10th Avenue North and Mercy Me

 The day finally arrived ,Thursday,April 12,2018 as we found our way to a local event venue  the Wells Fargo Arena in downtown Des Moines.We'd been planning our attendance since December - to make this night apart of our renewed Concert going list. We weren't disappointed as we joined others from the Youth Group and a few other adults from our Church.

It's been years since Corey and I've taken time to stand in such numbers of Christian Sisters and Brothers.

A young man named Tim Timmons was the first to take the stage,sharing his testimony of God's  healing touch from cancer and his God given talent to accompany himself on his guitar - raising the name of Jesus in Praise.Please click on his name and it'll take you to his blog where you'll learn about his music and the miracle of Life that God has provided to him.

A little later 10th Avenue North pictured in the top three pictures came out to get the crowd up and moving.



Do you know the music of 10th Avenue North? I would like to share their musical video of their song "Worn". Questions you might have asked yourself or emotions you may have felt?

The main attraction for the evening was the group MercyMe headed by Bart Millard a 45 year old musician, who through hardships beyond his control in life,found a way to express the Redeeming Love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ...

Bart began to write the song I Can Only Imagine at the end of his father's life after going through an abusive childhood . His father Arthur Millard ended up surrendering his life to Jesus before passing away from pancreatic cancer attributed to alcoholism.

If you haven't already had the opportunity to see the recent release of the movie of Bart's life with the same  name as the video below "I Can Only Imagine"...I would like to suggest making time to do so.

The witness of his struggles and the path he's taken to bring Glory to God through all of it is inspirational. It isn't that others haven't had the same problems, it's his willingness to show how we can become overcomers of our circumstances.

With our human eyes and minds we aren't able to fathom the awesomeness of perpetually standing in front of our Divine Father in heaven. We can only imagine by the words given to us in the Bible until we pass from this earthly life,knowing for ourselves - shaking off the cares of the world.

 I hope through my short post that I've created an interest in knowing these musicians God given abilities to speak to the Spirit within you.

Have a Blessed Day!

A footnote here.For more information about these musicians - please double click on words highlighted by a different color than the original text. You'll be redirected to another website.

Pelicans and Gulls Galore

 Late Sunday April1,2018,  April Fool's Day it wasn't a joke when we found huge Pods of migrating Pelicans scattered across Lake Red Rock in Central Iowa, accompanied by a flock of  Ring-billed Gulls. As we watched the Gulls they would snatch up little fish close to the sitting Pelicans, which would in turn rile them up and put them in the chase mode.

The channel closest to the Dam was full of Pelicans vying for position. As they sat bobbing up and down the water pushed them backwards...Eventually they would lift up a few feet off the surface and move closer as they rested to continue to their breeding grounds.

We did spot individuals who felt it less necessary to be in a clustered group setting over other sections of the Lake, but it was more enjoyable of course to be able to get closer to watch for awhile.

You might be able to see in the pictures the feather tufts or otherwise known as plumage starting midpart of the head and the bumps or horns on the anterior part of the upper jaw. Those two features I've read indicate the seasonal preparation for breeding in the American White Pelican.

So much Spring migration activity is already underway! Looking forward to the next month and a half for the stragglers to pass through...

Have a Great Day!

Facebook a Problem for You

My title today is of a great concern to me... Has it become a problem in your personal life?

I went to Facebook from Blogging in January of 2009 to be with a group of people that I'd made connections with in the Blogosphere beginning in late 2006. My understanding of both worlds, Blogging and Social Media have grown expotentially within that time period. Keeping up with the trends,twists and turns constantly being placed in my path...along with responsibilities of home,family and yes,at times helping others. I can't say I know everything about Facebook, but what I do know, I will share from my point of view.

Even after years of sporadically writing my Blog I still don't know the total outreach of whom it has touched.

Sometimes, I run into situations where I know people are using my words from Facebook,my Blog here at Timber Life and they are voicing it openly to identify if they were spoken/written by me,Dianna Butcher. My written voice is different than my vocalizations on a person to person basis most of the time. When I feel strongly about an issue - that's when I start talking. I would be narrow minded to believe what I've said publicly won't have become an issue for some.

Admittedly, I did state on Facebook to my Son-in-Law(probably two years ago at least)who has become a Pastor that if I should say something that could be used to further the Kingdom of God in a Sermon, I would be glad to be apart of it.

Now, I'd like to discuss some difficulties I've experienced over the years of exposure on the Internet/ Social Media. For the longest time I only wrote under my psuedonym CDGardens a compilation of my husband Corey's and my first initials plus Gardens since I was trying to decide what I wanted to be called in the Market Garden realm,  wanting to keep my location and identity under wraps.

I left Twitter many years ago because I kept having problems with Russian Hackers taking over my account.  I really didn't want to have to concentrate so hard on keeping that segment of my Social interaction going.Unless you remain actively engaged,monitoring your account, it's easy for impersonators to steal your identity.
  
 In 2008 the power for anonymity was removed totally from me or so I felt. My husband wanted to document his flight from our home grass strip with his WWI French Voisin 3/5 concept design to the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture at Oshkosh which was placed on Youtube. Our information was placed on many websites, including his own www.voisin35.com . Corey, with his excellent editing and artistic ability has been able to create some outstanding publications for the Replica Fighters Association  and the local Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 675 . So, I didn't feel it a problem when I started writing about us in this Blog and speaking of our relationship on Facebook.

Getting back to Facebook - It can be a tool to help build a business, a charity, or personal relationships . With so many layers of communication it can become a problem for people as well. We all assume that if we are friends we'll all know what is happening in each others circle of friends, but with time it becomes evident you may or may not know what even your friends are saying. Our transparency can become guarded when we find just one thing that we can't agree upon.

Please let me explain...Speaking in terms of Corey and myself.

1.We started out as individual profiles on Facebook - Corey became a co-administrator of EAA 675 under the name of eebutcher in December 2012, my profile was established in 2009 as Dianna Butcher. 

2.We then decided to do a joint account for a time,shared accounts can give some people a misunderstanding of who might actually be posting. So, to make a clarification we added our own name at the end of the post or choose to stand individually in support of one another. I changed  my profile name to Dianna Koenig Butcher to reach some family members that otherwise may not know who I am.

3. In an effort to put the Voisin 3/5 plans up for sale and reconstruction progress in front of the public, we started talking about it on Facebook. So, that was one more reason for Corey to have an individual profile to promote his concept plane.

I do have co-administrative rights of my own for Voisin 3/5 now but  posted under Corey's name during July 2016. If you look at his profile posts or timeline you may not see anything other than what I post. Speaking in jest it gives me the impression that he wants others to know He's nothing without me. 😇

There are times when someone may make a comment on a post on Faceboook that isn't seen by the individual because of operating system incongruitites. Please speak to the individual on a one to one basis to know if they've received your intended message - that is if you don't happen to see a response to your's.

In this Facebook oriented Society it is a problem when we gauge our full knowledge about who someone is by what's posted. They may not be clear in where they're coming from in their statements.

If Facebook has a place in your daily existence - please don't allow it to consume all your time or your energy...

Have a Great Day!

Song Day Easter Morning - I've Just Seen Jesus

Today is a Glorious Day!

Another day in which I can send Praise to Father God for the gift of His Son,Jesus Christ.



Do you ever come into situations in your lives where your thoughts don't make sense to others? 

Well, in order not to confuse anyone about the facts of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ I'm going to use an eye witness accounts.

                    

                               John Chapter 20:1-30(NIV)

The Empty Tomb

20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Jesus Appears to Thomas

24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed;blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

The Purpose of John’s Gospel

30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe[b] that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Have A BLESSED Day!