The Very Best (And Worst) of Oshkosh 2005! (Part Three, Final)

Compiled By The Staff and Readership of the Aero-News Network

For quite a while, we have recognized the highs and lows inherent in the general and sport aviation community. There are but a few places where that is more a propos than at a major event like the Oshkosh Fly-In.

It's hard to know what really is going to make a difference and what really qualifies as exceptional unless you've been watching this industry carefully for several years... as we have.

Unlike past years, ANN readers remarks were heavily incorporated into ALL aspects of this report, and not just the Aircraft awards and such. Their contributions are specifically noted when a particular attribute is based primarily on an individual's report.

Our Annual Best Plane of the Year Selections (tentatively announced after Oshkosh and finalized at year's end) will follow this series shortly… we're having a REALLY hard time making a decision this year - and the reasons might surprise you.

So... here are our final picks for the Best and Worst of this year's Oshkosh... and why we think so:

The Sexiest Aircraft at OSH 2005

Scaled's White Knight. Sure... SpaceShipOne is cool... but when you look at ALL the curves on White Knight, ya just gotta know that Burt had been watching the Playboy Channel for hours while he was sketching this thing out.

The Coolest Aircraft at OSH 2005

Eclipse 500. Vern said it was going to be a delight to fly and he wasn't lying. We know, we flew it. The E-500 is a ball.

Same Ol' Same Ol' Award

Liberty Aircraft. Here they go again... years after they were supposed to be fully certified and in serial production; they've got limited TC's, no production certificate, more stories conflicting with the stories they told previously and no identifiable sense of when the production will begin, in earnest. With two good companies now working the two-place market (Diamond and Symphony), we think the ship has sailed on Liberty--too many questions, too many customer complaints, too many conflicts and too many broken promises. Pass this one by.

The Reality Check Award

Oshkosh Is Where True Flyers Belong. I learned two important lessons from being at AirVenture. First, is that I will be staying the whole week next time, so I don't miss a gorram thing. Second, I belong in aviation. The sense of belonging while in the aviation community is overwhelming. The hugs from cute pilots like Eric Tucker and Jamail Larkins is just icing. Can I deal with stuff like that full time? Well it's a tough job but I can handle it, I'm cuddly. (Aleta Vinas)

The Patience Of A Saint Award

LSA Manufacturers Who Survived The LSA Process. It was a tough and lengthy wait for those manufacturers looking to Sport Pilot and the LSA rules. Those who survived the hype, delays and industry miasma are to be congratulated and we hope that their patience and perseverance pays off. We shall see. 

Things We Got To See Because of Our Press Pass

Burt Rutan launching toy rockets into the line of fans waited for a chance to have him and Melvill sign autographs or answer questions. He tried to take my ANN hat off with one but it departed controlled flight just before impact… kinda like the roll departure SpaceShipOne did on its first X-prize flight. (Chris Armstrong)

Best Kept Secret

Light Sport Aircraft Programs. With a lot to offer, even hamstrung as it they are by last-minute FAA foul-ups and betrayals (especially in terms of medical issues), the LSA program should be lighting the world on fire. They aren't... not by a long shot.
Why? Shamelessly over-hyped and over-promoted by EAA (in their never-ending search for more bucks), it didn't help that the program was SO late in hitting the runway, nor does it help that the reality is not exactly what was sold to the sport aviation community time and time again by EAA... long before anyone had a real idea of what was coming. EAA does some things right and some things wrong... They really blew the intro of LSA and it will take a while for the industry to heal the wounds this has left. (ANN Staff)

Grace Under Pressure

Glasair Aviation's Mikael Via. One of the true nightmares of any Oshkosh is reserved for those who have to deal with a tragedy like that which befell one of Glasair Aviation's GlaStar demonstrators while doing a film shoot -- killing a much beloved member of the Glasair community. A fatal accident hurts everyone -- especially those involved, but few people have handled these circumstances as well as Via... who dealt with the difficulties and answered necessary questions with patience, tact, and honesty. (ANN Staff)

Best Way To Trash A $1 Million Bill

Royal Turbine Duke. So, say you have $1 million even to spend on a new toy. What will you get from all the goodies on display at Oshkosh? A VLJ is a little over budget. A new Adam A500? Again, slightly over budget, and also, somewhat lacking on the coolness factor. Our pick: The Royal Turbine Duke. For $887,000 you can get a Beechcraft Duke converted to a pair of PT6A's by Rocket Engineering - the same folks who did countless turbine conversions for Malibus and Bonanzas. You can even save $100,000 if you go for the lower end PT6A-21's. Don't have a Duke to spare? No worries! For the change you get from your million bucks, you'll probably be able to find a used Duke with run-out engines. The end result? A 300 knots plane that climbs at angles more befitting something like SpaceShip One. Sounds like a good value to us. Hurry up while Dukes with run out engines are still plentiful. (Nadav Eiron)

Highest Price Food Item

Most of them. Onsite food was still way too expensive and visitor reports indicate that changes made this year were NOT for the better. Food was one of the three most popular sources of complaints of Oshkosh 2005.

Best Food Deal

Was NOT on The Airport... If you could get off site there is a place just across 41 from the airport called "Tailspin Tommy’s" that makes the biggest and  best sandwiches and salads anywhere near the show. (Chris Armstrong)

"Ya Gotta Be Kidding" Award

NO V-22 At Oshkosh (AGAIN!). We made the same selection last year. It's kind of amazing that DOD projects this
troubled don't show up the one place they will probably get uncritical enthusiasm. Instead, we got the Harrier doing its stunts, over and over again. Been there, heard that. How about an F-22 fly-by next year at least? (Kevin O'Brien, Jim Campbell)

Exercises In Futility 2005

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Sport Flying. What's in a name? Sometimes, WAY too much. There is this book, endorsed by EAA, with the most outrageous title I've seen in a while, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Sport Flying." With all the problems that aviation has with the general public right now, the least thing we need is a title that describes any aspect of our business as suitable for Complete Idiots. I'm really disappointed that this came about. But... endorsed by EAA? What were they thinking?

ALL The Right Moves

Oshkosh 2005--The Whole Damned Thing. We hammer them when they deserve it but we need to laud them when they nail down a winning combo, as well. This year's rendition of Oshkosh... ROCKED. Great attractions, great pacing, great schedule and a surprising lack of faux pas's made this year's event the best in recent memory. The big question, though, is this... how can they do it again?

The Department of Redundancy Department

Repli-Cubs Keep... Replicating. When the early ultralight movement finally hit its stride, a number of the more popular new designs kinda looked like Piper Cubs. Now that Sport Pilot is off and running, a number of the new LSAs hitting the market kinda look like Cubs... again. Hmmm...

"Best Actor" Award

Epic Aircraft. While hawking a jet that has yet to fly and a kit aircraft that the FAA says is not a kit, the hype was running hot and heavy throughout the week and drawing attention from others in the industry who uncharacteristically spoke up with concern about the fact that Epic seemed willing to SO push the rules that the FAA might be forced to react... and, whaddyaknow, they have.

Worst Idea At Oshkosh 2005

Staging Popular Mass Arrivals On The Same Day. "... I'm sure you've had plenty of feedback on the uncontrollable arrival delays caused by the weather, and the controllable delays caused by 100 Bonanzas and 50 Mooneys on the Saturday before Airventure. I just wanted to add my voice to the concern about having 2 large groups of airplanes scheduled back to back on the same day. We barely made it into Airventure Saturday evening because of the delays.
We arrived at Rockford (RFD - where the Bonanzas were staging from) to wait out the thunderstorms. After the storms passed, we started to depart only to have to wait for the Bonanzas to depart in front of us. We headed to Ripon to get in line, only to get numerous 10 and 15 minute time extensions while waiting for the Bonanzas to land. Just as the Fisk controllers were telling us "5 more minutes guys", what do we see coming at us? It's the Mooneys coming to land. Well, the controllers game back again, "Sorry guys, but more bad news. Now the Mooney's are landing." Well, that was another 30 minute delay and then finally, after a large group of airplanes (including me) had organized a holding pattern around Green Lake SW of Ripon, we got the order to proceed. Well, as the large Green lake group lined up over the railroad tracks, numerous other planes that had been holding out in various areas came in looking for spots. As a result, for the in-trail and staggered spacing of airplanes approaching Fisk, we had way less than 100 yards between airplanes. It looked more like a disorganized formation flight with VERY few airplanes lined up actually over the railroad tracks!
Anyway, all in all, we made it in safely and before the 8:00pm cutoff unlike some of our other camping neighbors but the atmosphere getting there was extra tense. Perhaps the Bonanzas need to be broken up into smaller groups, and at the very least, put the Bonanzas and Mooneys scheduled on different days so we don't get so jammed up when weather decreases the available daylight and a crash occurs on the field adding to the delay." (ANN Reader Report)

"Risky Business"

Oshkosh Arrivals. Don't get me wrong... the folks who run air traffic into and out of Oshkosh are shear geniuses. But... getting into Oshkosh is a truly tasking endeavor fraught with a lot of uncertainty that can not be minimized entirely by the means with which arrivals are currently handled. There are simply too many planes trying to go into the same airport at the same time without enough direction and recognition of the threats (other aircraft) around them. I flew arrivals into Oshkosh this year several times... in aircraft ranging from an ultralight trainer, to an R-44, to a Piper Meridian... and each arrival had its perils. There has to be a better way to handle arrivals and while I have NO CLUE what that may be, I urge the powers-that-be to look this situation over to see what might be done to manage this situation with greater safety. 

What's in A Name?

Pipistrel Sinus and Virus. OK... I realize that these are foreign birds, but whoever names these critters needs to rethink their marketing plan. Can you imagine having to tell ATC that you're flying a Virus? Or... asking for maintenance on your malfunctioning Sinus (shown above)? Puhleeese...

Biggest Oshkosh 2005 Blunder

Food: The powers-that-be made big changes to the food vendor program at Oshkosh this year and it was one of the three major sources of complaints that we reviewed among the 1000+ comments we received. People hate d the food, the prices, the waits and that staffing. For those of you who thought that last year set a new low, the bad news this year is that things could and did get worse. Example -- An ANN Reader reported, "I consider the food the biggest rip-off this side of Chicago. It is absolutely disgusting. The hot dogs are not something I would feed my dog, the burgers are little charcoal pads, the sausages I won't even comment on. Not only is it entirely overpriced, but the healthiness does not even come within light-years of the health scale. I even tried going to the fish fry at the Seaplane base. It consisted of 2 patties of some kind of frozen fish that were identical in their triangular shape, a scoop of the worst Cole-slaw I have ever had, and something that at one time had been potato salad but had evolved into some kind of tasteless goop. By Saturday night, my body was screaming for something green. I finally had to bribe someone I knew to take me into town to a Restaurant that had a Salad bar where I had 2 servings. I slept much better that night." Another -- "I think the price of the on site food was outrageous - something needs to be done. I bought a 20oz. pop and soft pretzel, and it cost me $8.00!! Ridiculous!!" (ANN Reader Reports)

Runner(s)-Up: Too many carts and vehicles. Too many respondents noted the need to dodge carts, a lot of them, and the fact that pedestrians did NOT seem to have the right of way. ANN notes that carts need to give way to ALL pedestrians and act in a way that does NOT impede their progress... and that is honestly the way we operated our ONE cart. Ann Reader Reports, Jim Campbell)

Runner(s)-Up: EAA is taking way too much space up for their displays, merchandising and member services. For instance... we had several reports that the tent on the 200 line of exhibits was doubled in size from the year before and was blocking visibility of many exhibitors down that line. (Multiple ANN Reader reports)

Weirdest Rumor

... That SpaceShipOne was going to do an unpowered drop from White Knight during the Fly-In. Wishful thinking, for sure... but wouldn't it have been absolutely the coolest thing in the world -- UNTIL Mike or Brian got cut off on short final by a NORDO Tri-Pacer?

Red-Headed Illegitimate Half-Breed Stepchild Award

The Ultralight and Rotorcraft area. This area is suffering from a lack of access and visible PR support. Nuff said.

Biggest Party Pooper

FAA Administrator Marion Blakey. The Administrator's unwillingness to modify the strange and surprisingly restrictive medical provisions associated with the new Sport Pilot/Light Sport Aircraft rules is both disingenuous as well as counterproductive. It literally rewards those who wish to hide potential medical issues (and may, in fact, cause them to avoid dealing with various medical maladies for fear of being found out) and penalizes folks who are working within the system. Worse; there is NO justifiable reason for Sport Pilot licensing to have such medical restrictions. Period. (ANN Staff, Readers)

Bozo Of The Week

Yup… he's STILL at it. Chuck Slusarczyk of CGS Aviation (Repeat Award). Chuck Slusarczyk builds ultralights and light aircraft... most of them pretty good little airplanes -- when and if he actually delivers the whole machine. Unfortunately, Chuck's skills as a designer are not matched by his skills as a businessman... or as a human being. For several years, we've been trying to get this guy to give money back to customers he SCREWED (one celebrated case, in particular), even after he PROMISED to do so... in letters to EAA, no less. We've written about it over the years, here and there, and Chuck hates that and hates US for it. But... rather than deal with the situation and make amends, he goes into attack mode and turns into one of the most unpleasant human beings it has ever been our misfortune to know. Somehow, he thinks that his posting of nasty, idiotic, little signs excoriating ANN's Jim Campbell, or ANN itself, will prove that he's not a crook and a cheat. Unfortunately, for Chuck, it's a fruitless endeavor. We know better and we proved it -- several times, no less. Chuck has lied to his customers and cheated them out of merchandise/kits/planes that they paid for. That's a fact.
Fact: A number of CGS customers have had unpleasant experiences with the company and Mr. Slusarczyk.
Fact: A number of people have NOT gotten what they paid for and/or been cheated by CGS.
Fact: A number of people who have complained about CGS and/or Slusarczyk have been the recipients of personal attacks and threats from same.
Fact: CGS has been successfully sued by unhappy customers.
Fact: ANN can not recommend CGS or Slusarczyk until he gives up this idiotic pretense of innocence (which his own documents disprove... no kidding) and makes amends to the innocent people he has cheated and defrauded... which is a shame, because if you can actually get what you paid for, CGS' planes actually fly fairly well. Thankfully, there are better companies and somewhat better products out there... which we can recommend that you look at, because in light of the above, we can NOT recommend CGS.

ANN's "Above and Beyond" Award

The universally appreciated presence of SpaceShipOne and White Knight. People were around those planes like bears on campers with candy bars. When they flew people were pressed up to the flight line like I not seen since the concord was here, no even more then that. At every Forum, theater in the woods presentation or just walking around all the members of the SpaceShipOne team, Virgin galactic and now The SpaceShip Company were mobbed by thousands of spectators. This was a great year for Airventure, with great crowds everyday. Sure the weather was great for most of the week and Sport Pilot may FINALLY be ramping up, but the gang from Mojave was the biggest draw in years.

Biggest 'O' at Oshkosh

The Fly-By Of History. White Knight and SpaceShipOne fly in and then being able to stand beside them while they sat proudly at center stage in AeroShell Square. Of course proud Papa, Burt Rutan, was beaming and answering fans never ending questions. Brian Binnie and Mike Melvill spoke to the crowds as well. These cowboys have tamed the wild, space frontier for regular folks like us. Let's see, if I start saving now, maybe in about 50 years I'll be able to afford a ticket… (Aleta Vinas)

FMI: Comments? Complaints? Additions? Let us have it!