Sunday, April 3, 2011

Visiting the EAA AirVenture Museum

What do you when you're an aviation nut on a business trip to Wisconsin with some time to spare? You head up to Oshkosh, of course! I lucked out and finished my work at a customer site early last week so I had a little time to make a short pilgrimage.

You may recall that Gina and I landed at OSH last summer on our giant flying trip. However, we didn't have enough time to visit the museum that day due to weather. We landed for fuel and I had to figure out a flight plan that would put us closer to home while keeping us clear of thunderstorms. In the end, we flew to Kalamazoo to spend the night with my sister and flew home to Dayton the following day.

Anyway, I'm glad I was able to return to Oshkosh (no, I still haven't made it there for AirVenture - working on that...) and visit the EAA AirVenture Museum. It's certainly not as massive as the incredible USAF Museum that's in my backyard here at home, but it's a very nice museum. And it's free for me to visit as an EAA member!

Here are some photos I took during my visit - enjoy!

EAA Headquarters

Welcome to the EAA AirVenture Museum



Wider angle of the Pitcairn PCA-2


Rutan Voyager cockpit - it holds two...

...can you imagine being in there for 9 days straight?

XP-51 Mustang prototype, the oldest P-51 left in the world


Messerschmitt Bf 109 cockpit


Piper Cub - yes, an airplane I fly regularly is also in museums!



Spirit of St. Louis replica over a model of the city of Paris

EAA's Pioneer Airport at OSH

EAA's B-25 and P-51 sitting out on the ramp

I've been traveling a ton but have some flights planned in the near future, so hang around... I'll be back to regularly aviating soon!
at

7 comments:

  1. KimberlyInSEAApril 3, 2011 at 11:38 PM

    Looks like a great museum!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Zack BaughmanApril 4, 2011 at 7:30 AM

    Hi Steve,

    I work at the EAA AirVenture Museum and just wanted to clarify your last photo caption - the P-51 and B-25 do not tour and in fact do not fly anymore. They were sitting outside for an event called Family Flightfest this past weekend. EAA does have a 1929 Ford Trimotor and a B-17 Flying Fortress that tour regularly. Thanks for the great comments about the museum, and we hope you can make it back again sometime!
    - Zack Baughman

    ReplyDelete
  3. SteveApril 4, 2011 at 7:32 AM

    Thanks for the clarification, Zack - I've edited the post.

    I do hope to make it back... ideally when Pioneer Airport's open and I can go for a ride or two!

    ReplyDelete
  4. RichCApril 4, 2011 at 2:19 PM

    I'm envious as usual as to where your trips take you. Great photos. Also, I thought I'd include a teaser and point a few more of our members from eaa284.org to your blog. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. JetAviator7April 4, 2011 at 3:17 PM

    Nice photos. It has been a few years since I have been there, but what a great museum to visit!

    JetAviator7

    All Things Aviation Pilot Shop

    ReplyDelete
  6. RustedgrannyApril 6, 2011 at 1:20 PM

    Looks like a great museum..been in EAA for 8 years and didn't know they had one! Especially like the way they have the planes displayed. Not the standard sitting on the floor in rows you see at many museums.

    ReplyDelete
  7. SteveApril 7, 2011 at 5:14 AM

    Thanks again, everyone. I'm glad the photos came out pretty good since I had to shoot handheld - a tripod's kind of big to pack in a carry-on!

    Those of you who haven't been reading the blog as long might also be interested in the series of photo posts I shared last year from the USAF Museum in Dayton.

    ReplyDelete