SATURDAY - July 28, 2007

This morning was absolutely beautiful weather. A cool morning greeted us, clear skies and the smell of Wisconsin soil (cows and dirt). Alan and I had no plan this morning, just the President’s dinner pending tonight. After some discussion we decided to head to the airport – why not – meander around some more. We agreed that we had pretty much seen everything at the airport. So, our plan was to come back here and pack, change and shower for dinner around 3:00p. Then, we could head back to the airport and load round one of our baggage.

We had a chance to give Gary and Christine the wind vane this morning. Christine said that she would not see us again before tomorrow because she had to work tonight. Alan and I quickly grabbed the wind vane out of the car and brought it inside. Of course, it looks like and airplane and it should be perfect for their backyard. Christine started to cry, she said she always gets emotional. She was on her way out with her daughter and future son-in-law to work on wedding plans.

Alan and I drove to the airport about 10:00 and worked out way toward parking lot B. All week we have parked here so getting in and out has gotten easier as the week has passed. We both decided to travel light – cameras only and began walking in the gates. We stopped and visited with a salesman from Columbia Aircraft and then went to Cirrus. Both aircraft are beautiful, especially when put next to a Cessna 172. Bucket seats, leather interior, glass cockpits. For $500,000 you can easily cruise at 185-200 kts.

We headed back through Aeroshell square but decided we needed some pizza. Hey, we work hard, so why not? Sitting, eating pizza we talked more about the aircraft and I pointed out why not just get the RV-10 if you wanted a 4 place faster airplane. We saw one yesterday or Thursday that was $265,000 and looked just as good as these aircraft.

We made our way into one of the buildings to find the Oregon Aero booth. Alan wanted to buy a seat cushion for his plane. This would boost him up some and protect his back. Within a few minutes we had the cushion and I suggested we take it back to the car. I noticed right away that today’s crowd was much different – more families, girls, kids. Early in the week it was just old, sweaty men walking around. As we walked too, I noticed it was much warmer today. A quick trip to the car and we realized, “why not leave the camera and everything else?” Ahh, I lightened my load and now could just walk and enjoy.

We spent the next three hours walking through the pavilions, the vendors and into the aeromart. About 2p we decided we were hungry and needed corn pork sandwiches. We went back to the place we were on the first day, “Beerventure 2007”. The pork sandwich was great and hit the spot.

Packing went well. However, Alan forgot his hanging clothes in New Smyrna we came to discover. We had packed and headed to the plane to drop off the first load. Again, we parked at Weeks Hangar and just walked in. I was glad we did this on Monday night and learned how to get in and out without a problem. At the plane, where we thought the clothes were we discovered they were not there. Convinced they were in the Jeep back in Florida we found out from Amy later that they were actually hanging at home. I had to note this because our whole week had centered around getting to this dinner. We had talked about what to wear and coordinated so we ‘would fit in’. With an hour to go, no clothes. Alan adapts easily and he wore his new EAA shirt and a pair of khakis. No problem, but now we were running late. Again, not a problem as we found ourselves with a motorcycle escort (actually, a Honda scooter) headed to the parking lot where we needed to be.

Paul Pobernzy is the founder of EAA. Anything I say will not begin to describe what Alan and I experienced Saturday night. Honestly, my expectations were much more about celebrities and some wow factor. Instead, I felt privelaged to meet him, his son Tom, and be at their home for dinner. The home sits on 13 acres and is beautifully manicured. There were two buildings that we toured – a preview of “the Founders Collection”. Apparently, since 1953 he has never thrown anything away. The great thing about this is there is an entire history of the EAA.

My own perception of the EAA changed tonight. I had always considered the “experimental” aircraft association something that I did not understand. I fly in ‘real airplanes’. I learned this week that, in my opinion, these are the guys keeping things alive. Building airplanes is definitely not something crazy – it is how every airplane was built until regulatory control got in the way. Best of all, EAA is about youth. Alan and I noted many times this week there were ‘old guys’ walking around. But yet, there are huge numbers of high school programs out there to support youth and encourage flying through aviation clubs at schools.