Product Test — Torii Tours 1995 Oshkosh Tour

The tour proper commenced with our arrival in Seattle, mainly to visit the Boeing factory to see the 747 production line. This is quite a sight. Seattle also boasts the Museum of Flight which contains many relics from the early days including the famous Boeing “Red Barn” which saw the birth of that great aircraft manufacturer. A floatplane flight over the Seattle waterways and a wander round Seattle itself rounded off that segment.

Next it was on to Dayton for the airshow and a visit to the famous USAF Museum. I confess that I was not overly taken by the airshow as I thought it was a little loose. As a past airshow (military) performer and organiser I felt there was room for improvement. However the USAF Museum is a must. It is well laid out and the exhibits including both aircraft and memorabilia are clearly documented. “Bock’s Car” the B-29, Superfortress which dropped the second nuclear weapon on Nagasaki was on display. We had the privilege of visiting the restoration facility where to our surprise we found an Australian Beaufighter taking shape. An extra-curricular activity laid on by our guide for those wishing to take part was a visit to the Wright Brothers restored bicycle workshop and to their graves in the Dayton Cemetery. The latter was truly a visit to a shrine.

Washington and the Smithsonian came next. I had seen the latter when it was in its previous building during a visit some 22 years ago and noticed the inevitable move towards space exhibits. Of particular interest was our conducted tour of the Smithsonian Garber restoration facility named after its founder. Well publicised prior to our visit was the fact that the nose section of “Enola Gay” was to be put on display in the Smithsonian; we saw the rest of it at the Garber. It was particularly evocative for me as I had had the opportunity to visit Hiroshima during the Korean War when it was still totally devastated.

Following Washington it was on to Oshkosh, the primary reason for our visit. As in the past, tour members were accommodated in the student blocks of the University of Wisconsin, it conveniently being the summer vacation period. The accommodation is what I had expected and is quite adequate. The meal and bar service are both good and economically priced. A special bus service runs continuously throughout the EAA convention week with a convenient pickup point in the University grounds. What can one say about Oshkosh! Those who have been there will appreciate the difficulty of conveying in words the sheer audacity of the EAA organisers in catering for something like 15,000 private light aircraft making the pilgrimage. Row upon row of aircraft with the overflow located on a nearby airfield. In addition to this, something like 450 warbirds of all shapes, sizes and speeds plus vintage aircraft, ultralights, gyrocopters, all performing on two intersecting runways, sometimes at the same time. I understand that controlling what would have to be the most concentrated mass of aircraft anywhere in the world is done in a relaxed and friendly manner with very few incidents. However we did have one very public mishap when a Dakota apparently ground looped when attempting to take off in what I estimated as at least 10kts of downwind. The pilot had the misfortune to run into a spoon drain which collapsed the port undercarriage leg. To my surprise, a gaggle of Harvards had managed to get safely airborne on the same runway shortly before this incident. I’ve not flown a Harvard but have strong memories of the ground looping tendency of its cousin, the Wirraway.

The standard of display flying of the top performers was world class, but it was hats off too, to the warbird owners who flew formations which would do credit to military pilots who have nothing better to do all day but practice! An aerial view of Wittman Field, Oshkosh. You need at least two to three days to take in what Oshkosh has to offer. There is so much to see at Oshkosh that it is wise to spend a little time in mapping out a programme for the duration of your stay. I set aside a day each for the flight line and flying displays, commercial stands and displays, and the museum. The latter is a must which needs at least half a day to do it justice. Of course if you’re a home builder, the workshops, and seminars will well up on your agenda. We had four days all told which seemed about right, however some on the tour thought that three days would have been sufficient. Following Oshkosh it was down south to the Naval Aviation Museum at Pensacola. For an old naval aviator this was one of the highlights of the tour. The museum is very well laid out with all aircraft on display without barriers so that it is possible to walk right round them. Extensions to the museum are presently underway which will add to an already excellent collection. Anyone going on this year’s tour might care to note whether they have followed my suggestion that the aircraft in the display depicting work in a carrier hangar during WWII should really be lashed down. I hope they have also removed the tool box and engine cowls from the wing. From my experience neither the aircraft nor the loose items would have lasted the first good roll!

Hurricane Erin added a little excitement to the end of our stay in Pensacola delaying our bus trip to New Orleans until it was past. The latter city was just for R&R, however it was well worth while as it is rich in cultural diversity.

Next it was on to San Antonio for a tour of the USAF Lackland, Randolph and Brooks bases which included their small History and Traditions museums. For those who have never been on an air base, Randolph presents an opportunity to be briefed on, and witness the functioning of a major USAF facility.

Our final destination was Phoenix to visit the Champlin Fighter Museum and the Titan ICBM museum. I doubt that there would be any greater concentration of fighter pilot memorabilia anywhere in the world than that held in the Champlin Museum. It is an outstanding collection backed up by a display of just about all the famous WWI fighter aircraft (mostly replicas) and a collection of WWII fighters and post WWII fighters.

I had my doubts about a two hour bus ride to Tucson to view a Titan missile in its silo, however to my surprise I found that I was morbidly fascinated by a weapon that had it ever been used, would have undoubtedly resulted in the end of civilisation. The briefing and subsequent tour of the silo were very thought provoking. Well worth the trip.

That completed the tour proper with just an interesting ticketless flight to LA via Southwest Airlines and QF12 home. There seemed to be more hassles on the ticketless flight than all the other flights put together. Let’s hope the concept doesn’t catch on here.

The obvious question to ask is, was the tour value for money at just on $6000? In discussion with fellow tour members the answer came out as a positive yes. Some parts of the tour, such as the major museums and of course Oshkosh were memorable with others less so. But then, you can’t please them all! One of the biggest pluses from my point of view was having all the hassles of travel both air and surface attended to by somebody else, including accommodation transfers. The accommodation incidentally was twin share with private facilities and all air conditioned (except at Oshkosh).

Should you be contemplating doing the pilgrimage to Oshkosh next year, I would definitely recommend the Torii Tour package as the way to go.