All Now Safely Nested In The North 40

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Cessna 172 and 182, approximately 75 of the world’s most popular single engine planes arrived, en masse, on Saturday afternoon. 

After staging at Dodge County Airport in Juneau, WI the flock of Skyhawks and Skylanes descended on Wittman Field. With a few of their little brothers and sisters 152s and 150s) in tow, the parade flew in, landed and parked together in the North 40.

The group, aptly called C2O (Cessna’s to Oshkosh), was modeled after the B2OSH (Bonanzas to Oshkosh) and the Mooney Caravan to Oshkosh, and was organized as a way for Cessna owners to arrive together and ensure that they could park and camp together.

ANN was there as the pilots shut down, and spoke with several of the still sweat-and- adrenaline-soaked pilots. As the avgas trucks arrived and over the din of taxiing aircraft and of campgrounds being set up, we asked a few pilots how the flight went.

Dan Barley flew his 172 from Camarillo, CA to participate. Dan is a double newbie -- in that this is his first trip to AirVenture, in addition to his first group flight.

“Very cool and very intense,” was his response when asked how the flight went. When asked what he is looking forward to about AirVenture... “I don’t know what to expect.”  

Larry Caldwell flew in from Cincinnati. A pilot for 44 years, he is an AirVenture regular. As for the C2O experience, Larry says “It’s an event that everyone is on the same page”. As for AirVenture... ”It’s an event you don’t want to miss”.

Brothers Marv and Glenn Frentz crossed the border from Moorefield, Ontario to join the Cessna celebration. Although they didn’t fly in with the group, they were able to park in the North 40 with their Skyhawk counterparts.

Marv has been coming to Oshkosh for over 30 years, and this year marks Glenn’s third journey to AirVenture. Their flight down was “uneventful”, and they are “excited to be here”.

By all accounts, C2O was a complete success, and everyone who ANN spoke with would definitely participate again. Congratulations to Cessna for 50 years of the high-winged wonders!

FMI: www.c20.org, www.airventure.org