Monday, July 30, 2007

Oshkosh, B'Gosh

Hi everybody! ("Hi, Dr. Nick!" -- sorry, I'm seriously jonesing to see the new 'Simpsons' movie.)

Wow... what a week. I'm happy to report Aero-News kicked serious ass with our coverage of AirVenture 2007. It involved a lot of hard work from everybody involved... but I'd confidently pit our print, audio and brand-new Aero-TV coverage against anyone else's out there.


The professionalism shown by our new print stringers and video journalists simply floored me... especially when we had to cover an unfortunate accident at Wittman Field on Friday. It's a lesson we'd have preferred to not have experienced... but everyone came together, as the professionals we are, and we got the job done. Nothing impressed me more than having several of the stringers call me as news got out -- such situations are referred to as "all-call" events at ANN -- and their first questions to me were, "where do you need me to be?"

So now, after a grueling long series of 'Northwerst' Airlines flights (at least my flights weren't cancelled, unlike 13 percent of that wannabe-airlines' schedule this weekend -- the industry average is less than one percent) I'm back in the 'Burque, where I'm looking forward to not having to go anywhere for awhile.

Maybe the apartment will now start to feel like "home," and less like a large hotel room that, somehow, has all my furniture in it. And I guess I'll have to break down and get a New Mexico license plate and driver's license now, too.

Back to Oshkosh for a moment... like I said, we covered AirVenture like a high-thread count news-reporting blanket (I apologize for my metaphors -- this is what happens when you sleep in, and have your morning coffee at noon.) But there were moments for some "fun," too... as seen below.

I was able to grab some stick time in a new light sport offering from Poland, called the Gobosh G-700S. Like others in the segment -- including the SportStar -- it's an all-metal plane, low-wing, with a bubble canopy. The cockpit is a little snug (that's my own fault, not the plane's) but surprisingly comfortable, and the plane flies much like any other low-wing LSA.



As you can see, Aero-TV was there, too, covering the flight... including video of my less-than-stellar takeoff. I over rotated the plane -- it seemed more sensitive to pitch inputs than the Sport  (though again, much of that was my own fault.) The flight itself was very nice; I was able to experience "VFR on top" for the first time, where you climb through a gap in low-hanging cloud cover to fly in visual conditions on top, in bright sunshine and blue skies.

I'll post more when I have time. For now, though... pass the green chile!

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