OSHKOSH '80
By Gene Chase
(Photos By The Author Unless Oth erwise Noted) Peopl e and planes turned out in reco rd numbers again at Oshkosh. The 28th Annual EAA Convention wa s a rou sin g success with 1547 sh ow plan es regis tered. Thi s includ ed 777 antique and classic aircraft. The total numb er of classics wa s up over last year's event whi le th e count of antiques was down slightl y. Th e Co nvention was a soggy one with th e amount of rain th at fell during th e week equal to twi ce the normal amount for the entire m o nth of August. In spite of th e weather, the dail y air shows went on as sch ed ul ed and p eopl e stayed on in g rea ter numb ers throughout th e week than at pa st Conve ntion s. Ther e were many outstanding eve nt s during the week but th e highlight wa s Aviati o n G rea ts Day , on Thur sday, f ea turing Matty Laird and Jimm y Doolittle. Many other aviation notables were present who were involv ed in air racing during th e 1930s. Al so featured o n thi s day wa s the first public pre
sentation of th e EAA Air Museum Found ati o n 's replica Laird Super Soluti on. The aircraft w as no t quite fin ish ed , but th e lac k of some of th e wing and landing gear fairings did not d eter th e ca m e ra buffs from hav ing a fi eld day , es p ecia ll y when Laird and Doolittl e posed for pictures in and around the p lane. Other vintage racing aircraft on display were St eve Wittman's Bonzo , Bill Turn er 's replica Gee Bee Model Z and Ji m Younkin 's repli ca Trave l Air Mystery Ship. Th e Antique/Classic Divi sio n 's Parade of Flight was also featured o n Aviation Greats Day as a part of the afte rn oon air show. This aerial ex tr avaga nza becomes more popular each year, evoking favorable comment from both pilots and the genera l public. Speaking of th e general public, thi s yea r for the first time th ey were able to att end Antique/ Cla ssic forums. Thi s was made possible by re locat in g th e forum t ent from th e Red Barn area o n the flight lin e to th e gene ral publi c area with th e ot h er forum tents.
GRAND CHAMPION WINNERS Each year the job of judgin g aircraft at O shkos h be co m es in creasingly difficult as more and more p lan es sh ow up with fantastic workmanship and auth enti city. Th e G rand Ch ampi o n Antique Award went to a 1931 Buhl " Bull Pup " own ed by Captain Dan Neuman of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Th e G rand Ch amp ion Class ic Awa rd wa s won by Jim Thompson, Roberts , Illin o i s for hi s 1951 Aeronca Seda n. Other Grand C h amp ion Awards were: Warbird, Kalamazoo Aviatio n History Museum' s FG-1D Co r sa ir ; C u sto mbuilt , Fred Kell e r , Anchorage, Alaska, for hi s VariEze; Roto rcraft , an Avenger Gyrop lane by Frank Marchetti of Chicago, Il li nois; and for th e first tim e at Osh kos h , an U ltrali ght Gra nd Champ ion Award for the Fl edpe II by Gary Evans, of Waukegan , Illin ois .
EAA wa s honored to have th ese Aviation Grea ts attend th e 1980 Conven tion at Oshkosh . Left to right: E. M. " Matty " Laird, Blanche Noyes, Harold Neuman , Bob H all, Eldon Cessna, Eddie Fisher, General Jam es Doo little, H arold Johnson , Tony LeVier, Cliff H enderson, Steve Wittm an, Leon A twood, AI Mena sco and Roger Don Rae. Th e man on the ex treme right is Charles McClure, one of Doolittle 's 8-25 pilots on th e WW " Tokyo bombing raid.
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