[COUPERS] Back from Oshkosh

[Mary Corrington]

----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]---- Hi all! I'm back from Oshkosh!   I had a semi-uneventful trip back from Oshkosh, Wisconsin until I got  to Missoula, Mt.    There I ran into high density altitude. It made  climbing to altitude to get over the Rocky Mts. a real challenge....but  I made it!   The tower controller at Missoula must have gotten bored watching me do  so many spirals to gain altitude before I headed off across the  mountains. My little bird was sure working and flapping her wings real  hard to climb in that thin air.   What a time I had going cross country to Oshkosh!   Going, I threaded around thunder storms between Missoula, Mt. and  Billings, Mt.  Then I out raced a weather front coming down from the  north in  North Dakota.  I was getting  low on fuel as the airport I was  going to land at was weathered in.  I got ATC to vector me to another  airport that was just off my sectional, in South Dakota,  for fuel.  Thank God I have high personal minimums for fuel, as I still had 1/2 hr  of fuel when I landed. But it was scary watching that fuel guage drop so  fast! And thank God for the Air Traffic Controllers that are there to  help when you ask for it!  I was much too busy to be hunting through my  sectionals (maps), as I was executing a 180 degree turn  to get out of  the deteriorating conditions.   I forgot to tell you that my freshly serviced built-in GPS quit as I  took off from Creswell, and if it hadn't been for my friend Daves hand- held GPS  that he had  loaned me, I would not have had any navigation equiptment  on board.  I had the good fortune to make contact with the Timms in Mankato, Minn. and we had a pleasant dinner. His Alon is pristine!   The rest of the trip to Janesville, Wisconsin was uneventful. It was  bumpy flying the last leg, but it was quite flyable.   I met-up with the rest of the women at Janesville and the next day  we  were interviewed and photographed for the Janesville paper! They used my  photo in the article!   I met some wonderful women there and I think the friendships I made  there will be long lasting ones. Really NEAT ladies!   Then we flew in formation to Oshkosh. I must tell you that I use the  term 'formation' loosly as it was a very loose formation. This was to be  expected as our planes were not very evenly matched in power and ranged  from a very fast Glasair to a Cessna 152,  but we were all caught up  and looked good as we landed in Oshkosh on side by side runways. My  airplane even got her photo taken as I was coming in to land, and it was  in the EAA paper!    A selected few of us were invited to display our planes for the photo  shoot and so my "Merry Wings" became a celebrity! Every one loved her  nose art of the girl waving.   Then we were all interviewed and it was on NBC news!   We were interviewed by so many aviation magazines that I am not sure  how many there were, or who they were. I know the AOPA Pilot, the EAA  Sport Aviation, Aviation for Women, and Private Pilot magazines were all  planning to put articles about us in thier magazines. We were also  interviewed by AV web and an article about us is on the internet. The  rest will have to be a surprise.   What a rush! We made history! We were the first all female group to  fly-in to Oshkosh ever, and since many of us had to fly all the way  across the U.S. to do so,and most of us flew solo, it was considered  to  be a newsworthy item.   I had a lot of adventures while I was in Oshkosh.  I got to see a jetpowered biplane do aerobatics. It was strange to hear that radial engine suddenly be overpowered by a jet blast!  I went to the seaplane base and fell in love with a beaver on floats. It was beautiful! So quiet and peaceful there, too.  I had dinner sitting next to Patty Wagstaff and played with her parrot "Budda" at the Bonanza dinner we "Women with Wings" were invited to. I won a t-shirt at the Mooney BBQ that we also were invited to, and was very pleasantly surprised at how nice they were to me. They even wanted me to bring my plane over to be displayed during the BBQ.  My 'baby Mooney' was a hit! I think I had the only Mooney Cadet at Oshkosh! Lots of people stopped to ask about it as it is a very rare and unusual plane. I went through a B-17, and took photos of the navigators seat and the area where my dad would have been when he flew in one during WW2. I saw a Super Guppy! What a curious looking plane! It really DOES look like a big fish! I also saw a Mooney Mite, a cute little plane, but you could only take one change of underwear and a tooth brush when traveling. I met people from all over the world. There were 3 gentlemen from Germany that had flown to Oshkosh in thier Cessna 182. The whole front cowling was chipped and broken away with huge holes, from hail they ran into near Iceland! I also met 2 different gentlemen that had flown thier Mooneys from Switzerland. And, of course, Nigel, of Great Britian, who made sure to look me up, as he had previously flown my Cadet and wanted to meet me. I had invitations to stay with folks in New York. I probably would have taken advantage of them if I could have continued my trip around the Statue of Liberty. I saw a Ford Tri-motor. I was amazed at how big it was. And it was used as a 'bush' plane too. Those pilots must have been either very good or very foolish! I saw multiple airshow routines, lots of warbirds, lots of formation flying by the warbirds, and strangest of all, a contraption powered by a steam engine that had wings that flapped up and down, with a woman standing on top, waving to the crowd...Of course it couldn't fly, but it WAS very amusing!   I am glad to be back in the Northwest. It was strange not seeing  mountains or hills. I could not guage the weather ceilings without a  hill to use as a height reference. Also I was very surprised when I  sighted a tower that was >3500 ft high! It was close to my flight path  and I was flying at 3000ft due to the visibility and haze. I could see  how that could be a very big hazard to airplanes if it was not spotted  visually or on the sectional!   My little airplane performed  flawlessly. The exception was my GPS  which the factory had just replaced the batteries on and inspected and  cleared for return to service. It made navigation VERY difficult, but  with Daves hand-held GPS and my sectionals and ATC, I was able to make  it just fine. I just had it rechecked out today at the factory. Turns out that the coax cable was not making contact from when it was reinstalled. So.....My mechanic can readily repair that problem.   In all,  I spent 7 days and nights camping at Oshkosh and I was ready  to leave when I did. I saw some awesome aircraft and met many very  famous people. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. I was impressed  with how clean the grounds were and everyone picked up after each other!  All the pilots were policing the grounds!   I met people from all over the world. Pilots all. It was a great  experience to know what a wonderful bond we all have. No matter what we  fly. It only matters that we DO fly.   It was a WONDERFUL adventure and I learned a lot about myself and my  capabilities. And what is important to me as an individual.   I met some amazing women and made some new friends that I am sure will  be lasting.   And I learned more about the geography of the U.S. and the weather of  the U.S.,  than I ever did in school!   The only big dissapointment of the trip was not being able to continue  and fly around the Statue of Liberty as I had planned. The weather was  un-flyable. Many of the big airports like Chicago were closed and thunder storms were through-out the eastern part of the U.S. in the area I needed to go  through to get there.  That is a quick run down of my trip. I hope I haven't bored you all. ;-) Tailwinds.......Mary __________________________________________________ To unsubscribe from this list please send mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics