It only takes a brief glimpse of my hobbies to know that I am a risk-averse person. First instance, risks associated with “reading” include, oh, paper cuts, falling asleep, mindless snacking. For “gardening,” maybe a bee sting or sunburn (or if you asked T, superfluous spending). Cooking is probably the most dangerous what with the fire and knives and all.
By and large, I do safe things like photography and blog writing. Generally I don’t take risks, calculated or otherwise, and call them fun. So how did I find myself in the middle of a 40-ship formation of airplanes flying 10 feet apart a few weeks ago? Lord only knows! What I do know is that, despite my nerves, the experience was INCREDIBLE. And, with the same fabulous and safe pilots, I’d probably definitely do it again.
You see, I got to hop a ride in the back of Mr. T’s Vans RV-4 and join a collection of Vans aircraft pilots to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the homebuilt airplane. These skilled and certified pilots from around the country coordinated a mass arrival of RVs–40 to be precise–to be showcased at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh. They met and practiced ahead of time, and then took Oshkosh by storm. So cool!
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Somewhere between Denver and Rock Falls, IL. |
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Love me some farm land. |
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Formation practice over the heartland. |
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The gang practiced formation en route. |
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Not my typical view! |
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A friend, Axel, and his dad flew around the formation to offer critique of the shape (we were creating a number “4”) and to take photos. |
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Such a fantastic photo by Pat Dulaney. That’s T, me, and my giant white hat/sunshade in the front. |
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I do enjoy flying above the clouds. |
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The guys practiced for hours at Rock Falls, IL. |
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And on Sunday, we headed to Oshkosh enjoying a relatively cool day. |
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Near Lake Winnebago. |
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Photo by the lovely Sue Wiseman, our formation!! Falcon Flight in the front, then the West Coast Ravens in the 4, a collection of other groups in the 0, and Team RV bringing up the rear. |
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Just flew over show center. |
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See the smoke? |
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Of course, I noticed a B-29 in the distance. The only airworthy B-29 in the world! |
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To give you an idea of proximity. |
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Overhead break for landing and we passed over 2010’s parking spot in the back-40. |
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Mr. T made an excellent landing. |
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Volunteers waved us in. |
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I enjoyed seeing our friends waving on the flightline, too. |
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We made it! |
Next up: Out and about in Oshkosh.
xoxo,
shawna
P.S. All photos by yours truly unless otherwise noted.
– Things you must know about EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh
– EAA Oshkosh 2012: The good, the airsick, the awesome
– Things I miss about EAA Oshkosh
– 2010 Oshkosh B’gosh! part 1
– 2010 Oshkosh B’gosh! part 2
– 2010 Oshkosh B’gosh! part 3
– 2010 Oshkosh B’gosh! part 4
– 2010 Oshkosh B’gosh! part 5