Oshkosh 2015

Oshkosh might be every Pilot's dream - and sometimes dreams do come true...But we don't expect them to come true twice...

2015 saw the biennial trip by the Oshkosh M'Gosh crew, and I was once again invited to join in. I think at this point I should extend some form of Thanks to my wife as I know many pilots do not get the opportunity to leave their business and daily chores behind, so that they can visit the greatest airshow on earth.

The trip began as usual with a solo cross-country in the Pelican from Sweers to Mount Isa, 212 (aero)nautical miles to the south. From there I took a jet to Brisbane, met up with friend and fellow pilot Glen Grams, who is the proud owner of a Cirrus SR22X, which celebrated its 25th flight to Sweers Island in April 2016. We flew commercial to Sydney to meet up with the rest of the crew, then flew jet to LA and onwards to Dalls USA where we hired a vehicle for the next part of the trip.

We explored Dallas then drove to Oklahoma to meet up with crewmember Michael Batinich (Batty). Here we visited the site of the Oklahoma bombing where Timothy McVeigh caused so much chaos. From there we headed south, pausing to visit Bob (fellow Trinidad owner along with Batty, Sarge & pre-Cirrus Gramsy) who runs a stud horse ranch in Texas. On our way south we paused at two very good aviation museums, with some spectacular aircraft on display. Our guide Marshall at Tyler Aviation Museum had carried out 150 Carrier landings.
We cruised the Mississippi River on the paddle steamer "Creole Queen", and visited the sugar plantation "Oak Alley" where many movies have been filmed, with Forrest Gump starting his epic run down the magnificent 200yr old Oak tree avenue.
We reached the Gulf of Mexico and along its shores we nearly came a cropper when the Jack Shaft suddenly broke off a truck right in front of us and destroyed both right hand tyres. Thanks to Sarge and his steady driving, we were soon on our way again to Cape Canaveral and after a visit to the Space Centre we flew north from Orlando to enjoy another week at Oshkosh Airshow. There is always something different to see, this time included incredible Night Aerobatics.

You can view a slideshow below to join us on our incredible journey...