AirVenture 2007

On long final. A big jet airliner is about to take off right in front of me. There were 5 jet airliners waiting while I landed.

Then I taxiied through the trees to the museum area. This taxiiway was three times as wide, longer and better surface quality than the runway at Essex Skypark! I could have taken off and landed on it, no problem. There were ground personnel all over the place, guiding -- and watching -- me.

There were 38 showplanes of all different types.

The 1912 Curtiss Pusher flew in from Virginia.

A convoy of classic cars came rolling in.

A brightly painted RV-10 -- the four-seater. For those of you not familiar, the Fisher House Foundation constructs the Fisher Houses, which are places to stay for family members while a loved one is undergoing treatment at a neighborly military hospital or VA medical center. A Harmon Rocket -- RV modified to carry the bigger O-540 engine -- was also one of the showplanes.

A group picture of all the showplane pilots & friends.

Someone took this picture from the museum observation tower. The classic cars were parked between the airplanes.

Two of the most unusual showplanes were the 1912 Curtiss Pusher replica and a Quicksilver ultralight.

Departure wasn't much fun. It took over an hour taxiing in the hot sun before I finally got to take off. All 30+ aircraft had to call Clearance Delivery to get their clearance, then all 30 had to call Ground to receive the exact same instructions, then all 30 had to call Tower and so on. Although the Udvar-Hazy taxiiway exited right by runway 19/1, we had to taxi across the entire airport to make a downwind takeoff on runway 30. My oil temps were literally at red line when I was finally cleared for takeoff. One guy had to pull out of the line and shut down because of the high temps. Suggestion for next year's event: Bring in an AirVenture-experienced controller. All 30 planes will be launched and out of Tower's hair in less than 15 minutes.

Yay, I finally get to take off -- downwind-- but by that time I was happy to do it.

It was an easy flight home. Because I didn't take off until 5PM, I didn't have to worry about the Blue Angels, which did an airshow over Baltimore earlier. As I passed Baltimore, I could see hundreds of boats streaming out the Patapsco River into the Bay from Baltimore, having watched the airshow.

Overall, it was a fun event and I'm glad I did it. But I probably don't need to do it again.

June 16, 2012 - Dulles International/Udvar-Hazy NASM "Be a Pilot Day"
I volunteered to display my plane at the Udvar-Hazy National Air and Space Museum "Become a Pilot Day", one of the items on my flying bucket list. One of the bennies was I would get to fly into Dulles International Airport where the museum is located. Dulles is a seriously big airport with some seriously complex airspace surrounding it, also known as Class B airspace. I have never flown into Class B airspace before so Friday night I spent a couple of hours studying Class B airspace procedures and also the Dulles airport layout. There would be no time in flight to figure it out. I got up early Saturday morning, filed my flight plan, washed the RV, and headed west. I called up Potomac Approach and after being switched to a couple of different frequencies, I was handed off to the tower. Fortunately they just had me fly a straight in approach to runway 19 Left, a 11,500 foot runway, over five times longer than what I'm used to at Essex Skypark, which is a measly 2000 feet. Unfortunately my camera was set on the wrong setting and so my aerial pictures were horrible. I had to use photo-editing software just to get to the poor quality below. Runway 19L is on the left. There are three more runways to the right of the tall control tower in the middle of the picture.

On long final. A big jet airliner is about to take off right in front of me. There were 5 jet airliners waiting while I landed.

I exited the runway as soon as I could and then taxiied the remaining 10,000 feet on the parallel taxiway. I watched this big jet takeoff while taxiing.

Then I taxiied through the trees to the museum area. This taxiiway was three times as wide, longer and better surface quality than the runway at Essex Skypark! I could have taken off and landed on it, no problem. There were ground personnel all over the place, guiding -- and watching -- me.

And here I am parked on the ramp at the side of the Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Museum. All the pilots sat or stood in front of their planes, and talked with the people walking by looking at the showplanes. It was fun to watch the expression of people's faces when I told them I built my plane from a kit.

The Presidential Helicopter flew in before I arrived and was on static display. They call it "Marine One" when the President is aboard. They had it roped off on the ground so no one could touch it, and just to make sure, a couple of guards carrying assault rifles were inside the ropes next to the chopper. One of them looked like Dolph Lundgren the actor. (Rocky 4, Drago, remember?) There were signs not to take pictures, so I didn't. Someone else took this one.

There were 38 showplanes of all different types.

Looking at the side of the museum. It was a beautiful day. They couldn't have asked for better weather. Well, maybe it was a little too warm.

The 1912 Curtiss Pusher flew in from Virginia.

My plane was in good company, parked next to this elegant Beech Staggerwing .

And also next to this Cessna O-2 Skymaster. The O-2 was the military version of the Cessna 337 Super Skymaster and was used for observation and forward air control (FAC). It's an unusual airplane with engines front and back.

Futuristic Rutan Cozy.

A convoy of classic cars came rolling in.

The L-39 jet was a big hit. But once pilots learn it burns 150 gallons of fuel per hour they lose some of their desire to own one. Here is an an interesting report on what it is like to fly one: Link .

A brightly painted RV-10 -- the four-seater. For those of you not familiar, the Fisher House Foundation constructs the Fisher Houses, which are places to stay for family members while a loved one is undergoing treatment at a neighborly military hospital or VA medical center. A Harmon Rocket -- RV modified to carry the bigger O-540 engine -- was also one of the showplanes.

The military was also represented. Two A-10s were on hand.

As well as the big C-17 cargo plane.


And the Navy's E-2C carrier-based AWACS airplane. Check out that eight-bladed propeller.

A group picture of all the showplane pilots & friends.

Including yours truly.

Someone took this picture from the museum observation tower. The classic cars were parked between the airplanes.

They had a pretty good lunch for us inside the museum near the German World War II airplanes.

The newest star of the Air & Space Museum is the Space Shuttle Discovery, veteran of 39 missions in space.


The Discovery had that "worn" look.

I think they are moving the restoration workshop into this space. The restoration -- and storage -- used to be done at the Paul E. Garber Facility in Silver Hill, Maryland. I toured it a couple of times and it was fascinating. All of the planes I saw there under restoration -- the Enola Gay, Hurricane, Pitts -- or in storage -- P-38, Dornier 335, Arado 234 -- are now on display here at Udvar-Hazy. It will be nice when the restoration activiates can be seen once again in this palacious facility.

Two of the most unusual showplanes were the 1912 Curtiss Pusher replica and a Quicksilver ultralight.

Departure wasn't much fun. It took over an hour taxiing in the hot sun before I finally got to take off. All 30+ aircraft had to call Clearance Delivery to get their clearance, then all 30 had to call Ground to receive the exact same instructions, then all 30 had to call Tower and so on. Although the Udvar-Hazy taxiiway exited right by runway 19/1, we had to taxi across the entire airport to make a downwind takeoff on runway 30. My oil temps were literally at red line when I was finally cleared for takeoff. One guy had to pull out of the line and shut down because of the high temps. Suggestion for next year's event: Bring in an AirVenture-experienced controller. All 30 planes will be launched and out of Tower's hair in less than 15 minutes.

The Harmon Rocket had a flat tire; nightmare city.

Yay, I finally get to take off -- downwind-- but by that time I was happy to do it. It was an easy flight home. Because I didn't take off until 5PM, I didn't have to worry about the Blue Angels, which did an airshow over Baltimore earlier. As I passed Baltimore, I could see hundreds of boats streaming out the Patapsco River into the Bay from Baltimore, having watched the airshow. Overall, it was a fun event and I'm glad I did it. But I probably don't need to do it again.

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June 16, 2012 - Dulles International/Udvar-Hazy NASM "Be a Pilot Day"