Day 15 - Cross-Canda Century Flight 2009

Reporting blue skies in Oshkosh! The weather here is so variable: one day it is raining, the next it is clear. The temperatures are rather low, however; it’s been in the mid-to-high 70s during the daytime, diving into the 60s at night. I’m envious of the “record temperatures” being shown in Seattle and Vancouver. Nevertheless, as long as it doesn’t rain, Oshkosh has very fair weather. A HUGE improvement over the fog, humidity and blanketing storm fronts surround Thunder Bay and the Great Lakes!

Today we reversed our schedule a bit. We went to the Hampton hotel for Buffet Breakfast, and then proceeded to the EAA museum. There were three forums/presentations that we had marked of interest, and all of them happened to be located in the museum. In fact, we never did make it to the main Exhibition grounds today on account of the other interesting attractions being held nearby.

The first forum of this morning was held by a NASA astronaut who also served as one of twelve pilots to ever fly the X-15. The X-15 remains the fastest winged aircraft ever built, reaching an astounding speed of 6.7 times the speed of sound, and flying into outer space at 350,000ft above the earth! The one-hour presentation was very informative, and it was interesting to understand how the astronaut showed the important role that the X-15 played in designing the Space Shuttle. Both machines are very similar in their handling characteristics in re-entering the earth, and both are obviously rocket-powered. I am amazed that only one casualty was suffered in the entire X-15 program; for such a highly dangerous and blind experiment, it seems incredible that there weren’t more fatal crashes. Nevertheless, the blackbird never lost a single pilot, and yet today’s modern F-18s have had dozens of non-combat casualties due to both equipment failure and pilot error!

The second presentation today was the most memorable: an hour and a half speech and Q&A by Bob “A” Hoover. He is extremely frail now, and has not performed at Oshkosh for the past seven years, but his memory remains exceptionally clear and he recounted his amazing stories in a raspy voice to an extremely appreciative audience in the Eagle Hanger. He has lived a truly amazing life, from his adventures in World War II which ended with his escape from Stalag I on the Baltic Sea, to his career as a test pilot first for the air force, then GM and finally North American. He was also arguably the best stunt pilot of the latter 20th century, performing at hundreds of air shows around the world in his P-51 mustang and also a Strike Commander. While it is sad to see him suffering the physical ailments of old age, his mind is obviously still as perfectly sharp as it was years ago. Seeing him up close will undoubtedly remain one of my highlights from Oshkosh.

We also went onto a flight simulator and explored more of the EAA museum. The third presentation that we had planned on attending today proved to be a rather disappointing, so we instead decided to have an early dinner. Our first plan was to once again partake of the fabulous dinner buffet at the Hilton, but we instead opted to go along with Bob and Brent to the International Picnic tonight. We fortunately didn’t have to join in the parade today in order to attend the free picnic, and we sat at a table with another pair of Century Flight pilots whom we had met at Thunder Bay. Unlike us, however, they had made it through to Marathon with their IFR-equipped aircraft on the first day we had also tried to fly across the northern shore of Lake Superior. They’re also both from Vancouver, although one of them is originally from South Africa and has a noticeable accent.

Apparently the trip through the Maritimes was not an easy journey for any of the aircraft in the Century Flight group. The IFR aircraft were forced to either use oxygen or use a pressurized cabin to fly at 20,000ft to fly over the clouds, while the VFR aircraft flew at 600ft to reach Fredericton! We shook our heads at their horrendous account of the journey east. That said, there was apparently an amazing welcome waiting the Century Flight group in Cape Breton, as the Nova Scotia tourism board hosted an entire banquet to celebrate the journey! As much as I wish we had made it all the way across to Sydney, I am grateful not to have experienced all the stress of flying through marginal weather to New Brunswick, only to be faced with the decision of turning back or entering even worse flying conditions. I am glad for all the pilots that there weren’t any crashes or injuries, and I hope they all have a safe flight back west across Canada; I have a nasty feeling that there are going to be further weather problems ahead for those seeking to fly back around the Great Lakes.

It’s a beautiful evening right now in Oshkosh, with a hazy pink sunset illuminating the western horizon. We’re sitting under a tree at the edge of the taxiway, having watched the last aircraft land for the night before the airport closed 8pm. Meanwhile, the shuttles pass regularly by with passengers making it to and from the exhibition grounds. There’s a “Hollywood” X-15 movie playing at the Flyin Theater tonight, while there’s a presentation from the captain of the Airbus which was forced to land in the Hudson river a few months ago being held at the Theatre in the Woods. I was hoping to see the Theater in the Woods presentation, but it’s a bit of a journey to get there, and my Dad, Bob and Brent are enjoying relaxing under the evening sky. Meanwhile, the internet connection is working the best it has in days, so I’m availing myself of this opportunity to desperately try and catch up with my Blogging! There’s quite a few aircraft and pilots that have departed yesterday and today, so I’m hoping the smaller numbers of internet users in the area will allow me to continue experience good connection speeds. Good night for now from Oshkosh!