Memories for Oshkosh 2019
In celebration of Oshkosh 2019 I wanted to share some pictures that I took from Oshkosh 2015 that I was unable to post that year. It was the trip of a lifetime, traveling in the only flying Privateer cross country from Casa Grande, Arizona to Oshkosh, Wisconsin. My dad, Dave, and I went with the PB4Y crew to do any maintenance needed along the way. We made several stops for fuel and just to see how the plane was doing. She did amazing and did not require any maintenance the whole way there. This was the first time the Privateer had made a journey this far in over 30 years!
We stopped at different airports and were greeted by fellow aviators and friends along the way. Our first major stop was in Madison, Wisconsin where the Privateer was invited for Heavy Bomber’s Weekend. The people putting the event on were very friendly and did a great job! From there we flew the Privateer into Oshkosh. I have to thank my dad for giving up his position on the PB4Y to allow me to take his spot and fly in with the Privateer. What an awesome experience!
In Oshkosh we meet up with several friends and participated in the show. We got to spend some time with our friend Jack Roush and I had the pleasure of meeting WWII Triple Ace Bud Anderson. One of our customers took me up in his T-28 to participate in the missing man formation to honor our longtime friend Jack Morrissey, better known as Uncle Jack. I wish he could have flown in on the Privateer with us, he was part of our crew and that had always been the plan. We also unexpectedly saw one of the Sherpa’s that we used to do maintenance on at that time.
Once the event was over, we flew the Privateer to Ohio where she stayed at the Liberty Aviation Museum. Upon our arrival home, we saw the S.P.A.D. XIII that we refurbished and hung in Terminal 3 at the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. We returned in September and flew the Privateer to Thunder Over Michigan before we started our journey home.
The only thing that made the Oshkosh trip more special than it already was, was finding out that I was going to become a mom! Like I said, it was the trip of a lifetime and one I will never forget! And one that I will share with my daughter once she gets a little older.
