2010 AirVenture Oshkosh July 26-August 1

I attended my first AirVenture in 1972 with my father. Then it was simply known as the Oshkosh Fly In. We flew there in our 1949 Piper Clipper. It just seemed natural to attend given I was a new private pilot rapidly becoming interested in all things aviation. Over the years I’ve been taking vacation and making the trip to Oshkosh as often as possible, although family and the job sometimes took precedent over the annual voyage. For me going to Oshkosh has always been the time to reconnect with old aviation friends, co-workers, guys I went to A&P School with, and other regulars that make the annual voyage. Over the decades we’ve seen the transformation from the old Oshkosh Fly In to today’s EAA AirVenture. Many people will agree the feel of the event has changed, from one of promoting the average person’s desire to fly to a large scale aviation trade show. Regardless, it’s still very cool and a “must-do†event for us passionate aviation folks. There really is something for everyone to do and see at AirVenture. We’ve been posting EAA AirVenture news and planned events on AMTOnline for the past several weeks. The AMT staff will there the whole week. I plan to attend my usual technical forums and FAA sessions, and this year's press events and find out what’s new (and old) relating to the industry and aircraft maintenance. At 7:30 on the evening of Wednesday the 28th the General Aviation awards for the aviation maintenance technician, avionics technician, CFI, and safety team representative of the year will be presented by FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. AMT will be there to congratulate the winners. Also, the FAA and FAASTeam members have ongoing sessions many of them relating to maintenance, maintenance errors, legal issues, and human factors. Go to the AirVenture website at www.airventure.org for the latest schedule of events. I’m sure many of you readers out there are builders, or have restored a classic or antique aircraft. How many of you plan to attend this year’s AirVenture? If you see me walking the AirVenture grounds please stop me and say hello. Keep ‘em flying, Ron