Seal Beach’s Red Baron & son off to Oshkosh

Jerry and Tyler Rootlieb left Seal Beach on July 9th for Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  Why, you may ask?  Who would want to fly to Wisconsin when its in the 100’s with a dew point to match? Well I think they thought it would cool off between then and now…but they really had no choice.  It was preordained.

Well, each year up to 10,000 visiting aircraft – of all shapes, sizes and varieties – make Oshkosh the busiest airport in the world!(for a couple of weeks.)

There are many, many direct flights to Oshkosh, Wisconsin…..AS LONG AS YOU ARE FLYING YOUR OWN AIRPLANE!

This father and son team are flying in the plane that Jerry bought (started buying?) when he was 15 years old. It was his Father’s plane before he got it and his sons will inherit when he gives it up…probably in 20 or 30 years!.

Its a 1938 Piper Cub. I’ve flown with my pal up and down the coast….and out over the ocean whale watching…and it is a unique experience.  Lower altitudes, slower going and just kind of restful.  I remember noting to Jerry that the trucks on PCH were going faster than we were and he said that was because we had a head wind of 15 mph!  He pointed out that without that head wind the Cub could go as fast as 65 mph!  (I was too polite to express my skepticism.) 

When you fly cross country in an airplane this small your flight plan is a little different than Jet Blue’s.  Usually you want to stop every few hours for bodily as well as airplane needs.  Sometimes at road side gas stations.  To that end this California Piper followed roadways that I remember as a kid coming across country…including Route 66…which is harder to find today than it was 50 years ago…but not for experienced pilots like Tyler and Jerry.  They left on July 9th and today they have been in the small town of Hartford, Wisconsin for two days of R&R.

Tomorrow, July 22,  they will be part of a flight of 200 piper cubs from all over the U.S. that will fly into  Oshkosh in a Yellow Rainbow (Yellow was the manufacturer’s color on all Piper Cubs) that will likely take several hours to land at Oshkosh.  I’m sure it is the trip of a lifetime for the Rootlieb’s to make and one that will be told throughout the family for years to come.

I followed their flight from California to Wisconsin and here is their stops:  (not including unplanned day-time stops)

Overnight at:
Bermuda Dunes
Phoenix
Tucson
Deming
El Paso
Carlsbad Caverns
Lubbock
Oklahoma City
Wichita (tonight)
Kansas City, Mo
Iowa City
Hartford WI ( for two days)
……….and then the mass Cub fly-in to Oshkosh, Sunday morning.

Here are some of the planes that will make appearances at Oshkosh this year:
B-29 Superfortress FIFI   (July 26-27), DC-3 Flabob Express  (July 23-29),,ORBIS DC-10 “Flying Eye Hospital” (July 23-29), Junkers JU 52 (July 23-29),,F-16 (July 23-29),KC-135 (July 24-29), T-2C Buckeye (July 25-28), Southwest B-737 (July 28) JetBlue A-320 (July 25), E-2C Hawkeye (July 26-29), F-4D Phantom (July 23-26) MiG (July 25-26),P-51 Tuskegee Airmen  (July 23-29), T-38 Beale (July 26-29), T-6 Texan II (July 26-29), C-17 (July 24-25), C-5 (July 27-29), B-17 Yankee Lady (July 26-29), F-4 (July 25-26), Piaggio Avanti (July 23-24), FedEx (July 26), RV Aircraft Display (July 23), T-45C (July 26-29), Blue Angel #1 F/A-18 (July 24) F/A-18 F Super Hornet (July 27-29).

Take a short flight in a Cub right now!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18130bpbiM8