EAA Sport Aviation - August 2009

EDITOR’S LOG
AirVenture at Your Fingertips

More ways than ever to experience Oshkosh

MARY JONES, EAA 224626

As I drove back to EAA headquarters after lunch today, July 6, flightline volunteers were marking off the “clear area” at the west end of Runway 9/27. Maintenance workers were pounding nails on the expanded North 40 shower building where new flush toilets are being installed. The campground is becoming a sea of yellow tape as campers stake out their sites in advance, and a steady trickle of volunteers arrive every day. EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2009 is days away!

Those of you attending Oshkosh are at the epitome of excitement. There’s definitely been an air of anticipation building here at EAA headquarters over the past few weeks—some staffers might call it panic—as we make the final push to get the site, the signage, the schedules, the publications, and everything else ready for opening day.

No matter whether you attend Oshkosh or not, the event provides value to every member. Because of AirVenture and the connections it enables people to make, the voice of EAA and its members is heard more receptively throughout the world.

But, if you’re a member for whom attending Oshkosh is a distant dream, take heart. This year, more so than ever before, you will have the opportunity to live the experience vicariously through the many offerings that EAA’s photo, video, publications, and volunteer radio team will put together during AirVenture week.

There’s so much going on that we can’t possibly give every story all the in-depth coverage it might deserve, but we’re plotting ways to post more photos, photo galleries, videos, and news stories online as quickly as we can. You’ll want to check www.AirVenture.org often to find out what’s happening.

Another way to keep in touch with the happenings at Oshkosh is to listen to EAA Radio…streaming 24/7 on www.EAARadio.org. In fact, by the time this magazine reaches your mailbox, many of the EAA Radio volunteers will be on-site and starting to deliver news

and information about AirVenture 2009 and sharing highlights from interviews and shows they recorded during AirVenture 2008. On Sunday, July 26, they’ll go fully live reporting from Wittman Field.

We’re plotting ways to post more photos,
photo galleries, videos, and news stories
online as quickly as we can.

Still another new way to share in the AirVenture Oshkosh experience this year is EAA’s new social networking community, Oshkosh365. Read the primer about this new member benefit on pages 26-27 of this issue. Then, create a profile for yourself and join in the fun. Want to know something specific about a new plane introduced at AirVenture? Post a note in one of the forums and perhaps someone can track down the answer. There’s no end to the ways Oshkosh365 can help you stay connected with other members and share and expand your aviation knowledge and understanding. We encourage members to continually post comments, photos, and videos about their aviation experiences at Oshkosh or anywhere around the world.

And, if you want to know what’s happening at Oshkosh as quickly as possible, you can now sign up to receive free text message alerts. Visit http://Twitter. com/EAAupdate to get the latest information delivered to your mobile phone.

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh is a jewel in the store of all that EAA is. As members, we should all be proud of the event. Every member contributes to its success through his or her membership dollars, and thousands of members contribute by volunteering their time and talent. It wouldn’t happen without EAA members.