There are at least as many kinds of tired for me as there are types of snow for Eskimos. You have hard work tired, stifling heat tired, boredom tired, lack of sleep tired, and on. Today I’m happy tired. I just saw a P-51 flying fast and low, and doing stunts. We had started walking toward the gate to get an early lead on the mobs still watching the stunning stunt plane routines, when that sound snapped my head around. The sound of the P-51 engine is both riveting and enchanting for me. Even when they’re idling, the crackling rumble is distinctive. Mid-stride, I was walking back toward the field to watch. Anne asked if an airplane was in trouble or something, not having my romantic attachment to that sound.
Alas, after a few steps it had already dwindled into the distance so I thought maybe it was leaving the area. Then I remembered the hand-held nav/comm radio I’d just bought. Finding a seat in the shade I unpacked it and scanned for the “Air Boss” channel (133.85 as I recall). I heard the P-51 pilot report ready for his routine, so we found a better vantage point in the shade and waited. Watching the bone-crushing maneuvers of the stunt pilots was more fun, as we listened to their calm radio calls. How can someone snapping plus and minus 5-10 times the force of gravity sound as if they’ve been sipping beer watching football?
So even after walking several thousand miles today in the muggy sun, I’m happy tired. Again though, I didn’t bring along the stuff needed for sharing photos! 😦
We talked with several experts about valve failure potential in 0360 engines, and got some new ideas for what to look for in assuring our engine will be solid for another thousand hours of flying. Most notably pulling the exhaust manifold open and inspecting the exhaust valve shaft near the head for signs of rust or pitting. Another suggestion was to get the much more expensive “valve wobble” test, though experts are quite divided on whether it’s definitive or even better than much cheaper tests like the “bore scope” exam Tripp had just before our departure. We’ll think about it all, and then talk to our mechanic when we get back home.
Even with all the things to see and do though, the most fun part of AirVenture (I still think of it as Oshkosh), is people. The people you hear talking about all things aviation as they stroll past gives me the feeling of being in my flock. If I say bore scope to my psychologist friends, they wonder if it’s a new objective boredom quantification tool. (Actually, it’s just a little tv camera and light on the end of a flex shaft that mechanics stick into the guts of an engine to have a look inside without all the work of taking it apart)
People we talk with are always fun and interesting. Aviators and the people who love them are just birds of a feather I guess. We know what it’s like to skim between white fluffy clouds, or avoid scary thunderstorm cells. We’ve tasted the joy of watching the world unfold in dream time. We share the pride and affection toward a complex anti-gravity machine. Each of us has felt the tug to take flight when a plane passes overhead.
Speaking of which, I’m getting really twitchy to fly! Watching all these planes coming and going, the display and stunt flights, and all the planes and flying gear, well … I’m ready for some air in my hair!
Tomorrow our tentative plan is to go for a couple of hours and then fly out in the afternoon or early Wednesday depending on weather. Kinda adds to the happy in our tired, knowing we’re still pretty early in this big North by Northwest adventure. 🙂
John & Anne Wiley 