We Made It!

We are finally in Oshkosh and ready for the show to start! We departed Prescott at 5am on Thursday morning and flew non stop to Colorado Springs, then on to Omaha, Nebraska, and finally Chicago for an overnight stop. On Friday we departed Chicago Midway airport around 10am with the intent of making it all the way in to Oshkosh, but encountered some bad weather and ended up getting a pop up IFR clearance into Appleton airport, just a few miles north of Oshkosh. We figured that it was the closest airport we could get to Oshkosh if we had the opportunity to get a quick shot into the airport later in the day. After arriving in Appleton, we checked the weather and were able to make the VFR arrival into oshkosh around noon. There wasn’t much traffic and the controllers were really awesome as we flew in. Finally on the ground at the largest airshow in the country, we had to find a street near the airport that was wide enough for our 44 foot wingspan to fit through. After having to hold a wing up to clear a bridge rail, and passing trees with just inches from the wing tips, we got our beautiful DA-42 in to our booth for display.

Yesterday (Saturday) we continued our set up and got familiar with the airport and display area, and got some time to sit next to the runway and watch aircraft arrive. At one point, we watched a flight of over 26 Mooney aircraft fly in and land all in a single file line. Today we watched the a flight of 37 T-6 Texan aircraft fly in, as well as 2 of the new Honda Jets. Hundreds of planes are here, and we already have tons of interest starting to show up around our aircraft. Daytona brought the universities newest 172 with the new paint job, and we have our DA-42. A Universal R-44 joined our display today after flying in from Scottsdale, and we also have a Diamond DA-40 aircraft that was sent out for us because of the University’s newest contract with Diamond. Tomorrow is the first day of the show, and I cannot wait to begin representing the school as the crowds poor in. Stay tuned as the show continues!