Tag Archives: Chicago

Flying Fun: Wisconsin’s Best Export

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A flying car, night air shows, and veggie options show AirVenture’s inclusiveness

An RV-4 homebuilt settles in for its AirVenture visit. Builders and owners often camp with their planes.

An RV-4 homebuilt settles in for its AirVenture 2013 visit. Builders and owners often camp with their planes. Courtesy: EAA

The foremost aviation gathering is now underway in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Seven days, 10,000 aircraft, 500,000 people, nine air shows including two at night, 800 exhibitors, and over 900 registered media are all you need to know that the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture event (July 29-August 4) is the world’s largest fly-in and convention.

This year is the 61st annual gathering of the most diverse collection of aircraft in the world. From the very rare vintage, warbird, and one-of-a-kinds; to thousands of familiar production aircraft to the thousands of homebuilt (amateur-built) aircraft that EAA was first founded to promote.

Wisconsinites know it as “The Big Air Show” but its much more than that as its the largest gathering of aviation enthusiasts and the most democratic as anyone can fly-in. Of EAA’s 170,000 worldwide members only a fraction actually attend with most wishing they could.

But as has been the case for the last 16 years, you can attend via EAA Radio which began its seven days of live programming at 6 a.m Central time today (July 29).

  • Listen to EAA Radio to hear 24/7 coverage of all the events on the field, as well as interviews and diverse programming. EAA Radio also has a live video feed from their studios. LISTEN

(program note: I will be returning as a guest host on EAA Radio July 29 and Aug 1-4 12-1 p.m. Central time)

  • Watch the live tower cameras that show sweeping views of north, central, and south parking and runway approaches. WATCH
  •  Watch the Air Show camera that follows the daily air show live. You especially don’t want to miss the night air show. WATCH
  • Watch Theater In The Woods, EAA’s evening programming. WATCH
  • Listen to the Air Traffic Controllers handle the rush via LiveATC.net. LISTEN

EAA Radio: Hear how controllers sequence arriving aircraft

Visit EAA’s multimedia site AirVenture LIVE

The Day Meigs Field Died

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Airfield’s destruction testament to the scourge of absolute power

Meigs Field on the morning of the destruction. Current Mayor Rahm Immanuel ratified Daley's actions as recently as last fall when he announced new plans for the Northerly Island.

Meigs Field on the morning of the destruction. Current Mayor Rahm Immanuel ratified Daley’s actions as recently as last fall when he announced new plans for  Northerly Island. Courtesy: Chicago Sun-Times

Northerly Island is a north-south peninsula off the Chicago lakefront just south of Navy Pier. From 1948 to 2003 it was the location of Meigs Field a 4,000 foot runway and airport that served downtown Chicago.

For a city like Chicago, Meigs was a jewel of the lakefront, a unique feature that also had key functionality for commerce, government, and recreation. The field could land anything up to eight-passenger business jets and prop-driven airliners and allowed direct access to downtown Chicago for business travelers, government employees flown-in from the state capital, and tourists.

However, in the early morning of March 30, 2003, Mayor Richard Daley sent bulldozers to tear-up the field under the guise of 9/11 security concerns, a dubious claim since large airliners never used Meigs. Ironically, the airport’s closure also closed the tower on the field thus removing controlled airspace over the downtown area that only exists when the tower is open.

This is the story of one Air Traffic Controller who came to work that morning to find his office being destroyed before his eyes.  Continue reading →