Oshkosh--As Good As It Gets?
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Posted
by Frances Fiorino at
7/24/2007 11:42 AM CDT
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Oshkosh offers visitors fond memories, and perhaps one of the things I’ve most enjoyed over the years is the opportunity to meet with some of aviation’s finest pilots, manufacturers and designers.
I recently interviewed Tom Poberezny, President of Experimental Aircraft Association for an AW&ST story about a week before show time. He was exuberant, punctuating our conversation with descriptions of aircraft arriving at Wittman Regional.
Poberezny describes Oshkosh as “A unique blend of ultralights and jets and everything in-between.” And his enthusiasm hasn’t diminished even though he’s been chairman of EAA AirVenture since 1976 and seen all the “in-betweens.” What are some of his fondest show memories?
“You’d think you’d get kind of mundane or old-hat and anticipation would wear off. It’s just been the opposite. Each year, the excitement actually grows,” he said. Choosing specific highlights over such a long period of time was difficult for him, but he shared three that bubbled to the surface. Each, he says, represents “the core of what EAA and Oshkosh are all about and the importance Oshkosh plays in the aviation community.” They are:
* The arrival of the Concorde at Oshkosh in 1985 – because it changed the image people had of Oshkosh as an event.
* EAA AirVenture’s celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Apollo program, which drew the largest turnout of Apollo astronauts [at a non-NASA event] ever. “What was stirring about it was that all these men started their careers in aviation. There’s a significant tie between their passion for flight and their leadership in space.”
* When the White Knight Spaceship One and Global Flyer arrived Oshkosh at same time. “The event was a prime example of the innovative spirit that is part of EAA – in terms of a homebuilder who designed a spaceship and put a commercial astronaut into space. It’s the essence of what EAA is all about.”
Oshkosh is “a time for getting the batteries charged for reenergizing people and the most important thing – the sharing of knowledge. It’s amazing how many innovations announced this year got their start years ago here at Oshkosh when people had a seat of an idea they saw on the flight line and took it to the next level.”
“You know, you think you never run out of ideas, but it’s amazing. One idea always leads to another. Every year you think this is as good as it gets, next year it gets even better.”
