Airventure is not a sprint – it’s a marathon. This year was no exception. I walked over 60 miles in 7 days. Every muscle in my body is sore. Even my eyelashes are exhausted. But it was so worth it! Here are just a few of the many memorable moments from the past week.
Visit to the upper deck of the UPS 747-8
The 747-8 has long been one of my favorite airplanes. Several fly into the cargo airport every week, but somehow I’ve never been able to see one up close… until now. UPS brought one of their brand-new 747s to Osh. Mike from the Flying and Life podcast interviewed the captain, after which we were not only able to tour the cargo area, but we were allowed to visit the upper deck, including the cockpit! Yeah, I freaked out a little. OK, a lot. I couldn’t help it – after all, she’s THE QUEEN!
Proficiency Center and Redbird Sim visit
Members of the media were given special access to the Pilot Proficiency Center on Thursday morning. I had never been in there before and was eager to check it out. I was impressed by the variety of simulators that were available, especially the crosswind simulator which my friend Glen was using when we arrived. Each of the pilots in my group were assigned to different instructors and selected different scenarios to try. As a non-pilot I really enjoyed watching them. I found I understood more than I thought I did about what the different gauges and readouts are for.
The Airventure 5K
I am not a runner. The only time you’ll catch me running is if there’s a plane flying over that I really want to see. Or if I’m being chased. Yet somehow I found myself signing up for the Airventure 5K. Needless to say, I walked. So did Pilot Pip and Captain Al from the Plane Safety Podcast. Not only that, we detoured for donuts mid-race. Despite our best efforts, we didn’t finish last. We’ll have to try harder next time! (I did, however, manage to be the slowest finisher in my age group.)
Planes, planes and more planes
EAA does a wonderful job of including all aspects of aviation at Airventure. From hot air balloons to model airplanes to drones – you can find them all at Osh. But let’s face it – airplanes are the stars of the show. And this year there was an exceptional number of amazing planes to see, including surprise visits from the Thunderbirds and the Blue Angels. Even one of the Canadian Snowbirds stopped by. It is impossible to choose a favorite air show performer, but the A-10 demo team is near the top of my list.
This really just scratches the surface of my Airventure experience this year. I could write thousands of words and still not cover all the things I got to see and do. However, there was one Osh moment so special that it deserves a post all its own. I won’t spoil the surprise but let’s just say it involves good friends, an airplane and the words: “Rock your wings.” Details coming soon – stay tuned!
Sunday I started off visiting the actual airport terminal. After all, this blog is called Tales From the Terminal so it seemed like a good idea to stop by. It was quiet. And small. But there’s an airplane hanging inside which automatically makes it excellent. I ran into a group of Airventure newbies who needed some advice on how how to get their wristbands and I was happy to point them in the right direction.
I set a goal for this year of at least two blog posts per month and I was doing pretty well… but then life events forced me to put writing on hold for a while. You see, my mother passed away somewhat unexpectedly at the end of May. Those of you who know me or who have followed this blog for a few years will remember that my father passed away back in 2016. Losing my mom means that both my parents are gone now, which means my brother and I face the added stress of dealing with my mom’s estate. Definitely not fun.
Everyone copes with grief in their own way. For some people the idea of returning to work after a loss might be unbearable. For me, however, going back to work was a lifeline. It allowed me to get back into a routine, but more importantly, it provided me with a much-needed daily dose of aviation therapy. And oh my goodness what excellent therapy it has been!
Regular readers may recall that earlier this year I set a goal for myself (and anyone else who wants to play along) of checking out at least 5 GA airports not previously visited. That’s right- it’s the 2019 Airport Challenge! Recently I took a step towards meeting that goal by spending a day at Grimes Field in Urbana, Ohio. This little airport has pretty much everything you could ask for: plenty of GA traffic, an excellent restaurant and not one but TWO aviation museums!
Woah! 100 posts? Have I really written that many? Actually… now that I’ve added them up it turns out I’ve written 103 altogether! Apparently I sailed right by the big 100 milestone without even realizing it. Oops!
Of course when I hit publish on that first post I had no idea whether anyone would actually read it. 100 posts later, I’m a bit shocked to discover I have readers from over 120 different countries. (Seriously? Wow!) As you might imagine, many come from places like the US, UK, Canada, Australia and France. However there are some readers from countries I didn’t expect, like Aruba (reading about stairs trucks on the beach, no doubt) and Nepal (probably learning about deicing whilst hiking the Himalayas).
My most viewed post so far is: 
According to a quick Google search, Pittsburgh International Airport saw around 9 million passengers in 2018. Chicago Midway had 22 million. Tampa had around 21 million. My airport saw just over 8 million passengers – the most ever. That’s great! Or is it? How does an airport know whether the number of passengers they are serving is good or not?
I can’t speak to how other airports collect passenger data, but my airport does it via monthly reports that are submitted by the airlines. Each report includes the type of planes used, the number of landings for each, the number of passengers, etc. From that information we can determine the total number of seats and, in turn, calculate the load factors for each airline, as well as an average load factor for all flights during the month.
Max effect
By now you know how much I love aviation museums. They’re the perfect way to chase away the winter blues. But recently I found something even better. What could be better than aviation museums? Aviation museums IN FLORIDA. And when you only have time to visit one aviation museum in Florida then your destination HAS to be Pensacola. Why? Because that’s where the National Museum of Naval Aviation is.
This museum doesn’t pull any punches. The first thing you see when you arrive is an F-14. And it’s not just sitting tamely by the front door. No, it’s up on a pedestal, wings swept back, looking as intense and as mean as only an F-14 can look. And did I mention that it is located on an active Naval Air Station? That’s right – there’s gates and guards and people in uniform everywhere. It’s awesome.
Once inside it just gets better. There is pretty much every Navy airplane you can think of. There are also a whole bunch you didn’t think of. Take flying boats, for example. Sure I’d heard of them. I’ve seen the Martin Mars at Oshkosh so I know how impressive they can be. Yet somehow the flying boats at the Navy Air Museum managed to be even more impressive still. Perhaps it’s the way they drawf everything around them. Maybe it’s the way they are a perfect blend of boat and airplane. Whatever reason, I fell instantly and completely in love with them!
There was one airplane that I had been searching for the whole visit and I finally tracked it down in Hangar Bay One. No, not the F-14 or the F-18 or the F-4 (although they are all there and they all ROCK). The plane I was looking for was the Bird Dog. Yes, that’s right. Tucked in the midst of all these power-house fighters is an ordinary little plane that looks a lot like a Cessna… because it is. But it’s not your ordinary GA airplane. It’s a Cessna that landed on the deck of an aircraft carrier, flown by a pilot who had never even seen a 
In my part of the world, winter means lousy weather, cold temps and very little plane spotting. It also means I go through serious aviation withdrawals. Ugh! So how do I combat the winter doldrums? Aviation museums! They allow me to get my aviation fix and keep my camera from getting too dusty. Recently I got the opportunity to visit a museum I hadn’t been to before: the 
One thing I learned early on at my job is that you don’t have to be an aviation enthusiast to work at an airport. In fact, most of the people I work with, while very talented and quite passionate about what they do, aren’t at all interested in airplanes. And that’s OK. But I know there have to be avgeeks hiding out somewhere – the challenge has been finding them.
Over time I pretty much gave up on the idea of tracking down other airport avgeeks. But all that changed last summer in an unexpected way. Did I stumble across a magic device for detecting aviation lovers? Well… kind-of. And what, you ask, is the secret to unveiling hidden avgeeks? An A220 lanyard! Who’d have guessed!
Have you seen the A220?
Do You Work For Delta?
A220, eh? My airline ordered a bunch of them but won’t be flying them.
Tales from the Terminal 