Happy Birthday, Aviation
Well the big day is almost over. I'm unwinding with the last glass of Stone's Ginger Wine I could squeeze out of the bottle. It's been a long one...
The day began very early - I had to be at the Museum at 5:00am to do some live TV with Channel 11 in Green Bay. The past two days have been extremely busy for media enquiries. Yesterday I kept a list and ended with a count of 13 interviews with local TV, radio and newspapers. There were a couple of interesting foreign ones too - a long phone interview with ABC Radio National in Australia and another with the BBC in Belfast. I lost count of what we did today - the museum was swamped with just about a full set of local media. I already had a lot of respect for our PR guy Dick Knapinski - having worn his shoes for a couple of days (he high-tailed it to Kitty Hawk) I have more! But it was fun doing the interviews, even if you do start getting bored after answering the same question 12 times, and start slipping into rhetoric... "ah yes, just two humble bicycle makers from Dayton..."
By 7.30 am I was already on cup of coffee number 5... I ran on adrenaline after that. A lot of people came rushing in the doors at 8.30 am so I knew it would be busy all day - and it was. The weather was bad out at Kitty Hawk so we were "winging it" all the way through the day. The flight re-enactment at 9:35 was cancelled (Tom did a nice job of explaining on TV) due to rain so we heard President Bush's speech which was fine, but he didn't make the hoped-for announcement that the USA is going back to the moon. Dick Rutan helped keep the audience entertained and revealed that brother Burt was planning the first powered flight of his spaceship today. We had to cancel our planned P-51 flight because the pilot was iced in to his hangar and couldn't get the doors open.
Later in the morning word came through that there would be another attempt to fly the reproduction at Kitty Hawk. Even more people in the Eagle Hangar this time - probably close to 1000. I established a cellphone connection with Cody Welch who was right there and gave me a running commentary (he was a godsend today). We were panicking trying to find live coverage to throw up on the big screen. Just as I thought we would have to do a Cody-Adam-audience audio commentary, we found a channel. Phew.
I was really nervous for them. You could see the weather wasn't good - standing water everywhere from the rain. They swung the props about 10 times before they caught - which gave rise to a big cheer in the hangar. There was a close up of the pilot, and it was truly thrilling to see him start to move down the rail (seemed like he was uttering a few words to himself). The camera panned out and I got a sinking feeling because it didn't seem to be moving fast enough and was kicking up spray as it moved down the rail. He tried to get airborne but the back wheel never left the ground, and the whole thing came to a somewhat ignominious looking end, a splash in a big muddy puddle.
Pleased to say that wasn't a metaphor for the day, the occasion or the atmosphere. Everyone was just happy and "in the mood" somehow, all day. It was nice to see the Museum full of kids.
A second attempt later in the day didn't even start down the rail - the poor combination of wind (lack of), humidity and moisture meant it wasn't worth even trying.
I met two men from India who were achieving their lifetime's ambition to visit Oshkosh. One of them had never seen snow in his life before - unfortunately he slipped in it and hurt his ankle. He was from Hyderabad and was most impressed when I said "ah yes it's a Test match venue".
The press release came through that Burt Rutan's plane made a successful flight - the first non-government funded aircraft to go supersonic. This was a thrill and put the shine back on the day.
The evening event grew on my mind as it got closer. Owing to my lack of preparation Janet and Bob Kupon kindly measured me up and arranged a last minute tuxedo rental. Anyway it went off really well. It was a completely full house (400 people at the banquet). The swing band played well, the food was good, the hangar looked great, the TV & AV guys did an incredibly professional job, and the "main program" went smoothly. You know when something has gone well, and this one went well - the atmosphere was right, the speaking was good, videos good - everything just came together and it all "clicked". Maybe a bit of luck in there but some good preparation too. It was a very positive experience for me to script and MC the event - particularly as it turned out so well - a confidence boost - as the whole event was a step up from anything I've ever done before. The whole thing was broadcast live on the internet. It will be interesting to watch the archived footage tomorrow.
I met a and talked with huge number of nice people all day long. It was a real pleasure to get out from behind the computer and socialise a bit.
So - a big day. My only regret is I didn't actually go flying on the big anniversary date. I thought about it but with all that was going on, and my early start, it didn't feel like a safe thing to try. However, did meet someone this evening who will be ideal to give me aerobatic instruction in the Citabria.
I've got memories of a great day. It was a struggle to decide when to stay in Osh Vegas or go to Kitty Hawk because each had its attractions - but I'm glad I stayed, because the learning experience from the evening was so valuable and I know it was a great day for the Museum.
I've got about 3 days work to fit in one morning tomorrow, must leave the office at 1.00pm to catch a flight home!
(l-r) Me, Paul Poberezny, Dick Rutan
11:42:08 PM 
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