Take A Flight To Oshkosh

By Karen Lee Ensley

June 2015

What if your motorhome could fly? Imagine how exciting it would be to soar over traffic, looking down on cars and trucks from your comfortable RV. You’d have no traffic jams, no red lights, and a fabulous view of the scenery. This idea is not too far-fetched, or something from science fiction. A car/airplane was designed, built, and flown in the 1940s!

Family Motor Coach Association members who are “flying” to Madison, Wisconsin, to attend the next Family Reunion and Motorhome Showcase, July 29-August 1, may want to land for a while in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Oshkosh is approximately 86 miles north of Madison (a 1-hour-and-40-minute drive) near beautiful Lake Winnebago.

The reason? Oshkosh is home to the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) AirVenture Museum, where a flying car — and many other flyers — can be seen. The EAA was founded in 1953 to support the homebuilt aircraft movement and embraces aircraft enthusiasts as well as the owners of all kinds of planes. Showcasing more than 200 aircraft, the collection reflects a diverse array: military, air-racing, aerobatic, and antique airplanes.

The Taylor Aerocar, designed by Moulton Taylor, was at the time the only certified airplane in history that could be driven on a highway. The museum’s 1949 model is one of six Aerocars built. When used as an automobile, the airplane wings folded back along the sides of the detached fuselage, and it was towed behind the car like a trailer. The interior has a steering wheel, a gearshift, and auto instruments, but it also has aircraft gauges on the dashboard.

The museum’s unusual airplanes include the “Smallest Airplane in the World,” according to Guinness World Records — the 1983 Stits DS-1 Baby Bird. It has a length of 11 feet, a height of only 5 feet, and a wingspan of merely 6 feet 3 inches. Also check out the 1970 Bede BD-5, which was originally powered by a 36-horsepower snowmobile engine, and the 1934 Wittman D-12 Bonzo, which achieved an impressive speed of 325 mph, faster than any U.S. military fighter planes of that time period.

Another remarkable item is the homebuilt Pietenpol Air Camper. Despite its name, this aircraft was strictly meant for flying. Bernard H. Pietenpol is considered by many to be the father of homebuilt aircraft. His little 1930 wooden Air Camper was made from spruce and plywood and was powered by a converted Ford Model A four-cylinder engine.

Military enthusiasts will like seeing the 1918 Curtiss JN4D, nicknamed the “Jenny” because of its JN prefix. The Jenny was the first mass-produced American aircraft because it was purchased in quantity by the U.S. military. Nearly all American pilots during World War I were trained on these aircraft. The Jenny was used for many purposes — reconnaissance, bomb raids, ground attacks, and as seaplanes and fighters. After the war, Jennies were the first planes many Americans had the opportunity to see closely. Enterprising barnstormers flew the planes across the country, selling rides.

The EAA’s striking display highlighting Charles Lindbergh and his famous 33-hour flight across the Atlantic in 1927 includes an outstanding replica of his Spirit of St. Louis. It is not a Jenny, but Lindbergh’s first plane was.

If you’re looking for hands-on fun, be sure to try the museum’s entertaining exhibits, where you can experiment with centrifuge speed and applied force, or learn about air pressure by launching miniature rockets. You can even touch a moon rock!

Youngsters especially will enjoy the KidVenture Gallery. It includes an observation deck, called Tower of Flight, from which you can watch live activities at nearby Pioneer Airport. Kids can step in front of a heat sensor and watch their body’s glowing movements or enjoy the sensation of flying an airplane or hot-air balloon as they move the controls.

The advanced F-22 Raptor is replicated to half-scale in the kids’ area. Youngsters can climb into the cockpit. Other experiences include using a robotic arm to move objects, taking the “Chopper Challenge,” and mastering the essential skills of hovering a helicopter.

Some aircraft can fly a bit higher than others; case in point is the SpaceShipOne exhibit. It is highlighted by a full-sized replica of an aircraft that made the first privately funded manned space flight. (The original aircraft is in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.) You’ll learn how this vehicle won a $10 million award for its inventors.

SpaceShipOne made its first flight on December 17, 2003, the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ first powered airplane flight. On October 4, 2004, SpaceShipOne completed a flight that reached a final altitude of 70 miles and a speed of Mach 3.09 (2,186 miles per hour). It had traveled higher into space than the USAF/NASA 1963 X-15 rocket plane.

If looking at all the planes and reading the stories of daredevil pilots entices your spirit of adventure, try the MaxFlight Simulator. Take the controls of the world’s first fully aerobatic flight simulator and you’ll feel the thrill of looping, rolling, and spinning in a dizzying 360 degrees of motion.

After the exhilarating ride, visit the museum’s movie theaters; the Rutan Voyager exhibit; or the Air Racing Gallery, which has one of the world’s finest collections of racing and aerobatic planes. The museum also boasts more than 100,000 photographs of aircraft and the people who made them famous.

If you have been involved with aviation or space in any way, whether as a veteran; an aircraft designer, a builder, or an innovator; a pilot; a mechanic; an airline employee; a flight instructor; or a racer, head to “Timeless Voices.” The museum is collecting personal stories of aviation, so if you wish, schedule an interview and have your story recorded.

There is much more to see at the museum, but be sure to take the short tram ride to Pioneer Airport where you’ll be treated to a “living history” of early airports. More than 50 vintage aircraft are displayed, and you might just see demonstration flights of planes that include a Pitcairn Mailwing biplane once flown by Howard Hughes. Feeling adventuresome? Climb into a restored 1927 Swallow biplane or a classic open-cockpit 1929 Travel Air E-4000 biplane and take off from the grass runway for an adventure you won’t forget!

Although your RV may not really “fly,” plan to visit the museum and enjoy its amazing, innovative flying machines. As Wilbur Wright, pilot of the world’s first successful manned, powered flight, noted, “The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors, who— in their grueling travels across trackless lands in prehistoric times — looked enviously on the birds soaring freely through space at full speed, above all obstacles, on the infinite highway of the air.”

3000 Poberezny Road

Oshkosh, WI 54902

(800) 564-6322

(920) 426-4800

www.eaa.org

The museum is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with extended hours during AirVenture Oshkosh. Pioneer Airport is open Saturdays and Sundays from the first weekend in May until the second weekend in October. Airplane ride fees vary. Museum admission is free to EAA members; adults (18 and over) $12.50; seniors (62 and over) $10.50; students (6-17) $9.50; children (5 and under) free. Family rate: $31.

Just prior to FMCA’s Family Reunion in Madison, Wisconsin, the EAA hosts AirVenture Oshkosh, billed as the World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration, July 20-26, 2015. If you enjoy aircraft of any kind, this celebration is a must-see!

AirVenture Oshkosh typically features nearly 1,000 homebuilt planes, more than 1,000 vintage aircraft, and hundreds of warbirds, plus ultralights, seaplanes, rotorcraft, aerobatic aircraft, and even hot-air balloons. The daily air shows are held at the adjacent Wittman Regional Airport and feature a variety of aircraft making sensational maneuvers and spectacular stunts. Some of the air shows offer special re-enactments of World War II fighters in action or Vietnam-era helicopters landing as soldiers hurriedly unload.

A rare treat is the nighttime air show with specially illuminated planes and brilliant fireworks. This year, night air shows will be offered on Wednesday, July 22, and Saturday, July 25.

Also this year, the show will feature a fully operational B-52 bomber. Visitors will be able to walk right up to it and talk to the crew. A Harrier Jump Jet (known for its vertical takeoffs and landings) will put on aerial demonstrations as well. All sorts of World War II planes, complete with machine guns and ammo, typically make an appearance at the show.

Since you can travel easily throughout the AirVenture grounds on a free, well-coordinated system of buses and trams, be sure to go to workshops and exhibits or enjoy popcorn and a movie on a five-story projection screen at the Fly-In Theater. You can also visit a World War II living history area. Or take a shuttle to the seaplane base located along the shores of Lake Winnebago.

Plenty of activities for kids, aside from seeing the planes, also will be offered. At a specially designated KidVenture facility, children can learn how to build aircraft and use flight simulators and “Kiddie Hawk” flight trainers.

As you browse the grounds, be sure to add your own rivet to the airplane wings that will be constructed during the event. It’s a real group effort! AirVenture offers so much to see and do, it’s no wonder that it attracts people from around the world. Visitor attendance typically tops 500,000, and 5,400 people work as volunteers. Pilots fly in for the event in more than 10,000 aircraft. For one week of the year, the control tower in little Oshkosh, Wisconsin, proudly claims to be the world’s busiest!

RV camping is offered right next to the event grounds at the EAA’s Camp Scholler. The EAA requires a three-day minimum stay and that one person in the camping party be an EAA member; it costs $40 to join EAA. A limited number of electrical sites is available, and you can preregister online. The campground offers a generator-use area and a parking area for people who travel with pets. Call (920) 426-4800 for more information.

If you would like to park with other FMCA members and enjoy specially planned meals and perks during this event, consider the eight-day Oshkosh AirVenture package, presented by the FMCA Tour Connection Powered by Fantasy RV Tours. Contact the company at (855) 385-3622 or online at www.fantasyrvtours.com/fmca/.

Admission to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh can be purchased on a daily, multi-day, or weekly pass. All live evening entertainment and events are included with the admission fee, as is admission to the museum. You do not have to be a member of EAA to attend AirVenture; however, pass prices are lower for members. Early special lower ticket prices are offered through June 14.

For more information about AirVenture, contact the EAA using the phone numbers above or visit www.eaa.org/airventure.

Area Campgrounds

1185 Old Knapp Road

Oshkosh, WI 54902

(920) 235-8909

Email: info@circle-r-camp.com

3485 Vinland Road

Oshkosh, WI 54901

(920) 235-8076

Email: hickoryoaks@gmail.com

5309 Lake Road

Oshkosh, WI 54902

(920) 426-0062

Email: kchinc@charter.net

*FMCA commercial member