10 minute read
45 Years in a Row
HOMEBUILTS
45 Years and Counting
BY ERIN HENZE
AIRVENTURE TODAY STAFF
KEN SWAIN, EAA 102241, flew his VariEze, N4ZZ, into Oshkosh for the 45th year in a row this year. From life in the Air Force to flying for United Airlines, and now in retirement, Ken’s aircraft has been a constant.
Ken has proudly owned his VariEze since Burt Rutan first released it, even flying it into Oshkosh just two years after the prototype was shown.
“In 1976, Burt showed up in the homebuilt prototype,” Ken said. “Once, again, he was mobbed. The plans were out there, and a couple of really fast builders showed up in 1977 along with Burt, and in 1978, there were at least 14 … and I was one of them. That was my first time [at Oshkosh].”
Keeping up his streak hasn’t been easy. There were two consecutive years that Ken was afraid he wouldn’t make it to Oshkosh.
“In ’92, I went off to captain school for United Airlines,” Ken said. “Just as Oshkosh was coming up, United got really short on reserves. When they run out of those, the last-ditch effort is to raid all the instructors and send them out to go fly. And so, they told all the students, me included, go home, check in every day, see when we want you back. So, I went home. While I was gone to school, my wife had taken the camper and the kids and gone to Oshkosh on her own, so I actually wound up getting to go to Oshkosh and fly on up.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF KEN SWAIN
PHOTO COURTESY OF KEN SWAIN
KEN SWAIN
Like most people, Ken said it’s not the airplanes that keep bringing him back; it’s the people. “You come back for the people that you’ve known for a long, long time, and see them,” Ken said. “I see people at Oshkosh that I’ve known for well over 40 years.”
After attending AirVenture for 45 years, things are bound to change. Among the biggest things Ken mentioned are the shorter restroom lines and higher food quality. However, most important to Ken is the camping.
“The first three years I stayed [at UW Oshkosh], and every year since, I’ve stayed in the campground,” Ken said. “I’ve seen the way the campground has evolved …. That’s changed a lot, and yet it hasn’t changed. The society of campers is its own extra convention separate from the daytime convention. It has to be experienced, and not just one or twice, but over a number of years to understand. It’s a whole other vibe.”
AROUND THE GROUNDS
International Visitors Tent Provides Home Away From Home
BY ERIN HENZE
AIRVENTURE TODAY STAFF
WITH MOST BORDERS finally open, international visitors are flocking back to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. No matter where they come from, they are welcome to have the International Visitors Tent as their home base. Here, visitors can get translation services and gather information about the show and the local area.
The International Visitors Tent has been providing services for international visitors since its founding in 1974, founded by Nancy Martini.
“Nancy was one of the initial people that started the International Visitors Tent back in 1974,” said Michel Bryson, chairwoman of the International Visitors Tent. “She recognized that people coming from around the world needed additional assistance, primarily with language and just learning their way around Oshkosh and the airfield.”
The International Visitors Tent has continued to work hard in helping AirVenture attendees, growing from the small army tent it had in 1974 to a large event tent next to Boeing Plaza. As the tent has grown, the community has also grown.
“The change over time has kind of shifted a little bit away from just the translation service,” Michel said. “Those are still needed … but it has really grown to be a community. This is the place that people from all over the world can meet and chat with one another, meet up with old friends, talk about what’s happening in their country. It really has become a real community spirit within the tent here.”
The community was happy to come together again after many not being able to return since 2019.
“Last year was very bittersweet for us because, although the show was on and some of us were here, there were [very few] international visitors,” Michel said. “We only had a few hundred, 10 percent of what we normally do. It was very difficult for us, but now it’s been three years, they’re all coming back, and we’re all getting to see each other again. It’s going to be great.”
This is a poignant reunion, however, as founder Nancy Martini passed away this June.
“If it wasn’t for Nancy, none of this would be here,” Michel said. “We would not have the great group of volunteers that we have today; we wouldn’t have the friends that we’ve made over the years. It’s due to Nancy and just that mindset and that understanding that people needed help that we’re even here today. We all owe Nancy a huge debt of gratitude.”
As of 5 p.m. on Tuesday, the International Visitors Tent had received 864 visitors from 62 countries. Of these countries, seven were not here in 2019 and three have more attendees than in 2019. If you are visiting from outside the United States, you are invited to stop by the tent to register yourself and meet other international attendees.
PHOTO BY ERIN HENZE
AROUND THE GROUNDS
EAA’s Type Club Coalition Meets at AirVenture 2022
BY ROBBIE CULVER
AIRVENTURE TODAY STAFF
EAA’S TYPE CLUB Coalition (TCC) is an umbrella organization for groups of aircraft owners and builders referred to as type clubs. Many aircraft types such a Cessna 150 or a Velocity have a club or member organization, which is often the best resource for information, socialization among owners, and documentation related to the aircraft type. The TCC meets annually in the EAA Founders’ Wing during AirVenture to review member initiatives, share best practices, and interact with both the NTSB and FAA.
According to Type Club Coalition Chairman Coyle Schwab, “The Type Club Coalition discussed alternatives to continue its support of continued improvement in fatal accident rates. Our biggest challenge — diversity of needs and means — is also a powerful attribute.
“Over its 11-year history the TCC has assembled a significant number of aircraft-specific organizations, known as type clubs, to explore ways to enhance safety of operations for personally owned and operated aircraft,” Schwab said. “There has been a strong focus on improved training, and programs have been put in place to increase its effectiveness. A solid foundation has been created and will be built upon in support of safety goals.”
The group also reviewed annual fatal accident statistics, presented by EAA’s Government Relations Director Tom Charpentier. A key area of focus for the TCC is improved safety, especially for experimental amateur-built and small general aviation aircraft.
A new TCC initiative is using EAA’s Flight Test Cards to determine aircraft-specific data for vintage airplanes that may not have data from the manufacturer due to age, or after extensive modifications over time. An example is using the test cards to determine VX (best angle of climb speed) and VY (best rate of climb speed) by flying a specific profile and recording data.
Additional information about the TCC can be found at EAA.org/eaa/aviationinterests/type-club-coalition.
PHOTO BY ROBBIE CULVER
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OSHKOSH MOMENTS
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Pietsch:
It’s about ‘aviation and everyone in it’
BY BARBARA A. SCHMITZ
AIRVENTURE TODAY STAFF
IT’S ALL ABOUT fun for Kent Pietsch. That is, having fun and making his aerobatic act fun for people to watch.
Pietsch has been flying for decades, but his interest in aviation started when he was only 4.
“I remember my dad landing in our backyard in his Aeronca Champ to have lunch, and after he took off, I asked where he was going,” Pietsch said. “My mother said the airport, and that set the hook.”
Throughout middle and high school, Pietsch was the quintessential airport kid, doing whatever odd job he could at the airport for a chance to get an airplane ride. By 16, he soloed. By 17, he earned his pilot certificate. And by 19, he earned his commercial certificate and started flying charters before moving on as a commercial airline pilot.
PHOTO BY ANDREW PIETSCH
In 1973, he purchased his airplane, an Interstate Cadette, from his uncle Leonard Pietsch. He still flies that airplane in his air show performances today, as well as another airplane of the same make and model.
Pietsch said he called a pilot who had been doing an aerobatic act where he dropped an aileron and elevator, and asked if he could use his act. “He was in Seattle, and I live in Minot, North Dakota, and I said I wouldn’t be leaving the Midwest. What do you think?”
The Seattle pilot agreed, and by 1974, Pietsch started performing in air shows. Pietsch flew his first air show at Oshkosh in about 1982, and remembers being nervous before that first show.
“But I’m always nervous before all air shows,” Pietsch said. “Anything can go wrong, and you need to have your antennae up for that and concentrate and practice. It looks easy to fly for six minutes, but you have to practice so if something goes wrong you can get out of it.” How much practice? “You have to practice a lot, enough to feel comfortable and confident with the show,” said Pietsch, who is also known as Chuck Dramamine in one of his performances. However, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh is probably his favorite place to perform. “This is not so much about the performers, but aviation and everyone in it,” he said. “I come here just to support it. It is the only air show I fly for nothing, because I like what EAA does for general aviation.” An A&P mechanic, Pietsch builds, rebuilds, and maintains his airplanes. He’s currently working on a Waco Taperwing and an Acroduster 1. In fact, projects like those are his main hobbies when he’s not flying. When he’s not performing in the sky above Oshkosh, Pietsch can be found wandering the AirVenture grounds. “I like it because there is so much to learn here,” he said.
