AOPA Pilot Blog: Reporting Points

There’s a 1939 Junkers JU 52 putt-putting above the Atlantic Ocean right now, on its way for a U.S.-Canada tour and a stay in the main square at EAA AirVenture July 23 to 29. You can track its crossing here .   (It’s in Greenland as I write this.)   Soon you shall know the name Rimowa. That’s the name of a suitcase company in Germany that is sponsoring the tour. The aircraft gives rides in Switzerland for a tourist company called JU-Air, but now it is making the first Atlantic crossing of this model since 1937. The CEO of Rimowa is aboard and since he is a pilot, he is undoubtedly taking a turn at the controls of this 95-knot airplane. Way back when, the Rimowa suitcase was designed to mimic the corrugated aluminum of the Junkers because it was the most modern, toughest construction of its time. Can TSA  X-ray an aluminum suitcase, or do they need a hand inspection?  Anybody know? The suitcases are in the luxury category and cost from $450 to $1,500, depending on size.

Back in December, Matt Pipkin’s Commit 65 project–an endurance flight in which he and his dad will seek to remain aloft 65 days nonstop–was just starting to gather steam. Matt had a clear vision of what he wanted to accomplish and he knew he had a lot of work ahead of him.

I’ve kept tabs on Matt and Commit 65 via Twitter, and yesterday I got to meet him in person here at AirVenture. Thanks to the generosity of EAA, Commit 65 scored a booth in the Innovation Center. And they didn’t come empty-handed.

Some months ago, Commit 65 procured an essential component of the flight: an airplane. The Pipkins removed the wings from the 1958 Cessna 172 and trailered it to Oshkosh. The trip wasn’t without its issues. Rough roads in Wyoming jolted the trailer so much that a mount snapped. Attempting to reattach the wings, something slipped and a flap was damaged. But Matt wasn’t fazed. (Not too much, anyway.) After all, he told me, the airplane needs an engine overhaul, avionics, and a new prop anyway. What’s a couple more dings and dents here and there?

As the campaign builds momentum–and it has gained quite a bit, Matt said, thanks to national press and fundraisers in Boise–he’s continuing to work toward raising public awareness of childhood sexual abuse by incorporating other “out-of-the-box” ideas. One of these is a multi-college campaign in which students at 65 colleges around the nation would participate in an endurance challenge (Matt’s thinking paddle ball played while standing on a chair). The challenge would culminate with a 65-second “moment of noise” (as opposed to moment of silence), because Matt’s hope in raising awareness is to convince victims of sexual abuse to “speak their silence” and free themselves of guilt and pain. Now that’s what I call out of the box.

I blog today in praise of the ice cream and hamburger joint in Oshkosh known as Ardy and Ed’s. It is to the body’s circulatory system what concrete is to the builder, yet it is an essential risk. A root beer float shoveled between the lips near Lake Winnebago is the same as cabernet savignon sipped in Napa Valley. I take pills to fight what Ardy and Ed serve, and yet I return again and again. Drivers passing by get high cholesterol just from breathing the air, even when speeding. Fry my burger in a river of grease, Ardy. Pour me a bucket of root beer, Ed. Roto-Rooter will clear my veins.

CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE (Photo by Alton K. Marsh)