The Annual Migration of the Domesticated Aviator...

And it begins...the 2013 migration to Oshkosh for Airventure.  10,000 plus airplanes and 500,000 aviation enthusiasts at what will be one of the world's busiest airport this next week.  Can't make it this year but maybe in 2014.  And of course one day...to realize every homebuilder's dream...to fly their own creation into OSH.

This was at noon today...all the blue aircraft are headed to Oshkosh.

at 1pm...

and around 5:30pm...still going strong...

Whooo Hooo!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year...

Well, I'm not as far along on the Cozy as I had hoped to be by now...18 mths after starting...but Sunday is a new year and a good time for a fresh start.  I can hear the fuselage in the garage calling out to me in an eerie voice...come back to work.  Most of my down time during the Christmas holiday has been spent catching up on old household honey-do's, the post Christmas clean-up, and researching what to do with my apparently failed septic drain field, and oh yea...I have a fence to fix before it falls down...what fun!

Even Santa Has to Refuel for the Long Hauls

I am however energized for the new year, ready to get in better shape, make solid progress on my Cozy dream, and figure out what I'm going to do after I retire from the USAF sometime in the next 18 mths...scary but exciting.

Take each day as it comes, focus only on the minute at hand, find the good in it all, and leave the past...well...in the past.

Merry Christmas & Happy 2012!

cab

Ever Dreamed of Living With Your Airplane?

  

While at Oshkosh, we walked around and talked with Residential Airpark vendors to see what it would take to be able to live some day in a community of pilots & planes with their own runway.  There weren't too many represented but wow, the ones that were there were great.

Heaven"s Landing is the one we liked the most.  Probably not by accident...also likely the more expensive...what can I say, we have good taste.  What better place to live than "Heaven" ?

The lots are nestled in the foothills of Northern Georgia, about 3 miles from the town of Clayton.  Surrounded by a big lake, huge National Forest, Tallulah Gorge (biggest gorge in the East), and only 90 mins from Atlanta if you need some big city life.
There are lots up on the hillside, in which case you get a hanger in the ramp area, and there are lots along the taxiway, which of course means you get your hanger right with your house.  The clubhouse is beautiful, the hangers all have full baths and are big enough to have living areas in them, plus they look like regular buildings and not hangars.  The picture is a row of hangars.  It's double decked with a taxiway going up the backside, and the front opening at the bottom below the top balconies.  Way cool!

Maybe some day.    http://www.heavenslanding.com/index.htm

Onward,
cab

Only 27 days to Oshkosh 2011...

I'm making my first trip to aviation paradise this year...Oshkosh 2011...and I can't wait.  For me and 650,000 of my closest friends, this is a special year as they will be celebrating Burt Rutan's retirement, the man responsible for canard homebuilt aircraft and so many other unique designs including what is about to become the first commercial space vehicle, Spaceship One and the White Knight Mothership.  The legendary Bob Hoover and Gen Chuck Yeager will be there, many different workshops and lectures to attend, I can scope out my future avionics systems, and of course I'll have 100+ other canards to look at and take pictures of design features I want to incorporate into my Cozy.  Did I say I was excited...Check out the video below for a sneek peak at the Greatest Aviation Celebration in the World.

Onward.

Things to Do in My Cozy...Bahamas!

Once in a while you need to remember why your taking on this challenge.  I'm sure frustrating times are ahead, especially when I get to the engine and electrical....not my specialty.

Just the opportunity to fly something you actually built will be great satisfaction but it's the places you can go, the things you can see, the fun you can have, and the people you do it with that is the real reward for the effort.

So, every once in a while I'll add some motivation that I can review during those times when the building gets slow and it seems like I'll never get there.

Click the link to the right to visit one of the places the Baker-Cozy can take us...Bahamas

cab

2010 Rough River Canard Fly-In

The one thing I was really looking forward to by being captured in Ohio for 10 weeks was the chance to attend the annual Canard Fly-In at Rough River State Park in Kentucky.  It is thought to be the largest gathering of canard aircraft in the world.  At least nobody has challenged that yet.  This year there were approximately 68 aircraft on hand with the farthest flown from New Mexico.  The non-flying attendees that came the farthest were from Australia!

It was really the first time I had ever been around any significant numbers of canard owners and builders.  What a great group to be associated with!  Each one willing to answer questions and explain thier approach to solving various challenges.  There were some wonderful planes to look at and great learning and inspiration to be had for a builder.  Before I left I grabbed a reservation in the last cottage available for next years event. 

I can't offer enough thanks to my new friend Nick Ugolini for showing me around.  He advertised for a roommate to split expenses and ended up showing me around and introducing me to others.  He probably felt like he had found a lost puppy and wasn't sure how to get rid of him.  Nick was was extremely patient and even offered me valuable "Nick's Nugget's" of advice to help my build.  To top it all off, Nick gave me my first official canard flight in his Long EZ.  What a blast !  That ride will stick with me a long time.   Thanks Nick!

Here are some more pictures of the great weekend.

Chad