Oshkosh

By Shreenand

Oh my gosh!

We party at the world’s biggest airplane celebration

I saw it but I still don’t believe it. Kirby Chambliss, a Red Bull air race pilot, took off in his Edge 540 in what couldn’t have been more than 100 meters, got to altitude and hovered. Yup! For a good five seconds this man made his airplane stand still in mid air, fifty feet above the runway. Now I know enough about airplanes and flying to know that things with wings can’t just stop in mid air. Yet this guy, in an airplane that’s completely conventional, managed to act like one of those cartoon characters who get pushed off the edge and then hang in mid air till they discover gravity. This was the start of his aerobatic routine and for the next seven minutes, the 50-year-old Texan continued to rub his shoes on the laws of Physics.

Now the reason I was able to witness this ‘walk on water’ act was because I had finally decided to fulfil a nine-year-old’s dream. After decades of following Airventure (as the event is officially known) in magazines ‘browsed’ at the premium bookshops and later on the internet I had to get to the ‘Woodstock’ of aviation. Sure it meant I wouldn’t have a savings account anymore, but what good is it if you can’t blow it on a whim, eh?

Anyway, back to the flying display. If you know what it is like to drive around with your spouse you would relate to Kyle and Amanda Franklin. These guys fly a plane together and as is normal, they squabble a bit too. Just that they bring out the swords while they are flying the airplane. Okay, so it’s a part of their wing-walking act (wing walking is exactly what it sounds like). So while her husband is busy doing loops and rolls and flying inverted, she goes about her job of walking on the wing.

After them came the history lesson and what better way to teach than bring out almost every landmark military airplane of World War II and have them re-enact bombing runs? This went on for the better part of an hour after which the thundering radial engine soundtrack gave way to Chuck Aaron’s B0-105 Bell chopper. Now Chuck has gotten his routine helicopter mixed up with a high performance aerobatic airplane. And he continues to fly it like one. So while the audience is busy picking up their jaws, Chuck is pulling off moves that one would think are possible only in a fixed wing airplane. Incidentally, he’s one of the only two pilots in the world who are certified to do this. This was followed by a few other world-class antics where pilots cut ribbons hanging 20 feet above the ground with their wings or tails. Of course, that wasn’t enough so they had to make a pass underneath the ribbon first.

The flying display went on for a good four hours and was held every day of the week, with mostly different acts every day. But this was just one facet of the show. So you can begin to imagine the size of this. Moreover, this is a country where a Honda Accord is considered a compact car, trucks have eighteen wheels, a foot is a yard and when you ask for breakfast they also serve you lunch. This is also the country where people first got airborne, from where they first flew across the Atlantic, where they first went past the sound barrier, essentially, stuff that has been path-breaking in aviation. Put the two together and you can be certain, that when they call an air show ‘the world’s greatest airplane celebration’ it’s going to be one hell of a party.

The mood too is just like that. There are people roaming around with T-shirts that say ‘I got an airplane for my wife. Best trade I ever made.’And if all that means squat, here are some numbers to give you the scale of things. The show is spread over 14,000 acres at the WittmanRegionalAirport in Oshkosh. There were 777 exhibitors this year and 535,000 people showed up. No of airplanes? Over 10,000. Yup! It is that big.

As you would expect, that also makes it the busiest airfield in the world, if only for a week. So what kind of airplanes were at the show? There were private airplanes, the small fourseaterpiston-engined ones that are used as personal transport. There were warbirds, actual, planes that flew in World War II and the Vietnam and Korean War, there were vintage airplanes, planes that were built 70 years ago and still look like they just rolled out of the factory. There were homebuilts, airplanes that people built in their garage (I am not joking!) and flew halfway across the country to be here. Then there were ultralights, seaplanes, choppers, business jets, commercial airliners, planes that are used for crop dusting, and even planes with skis. The United States Air Force too likes to flex its muscle here and what better way to do it than to bring its biggest airplane, the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, to the show. This, along with the other show-of-strength airplanes like the F-15 Strike Eagle and the KC-135 tanker. Oh and if you are getting a ‘Born in the USA’ feel here, it would be good to know that there were planes that the Americans fought against too. Like the ultra-rare Japanese Zero fighter and the MiG-21. And if you think it’s a bit outlandish to privately own these ex-military airplanes, meet Art Nalls. Nalls worked for the Navy and flew Harriers for a living. And he loved his job so much, he decided to take work home. Which is why he went and bought a Sea Harrier for himself. It’s the second oldest surviving Harrier, but it sure as hell beats a Land Rover for a surplus buy.

If that’s not enough, there’s more beyond all that aluminium. Sure, the collection of airplanes won’t come close at any air show in the world, but what takes the experience to a new level are the people. When an owner of a two-milliondollar P-51 Mustang calls you over to sit in the cockpit for a bit, you don’t need any more proof to know you are welcome. I was there for eight days and at the grounds for more than sixteen hours every day but I never ran out of things to do or people to talk to.

Which is what the spirit of Oshkosh is all about. So if you were at any time, or are the sort who looks up every time you hear an airplane, put this on your bucket list.

EOM EOM EOM