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EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2023 — Set-up Day Tour to Whet Your Aviation Appetite

By Dan Johnson || July 24, 2023 2 Comments

Do you know when you're an airshow junkie, 'er… enthusiast? Answer: When you actually enjoy observing the set-up process. I've made the following observation many times.

The night before opening, with literally hours before the show starts, the place appears in a state of chaos. Pandemonium reigns. Vehicles, crates, equipment of every kind is seemingly strewn about as if by a storm (which did do some damage on Saturday night, ironically most affecting those who started earlier). Every show I think, "No way can they get this or that exhibit ready in the 10-15 hours before the main gates open to hundreds of thousands of visitors."

You never know who you'll see at AirVenture, such as pilot and actor Harrison Ford who visited Rotax Aircraft Engines. photo courtesy Christian Mundigler, seen on right

Yet every show on opening day, I find myself saying, "What?! It's all done!" Did they work all night? Even if staff was willing to work all night, it seemed unlikely to get the job done mere hours earlier. Maybe it's magic or Santa's Elves. Look closely. I'll bet you see a lot of tired workers on day one but big crowds put smiles on their faces. In this article, I'll show you some airplanes that caught my eye. Not because they're brand new or super innovative, though I'm always on the alert for those qualities. Many airplanes go through more subtle changes, and given aviation's demands, maybe that's not so bad.

Come On Along for a Ride

Some people say they are visual learners or simply prefer video. I understand. Even as a longtime writer, I love the video format.

Fisher Flying Products is branching out into metal kits with Archon. Longtime Fisher man Mike Makepeace hinted the kit in progress in the foreground is a project of a young family member. I'll be looking into it.

If you prefer video to reading, you're in luck. I made a 5-minute quickie for you to get some views of Oshkosh on set-up day. Along the way I stopped to observe some aircraft that caught my attention. I'll write about these below briefly. Have it your way: video or a magazine-style article. The blue trio are from Fisher Flying Products, which company itself has news of a new financial partner that is helping with the metal aircraft hiding in the background of this image. That's the Archon, which made a big impact on visitors to last year's AirVenture. The irony of this combo is that Fisher is known for its nearly all-wood kit aircraft, while Archon — created by a Greek designer — is all metal. It's quite a departure and explains why another man wanted to help in the alterations they planned to make. The Archon in progress is displayed at SportAirUSA's display in the main aircraft display area.

KFA, Kitplanes for Africa, started with the popular Bushbaby, which evolved into Explorer followed by Safari LSA, now seen for the first time in America.

I first ran into the Kitplanes for Africa company at Aero in Germany back in 2019. You rarely hear Africa associated with aircraft production but the secret is KFA is from South Africa, where we have a couple other well-known light aircraft builders including BushCat and the Sling line from The Airplane Factory. Another company celebrating an anniversary, KFA was formed in 1993. Kitplanes for Africa started production of the Bushbaby aircraft, which they say "made a name for itself as a true bushplane in the Microlight category," selling more than 300 Bushbaby aircraft. While Bushbaby is still being produced, Explorer came into production in 2003 as an upgraded Bushbaby. Pilots attending Oshkosh can check in with the Canadian distributor for North America to learn more about a Safari LSA on display.

T-Bird is back after years of absence. A revived company emerged at last AirVenture but this year their display is fleshed out showing a considerable work effort.

We are seeing a year of several anniversary dates in Oshkosh this year. Most obviously, AirVenture celebrates its 70th year, while Avid Flyer design turns 40 as does Quad City's Challenger. KFA above celebrates 30 and now we come to T-Bird which has also hit the 40th for these designs. Avid is not in production and T-Bird was out of production for many years but never dismiss a worthy design as dead; somebody might resuscitate it. That's what a family from Berlin, Wisconsin did. They rescued the T-Bird line, brought it from Iowa to Wisconsin and have been busy the last year. I was surprised and pleased to see it last year but this year, T-Bird is looking even better, displaying three aircraft. One pictured nearby is their TU model, which stands for True Ultralight. Harking back to the early Quicksilver days, I have fond memories of flying a version of this machine with its three-axis control (which was not universal in early ultralight days). T-Bird also displayed a two seat model.

The Sorrell Hiperlight has been around for decades, a proven design. Yet it's always been a kit. A couple years ago Ron Jones started down the path of becoming a Special LSA. We'll learn more this week.

Hiperlight is yet another company with a lengthy history, dating to Sorrell Brothers from the U.S. west coast. Now the biplane design hails from Michigan where Thunderbird Aviation's Ron Jones has been laboring away on meeting ASTM standards for fully-built LSA. Some old timers dismiss these standards as lesser than conventional certification but 20 years of LSA has so proven the concept that FAA is broadening its use to Mosaic LSA but also to legacy Part 23 designs (think: Cirrus or Cessna). Ron saw this and chose to embark on the process of meeting ASTM standards. His plans for the SLSA version previously targeted a very low price, one that reminds of expectations at the beginning of Light-Sport almost 20 years ago. Those price forecasts were before the last couple years when dollar dilution (otherwise known as inflation) sharply raised the price of almost everything you buy. Ron might not be able to meet his earlier price but I'm guessing it will still be one of the great bargains of recreation aviation. I'll try to learn more this week,.

I close out this tour of set-up day at AirVenture Oshkosh 2023 with a look at an AirCam. First, here's a fascinating thought related to Mosaic. Some who read FAA's 318-page proposal noticed that no ban appears for multiple engines. In fact, electric concepts often rely on multiple motors and they are included in Mosaic. So, could AirCam become a Mosaic LSA? Hmmm… maybe. Such a step is a big one and the company has not announced any such plans. Of course, the NPRM just came out as all suppliers were working hard to prepare for Oshkosh. Nonetheless, I plan to ask Ian or Phil Lockwood about this possibility and if they concur, I'll inquire if they may take steps in that direction. Two points in closing. One, Mosaic is opening all kinds of doors, more than we expected. Two, the AirCam pictured nearby has one of the neatest paint jobs I've seen at the show. Another pilot and I debated if they used paint, decals, or airbrushing, but whatever the combination, this kit builder achieved an amazing finish. Come see it and all these planes in the Fun Fly Zone, EAA's ultralight area.

ARTICLE LINKS:

Fisher Flying Products
Kitplanes for Africa, represented by Drake Aviation
T-Bird TU from Berlin, Wisconsin
Thunderbird Aviation, builder of the Hiperlight
Lockwood Aircraft, builder of the AirCam

Note that background audio reflects an active, busy airshow. In addition, portions were sped up to make viewing them quicker. Enjoy this short tour of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2023. https://youtu.be/joXuFwWm8X8

Do you know when you’re an airshow junkie, ‘er… enthusiast? Answer: When you actually enjoy observing the set-up process. I’ve made the following observation many times. The night before opening, with literally hours before the show starts, the place appears in a state of chaos. Pandemonium reigns. Vehicles, crates, equipment of every kind is seemingly strewn about as if by a storm (which did do some damage on Saturday night, ironically most affecting those who started earlier). Every show I think, “No way can they get this or that exhibit ready in the 10-15 hours before the main gates open to hundreds of thousands of visitors.” Yet every show on opening day, I find myself saying, “What?! It’s all done!” Did they work all night? Even if staff was willing to work all night, it seemed unlikely to get the job done mere hours earlier. Maybe it’s magic or Santa’s Elves.

Oshkosh 2022 – Day 0… T-Bird is Back; Two-Seat Aerolite; and More As the Show Prepares to Open

By Dan Johnson || July 25, 2022 3 Comments

I plan to continue work to bring you daily coverage but I'm hoping to be more efficient this year, to cut too-frequent 16-hour days to perhaps 12-hour days. That will mean shorter articles but those generating the most interest can go deeper when the show concludes. After a difficult Saturday when storms blew through (see "Tough News" below), Sunday produced sunshine and mild temperatures. Weather for the remainder of the week looks great.

Welcome Back T-Bird

We haven't seen this design for a few years although it never really disappeared. Bret Kivell of Indy Aircraft kept the design alive and well after the original developer left the business. However, while T-Bird hadn't disappeared completely Bret was not in a position to properly support the aircraft. That's where Matt Shubat comes into the picture.

Matt's background in aviation includes stints at airline and GA maintenance organizations. Doing similar work back in Wisconsin where he grew up, he found a number of T-Bird owners in need of parts they could not obtain. Calls to Indy Aircraft simply didn't result in a supply of parts to keep those owners airborne.

A persistent man, Matt finally corralled Bret and after six months of negotiation, he acquired all intellectual property, design rights, and a stock of inventory. The large trailer seen behind this first Wisconsin T-Bird made eight fully-loaded trips back and forth from Iowa to bring all the materials to Berlin, Wisconsin, about 20 miles west of Oshkosh.

Work remains to make the design a bit leaner and lighter plus Matt needs to update assembly drawings he showed me. The instruction set looked reasonably good but some parts have changed and some drawings need to be redone. T-Bird Aircraft plans only kit-built aircraft for the time being, but important to many T-Bird owners is Matt's promise to support all those aircraft with parts. This aircraft dates back to the 1980s and has changed little over that time …because it didn't need to change. However, aircraft get worn or damaged components from time to time and the supply of well-fitting factory spares is a valuable service Matt can provide. I'll bet T-Bird owners are thrilled.

Here's a flight review of T-Bird I from quite a few years ago, however, most of this information should still be useful to prospective buyers. That said, new proprietor Matt plans to make quite a few changes. Over the years and through prior owners, T-Bird some parts changed slightly motivating Matt to redesign some elements to improve fit and reduce weight. A T-Bird I quick build airframe kit is a bit more than $15,000. With a low-hour used engine, instruments, paint, and finish work, getting airborne for $25,000 seems readily achievable.

A T-Bird TU — for "True Ultralight" — will follow. Matt is at work on this now. Using a paramoter engine as other Part 103 producers have embraced can contain empty weight to 227 pounds giving a generous remainder for essentials an owner may want. Welcome back, T-Bird!

T-Bird Aircraft T-Bird I TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS all figures provided by the manufacturer figures assume a Rotax 503 engine but 447 or 582 may also be used

Wing Span — 31 feet
Wing Area — 154 square feet
Length — 18 feet
Height — 69 inches
Cabin Width — 28 inches
Empty Weight — 290 pounds
Useful Load — 315 pounds
Load Factor — +6 –4 G
Cruise Speed — 65 miles per hour
Stall Speed — 27 miles per hour
Takeoff Roll — 100 feet
Landing Roll — 100 feet

A Bit of Tough News

Our friends at The Airplane Factory had their "Sling Island" largely set up at AirVenture… before the storm. Unfortunately, their large tent was one of those that caught the full brunt of strong winds and rain.

The Airplane Factory USA proprietor Matt Liknaitzky described a harrowing period where tall aluminum poles several inches in diameter were uprooted and were being slung around wildly by the wind-propelled tent. No one was hurt but at least three beautiful Sling aircraft were seriously damaged. The structures probably survived but all need to be inspected, have new skin sections applied and repainting done. One aircraft was visiting Oshkosh en route from the west coast to its new owner on the east coast. Instead, this airplane must return to Torrance, California for reskinning and painting. How very discouraging! Balancing the tough turn of events before the show even opened, Matt had great news about his business. They are builder-assist assembling a steady stream of Sling TSIs (flight review). His flight school is busy. The enterprise is now up to 52 employees. Not many years back Matt was a one-man import shop aided by some good friends. In a short time, he's become a mover in U.S. aviation. In other good news, he reported the flight of three (not one ocean-crosser, not two, but three) brand-new Sling High Wings are headed to Oshkosh from South Africa, half a world away. Long flights are nothing new for this outfit, but they haven't made the huge globe-spanning flight in a group of three before. On Saturday afternoon, they were on this side of the Atlantic, flying from Barbados to the Bahamas. It's just as well they had not arrived on Saturday, when they, too, could have been damaged.

This short video gives some flavor of the show as it prepares to open plus a hint of coverage to come. https://youtu.be/R6pfxsTgsFo

I write this on the eve of Oshkosh 2022. The big summer celebration of flight opens officially on Monday, July 25 running through next Sunday, July 31st. Based on a tour of the grounds on setup day, I think we’re in for an interesting week. I plan to continue work to bring you daily coverage but I’m hoping to be more efficient this year, to cut too-frequent 16-hour days to perhaps 12-hour days. That will mean shorter articles but those generating the most interest can go deeper when the show concludes. After a difficult Saturday when storms blew through (see “Tough News” below), Sunday produced sunshine and mild temperatures. Weather for the remainder of the week looks great. Welcome Back T-Bird We haven’t seen this design for a few years although it never really disappeared. Bret Kivell of Indy Aircraft kept the design alive and well after the original developer left the business.