Aircraft on base, cleared to land on the yellow dot

It is an exhilarating feeling to be a part of the annual aviation extravaganza at Oshkosh AirVenture 2021. Runway 36 had four landing spot identifiers to accommodate a high volume of traffic coming in and multiple aircraft being cleared to land concurrently at different points (Purple, Yellow, Pink and Blue) along the runway. We were assigned the yellow spot as our target touchdown point.?

The awe of being part of the adventure involving thousands of planes converging at a single location to share and celebrate the joy of aviation! AirVenture is an annual event hosted by EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) where approximately 10,000 planes and over 600K people participate in a week-long event at Oshkosh, Wisconsin. There is a famous banner on the control tower declaring it to be the busiest in the world!

The experience starts with the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) interaction set up at a small town southwest of Oshkosh called Fisk. Flying here by visual reference (VFR), pilots see and avoid other aircraft. The controllers communicate with the pilots by sighting them at specific visual reference points, typically when the aircraft arrives at Fisk. There are precise instructions around arriving and departing at Oshkosh published in a 30+ page pilot publication called the NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) that all pilots flying in are required to have briefed. Contrary to standard practice, pilots should not acknowledge ATC instructions by repeating their instructions to keep the radio from getting clogged. Pilots communicate with the ATC by way of rocking the wing.??

This event is like the ATC SuperBowl. Some of the best Air Traffic Controllers get to work there. Many apply to work there are the best selected to perform the grueling week. FAA also takes this opportunity as a pilot outreach effort to the pilot community to create a safety culture and build a healthy relationship with the pilot community. We participated in a forum that discussed interesting titbits about efficient ATC communication protocols. Experienced ATC personnel also supported the ground navigation - taxi and take-off clearances.??

There is a lot of competition for attention by all kinds of planes - Big carrier planes like UPS's Boeing 747, large US Airforce/German Luftwaffe cargo planes, Warbirds from the WII era, traditional GA planes, kit planes, conventional and jet engine-powered gliders, miniature planes, and everything in between.??

Grassroot Innovation: There were innumerable flight display systems from Garmin, Avidyne, Aspen, Dynon, and other brands with limited brand recognition. With all this competition, there is still a lot of room for innovation at the grassroots level. A non-profit driven by some aviation enthusiasts designed FlyONSPEED, visual aid that helps managing power within the aircraft based on Angle of Attack, pitch, bank angle, etc., and won the Founders Innovation Prize Grand Championship. FlyONSPEED hopes to get noticed by other larger flight display companies to bring their ideas mainstream. Innovation at the grassroots level.

It was inspiring to talk to the Program Manager of the Garmin Auto Lander program. Being a pilot herself and exposed to aviation at an early age by her grandfather, her engineering degree, and a job opportunity at Garmin presented her the best of all the worlds. Her pride and joy in what she was working on were self-evident. Garmin had also just acquired certification on their auto-glide option to help pilots safely glide to a landing spot in the event of engine failure.

Continuous Innovation:?It isn't easy to fathom the business plan for a new design as it appears every possible innovation has already been tried and tested. That said, there were many new concept planes - Volocopter, an urban fully electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) air taxi. A company from California Axis was raising funds as they plan their commercial release of their design in 2023. Conspicuously absent was Uber with their air taxi or Xwing (Former Tesla engineer with investment from Airbus) with self-flying planes.?

In 2013, I met an 80-year-old backyard designer working on building a flying car for over 20 years. I am sure he will be pleased to know that his vision is finally taking shape now.

Inspiration from the Space program: There were numerous entertainment activities like movies and air shows, educational platforms like kit-plane building techniques, ATC communication, understanding weather, etc. One discussion that left a lasting impression on me was the celebration of 40 years of NASA shuttle mission (Space Transportation System) from 1981 to 2021. Space Hipsters, a 23,000 member Facebook group of space enthusiasts, hosted the event. Longtime launch director?Paul Dye?and shuttle astronauts?Steve Lindsey?and?Jim Voss?participated in a two-hour inspiring discussion of their long tenure at NASA and the various missions.

Steve, an Airforce test pilot, was a pilot and commander on four of the five missions he flew and later on became the Chief Astronaut, responsible for selecting astronauts for different missions. Jim had five missions of his own and was the payload commander on one of the missions. Steve and Jim were on the same mission once. Paul was the longest-serving flight director at NASA, mentored by none other than Gene Kranz, who became famous for the rescue of the Apollo 13 moon landing mission with the "Failure is not an option" mindset. The highlight was recognizing that passion and commitment dictate many things in life, but chance and luck helps. Being at the right place and at the right time makes a lot of difference. You can increase your chances of being at the right place by putting yourself out there more often. They also exemplified the teamwork necessary to accomplish the larger-than-life missions. While they are the external-facing ambassadors of a national program, they knew and counted on the team that supported them—both Paul and Steve and avid aviators, even to this day.

Achieve the Impossible:?An inspiring aviator in a completely different category was Jessica Cox. Jessica, born without arms, went on to get her Sport Pilot Certificate and flies with her feet. The aircraft she flies now, Ercoupe gets cramped, is slow and uncomfortable to fly with her feet. She is working with a team of volunteers to make the kit plane RV-10, which can fly at 200kts an hour more accessible. You can learn about her project and help if interested.?

Two larger-than-life missions were also at the show:?Orbis, a flying eye hospital, and Samaritans Purse, a relief plane. Orbis, a DC8 airplane, was donated by FedEx to the mission, and FedEx pilots volunteer their time to fly the aircraft. The task is to fly to impoverished areas, perform 25 to 50 eye surgeries onboard while educated doctors in the area about operating procedures. Samaritans Purse is a faith-based organization that operates the plane and flies to disaster areas with life-saving cargo and helps set up mobile medical facilities.

A fantastic display of volunteerism:?People go to great lengths to commit time and money to things that give them a sense of purpose. The passion, energy, and drive of over 5000 volunteers who run the show is inspiring. I got to speak with and thank many volunteers, some of them have been going there for decades. Volunteers ranged from ushers to bus drivers to event coordinators.??

Best in class: This event brings out the best in everyone participating. From ATC, the pilots (including myself), the vendors displaying products (bringing in their best people, striving for certifications just in time to launch a new offering here), kit-plane builders seeking to complete the build in time to make their first flight here, the volunteers and everyone in between. It is SuperBowl time even for the City of Oshkosh, with significant economic activity coming to the area. Above all, what exemplifies this event is the passion, pursuit of something more important than the individual, and identifying with a deep personal meaning and a channel of self-expression.

How do you find opportunities for self-expression, find meaning at work or create something that leaves a lasting impression on people who share the common interest???

About EAA: EAA is a diverse organization of members with a wide range of aviation interests and backgrounds. Founded in 1953 by a group of individuals in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, interested in building their own airplanes, EAA expanded its mission of growing participation in aviation to include antiques, classics, warbirds, and aerobatic ultralights, helicopters, and contemporary manufactured aircraft. Over the years, the participation has grown to a large number (640K in 2019) and continues to grow.??