7/11/05 In the Groove - Time has really been going quickly. I finally feel more settled-in. I have a neverending to-do list of projects for the flight school, like making new flyers, working on the web site, making phone calls, getting signs, taking pictures, and getting a new cell phone. It's interesting to start from scratch at Brennand Airport in Neenah and then watch things grow. I'm picking up more students and getting busier. I have been flying out of both Brennand and Green Bay.

7/14/05 Flew Six Young Eagles This Morning - A group of students from the Menominee Tribal School took a field trip to the Austin Straubel Airport in Green Bay today. They visited facilities on the airport and learned about aviation careers. As a special treat, they got to take free EAA Young Eagles flights. Some students had flown before and others had not. We used three Cessna 172s. I flew two flights with three Young Eagles on board each. As always, it was rewarding to see the smiles on their faces!

7/23/05 Getting the Word Out - Brennand Airport's fly-in was today and had a pretty decent turnout. A few airplanes busily gave Young Eagles rides and a helicopter also gave rides. The event was a fundraiser for the EAA Ultralight Chapter 41, so I couldn't really compete, but I did get the word out about Cavu Aviation's new training center there and my flight instruction services. I took a reporter from the Independent News up for a flight. She took several pictures and interviewed me. I was also interviewed by a reporter for the widely-read Appleton Post-Crescent. I spoke with three people who might be interested in flight instruction, took a pilot and his young grandson for a ride, and gave one of my students a short lesson with his dad riding in the back. The traffic pattern was very busy. I was worried about Oshkosh and Appleton traffic due to AirVenture, but pleasantly surprised that Brennand was in the "eye of the hurricane." All the traffic I saw was directly related to our fly-in.

A solid line of thunderstorms cut our event short at around 2 p.m., which was disappointing, but it gave me time to talk to a fellow UD grad who I hadn't seen in over a year, and I could leave early to go to my family reunion and answer lots of questions like, "Do you still fly?" I had to look no further than my own family for a few more potential customers.

I hope my efforts pay off in more people being aware that they can learn to fly with me at Brennand Airport.

7/24/05 Oshkosh Plans, or Lack Thereof - It would be different if I weren't totally broke. There were years that I went to EAA AirVenture the entire week. Now, with my meager income and heaping bills, I'm scrambling for ways to go to Oshkosh for at least a day. The good news? I know people who know people. I'll probably be going next Thursday and possibly other days too. My flying activities are going to be slow or nonexistent this week, so I plan to spend the time working on Cavu's web site and going to Oshkosh. This year should be a good one with several good attractions!

7/28/05 AirVenture 2005 Thursday - The first time I caught a glimpse of SpaceShipOne hanging below White Knight, I couldn't believe that someone flew that little thing right up into space. People gathered around the roped-off area, packed tightly in rows three or four deep. I could hardly shoot pictures through the crowd around that star attraction. Next to it sat GlobalFlyer, another Rutan creation. The three Rutan aircraft definitely embodied the "E" in "Experimental Aircraft Association."

Another oddity sat near the Rutan aircraft: the new HondaJet with its curious above-the-wing engines. That airplane had been a mystery until this public unveiling at Oshkosh.

One of my flight students was with me today and we went from one end of the show to the other. We spent a lot of time down at the ultralight runway watching ultralights and new light sport aircraft flying. We watched most of the airshow and caught the second half of an FAA forum about weather.

7/29/05 AirVenture 2005 Friday - A second day at Oshkosh was all my wallet could handle. This time I met up with a long-lost pilot friend for the day.

Today I concentrated on seeing the latest and greatest. In one of the exhibit hangars, a salesman was happy to show me how the new Sandel electronic HSI is finally viewable from the sides. Back outside, my friend and I ran into the tent for Nexaer, a company developing a new light sport aircraft. We sat in a mock-up of the plane. One of our next stops was Adam Aircraft, maker of the state-of-the-art A500 and A700. Later we wandered over to Eclipse. I almost needed a bib. Real flying versions were finally there on display. I'm a big believer in the idea that very light jets (VLJs) like the Eclipse 500 are going to revolutionize air travel and create more job opportunites for pilots.

We made a trip down to the ultralight area to take a close look at some of the new light sport aircraft. The Flight Design CT did demo flights and I visited the company's display. I'd buy one of those incredibly quiet, fast little snub-nosed things right now if I had $80,000 to spare. I was impressed.

I thought the airshow today was much better than Thursday's. We were treated to flybys of the seven tri-motor airplanes that had gathered this year. Also, the Eclipse, Adam A700, and Cessna Mustang all did flybys. That was the first time I had seen any of them fly and it was exciting. The aerobatics were a little more exciting too. We didn't stay through the whole airshow because we wanted to avoid the major traffic. Even though we left early, there was still a traffic jam heading home on north 41.

Oh, I almost forgot, no day at AirVenture can be complete for me without one of those tall ice cream cones.

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