EAA Oshkosh 2012: The 40-ship Vans RV arrival

It only takes a brief glimpse of my hobbies to know that I am a risk-averse person. First instance, risks associated with "reading" include, oh, paper cuts, falling asleep, mindless snacking. For "gardening," maybe a bee sting or sunburn (or if you asked T, superfluous spending). Cooking is probably the most dangerous what with the fire and knives and all.

By and large, I do safe things like photography and blog writing. Generally I don't take risks, calculated or otherwise, and call them fun. So how did I find myself in the middle of a 40-ship formation of airplanes flying 10 feet apart a few weeks ago? Lord only knows! What I do know is that, despite my nerves, the experience was INCREDIBLE. And, with the same fabulous and safe pilots, I'd ~~probably~~ definitely do it again.

You see, I got to hop a ride in the back of Mr. T's Vans RV-4 and join a collection of Vans aircraft pilots to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the homebuilt airplane. These skilled and certified pilots from around the country coordinated a mass arrival of RVs--40 to be precise--to be showcased at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh. They met and practiced ahead of time, and then took Oshkosh by storm. So cool!

Somewhere between Denver and Rock Falls, IL.

Love me some farm land.

Formation practice over the heartland.

The gang practiced formation en route.

Not my typical view!

A friend, Axel, and his dad flew around the formation to offer critique of the shape (we were creating a number "4") and to take photos.

Such a fantastic photo by Pat Dulaney. That's T, me, and my giant white hat/sunshade in the front.

I do enjoy flying above the clouds.

The guys practiced for hours at Rock Falls, IL.

And on Sunday, we headed to Oshkosh enjoying a relatively cool day.

Near Lake Winnebago.

Photo by the lovely Sue Wiseman, our formation!! Falcon Flight in the front, then the West Coast Ravens in the 4, a collection of other groups in the 0, and Team RV bringing up the rear.