Mike Loehle Flies P-40 North to Oshkosh - First Official Loehle Squadron Flight to Oshkosh AirVenture
Mike has always wanted to JUST FLY to Oshkosh, instead of having to trailer the planes, tent, tables, chairs, etc., etc. This is the year!
Excitement has been building at the Loehle Aircraft factory for days. Sandy Loehle and sons, John and Matthew, will reluctantly miss the annual pilgrimage to the huge Oshkosh Fly-In AirVenture because school starts August 1. Meanwhile... Mike Loehle sees this as a wonderful opportunity to make one of his personal wishes come true----to get in one of the Loehle Aircraft light planes and fly the journey to Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
A few towns over... Jim Young, "5151" customer in Gainesboro, Tennessee , has recently completed a beautiful, very unique version of the "5151". Tentatively called the Loehle KW909, Jim's plane does not look like your usual "5151"... Is it a ME-109? Messerschmitt? Is it a FW-190 Focke-Wulf? The German winter camouflage paint scheme from the WWII Eastern Front makes for a very interesting aircraft. Jim has changed only cosmetics to create his own look in "fighter" aircraft, and has done quite a nice job! With the preliminary hours flown off, he's looking to claim some airspace toward the north.
6:00 am Thursday morning. July 19, 2001. Both pilots are waiting anxiously for the fog to lift and visibility to clear enough to take off. Will the thunderstorms from the west delay the departure to another day, or will it clear?
9:10 am Thursday. A familiar engine is heard as the P-40 is spotted circling overhead at "The Aviation Valley"...a fond farewell to the Loehle folks while Loehle Squadron Leader Mike Loehle points his snarling toothed P-40 toward Lebanon (Tennessee, that is!).
10:30 am Thursday. Mike and Jim rendezvous in their "warbirds" at Lebanon and a request for non-resistor spark plugs comes in to home base. It appears the new resistor plugs Jim installed is causing static instead of reducing it, and he's ready to go back to the old style plugs. Not a problem...flying on to Bowling Green, Kentucky.
12:15 pm Thursday. Long-time friend Jim White of Bowling Green meets Mike and Jim at the Bowling Green airport with plugs in hand, and transportation for lunch. Off toward Louisville. (Photos emailed in from Bowling Green, KY by Jim White)
3:00 pm Thursday. Scattered showers and headwinds makes Elizabethtown, Kentucky a welcome site. Topping off the fuel tanks here makes stopping at Bowman Field not necessary, although that was the original plan. Flexible. It's good to be flexible with flight plans.
5:00 pm Thursday. Weather clearing right away allows a nice casual wide path around the east side of Louisville...flying near Mike's old stomping grounds at E. P. "Tom" Sawyer Park (where he produced the Aeroplane and Aeroplane XP ultralights in the late 1970's and early 1980's). Crossing over into Indiana, they land at Clark County Airport.
7:45 pm Thursday. Mike and Jim decided to roll on to Greenwood Airport (just south of Indianapolis, Indiana) instead of making a fuel stop at Scottsburg or Seymour as they had originally planned. "Is sure a fine airport!" reports Mike. It was great to have hangar space for the night as pilots enjoyed visiting with some of Jim Young's relatives. The room at Holiday Inn Express is not the same as sleeping under the wing...
(Photos emailed from Greenwood, IN by Bill Young)
10:15 am Friday morning. Rested and ready, Jim and Mike decide to fly around the east side of Indianapolis to avoid the congestion and huge Indianapolis Airport around the southwest side.
Will they stop at Boone County for fuel? Will they be able to stop in and say hi to Carla Larsh at Larsh Field near Colfax? Or will they decide they best fly on to Kankakee? Stay tuned...
12:10 pm Friday. The Larsh Field looked quiet as they flew over...Carla is probably already at "The Barn" at the Ultralight Area of Oshkosh AirVenture. Fueled up at the Frankfort Airport. All is going well...seeing lots of Indiana countryside.
2:00 pm Friday. The "warbirds" (warlights?) crossed into Illinois and landed at the Koerner-Kankakee Airport (home of "the voice" of the Oshkosh ultralight pattern - Frank Beagle--and lots of interesting restoration projects and activities). Frank couldn't get away from work, but generously instructed either Kankakee Airport to take good care of Mike and Jim's fuel needs and whatever else they needed. Frank's wife was there to shoot lots of photos though...and we hope to be able to add them to the story. Frank also made a call to the airport at Morris (the next stop to the north) to make sure Jim and Mike had a ride into town since the Cafe 47 on the field closes at 3:00 pm ...missed that by just a little. Who wants to bet Frank is thinking about flying instead of working?? It's great to have good friends along the way!
(Photos emailed by Frank "Woof!" Beagle)
4:00 pm Friday. Quick stop at Morris, Illinois to catch some food...and then head north again to take advantage of the still clear weather toward Oshkosh.
7:20 pm Friday. Crossing into Wisconsin, our travelers find Lake Geneva Airport is closed at 5:00 pm. Didn't count on that! Figured this would be a good fuel stop. Fortunately, a very nice gentleman came to the rescue by getting fuel so Mike and Jim can be on their way to East Troy...concerned about there being not enough daylight left to get to Hartford, where "5151" builder Jay Herte is located.
7:31 pm Friday. The appeal of Jay's offer for a hangar overnight is compelling. Heading for Hartford. Running out of daylight, so no time for details.
8:21 pm Friday. Arrived safely at Hartford and it just so happened that as Mike and Jim entered the pattern, Jay was in the pattern, too, in his Republic Seabee amphibian! "Great way to end the day's flying! Couldn't be better!" says Mike. Planes are hangared, but hangar talk may continue for awhile!
(Photos emailed from Hartford, WI by Jay Herte)
10:00 am Saturday. Mike and Jim arrived at Oshkosh AirVenture, and were the first to park at the RFA area. Gary Gerber has already picked up their UPS packages (extra clothes, etc.) from Mail Boxes, Etc., and had them waiting for them. All is well!! What a great flight...and now for a fun week of acres of airplanes!!
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Jim and Mike had a great trip back as well...we hope to add that part of the story soon.