Introducing Staff, Stringers, Videographers, And People Who Make It All Work

Anyone who's ever been to Oshkosh knows that there are hundreds of events and activities as well as tens of thousands of people that descend (some quite literally) on Wittman Regional Airport in mid-summer. While we have a very hard-working and dedicated staff, ANN could not provide you with the extensive information we do without the help of some equally ... some might say more ... dedicated volunteers who give a week of their time to make sure you have the best possible coverage of the show. As we lead up to this year's edition of AirVenture, we'll be introducing you to the people that make all of that possible.

Katherine Tryon: Graphic Artist

Happiest around airplanes and runways, Katherine is most at home on a flight line, learning stories from veteran flyers and shooting pictures of vintage aircraft and warbirds. A WAI member and Advanced Skywarn spotter for National Weather Service, she is now on her third Oshkosh in a row.  You'll find her, camera or sketchpad in hand, near anything with character, a history and a story to tell; Katherine has a deep respect for those who came before, and wants their stories preserved and shared. Ask her about her her interest in aviation history and she cites: "the talent and the hard work it took to do so much in so few years..." she wants to see that legacy built upon, and guards it well.

In her daytime job, she is the funnel point for flight tracking and crew duty times for a large flight school; the pace of keeping track of several hundred aircraft and pilots prepares her well for adventures with Roland, as they cover airshows and do technical photography of weather, as well as team on the engineering and design of a sensor project for a startup company they helped found.

The more complex or challenging the task, the happier she is; with an uncle who was a superintendent on the construction of the Udvar-Hazy annex of the Air and Space Museum, and friendships across the top of aviation, she has immersed herself as much in the people, history and traditions of flight as she has embraced the technical future and digital present. On meeting Bob Hoover at a reception last year, she says: "The history, accomplishments, all he's done; after all that, to still come out and share stories and inspiration with folks young and old; that makes my heart smile."

An avid cyclist and lethal angler, when not on storm chase, Katherine likes to unwind with art and digital media; frequently called upon for web projects, she enjoys applying her graphics skills behind the keyboard and her eye for aviation photography. Her dream assignment, however, would involve missionary flying, and she has been active supporter of the missionary developed Maverick Flying Car for several years, travelling with Roland to support their appearances at Sebring, Lakeland and Oshkosh. Not content with the digital, she wants a Lycoming based coffee table-but would get more fun out of making it run.

FMI: www.aero-news.net