airventure

yesterday, g and i made the 3 1/2 hour trip to oshkosh, wisconsin with a couple friends of ours.  oshkosh is home to EAA AirVenture, dubbed "the world's greatest aviation celebration".  the main reason for the trip was to see the 787 Dreamliner, boeing's newest (and long awaited) aircraft.

we left early in the morning and arrived in oshkosh, stuck in traffic, just as the dreamliner was circling to land at wittman regional airport at 9am.  we were able to get some pretty good views of the 787 as it circled over top of us.  it was pretty exciting and we definitely were not the only ones with our cameras hanging out the car windows!

once we arrived, we walked towards the control tower, where the dreamliner was parked nearby.  though the public tours weren't to start for another hour, a long line was beginning to form.  we snapped a few photos close up and then made our way to queue up to step onboard the very first 787.

the sun was extremely hot, but thankfully there was a breeze that relieved us occasionally while we stood in the line.  we were happy to realize they started letting people tour the aircraft prior to the 12:00 scheduled time.  two hours had passed before we finally reached the roped-in part of the line.  we were getting close!  unfortunately that part of the line was still a 90-minute wait time.  ARGH!  but the EAA volunteers were very nice and provided water to those of us who had been standing in line for such a long time.

finally, after driving north 3 1/2 hours and then waiting in line for 3 1/2 hours, it was our turn to walk onboard the boeing 787 dreamliner!!  we had learned earlier in the day that this particular aircraft was an experimental test plane and would never be sold to an airline.  as a result, the inside of the plane was not configured for passengers.  while that disappointed me a little, it was still neat to walk onto the aircraft and just see it's size, the new technology available, and all the modern touches that come with the 787.

here are some pictures i took of the 787 dreamliner:

unfortunately, after waiting for such a long time and
then touring the aircraft, we had to head back to the city soon afterwards.  it was still a great time and i'm glad that we went!  oh...and i look like a lobster!  i'm so burnt!