By The Associated Press | Posted: Sunday, July 27, 2008 12:00 am
OSHKOSH - Thousands of aircraft - including an airplane that also flies like a helicopter - and a ventriloquist who flies helicopters he builds are among the hundreds of attractions for an aviation extravaganza that opens Monday.
Gasoline prices hovering around $4 a gallon, aviation fuel costing $5.50 gallon and a general economic downtown haven't stifled interest in the 56th annual Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture, billed as the "world's greatest aviation celebration," President Tom Poberezny said.
"The fuel and the economy certainly have things upside down around the country," the show chairman said. "You never take anything for granted. It has caused us to work even harder to communicate, to promote, to provide value."
Early indications - such as the early arrival of campers and commitments from vintage airplane owners - were "very
encouraging" signs that the show would weather a downturn, Poberezny said.
Because the U.S. dollar is so weak, more international visitors than usual are expected, he said. "It is probably cheaper to come from Europe than it is from California."
AirVenture expects more than 10,000 airplanes - many of them homemade aircraft - and some 200,000 aviation enthusiasts before it ends Sunday. The fly-in and EAA convention transforms Wittman Regional Airport into one of the busiest airports in the world.
Lowell Bombach, 72, of Sparta, N.J., flew his Cessna 172 to the airport late last week - his 21st consecutive trip to the show - arriving early to get a favorite parking location.
"I just love it. I am an aviation freak. You got to understand you are not talking to a normal person," he said. "The gas prices didn't slow me down at all. This is a place to come where I can find out about the newest things going on in aviation."
How long will he stay? All week, he said.
There's a first for the 2008 show.
What is being called the "world's first practical jetpack" will be demonstrated Tuesday. The Martin Jetpack is designed for 30-minute flights and flies under Federal Aviation Administration ultralight regulations because it's powered by a piston-driven engine, Poberezny said.
The jetpack - backed by 27 years of research and development - is a huge technological leap from the 30-second flights made by the Bell Rocket Belt of the 1960s, Poberezny said.
Poberezny doesn't know how high the new rocketman will fly - at least 12 feet, he thinks.
"I haven't seen it yet. I am going to be surprised along with everybody else," he said. "There is always that little bit of Walter Mitty. Wouldn't it be neat to be like the Jetsons and strap it on and go? I think there is inherent curiosity."
Bombach intends to watch the launch.
"I am old enough to have watched all the jetpack operations in the '60s," he said. "Heck yes I want to see it."
For the past two years, Beach Boy concerts helped kick off the opening day of the show, but this year's concert will feature the 1970s rock group Foreigner, with hits like "Feels Like the First Time" and "Cold As Ice."
There's other entertainment, too.
Jeff Dunham, a ventriloquist with his "suitcase posse," performs Sunday at EAA's Theater in the Woods.
The comedian also builds helicopters. "I'm sure there are bolts and other pieces of metal that I didn't use (on one of my helicopters) that ended up on my dummies," Dunham said.
He promises his performance will be aviation-based. "There are so many things you can joke about in a nice way when you have guys building and flying experimental aircraft, especially when the neighbors think they're nuts," he said.
While rock 'n roll music and comedy play roles at the EAA show, AirVenture is all about airplanes.
A new attraction is Boeing's modified 747 called the Dreamlifter - a gigantic airplane.
"There is only three in existence right now and they are being used to fly around the world to pick up the parts for the Boeing Dreamliner, the new airliner coming on line in a couple of years," Poberezny said.
The 787 Dreamliner will carry up to 330 passengers.
The U.S. Defense Department's V-22 Osprey - a tiltroter aircraft that can be flown like a helicopter or a twin turboprop airplane - will make its first appearance at AirVenture.
It's one of the few military aircraft that have never appeared at the show, Poberezny said.
A new $5.6 million air traffic control tower has been built at Wittman Regional Airport, replacing one built in 1963.
At 116 feet, the new tower is about 65 feet higher than the old one, providing improved visibility because of trees that have grown over the years, controller Marty Sweeney said.
Seventy-eight controllers and supervisors from 50 different facilities across the country volunteered to direct traffic during AirVenture.
The list of Hollywood actors and other celebrities expected to attend the show include Harrison Ford, John Travolta and Arnold Palmer, the latter two making their first visits, Poberezny said.
---
On The Net:
Experimental Aircraft Association: http://www.eaa.org
AirVenture Oshkosh: http://www.airventure.org