Plane & Pilot 08-2020

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Certified.

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❯ FEATURES

38 THE GLORY OF OSHKOSH
AIRVENTURE IN PHOTOS
With the 2020 edition called
off, here’s to AirVenture
2021, with photos of the
amazing planes and people
and unbridled joy they bring,
all of which will be back,
because that’s what we do.
By Plane & Pilot

50 OSHKOSH LIVES
A 30-year-long end-to-
end walking tour of the
greatest airshow on earth.
By Isabel Goyer

58 10 WOODEN AIRPLANES
YOU CAN BUY ...OR BUILD
And a few you’ll only be
able to dream about.
By Jeremy King

68 THE HOMEBUILT
ADVANTAGES AND
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Experimental amateur-built
aircraft offer a lot to both
builders and buyers. But you
need to understand what
tradeoffs the design embraces
and what that means to you.
By LeRoy Cook

❯VISIT THE PLANE & PILOT® WEBSITE AT PLANEANDPILOTMAG.COM

inside 34

❯SPACES

6 GOING DIRECT 78 10

Flying In The 82 12
Grand Scheme
78 CROSS-COUNTRY LOG ON THE COVER:
By Isabel Goyer Jessica Voruda photographed this
Welcome To East Africa Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor at EAA
8 PLANE FACTS Oshkosh AirVenture 2018.
By Bill Cox
Aviation Gatherings
80 WORDS ALOFT
By Desiree Kocis and
Plane & Pilot Staff Teenage Oshkosh

10 MYSTERIES OF FLIGHT By Jeremy King

The Curious Case 82 THIS INCREDIBLE PLANE
Of Pan Am Flight 914
Anderson-
By Plane & Pilot Greenwood AG-14

12 AND THEN THIS HAPPENED By Deb Ings

Real Aviation Records

By Plane & Pilot

20 CHECK POINTS

News Of Note

By Bethany Whitfield And
Plane & Pilot Staff

24 CROSS CHECK

Your Aviation Crossword

26 ACCIDENT BRIEFS

Reports From The NTSB

28 GEAR

Cool Pilot Stuff

34 LESSONS LEARNED

about flying (and about life)

That Year Our Plane
Was The Only One
That Made It To OSH

By W. David Pond

74 AFTER THE ACCIDENT

Mysteries Surround
Bonanza Found
Eight Months After
It Went Missing

By Isabel Goyer

2 AUGUST 2020 Ç Plane&Pilot

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GOING DIRECT
By Isabel Goyer

Flying In The GA will be fine. The prospects for airline pilots, on
Grand Scheme the other hand, are dim. And I think that we have no
idea how dynamic and strange the next year or two
or three might be. If a vaccine and/or really effective
treatment comes along quickly and people are ready

to start flying again, the airlines will be leaving a lot

What we do matters so much, just not of money on the table while they try to regroup. And

in the way most people think it does. training and retraining pilots is not only expensive,
very expensive, but it takes time, too. Simulators run

T he year 2020 has been a nightmare. Strike that. 24/7. There's zero reserve in that department. And
It’s been a layering of nightmares, each of which with more senior pilots taking early retirement or
complicates the other. For some of us, it’s worse getting furloughed, the prospects for new pilots, once

than for others, but it’s safe to say that, collectively, passengers start filling planes again, are very real.

we can’t wait for the bad stuff to be in the rearview, As I’ve written, GA hasn’t changed as much. Small

in essence to flip the script and be able to say that planes aren’t all that different from small cars. If we’re

2020 is hindsight. not flying for a while, the payments (if any), insurance

I’m so disappointed about missing Oshkosh this premiums and hangar rent still come, due on the first

year. It’s my favorite week of the year. In fact, I usually of every month, but getting back into business is dead

stretch it out to closer to two weeks. It’s the planes, simple. Get current, do an extra-good preflight, and it’s

in large part, but it’s so much more than that, too. It’s back to the wild blue. Many pilots of personal planes

the people I’ll miss most. There will be a lot of hugs are already back at it. Some never slowed down.

and a lot of stories at OSH in 2021. Still, GA has been hit as an industry. Sales are down.

But we have a ways to go before we get there. As Flying hours, and hence fuel sales, are down, too. Both

much as we’d like to believe that if we pretend hard will recover, and some folks have suggested that the

enough COVID-19 will go away, it won’t. And it will pandemic and airline downturn will prompt many

continue to make life in the air a lot more complicated folks to buy a plane and start flying. That isn’t really

in a lot of ways for some time to come. the way it works, as we know, but there could be a

But we’ll survive. It’s what we do. Take a blow, shake boost in plane sales, though used planes will continue

it off, get back on our feet and get back to what we do, to dominate the market for a while still, especially as

fly. That said, there’s been a lot less flying lately, though great new retrofit avionics become available.

My job, which I love, is help-

ing create content about aviation,

Minutes from Cincinnati and that mission hasn’t changed—
except that, in a way, it’s changed
fundamentally. No one’s interested

in my views on social change and

health policy, except as it relates

to aviation, as it seldom does. But

despite aviation’s remove from the

• Gated fly-in community perfect for flying professionals RAelldPurciecdes25% day-to-day life on terra firma, things
• Paved, lighted runway with instrument approaches have changed for everyone, and it’s
• No property tax on aircraft based in Ohio • Building sites still available not just me. I’m hearing this same
• All underground public utilities thing from so many of my friends.
• Complete aircraft services Our perception of what is impor-
tant has shifted. Family and duty
and honor and responsibility have
always been important to me, and,
now that I think about it, to all of my
friends as well. How is it that today

• Municipal Water and Sewer • Homes and hangars available those things seem so much more

SANDY’S AIRPARK (800) 908-4359 • www.sandysairpark.com important than ever? But they do.
A writer for ESPN, which is in the
@ SPORTY’S

6 AUGUST 2020 Ç Plane&Pilot

business of covering sports that aren't being played, But it’s more than that, too. There’s something
said it early on in the coronavirus pandemic. Referring essential that we access when we fly. I've come close
to a column he had penned just a week earlier, he said, when 500 feet up a sheer cliff. And running marathons,
“Back when basketball still seemed important…” Again, strangely enough, is exhilarating. But there’s nothing
the guy is a sports writer, but he was acknowledging like flying that I’ve ever done that hits upon that con-
the truth: Our perspective had changed overnight. nection to joy so squarely and so reliably.

Making a better world for future generations has I love flying, and I’ve been doing it my entire life. I
always been important to almost every aviation writer can’t remember a time I wasn’t either getting hauled
I know, and flying can do that. By sharing opportunity around in airplanes or flying them myself. I love the
and inspiration, which is a big part of the job, we can spirit of innovation and freedom and democracy that
help young people see themselves one day in the little airplanes... “represent" is the wrong word...that
driver's seat of an F-22 or perhaps the left seat of a little airplanes “embody.”
PA-32. Unless you know about a possibility, it doesn’t
exist for you. Flying is all about possibilities and mak- The feeling that pilots know is this: You’re up in
ing them real. a plane and so high above the world, looking at our
planet and our lives in a way that nobody without a
Flying is the thing that lets us live life better. It lets small plane ever gets to experience, and then, especially
us head up to see mom as she gets older, visit the kid when you’re alone, you think, “My goodness, what an
away at school, meet up with great old friends at that amazing thing it is that I am doing right now!” Your
lake house. It’s also a way to connect with nature. We face lights up, your heart does too, and your very soul
can go places in planes we simply can’t go without feels as though it is developing lift, free of the drudgery
them. I’ve meandered the length of the Mississippi, of living life with gravity. That is, of course, totally non-
I’ve popped into desert strips (and not quite strips) to scientific, but it describes the feeling I get when I fly.
spend time with rocks and rattlesnakes. I’ve, on many That’s why people are so stupidly gaga about flying.
more than one occasion, flown a hundred miles for It’s that amazing.
barbeque. Flying gives you access to experiences you
simply don’t have as a groundling and that the airlines And the more people who get a chance to experi-
can’t come close to providing. ence this kind of joy, the better. The world needs flying
today more than it ever has. PP

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Aviation An air exhibition in Reims, France, in 1909, less than six years after Kitty Hawk.PHOTO: WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Gatherings Attendees in 1953: 150

BY DESIREE KOCIS AND Attendees in 2019: 642,000
PLANE & PILOT STAFF
Attendees in 2020: 0
First aviation meetings: Around 1909, France, U.S. Reason: Canceled due to coronavirus
Economic impact to surrounding community: $170 million
First fly-in event: Unknown
First Sun ’n Fun gathering: 1975
Alternate name for “fly-in:” Fly-out
Organization that chronicles fly-in history: None Attendees: 1,980
Other names for different kinds of aviation gatherings: Exhibitions, Aircraft: 365
airshows, static displays, air tattoos (we kid you not)
Current location: Lakeland Linder International Airport
Difference between an airshow and a Event employees: ~35
fly-in: Some attendees fly in
Volunteers: 3,600
How many fly-in attendees to make it a fly-in?: Unknown
Hours donated: 111,749
Golden Age gathering: National Air Races
Year of snow at Sun ’n Fun: 1977
Location: Usually Cleveland, Ohio
Estimated attendance, 1939, Cleveland: 100,000 Number of pilots snowed in: 0
Years run: Non-consecutive years from 1929-late 1940s
First EAA Fly-In Convention: September 1953 Year of Sun ’n Fun tornado: 2011
Location: Curtiss-Wright Airport, Milwaukee
Intensity: EF1 (86-110 mph)
Largest airshow: Paris Air Show Injuries: 15
Deaths: 0
Largest fly-in airshow: EAA AirVenture
EAA airshow relocation to Oshkosh: 1970 Aircraft destroyed: 40-50
2020 attendees: 0
Renamed “AirVenture
Oshkosh:” 1998 2021 Dates: April 13-18

Event length: One week
Average forums and workshops: ~1,000

Aircraft: >10,000
Campsites: 12,300

8 AUGUST 2020 Ç Plane&Pilot



FLIGHT

The Curious Case
Of Pan Am Flight 914

The airliner took off from New York City in 1955 and
landed in Venezuela in 1985, or was it 1992?

BY PLANE & PILOT

THE MYSTERY A Pan Am DC-4, similar to the one in this photo, was said to PHOTO: WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
have disappeared for decades only to reappear under strange
Pan Am Flight 914 was a Douglas DC-4 with 57 pas- circumstances. Nothing about the story, however, adds up.
sengers and six crew members that took off from a
New York City airport headed for Miami, Florida. source of that fabrication is known.
The date was July 2, 1955. The flight was sched- It dates to a story first published in 1985 by the
uled to last a couple of hours, but it never arrived
in Miami. Instead, it showed up, unannounced Weekly World News, the onetime tabloid (now web-
and invisible to Caracas radar, on March 9, 1985! site), which specializes in crazy, concocted stories
Voicing his concerns to the tower, the pilot, after like this one. The paper ran the story again twice
a textbook landing, taxied toward the gate, and in the 1990s (with the plane’s arrival date changed
ground handlers could see the faces of the scream- to 1992 in those later stories).
ing passengers pressed up against their windows,
looking at a fantastic new world. The pilot, for his The tale got a huge boost when YouTube channel
part, dropped a small calendar out the window Bright Side put out a video about the disappear-
before he made a hasty turn back to the runway, ance. The snappily produced video has gotten more
where he took off and disappeared as suddenly as than 15 million views, but it doesn’t get to the fact
he had arrived. And the calendar? Did he drop it that it was a fake tabloid story until about two-
accidentally? Or does it hold the secret to what thirds through. Bright Side introduced a number
happened? What exactly did it say? of “details” that were not in the first Weekly World
News story, including the fact that the plane was
We might never know. The governments of both visible on radar. In any case, the video reveals that
Venezuela and the United States, the story goes, the story is a hoax only well toward the end.
were said to have seized the calendar and the tower
tapes and have refused to comment on the incident It’s likely that others capitalized on this real-life
even once in the intervening decades. What really fake news to share the story without adding that
happened to Flight 914? one pertinent detail, the one about how everyone
knew all along the whole thing was a fanciful fab-
It is, for once, a mystery that has an answer. rication. It all goes to show how fascinated people
are by airplanes, even when the story is concocted
THE THEORIES to create a paranormal sensation. PP

The story has been going around the internet for
years and is a hot forum topic with the UFO and
time-traveling crowd.

The most popular theory is that the plane passed
through some kind of time portal or wormhole, and
instead of landing in Miami in 1955, it appeared on
arrival in Venezuela 30 years later. One supposes
it went back through the wormhole after it left
Caracas. Exactly how wormholes or time portals
work isn’t well understood, apparently.

THE TRUTH

As you’ve hopefully already figured out, the story
of Pan Am Flight 914 was a total fabrication. But
in this case, unlike with many urban legends, the

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Real Aviation Records
And the actual winner is…
We reconsider some of aviation's most famous feats.

ABOVE: The Wright Flyer on its first flight. Was it really first in flight? Note the track behind it.
RIGHT: Is the Lockheed SR-71 the real all-time speed champion despite what some would say?

BY PLANE & PILOT

MANY PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT CHERISHED Then there’s the issue of definition. Why aren’t
AVIATION records are chiseled in stone, but hot air balloons widely recognized as the first to
we ask, “What kind of stone? And who did fly? Some early ones were even powered. Why does
the chiseling?” the first powered flight have to be of an airplane
and not a helicopter? And some of the lines are
It’s true that some aviation records, like pretty subjective. What makes for “controlled”
Charles Lindbergh’s 1927 solo flight across the flight? How long does a plane have to remain in
pond, would’ve been impossible to fake, and no the air, in terms of both time and distance, for its
one doubts Lucky Lindy’s place in history. But flight to count? And how much credibility should
other records, especially those of very early flying we give to the people whose word we sometimes
achievements, are problematic. Given the length need to take in order to verify claims?
of time that has passed and the disappearance of
documentation for many early claims, some early None of the answers to these questions are
milestones are hard to prove conclusively. And easy, or perhaps even possible, to arrive at. And
back in the days before GPS and digital air data with this in mind, here are a number of aviation
computers, our information collection technolo- records that might, at the very least, deserve a
gies were primitive, at best. In many cases the data big fat asterisk.
supporting many claims was approximate at best.

12 AUGUST 2020 Ç Plane&Pilot



Alberto Santos-
Dumont’s odd-
looking 14-bis.
Was it actually
the first plane
to fly?

FIRST TO FLY or less level for Orville’s famous flight. Moreover, on
Dec. 17, the Flyer took off into a 20-mph wind.
FIRST POWERED HEAVIER-
THAN-AIR PLANE TO FLY: FIRST POWERED HEAVIER-THAN-
AIR PLANE TO TAKE OFF ON ITS OWN
Wright Flyer, Dec. 17, 1903. GEAR IN NO-WIND CONDITIONS:

PROBLEMS: Probably Alberto Santos-Dumont’s bizarre-looking
14-bis, which wasn’t a particularly advanced design
Didn’t take off on its own gear but instead used a rail. but could take off all by itself. It was also the first plane
On Wilbur’s unsuccessful attempt three days earlier, to be filmed in flight.
the rails were pointed downhill, but they were more

NORTH
POLE

FIRST FLIGHT TO

THE NORTH POLE:

Richard Byrd, May 9, 1926.

Richard Byrd, the explorer,

left in his custom-outfitted

Fokker Trimotor named

The Josephine Ford from an

extreme northern base with A Fokker Tri-Motor similar to the one flown by Richard Byrd to the North Pole, or so he said.

his co-pilot, Floyd Bennett,

after whom the New York City airfield is named. The evidence and the doubts grew stronger, as details of

two arrived back at base after just under 16 hours in Byrd’s questionable solar navigation emerged and,

the air and proclaimed victory, returning home to the later, apparent falsifications of the navigation log,

United States to a hero’s welcome. with erasures (still legible) changed to give a more

favorable record having been found as well. Today,

REAL FIRST FLIGHT TO THE NORTH POLE: the best bet is that Byrd and Bennett came up about

Roald Amundsen, May 12, 1926. It was long after 80 miles short of the pole. A few days after Byrd’s

Byrd’s flight that questions arose, some based merely disputed flight, Amundsen, who also was first to the

on the time it took to fly the 1,335 nm to the Pole South Pole, flew from a far northern Alaskan island

from the starting point. It should’ve taken the team over the North Pole to a far northern Norwegian island

about two hours longer than that. Over the years, the in an airship called The Norge.

14 AUGUST 2020 Ç Plane&Pilot

The very first plane
ever? Samuel P.
Langley’s Aerodrome
had the honor for
many years, albeit
under dubious
circumstances.

FIRST TO FLY, flew it. Even then, to be honest, it didn’t fly all that well.
PART DEUX But it was good enough for the Smithsonian. It declared
that the plane had been “capable” of flight in 1903 and
FIRST POWERED HEAVIER- stuck by its story. It was a fabrication the Smithsonian
THAN-AIR AIRPLANE: not only created but which it stood by until 1942! So, for
more than 30 years, the Smithsonian said Langley was
Samuel P. Langley’s Aerodrome, Oct. 8 and/or Dec. 3, first in flight.
1903, of course. You might be aware that the Smithsonian
Institution, which was headed by Langley until 1906, for WRIGHT BROTHERS:
a time heralded his Aerodrome as being the first to fly but
only by way of very tortured proof. The actual plane, every- You know the story. The Wrights flew their plane on
one admitted, didn’t fly in 1903, but years later, aviation their Dec. 17, 1903, flight at Kill Devil Hills. It was heavier
pioneer Glenn Curtiss made numerous changes to it and than air and had an engine and flew kind of under con-
trol that day with Orville at the controls. So, it was the
Wright Brothers who flew first in the Wright Flyer. The

The airship Norge, which was flown
over the North Pole by Roald Amundsen
a few days after Byrd’s attempt.

Smithsonian, as you might know, was con-
tractually obligated to recognize The Wrights
as first in flight as a part of a deal that gave
them stewardship of the Wright Flyer, which
we find a very interesting way of showing a
commitment to historical accuracy.

WHAT ABOUT WHITEHEAD?

Gustave Whitehead reportedly flew a plane of
his own design near Bridgeport, Connecticut,
back in 1901, predating the Wrights’ flight by
more than two years. His claim was never
widely recognized despite recurring sup-
port for his cause over the decades. The
proof is strong that Whitehead was a bril-
liant engineer and craftsman who built not
only his airplane but also the engines, pow-
ered by compressed air. Modern replicas of Gustave Whitehead and friends posing behind his plane known only as Number 21.
his machine, Number 21, have successfully Subsequent modern reconstructions of the bird-like plane flew, though not very well.
flown with modern engines. But there’s no
photographic evidence of any Whitehead flights before
the Wrights’ and only skimpy written accounts exist of
any such fights, even if there were numerous eyewitness
accounts that he did it, though they were gathered 30
years after the disputed fact. Did Whitehead indeed fly in
1901? He might have, but until better evidence emerges,
the Wrights will wear the crown.

FIRST Igor Sikorsky flying the world’s first helicopter, the VS-300. Or was it? ALL PHOTOS: CREATIVE COMMONS EXCEPT X-15, COURTESY OF NASA AND SOLAR IMPULSE, COURTESY OF SOLAR IMPULSE.
HELICOPTER
Hermann Ganswindt. Was the German man the
Igor Sikorsky is usually credited with having invented the inventor of and first pilot of an actual helicopter?
helicopter, with the first successful flight in 1939 of the
VS-300. But the rules for what constitutes a helicopter are
very specific, though why that’s true isn’t entirely clear. It
had to be a single-lift model, so only one plane of rotating
blades, and many expect it to have a single tail rotor, too.
In essence, Sikorsky’s flight in 1939 was of a helicopter
that looked like what people wanted a helicopter to look
like. To be fair, it was a very modern-looking ship, much
more modern than the Wrights’ first airplane, though it
was 35 years down the line from Kitty Hawk.

FIRST ACTUAL PRETTY
MUCH A HELICOPTER:

For more than 40 years before Sikorsky’s VS-300 flight,
helicopter experimentation was widespread, and in
1901, yes, before the Wrights were “first” to fly, a German
inventor named Hermann Ganswindt flew his helicopter
in Berlin. Nobody doubted that his aircraft flew, but it
was a multi-tiered blade affair, so for some reason that
doesn’t count. But, yeah, it was Ganswindt.

16 AUGUST 2020 Ç Plane&Pilot

ABOVE: A North American X-15 shortly after release and light off.
LEFT: Space Shuttle Discovery STS-120 lifting off from Kennedy
Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida.

FASTEST
PLANE…EVER

X-15. This one is easy, right? That would be the X-15,
a rocket plane that back in the 1960s did Mach 6.7.
When it ran out of fuel after about 90 seconds, it
was a glider, but was it ever a fast glider and/or
airplane. And super cool, too. Huge X-15 fans here.

SO… FASTEST PLANE EVER?

Well, if the X-15 qualifies, wouldn’t the Space
Shuttle, too? It was also rocket equipped. So what
if it jettisoned those main boosters? Why is that
disqualifying? It was way faster than the X-15. On
takeoff, or, if you prefer, “launch,” and on its unpow-
ered return to Earth, it reached speeds of Mach
25. So the Space Shuttle is the fastest plane ever.
By a lot. Also, it’s got all the altitude records, too.

BUT FASTEST PLANE EVER…

If you eliminate rocket ship/space planes, which
the Space Shuttle definitely was, and which the
X-15…okay, it definitely was too—what are you
left with? Only the fastest plane ever, the Lockheed
SR-71, which is an air-breathing self-powered take-
off-on-its-own-gear and land-under-engine power
beauty. Its top non-classified speed was Mach 3.3,
but it probably got up to Mach 3.5. So the SR-71,
introduced in the mid-1960s, really is the fastest
human-flown airplane ever.

planeandpilotmag.com 17

FIRST AROUND-THE-WORLD
SOLAR-POWERED FLIGHT

The honor goes to Solar Impulse II, which in July long stops, including a nine-month stop in Hawaii to
2016 landed in Abu Dhabi to complete the first make major repairs. So can you really count that as
circumnavigation of the world by a solar-powered a flight? Sure, around-the-world flights that require
aircraft. Hooray! Right? Not so fast. ground fueling and other short delays count. But
did Solar Impulse II’s year-plus-long odyssey really
REAL FIRST SOLAR-POWERED count as a flight? The record books say “yes.” We say
CIRCUMNAVIGATION: “sorry.” While we have the utmost respect for the
project, the technology and the stick-to-itiveness,
Nobody. Come on. Solar Impulse II left Abu Dhabi that real solar circumnavigation flight has yet to
on March 9, 2015, and it completed its around-the- be flown. PP
world flight…16 months later! There were multiple

BELOW: Solar Impulse 2 was the first completely solar-powered plane to
circumnavigate the globe, though its journey took almost a year and a half.

18 AUGUST 2020 Ç Plane&Pilot

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*Additional equipment may be required depending on configuration planeandpilotmag.com 19

News Of Note

BY BETHANY WHITFIELD AND PLANE & PILOT STAFF

the Sikorsky S-76 he was piloting on Jan. 26 crashed in
Southern California, killing Kobe Bryant and all other
passengers aboard. The autopsies also confirmed all
aboard died on impact.

SKYCOURIER TWIN TAKES FLIGHT DRONE AND BLUE ANGELS JET
IN CLOSE ENCOUNTER
Cessna’s new twin utility turboprop kicked off its flight
testing program with a successful two-plus-hour jaunt On the heels of a report highlighting the dangers of
in May, during which the test pilots examined the drones and manned aircraft flying in close proximity,
SkyCourier’s stability, propulsion, flight controls and video has emerged of a drone’s close call with a forma-
other factors. Cessna will utilize the prototype along tion flight of six Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornets flying
with five other test articles as it moves forward with over Detroit. The video, which was later removed from
the test program. YouTube, shows the formation whizzing by at low alti-
tude, suggesting the drone was flying within restricted
airspace during the aerobatic team’s demonstration.

F-22, F-35 CRASH IN FLORIDA GARMIN HALTS UPGRADES
FOR OLDER GNS UNITS
An F-22 and an F-35 crashed at Eglin Air Force Base in
the Florida Panhandle in separate incidents that took Garmin will no longer provide WAAS upgrades for non-
place less than a week apart in May. The pilots of both WAAS-equipped GNS 400/500 series units, although
aircraft ejected safely, and no one on the ground was the company will continue to offer repairs as needed.
injured as a result of the accidents. The move, which the company says will allow it to sup-
port future GNS 400W/500W repairs, ends an upgrade
OSHKOSH POSTPONED UNTIL 2021 program that was first launched in 2003.

The Experimental Aircraft Association announced in CESSNA AD WOULD PROMPT
May that AirVenture 2020 will be canceled as the threat TAILDRAGGER INSPECTIONS
of COVID-19 persists and mass gatherings remain
restricted. The move marks 2020 as the first year the A proposed airworthiness directive would require
event, which has been the largest GA fly-in for decades, owners of dozens of Cessna 180, 182 and 185 models
won’t be held since it first began in the 1950s. to have their aircraft inspected for potential cracks or

KOBE BRYANT HELO CRASH
AUTOPSIES COMPLETED

Investigators have confirmed there were no drugs or
alcohol present in veteran pilot Ara Zobayan when

20 AUGUST 2020 Ç Plane&Pilot





deterioration in the horizontal stabilizer and tailcone. users can utilize multiple apps at once. A common situ-
The proposal, which can receive comments through ation is a user monitoring the timer and viewing a chart
June 29, would affect thousands of individual airplanes. simultaneously, to name one example.

LATEST FOREFLIGHT PROVIDES Other changes include a slide-out menu, which can be
KEY UPGRADES hidden after selecting a function. There’s a new settings
interface that provides greater clarity and simplicity, as
ForeFlight has released the newest edition of its popular well as customizable tabs. Charts are also easier than
aviation app, and it features a number of enhancements ever to access, and weather displays have been upgraded,
that create a smoother user experience. too. On top of these changes, syncing the app across two
devices has also been improved.
The central characteristic of the update is that it
aligns the app experience on the iPhone and the iPad, PEDESTRIAN KILLED IN RUNWAY MISHAP
so that users running the app on either device will see
essentially the same thing. Another key update is the A Southwest Airlines 737 jet struck and killed a person on
app’s ability to support multitasking on an iPad, meaning runway 17R at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport

New Diesel Model From Tecnam

The P2010 TDI will add a 170-hp diesel engine
to an already-impressive package. BY PLANE & PILOT

Tecnam recently unveiled its lat- speeds, capabilities, connectivity and overall ease of
est model, a diesel-powered ver- use. The NXi isn’t new to the TDI model; it’s already
sion of its P2010 four-seat single. standard equipment on the two gas piston versions
The new model will be available of the plane, but it’s a top-notch choice.
soon from Tecnam. In our review
of the Tecnam P2010, we found Tecnam is also touting its new electrically height-
the plane to be a good-perform- adjustable 26G seats, to go along with built-in, high-
ing, roomy, sophisticated and strength composite fuselage design to improve occu-
modern take on the high-wing pant safety.
four-seat single.
Tecnam expects to earn a type certificate for the
The new model stakes its claim P2010 TDI in July, with availability shortly thereafter.
on the Continental Aerospace
Technologies CD-170 engine, a Once the TDI version hits showroom floors, it will
170-hp turbodiesel model that be available in three different varieties, with the 180-hp
will give the 2010 TDi a combina- Lycoming IO-360 model, the 215-hp Lycoming IO-390
tion of performance advantages and now the 170-hp Continental CD170.
that will set it apart from gas pis-
ton models. We’re looking forward to flying the new
plane, but the Continental TD-170 will likely give the
P2010 solid performance numbers while burning the
miserly numbers that turbodiesels are known for, not
to mention the single-lever power control that the
most advanced powerplants offer.

Tecnam says that the P2010 TDI will burn 5.2 gal-
lons per hour at cruise and that it will have a range of
up to 1,050 nm with 63 gallons in the tanks. At a fuel
flow of 6.6b gph at 9,000 feet, the P2010 will cruise at
132 knots, according to Tecnam’s performance figures.

It will also boast the excellent Garmin G1000 NXi,
a complete overhaul of Garmin’s terrific G1000 flat-
panel suite. NXi features better displays, processing

planeandpilotmag.com 21

Continued from page 21 AERIAL DISPLAYS SHOWCASE
SUPPORT FOR FIRST RESPONDERS
when landing shortly after 8 p.m. on May 7. Investigators
are currently looking into why the man was on the runway, A number of flyovers, conducted by the Blue Angels team,
while preliminary reports suggest he was not a badged revered WWII warbirds and various other aircraft, have
employee of the airport. been completed in recent months to show appreciation
for those working on the frontlines of the COVID-19
FAA ADJUSTS SPECIAL FLIGHT pandemic. The events have taken place in cities across
PERMIT RULES FOR HOMEBUILTS the country, with several taking place directly over hos-
pital facilities.
The FAA has made a rule change allowing homebuilts
with an expired condition inspection to be approved
for a ferry flight without a physical inspection. The new
regulation will allow designated airworthiness reps the
ability to grant special flight permits remotely.

BIZAV FLIGHTS SLOWLY TICK UP PIPER M600 WITH AUTOLAND
SNAGS CERTIFICATION
Business aviation flights are gradually showing signs
of a comeback, according to recent numbers released Piper and Garmin jointly celebrated a key milestone
by WingX. Bizav flights, which had dropped to a rolling in May, when the FAA gave the green light to the
seven-day average of 4,800 on May 1, rose to 6,800 a few M600/SLS equipped with Garmin’s revolutionary new
weeks later. Autoland system.

GULFSTREAM ADDS THIRD The FAA certification makes the Piper M600/SLS the
G700 TO TEST PROGRAM first airplane approved to have the system, which brings
a host of highly advanced capabilities to the cockpit.
Three of the five anticipated G700s test articles are now Garmin’s Autoland, which is implemented as part of the
in commission as part of Gulfstream’s flight testing pro- Halo system in the M600, was first introduced to the public
gram. The company’s new flagship, which made its first in October of last year. The complex system works in the
flight in February, is slated to have a max range of 7,500 case of an in-flight emergency or pilot incapacitation to
nm and a max speed of Mach 0.925. find the closest airport, configure the airplane for landing,
communicate intentions to ATC, land the airplane to a
GARMIN’S AUTOLAND COMES TO THE TBM full stop and then shut down the engine. All the while,
the system tells the aircraft occupants what is happening
The TBM 940 has become the latest turbine airplane to each step of the way.
add Garmin’s autoland system, providing an array of
capabilities to help pilots get the airplane on the ground in The system is the first of its kind in general aviation
the case of an emergency. Daher says certification for the by a long shot, and it is poised to advance safety during
autoland-equipped airplane will likely come this summer. some of the most dangerous situations aviators face.
Two other airplanes, the Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet and the
NBAA CUTS STAFF TBM 940, are slated to incorporate Garmin’s Autoland
into their systems and are currently making their way
The National Business Aviation Association announced through the FAA certification process.
in May that it has made substantial reductions to its staff
due to the effects of the ongoing pandemic. The organiza- UNAPPROVED DRONES POSE
tion, which did not provide specifics regarding the cuts, SAFETY THREAT, REPORT SAYS
has already canceled a number of 2020 events, including
ABACE, EBACE and others. A new study conducted by researchers at Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University has raised the alert about high
numbers of unauthorized drone flights taking place in
shared airspace.

The study examined drone flights for a 30-day period
near Daytona Beach International Airport and found
that not only had most drones forgone FAA approval,
but also more than one third were flying higher than the

22 AUGUST 2020 Ç Plane&Pilot

400-feet altitude limit designated by the administration. and Notification Capability, or LAANC for short, which
Of the drones that broke the altitude ceiling, dozens flew expedites the process for UAV pilots seeking permission to
above 500 feet, and close to 10 were detected flying above fly in controlled airspace near airports. This streamlined
1,000 feet. process was expected to substantially reduce unauthor-
ized drone activity in busy airport areas, potentially
The study was published in the International Journal dropping such flights by 30%, advocates had predicted.
of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace and is the latest
of its kind to note the hazards that come with the bal- The study comes as close calls between drones and
looning use of personal UAVs. It calls into question the piloted aircraft, such as the recent encounter between a
effectiveness of the FAA’s Low Altitude Authorization Blue Angels jet and a UAV, continue to make headlines. PP

Bearhawk 5 Takes Flight

Stretched design allows up to six seats—or room
for the proverbial kitchen sink. BY JEREMY KING

Bearhawk Aircraft’s latest design, the Bearhawk 5, engines ranging from 250 to 315 hp. So far, testing has
first flew May 5. The seller of backcountry aircraft shown cruise speeds tickling 160 mph and at reduced
kits and plans announced its new design in June, and power, 145 to 150 mph with a lean-of-peak fuel flow of
it’s “what’s in back” that really sets this design apart 14.5 to 15 GPH. Takeoff and landing numbers are still
from other homebuilt aircraft. The aft cabin has been evolving. Takeoff rolls of 220 to 300 feet and landing
stretched, making room in the baggage area for an rolls of less than 650 feet have been the norm from a
additional two seats. muddy runway so far. As the runway firms up, those
numbers should firm up, as well.
The Bearhawk line of aircraft is a series of rugged
two- and four-seat designs well-suited for backcountry According to the Bearhawk website, more than
operations. Its existing four-place design has a cabin 1,400 plans have sold for its designs, and more than
slightly larger than a Cessna Skyhawk; the Bearhawk 100 aircraft have been completed. Varying degrees of
5 pushes the interior dimensions beyond those of a builders’ skillsets are accommodated from scratch-
Cessna 185. The prototype is powered by a 315-hp builders who start with plans and a pile of tubes, to
Lycoming IO-580 engine and three-blade Hartzell quick-build kits with all the welding completed. The
82-inch-diameter carbon-fiber Trailblazer propeller. designs feature fabric-covered, welded tubular fuselage
Weighing in at 1,512 pounds empty weight, the design’s structures and strut-braced aluminum wings. With the
gross weight is projected to reach 3,000 pounds as introduction of the Bearhawk 5, the company’s designs
testing continues. That puts the Bearhawk 5 into a rare now range from 65-hp two-seat models through six
group of designs with similar numbers for useful load seats and 310 hp.
and empty weight. Other notable designs in this range
include the Piper Cherokee Six and the Cessna 185.

The prototype, built in a collaboration with Collin
Campbell, has more than five hours in the books
so far and good handling qualities reported. The
design began as a customer’s stretched and widened
Bearhawk 4, a project that was abandoned for health
issues. Bearhawk President Mark Goldberg served
as the conduit between the languishing project and
Campbell, who’s noted for having scratch-built a num-
ber of Bearhawks, most recently having completed
a Bearhawk LSA prior to taking on the Bearhawk 5.

The fuselage is 2 inches wider and 2 feet longer than
a standard four-place Bearhawk. The cabin, now 14
inches longer, offers the ability to add one or two seats
to the back, or to utilize the space for baggage and
cargo. The design is tailored for Lycoming six-cylinder

planeandpilotmag.com 23

ACROSS 20 Silent form of “affirm” 4 They are often referred
21 Don’t turn base from to as blue or friendly
1 Proteus creator
4 Least risky one of these 5 Equipment when aviat-
8 Morbid-sounding emer- 24 How old radios some- ing in the frozen stuff

gency procedure times sound 6 Cessna 182
9 Sweet potato 26 A route in 4D 7 Tail assembly
10 Often said by pilots 27 Chicago’s state, abbr. 11 Assist
28 The “I” problem 15 When full inspections
to be “least” 30 What a plane’s alu-
12 Request have to be done
13 Build minum really is 16 Supersonic wings are like this
14 ___cord 31 Taylor was this com- 19 Paradox
17 Air deflected downward 22 Walked in water
pany’s founder 23 Good advice for student pilots’
by the aircraft wing
18 Billions of years DOWN grip on the yoke, 2 words
25 Life summary
Check your answers at 1 It controls yaw 26 Alarming sound
planeandpilotmag.com/article/ 2 4,096 possible entries
while airborne
august-2020-crossword-key. on one of these 29 Airworthiness review, abbr.
3 Plane’s front section
24 AUGUST 2020 Ç Plane&Pilot

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www.Lycoming.com © 2020 Avco Corporation

Bellanca Viking that the fuel shutoff valve was not engaged; however, the
engine did not respond, so he subsequently conducted
Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee/2 Fatal a forced landing to a field, during which the right wing
struck a fence, and the airplane came to rest inverted.
A witness saw the airplane fly over a lake and noted that
the airplane made “a tight U-turn” at a low altitude, which Postaccident examination of the airplane and the
he thought might have been an aerobatic maneuver. The engine revealed no evidence of any preaccident mechani-
airplane then spiraled straight down counterclockwise cal malfunctions or failures that would have precluded
and impacted the lake. Video from a camera mounted to normal operation, and the engine was successfully test
the airplane’s right horizontal stabilizer confirmed that run. The atmospheric conditions at the time of the acci-
the airplane flew very low over water. Subsequent video dent were conducive to serious carburetor icing at cruise
showed that the airplane pitched up, rolled to the left, power, and the Pilot’s Operating Handbook Descent
and entered a left spin before descending and impact- Checklist instructed pilots to apply carburetor heat,
ing the lake. It is likely that the pilot had attempted a as required, during descent. Therefore, it is likely that
left wingover maneuver (in which the airplane makes a carburetor ice accumulated during cruise flight and that
steep climb followed by a vertical turn and subsequent the pilot applied the carburetor heat too late to melt the
descent), but the airplane experienced an aerodynamic ice, which resulted in the loss of engine power. The pilot
stall that led to the left spin near the top of the maneu- stated that he did not fully understand the potentially
ver. The video revealed no evidence of a preimpact subtle nature of carburetor ice.
structural failure, flight control malfunction, or loss
of propeller rpm. Additionally, postaccident examina- PROBABLE CAUSE(S): The pilot’s delay in applying
tion of the airframe and engine revealed no preimpact carburetor heat, which resulted in a total loss of engine
mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded power during descent due to carburetor icing.
normal operation.
Beech B60 Duke
The pilot’s toxicology results indicated that he had
previously taken some cough and cold medications, Fort Walton Beach, Florida
including some that were potentially sedating. However, Injuries: 4 Fatal
these medications were out of his system, as shown by
the absence or low levels of these medications in the The commercial pilot and three passengers departed on
pilot’s blood. Thus, the pilot’s use of these medications a cross-country flight in a twin-engine airplane. As the
was not likely a factor in this accident. flight neared the destination airport, the pilot canceled
his instrument flight rules (IFR) clearance. The approach
PROBABLE CAUSE(S): The pilot’s improper decision controller transferred the flight to the tower controller,
to attempt an aerobatic maneuver at low altitude, which and the pilot reported to the tower controller that the
led to an aerodynamic stall and spin from which the airplane was about 2 miles from the airport. However,
pilot could not recover. the approach controller contacted the tower controller
to report that the airplane was 200 ft over a nearby joint
Cessna Skycatcher military airport at the time. GPS data revealed that, when
pilot reported that the airplane was 2 miles from the
Franklin, North Carolina/Injuries: 1 Minor destination airport, the airplane’s actual location was
about 10 miles from the destination airport and 2 miles
The sport pilot reported that, while conducting a per- from the joint military airport. The airplane impacted
sonal, cross-country flight and while nearing the desti- a remote wooded area about 8 miles northwest of the
nation airport, he reduced the engine rpm from 2,350 to destination airport.
2,200 and began a slow descent from a cruise altitude of
3,500 ft mean sea level (msl) to a traffic pattern altitude of At the time of the accident, thunderstorm cells were
2,800 ft msl. He added that the carburetor heat was not on in the area. A review of the weather information revealed
at that time, and that, about 2 minutes later, he noticed that the pilot’s view of the airport was likely obscured
that the engine had lost all power without any rough- because the airplane was in an area of light precipitation,
ness or sputtering. The pilot turned on the carburetor restricting the pilot’s visibility.
heat, positioned the mixture to full rich, and confirmed
A review of airport information noted that the IFR
approach course for the destination airport passes

NOTE: The reports republished here are from the NTSB and are printed verbatim and in their complete form.

26 AUGUST 2020 Ç Plane&Pilot

over the joint military airport. The Federal Aviation departure end of the runway. The airplane then entered
Administration chart supplement for the destination a left turn and descended to ground contact. Damage to
airport noted the airport’s proximity to the other airport. the propeller blades was consistent with a lack of engine
However, it is likely that the pilot mistook the other air- power at the time of impact; however, examination of the
port for the destination airport due to reduced visibility wreckage revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical
because of weather. The accident circumstances were anomalies that would have prevented normal engine
consistent with controlled flight into terrain. operation. Based on the temperature and dew point about
the time of the accident, the conditions were favorable
The ethanol detected in the pilot’s blood specimens for serious carburetor icing at a glide power setting.
but not in his urine specimens was consistent with
postmortem bacteria production. The carbon monoxide Video showed that the airplane operated on the
and cyanide detected in the pilot’s blood specimens were ground at an idle engine power setting for about 7 min-
consistent with inhalation after the postimpact fire. utes before takeoff, and it is probable that carburetor ice
formed during this time, subsequently resulting in the
PROBABLE CAUSE(S): The pilot’s controlled flight loss of engine power during the initial climb. Following
into terrain after misidentifying the destination airport the loss of power, the pilot attempted to turn back to the
during a period of restricted visibility due to weather. runway with insufficient altitude and, during the turn,
failed to maintain airspeed, resulting in an exceedance
Aeronca 7AC Champ of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, an aerodynamic
stall/spin, and impact with terrain.
Hanson, Massachusetts
Injuries: 1 Fatal, 1 Serious PROBABLE CAUSE(S): A loss of engine power due
to carburetor icing, the pilot’s decision to turn back
The commercial pilot and passenger were departing to the runway shortly after takeoff, and his failure to
on a local personal flight in the single-engine airplane. maintain airspeed during the turn, which resulted in an
Review of airport security video showed the airplane excedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, and
level off about 100 ft above ground level as it passed the subsequent aerodynamic stall.

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Custom U.S. Aeronautical
Chart Face Mask

As Americans continue to protect themselves and
others from the spread of COVID-19, this face
mask from Sporty’s provides a unique conversation
starter. The personalized design allows users
to showcase the U.S. airport sectional chart of
their choosing.
The three-layer mask uses CDC-compliant fabric
that is machine washable for easy reuse. The
interior lining, made of 100% cotton, makes
wearing the mask more comfortable than
otherwise, while the six-inch elastic bands ensure
a secure fit. The outer layer is composed of soft-
spun poly. The mask, available for $30, is made in
the U.S.
Learn more at sportys.com.

28 AUGUST 2020 Ç Plane&Pilot

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Wacaco Minipresso GR

During early-morning trips, it’s important to stay
fresh and alert in the cockpit, and for many of us,
a cup of coffee is a key component of that. This
portable espresso maker from Wacaco makes it
easy to have quality coffee on the go. It features a
semi-automatic piston that injects water at higher
pressure for a bolder flavor overall. The piston locks
when not in use to ensure safe and clean transport.
The Minipresso is compact and lightweight, coming
in at less than 1 pound. It comes with a built-in
espresso cup and scoop. The product is priced
at $49.90, and a carrying case is available for
$19.90.
Learn more at wacaco.com.

30 AUGUST 2020 Ç Plane&Pilot

Satellite Wave GPS
Freedom Citizen Watch

This design from Citizen Watch combines a sleek
aesthetic with super-fast GPS signal reception. Bright color
accents provide a sharp contrast with the watch’s 44-mm
stainless steel black matte case and bracelet. Users can
choose from one of three accent color schemes—including
lime green, azure blue and fire red.
The watch can receive GPS signals in three seconds, meaning
wearers can rely on a highly accurate time showing no matter
where they are. The watch will automatically update as it moves
through 40 different time zones, with no manual time setting
required. Daylight savings time is the one option that must
be manually turned on and off. The watch utilizes eco-drive
technology, so the battery never needs to be replaced and can be
recharged by any light.
The watch is available for $636.
Learn more at citizenwatch.com.

planeandpilotmag.com 31

Tiger Boot Coat

Those flying aircraft with deicing capabilities
may find they need some help in keeping their
deicing boots clean and in good condition.
This Tiger Boot Coat will both give deicing
boots a shine and protect them from corrosion
over time. The product should be applied in
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That Year Our Plane
Was The Only One
That Made It To OSH

Well, to be honest, there Regional Airport’s traffic pattern. In theory, it’s not a
was one other plane in particularly complex arrival. When you think about
the pattern on the day it, it can’t be. Many of the pilots flying in are surely
before the world’s biggest occasional aviators at best. Some of them, I’m guessing,
fly-in started. Here’s are flying in for the very first time. Judging by how some
how that happened. of them fly the arrival, it’s a safe guess that both are true
for at least a few of these flyers.
By W. David Pond
And that thing about being blasé…yeah, that’s not a
A nd then, suddenly, there we were, in blinding problem for me. As many times as I’ve flown VFR into
sunlight, 2,500 feet MSL, a speck of a plane against OSH, and it’s been around 15 times, though that’s an
columns of dark storm next to us and to the west undereducated but confident guess, I’m still nervous
of us and behind us and to the east, as we emerged about it. It’s not that I don’t trust what I’m doing. I do.
into…well, paradise, or at least it seemed. It’s just that there’s no telling what the other pilots
are going to be up to. And, no, they’re not going to
I remember that moment exactly, as we cruised out be up to “no good.” They’re doing their best, but in
from between storm clouds, turned the corner and my experience, the arrival can be a bit chaotic and,
found ourselves looking up into a giant shell of perfect therefore, unpredictable. And remember that it’s not
blue sky. I was speechless. And at our 11 o’clock, we like DFW International Airport out there. It’s a low-tech
spied Wittman Regional, the glinting pearl inside the affair. In place of radar, the controllers use a sharp eye
shell, bright and obvious in a way that airports hardly and a decent pair of FAA-issue binoculars to spot traffic.
ever are when you’re looking for them with the naked And when things get busy, they’ll start holding planes
eye, like it was being lit up just for us. at Rush Lake or Green Lake. And when I say “holding,”
I mean they direct planes to fly around the lakes. The
And when I say “just for us,” I mean that almost procedures are imprecise at best, and the way they’re
literally. There was, in fact, only one other plane in the flown is even less so.
pattern on the day before the biggest fly-in/airshow in
the world was due to begin. Again, “surreal” is the only I don’t recall the exact details of the holding pattern
way I can describe it. addendum to the Ripon/Fisk arrival, and this story isn’t
intended to take the place of the NOTAM, but from what
How we got to be 15 miles out from KOSH and I remember, the planes are supposed to circle the lake
cleared to land on 36 isn’t a long story, just an extremely in the same direction and the same altitude, but that
unlikely one.

I’m guessing that some pilots who have flown into
a couple dozen Oshkosh airshows, as I have, might be
blasé about the arrival, which is technically the “Fisk”
arrival, though most people I know call it the Ripon
arrival, which channels VFR aircraft into Wittman

34 AUGUST 2020 Ç Plane&Pilot

Artist's rendition of the flight. Author W. David Pond notes, "It was much less scary than that."

doesn’t always happen. Let me tell you, while choice of enough to have some good friends with nice airplanes.
altitude isn’t particularly critical, direction matters a The problem wasn’t time or fuel. We were making
lot. It only takes one Aeronca Chief flying a backward good progress on the first count, and we had plenty of
hold at about the same altitude as everybody else to the latter. The issue was the weather, namely storms,
get everybody’s immediate attention. I’ve only seen it big ones, the kind that make lots of pretty lights and
happen twice, but both times it made an impression. loud noises and eat up airplanes. So we were, sensibly
And no, it wasn’t a Chief both times. The second time I enough, doing our best to avoid them because, after all,
think it was a Champ. it wasn’t even our airplane.

In any case, that year I had printed out the NOTAM And as we got around a small buildup just past
back home in Abilene and stapled its many pages into Madison, we were able to get eyeballs on the weather
some form of submission and studied it before I left, situation in the general direction of OSH. We had
highlighting frequencies I knew or guessed we would expected to be able to see, or almost see, at any rate, the
need. I didn’t so much “study” it as looked it over to see town of Ripon, after which the arrival is named, with its
if anything major had changed. That was my sixth or figurative civic arms open to greet us, but not even. Our
seventh year flying into OSH for the event, and I knew mouths gaped open, and J.B. and I spontaneously turned
the arrival pretty well. Big changes were rare, and there to each other without a word and just started laughing.
were none. I hoped things would go smoothly, but not A huge black wall of a storm, rising to what must have
all that deep down, I was psyching myself up for the been 40,000 feet and stretching half a hundred miles
usual fire drill. from Minneapolis to Milwaukee, or so it seemed, lay
between us and Ripon—well, us and everybody else, too.
I start looking extra super hard for traffic by the
time I’m past Madison and descending to bug smasher And, to be honest, we weren’t completely surprised
altitudes. It’s at this point that things start to get by it. We’d been keeping our eye on the storms using
interesting because that’s where traffic from the south, whatever weather doohickey it was we were using at the
southeast and southwest all begin to merge as though time, so we knew there were storms up ahead. We just
through a giant invisible funnel on their way to Ripon didn’t know that they had become a storm, a monolith
and the start of the arrival to OSH. of fury that, unlike the open-arms Oshkosh welcome
I was used to getting, was putting out a big angry
This time, such was not going to be happening, stop hand.
though we held out hope for a while, me and my flying
buddy and fellow pilot J.B., as we tooled along in the So we did what any reasonable pilots would do. We
nearly new Bonanza I’d finagled for the trip—I’m lucky kept on flying.

planeandpilotmag.com 35

Yeah, we knew weren’t getting through that thing, As we dialed up approach, they said hey but sent us

and because we weren’t flying a Saturn rocket, we straight to the tower, which never happens, and in a

weren’t going over the top of it, either. But we could way that, again, has never happened to me on a trip to

get further up. After all, we had enough gas to fly for a this fly-in airshow (and that will surely never happen

few more hours, so why not go take a look? We could again). The tower controller gave us a straight in for 36,

always turn around. land on any dot we wanted to and, by the way, traffic is

So we flew. And while we were flying, because we’re an Ercoupe on a right downwind for Runway 27. And

pilots, we started thinking things through. How to he cleared us to land. Fifteen miles out!

get around this thing was the general theme of our It was so weird. I won’t say there were no planes

thinking, and the most promising tactic was to go and no movement on the field, but, honestly, it felt that

around the back side of it, something pilots almost way. It was dead clear, blue skies and sunshine in the

always think about but, with a storm of this size, afternoon the day before the airshow started, and we

hardly ever get to do. had the place to ourselves.

And as we got closer, the thing got wider as new After we landed, we were greeted by the ground

cells along each side of the front popped up and joined marshals, all of whom looked as though they hadn’t

in on the fun. done anything for a while, because they hadn’t, and

So halfway to Ripon and a good ways east, we we taxied over to park at the FBO to the north of the

decided to turn around. I mean, what was the airshow, where we had a reservation to park on the

point, right? hardtop, which was a lucky thing because the grounds

Then the second funny thing happened. at OSH were already soaked from that previous storm

As we made a wide right turn, giving the storm going through. After we parked and tied it down

plenty of leeway, we saw a long, narrow corridor and were hauling our big bags toward the low brick

between big, but far less menacing, buildups. The gap building that housed the FBO, we actually wound up

was wide enough, but it was totally unlikely that it running into the guy just finishing tying down his little

even existed. I think if we hadn’t made the turn exactly yellow Ercoupe.

where we did and when we did, we never would have He seemed a nice fellow, and we made greetings,

seen it. quickly establishing a three-person

And it checked out. We could stop ❯❯ “It was so weird. brotherhood of lucky Wittman Field
our 180-degree turn three-quarters of arrivals, only to learn that he’d flown in

the way through it and head east. If all I won’t say there were from Appleton, a few miles to the north.

else failed, we could go to Milwaukee. no planes and no Which seemed like cheating to us. But

Which is precisely what we were in movement on the field, we shared a shuttle anyways.
the process of doing when the same but, honestly, it felt And we were there, alone, the three
thing happened again, and we spotted a
corridor through some other buildups that way.” of us, on a big yellow requisitioned
school bus feeling something different

that both our eyeballs and the FIS-B than lucky. In a world in which all the

weather said was clear sailing. And away we went. planes flying into Oshkosh got turned around except

And shortly thereafter, we emerged into the for us, well, it was, and we knew it then and there, a

Wittman Regional area, bathed, as previously once-in-a-lifetime experience.

described, in the light of heaven. And as we motored I’d like to report that it was my best Oshkosh ever,

toward OSH, now at our twelve o’clock and 15-20 and it was good, but it was also wet. The planes, the

miles, we looked west at the storm that, not too long people, the stuff…all of that was great, as always. But

ago, we’d been on the other side of. It was biblical, every unpaved inch of the place was a mucky mess

a hard line of atmospheric power amassed exactly for the duration of the show. Luckily, the folks at EAA

parallel and 10 miles west of the north-south shoreline worked miracles and were able to get the show to

of Lake Winnebago, effectively turning back all traffic come off as well as it did.

headed from the dark side of the storm to the airshow. After getting back home to West Texas the next

But it wasn’t only from that direction that the week, I couldn’t wait to show off pictures of my

weather was a showstopper. Behind us, surrounding Oshkosh adventure to friends and family. Sometimes I

our formerly happy corridors of clear air, was forget that pilots live in a slightly different world than

another line of big cells, effectively keeping all the everyone else, but I was reminded of that fact when

traffic from the east and northeast from getting I shared said pictures and found myself the only one

any closer than the folks who were forced to turn entertained by my story of how few airplanes there

around before Ripon. Oshkosh was surrounded by were when we got to KOSH at the end of a long cross-

impassible storms. We had gotten through, safely and country trip. “Almost none!” I said. Well, at least I was

improbably. Go figure. amused. PP

36 AUGUST 2020 Ç Plane&Pilot

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38 AUGUST 2020 Ç Plane&Pilot

OTHESGHLOKROYSOHF
AIRVENTURE

With the 2020 edition called off, here’s to AirVenture 2021, with
photos of the amazing planes and people and unbridled joy they
bring, all of which will be back, because that’s what we do.

BY PLANE & PILOT

IN PHOTOS

planeandpilotmag.com 39



he EAA’s annual summer rites of OPENING SPREAD JIM KOEPNICK. THIS PAGE: EAA: MICHAEL STEINEKE.
flight at its Oshkosh AirVenture
fly-in are all about the sights and
sounds of aviation. And for as
long as it has been an event, some
of the best photographers in the

T  world have gathered there, long
lenses in hand, to capture the
glory of it all—the color, the motion, the
faces, the explosion of excitement that is
the world’s greatest aviation event.
Like every year, it’s impossible to select
every photograph we’d like to feature,
as our editors were sitting around the
virtual table going over virtual slides—
forgive the metaphor. We’ve been doing
this since the days of Kodachrome—we
kept on adding image after image to the
stack. We needed shots of seaplanes,
fighters, vintage planes, sport planes,
good old GA standards, of course, but
we also wanted fireworks and scale and,
lastly but so importantly, people loving
the greatest show on earth.
Well, at some point, we had to say
“when,” and we’re delighted to be able to
share with you this spectacular collection
of images, some of which you might have
seen, but which stand up, we’re certain,
to seeing again and again. And a special
thanks, too, to the EAA for its help with
this project.
So here are the sights of AirVentures
past. Yes, this year is different, as
you know, because there will be no
AirVenture. Sure, people are sad about
that, but something unexpected has
happened, too. People have started
gearing up for AirVenture 2021. Yes,
it’s 13 months away still, so it sounds
improbable, but we’re totally getting fired
up for it, too.
These photos won’t make Oshkosh
2021 come any faster, but they’ll
definitely remind you of what we’re
»all missing.

ON LEFT: A helicopter's eye view of the main drag
at EAA Oshkosh AirVenture, including Boeing Plaza,
where the heavy iron or, in a few cases, composites,
hang out.

planeandpilotmag.com 41

LEFT: Every year EAA gives
away a plane, or two, at
OSH. Yeah, we want it too.
BELOW: KOSH transforms
in the evening to a quiet
and sleepy airport (albeit
with thousands of airplanes)
before the noise and flying
begins again bright and
early the next morning.

42 AUGUST 2020 Ç Plane&Pilot

ABOVE: The folks who work the flight line, whether FAA regulars or EAA ALL PHOTOS COURTESY EAA: CLOCKWISE FROM UPPER LEFT: ANDREW ZABACK; CRAIG VANDER KOLK; JIM KOEPNICK; ALDEN FRAUTSCHY
staffers or volunteers, are the best in the biz.

BELOW: A gorgeously restored De Havilland Chipmunk.

planeandpilotmag.com 43

FROM UPPER LEFT: JIM KOEPNICK FOR PLANE & PILOT; JIM KOEPNICK; OTHERS; COURTESY EAA: ED HICKS; CAMDEN THRASHER; CONNOR MADISON LEFT: Float planes lined up at the EAA
Seaplane Base.

BOTTOM LEFT: An early-model North
American P-51 with fastback canopy.
BELOW: A lineup of P-51s, their props
ablur, ready to take to the Oshkosh skies.
RIGHT: A pilot looking at a pretty Bonanza.
FAR RIGHT: An impeccably restored Ryan

PT-22 primary trainer.

44 AUGUST 2020 Ç Plane&Pilot



TOP LEFT: A World War
II vintage Douglas A-26
Invader taxis in.

MIDDLE LEFT: A view of
the show from the flight
deck of a Douglas C-47.

LEFT: One of the most
popular, beautiful and
rarest warbirds at
Oshkosh, a Vought F4-U
Corsair.