AirVenture Day 7 (Sunday)

Today was a light visitor day. By mid afternoon many vendors and displays across the airport were showing signs of packing up.

Above is the welcome table just inside the IAMA tent where we were all set up with our displays.

Dwight washes his hands at the portable sink. Note that he is pressing the pump with his foot to make water come out of the tap.  Pretty nifty contraption!

Pictured below is out host couple, Terry and Trish Jacobson who so graciously opened up their home for our week here. Jim Newman from MMS also stayed here along with two other missionaries who stayed Monday and Tuesday.

We are now done and preparing to travel home tomorrow (Monday). We will wash clothes, repack and head out to IN for a family reunion for a few days.

AirVenture Days 5 and 6 (Friday and Saturday)

The days have been long and busy so am combining two days in this blog. We leave the house where we are staying, around 6:30 AM and get back around 8:30 PM.
Please pray for an aviation maintenance student I (Rena) talked with on Friday.  He had no understanding of the scope of aviation used in missions and as I began to talk to him he began to understand the need out there. While sharing with him about the possibility that God may touch his heart with the desire to be involved, his eyes began to tear up. I believe God has already begun a work in his heart.

We have had some free time during the day when Jim and Tim work at the table, to look at airplanes, watch some acrobatic airplanes, and visit some vendors and exhibitors.

This is on the baggage door of an older Cessna 210 

AirVenture Day 4 (Thursday)

It's the 75th anniversary of the Douglas DC-3 design. A milestone such as this doesn't go unnoticed by the planners of AirVenture, so there is an emphasis on the type this year. The first DC-3s were civilian planes built for airline service. An excellent example is the DC-3 in American Airlines colors pictured below.

Most Dc-3s were military, and although there were several model designations, the vast majority were C-47s--affectionately called the Gooney Bird. The C-47 pictured below had a full civilian career after World War II as a DC-3C and was a missionary plane operated a time in Columbia, South America by JAARS.

My biggest thrill was discovering that the DC-3 I maintained in Bolivia for five years in the late 1970s and early '80s was here at AirVenture. I hadn't seen the plane in more than 28 years and had no idea where it was or if it still was flying. On Wednesday afternoon I discovered where the plane was parked and hoofed it nearly a mile to see it. The next morning Rena and I took the trams (yellow tram to the end of its line, then the blue tram) to visit the plane together. The owner was there and invited us to look inside which was a much bigger thrill for me than it was for Rena. The years we were in Bolivia serving with JAARS were wonderful years and it was a special blessing for me to connect again with the airplane I maintained there.

Air Venture Day 3 (Wednesday)

Yes, it is Friday and I am running a little behind on posting information.  We have had some very productive conversations at our MMS display with some young adults who are very interested in serving with mission aviation. It is so encouraging to see how God is working in these lives.

When the Good Year Blimp flew over the tent, it was fun to run outside and take a picture.  It flies around the area all day. This particular fly over was quite low. In addition there are many planes flying around, some in formation, others doing stunts. There is an airshow every afternoon. This is the busiest airport in the world for one week out of every year. At times we need to stop talking because no one can make themselves heard. Typically there are 1,500 airplanes here for Air Venture. Air Venture is the largest fly-in in the world and there are visitors from all over the world. We can see acres full of airplanes, campers, exhibition booths, shops and even a flea market called the "fly market".

"Are they earrings or paper clips?", "are they free?" are the most asked questions I get when visitors see them on our display table. Michele (see previous blog picture) came up with the idea at Air Venture last year when she saw the airplane paper clips in one the stores. She bought some earring hooks and slid them on the paper clips. I carried on the idea this year and made some to give away at our display table. They have been a popular item.

This is a military Drone. It is a lot larger than I thought. They seem smaller on TV. Dwight said that these particular Drones are the ones that drop bombs which are typically larger than the spy Drones.

Want to catch a shuttle?  These shuttles are pulled by John Deere tractors throughout the airport.  I have been especially appreciative of these since we can't bring transportation inside the fence surrounding Air Venture.

Dwight is real excited about somethng he found here at Air Venture and he will show you on our next bog.

Air Venture Day 2

MASA

Pictured below is our MMS group at Air Venture in Oshkosh, WI. With the exception of Michele, we are manning the MMS display. Michele is on loan to MASA as their diningroom supervisor and is busier than the rest of us.

Michele, Tim, Jim, Dwight, Rena

MASA (Missionary Avation Support Association) is a local ministry started to help the missionaries who come to Air Venture. Some years ago, missonaires were considering the fact that it was too expensive to be able to find housing, food etc. in order to have a presence at Air Venture each year. One local man asked if he could help missionaires get these needs supplied, could the missionaries continue to come? The answer was "yes" and MASA was born. This year there are about 200 aviation missionaries and Christian University reps. here at Air Venture, representing 28 entities. MASA arranges free housing in Christian homes, supplies all our meals (different church groups have signed up to cook a meal and feed us), provides cars for those who flew here, and has people meet us at the airport and etc. We have been so pampered.

The entrance to the MASA tent which is located just outside one of the entrances to AirVenture

Baggage check in - they think of everything!

You can see the diningroom tent behind. A storm last night destroyed the baggage tent and some of it ended up on top of the diningroom tent. A new tent is on its way today.

Inside the dinningroom tent

Rena and Erica

It was fun to run into Erica again. You may remember on an earlier blog, that Erica, along with other LeTourneau student volunteers spent their Spring break at MMS helping in the hangar. Eric and another student stayed with us. This week Erica is helping the LeTourneau repesentatives at their table in the IAMA tent.

Air Venture Day 1

Today has been busy with our first day of manning our display table in the IAMA (International Association of Missionary Aviation) tent. Twenty six missionary organizations are represented here under the IAMA organization. We are only a very small part of the whole scope of Air Venture. Five of us MMSers are here - Dwight, me (Rena), Jim,Tim and Michelle.

Tim and Jim talk with an inquirer

Dwight chats with Paul Matovitch, a former MMS graduate who served with MAF