Synopsis of my AirVenture 2018 Journey - Part 2

Tuesday rolled around and Corey needed to be at Replica Fighters Headquarters early to man the information desk to answer questions for potential members to the club.I stayed at the hotel for some down time because of  becoming ill as we prepared to leave home on Sunday. I did get out of the hotel when Corey picked me up to come back to  attend the movie Dunkirk with him. The evening air made for a pleasant event at the Airbus Theater as it became cool and crisp sitting in the open air.

Wow! Wednesday on the horizon and I decided to give walking the grounds another try. Corey had some RFA business to attend to so I was on my own for awhile. I wanted to get over to the M.A.S.H reenactment village since my Dad served in the Korean War.

I broke down in tears -

1. Because I wasn't feeling well and 

2. Because  memories of the pictures of my Dad's days overseas flooded my thoughts as I looked at the Military vehicles sitting in front of me.

Later in the Day it was time to go see some jets on static display…

Corey and I spent a little while walking through the planes but one caught my attention immediately! 

Maybe you recognize it already!

One of my favorite Corporate Jets hailing from Iowa , the Millennium Phenom once again bringing  to the  viewers delight the Star Wars Theme  of the 1970’s. 

If you ever get to stand beside the plane like I've done on a couple different occasions take note of all the nuances incorporated in the design. An absolutely fabulous paint job!

Thanks to Corey for catching this moment for me while we were out and about.

The clouds began building over the crowds milling about AirVenture late Wednesday afternoon. The radar didn’t indicate precipitation but as a student of Mother Nature I insisted we needed to make our last calls for the day and head off to our hotel for the night. I so appreciated Corey’s patience with my introverted character in such an extroverted setting. After returning to our lodging a torrential downburst exploded outside confirming my intuition about developing rain. 

Thursday took us in a totally different direction than the last three days. Please come back and see where our Journey took us next.

Have a great day!

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!

A Visit To The Collins WI Marsh Wildlife Area

As I ponder about events I've experienced, documented in my picture gallery, it is without a doubt time to start speaking about what went on during those days. In a couple of weeks it's almost two years since my husband Corey and I had the opportunity to visit Wisconsin during AirVenture 2018.


I'd like to revisit Thursday, July 26,2018, when a drive through the countryside took us from Appleton through many little towns to arrive at a destination once visited by Corey back in July 2016 with some friends.

We drove by the Neustadter Nature Center sign and looked up the information about the area. If you click on Neustadter above you'll be treated to an Osprey Cam...So much Marsh acreage brings varied wildlife to be observed in many different ways. If you are a kayaker, they are available to be rented at the Nature Center, there are trails for Hikers and an Observation Tower to oversee the surrounding territory.

 Our decision not to go into the Collins,WI Wildlife area  and Marsh took us instead by the Neustadter Nature Center headed in the direction of Manitowoc. Collins Marsh is a 4,200 acre state wildlife area located just 20 minutes west of Manitowoc.

On this road, one of the first things we saw was a retired Fire Observation Tower for this Fire District.The Observation Tower is  110 feet tall open to the public free of charge. The top of the tower allows visitors a beautiful vista of the surrounding countryside. An Osprey couple have decided to make the top of the tower a nesting spot to raise a family this season.

I've seen Fire Observation Towers in Colorado,  South Dakota and now I can add to that list, Collins,Wisconsin.

The new arrivals finding their landing spot within the larger flock

I'd been told by Corey that the Sandhill Cranes might be visible to us in this area since the entourage in 2016 had caught a few on camera during their trip. 

July26,2018 was the first time I was witness to these large long legged birds...I was excited to see these Sandhill Cranes come flying in , making a long turn to come back onto the field where there was a larger flock of birds already interacting with each other on the ground.

Members of the flock

I was definitely in awe of the scene that lay before us here in Wisconsin- being made aware long ago about the migration of the cranes through the Platte River Region in Central Nebraska from February into April each year. It has now become a very popularly organized tourist industry for that State.

After seeing such a large group of cranes together I was on the lookout in every field we passsed along our travel route that day. I did see single couples once in awhile but you had to look fast since highway travelers don't have much patience with drivers not maintaining the speed limit.

The next post will be of our stop in Manitowoc...

Until then have a Great Day!

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!