Q-talk 76 - Jul/Aug 1999 - index

Details

Category: Q-Talk Index

Published: Tuesday, 31 August 1999 07:11

Written by Tom Moore

Hits: 2128

	JUL/AUG 1999 ISSUE NUMBER 76
QUICKIE BUILDERS ASSOCIATION

OSHKOSH 1999

by Tom Moore

Well Oshkosh has become the ever-changing experience. It's hard not to talk with anyone and have them express their opinions on the changes. Most of the strongest feelings come from the guys who make it up there every year and have been doing it for 15 - 20 years. They have seen all of the changes and remember the good old days. I didn't get a chance to talk to anyone who was going for the first time. It would be interesting.

Well I had heard a rumor earlier in the year that the canards were going to get moved to their own area off of the flight line. Well it seems this rumor came true. When I arrived Monday afternoon, two days before the show was to start, I was ushered down a west taxiway to an empty field. If you remember from a few years ago, this was a spot where people had had their homes before the EAA expanded. It was sort of a strange feeling once I realized where I was. There was a lone Long-Eze already there, but that was it. I was ready to go find where they had parked everyone else. After I walked down to the usual parking area on the flight line and found no other canards, I decided to wait and see. Slowly during the next few days the Rutan canards started to filter in. We had been put in the right spot, but my feelings were starting to change for the better on our location.

All of a sudden this spot didn't seem so bad. For the past few years there have been massive complaints on non-aviation folk pawing or stomping over the show planes. Well being in the West 40 put us out of the way of the marauding masses that were working their way to the flight line to park their lawn chairs and watch the air show.

There was a paved road right in front of us. Across the road there was a McDonald's hamburger stand and a Pizza/Brats/Etc. food stand. In the morning I could be by the plane and get a fresh cup of coffee and a plate of pancakes. During the heat of the day, the brat vendor sold a great big cup of cold lemonade. This certainly helped ease the effects of the high temperatures the show was experiencing this year. Attendance was supposed to be down this year by almost 90,000 folks. They were attributing most of it to the high temperatures. Down the road a hundred yards or so they had planted the Flymarket. Since I spend a lot of time wandering from tent to tent and looking over and over all of the neat junk that I see ever year, I was happy with its close proximity.

Even with the paved road right in front of us and the food purveyors just across the way, we weren't run over. As a matter of fact, most of the people just walked on by. Every once in a while someone would stop and read the placard hanging on the prop but it was just a handful. One of the main deterrents to keeping the paws off the plane when I'm not around (in the Flymarket) is to put the canopy cover on. This even stops me from getting close to the plane. Who wants to get close and scratch the canopy with your glasses or dangling camera if you can't look inside? So with all of the commercialization of the show and the expansion, there was a positive improvement in our parking situation.

I'm not sure if it was the heat or what, but we didn't have a big turnout this year. Bob Malechek and I were the first two Q's to arrive and were by ourselves until Wednesday when Larry Koutz showed up. With the weather looking nasty on the weekend for our trip home, we decided to leave Friday morning. Just as we were packing up, Paul Fisher and Sam (Coast to Coast) Hoskins pulled in with their Q-200's. So the 1999 Oshkosh had a small turnout, but a quality one.

You read in the last newsletter that this years OSH was going to be short on scheduled activities. We only had one get-together at the Homebuilders Headquarters Back Porch. It was a small group but it was good to see the familiar faces you haven't seen in a year or so. We had a good time for two hours and then went our separate ways. I'm hoping to have a few more organized activities next year.

OTTAWA 1999

October 8 - 10

Ottawa, Kansas

Our annual fly-in at Ottawa, Kansas is barely a month away. The date has been moved into October in an effort to capture some cooler weather. With the way this summer has been going this looks like an excellent plan. As I've said for the past several years, this is our best get-together. There will be more Q planes here than at any other event. If you are looking to get some solid close-up gawking of Q's, Ottawa is the place. All of the builders and pilots will be on the field for the whole time. This is also your best chance to get a ride in a Q-2 or Q-200.

I hope to see a lot of you there.

Keep building, it's worth it!!

Other Articles In This Issue

You can order a PDF or printed copy of Q-talk #76 by using the Q-talk Back Issue Order Page.

• Prev
• Next