Apollo astronaut reunion set for Wisconsin’s EAA Air Venture
It’s been 50 years since the launching of the Apollo program that would eventually land humans on the moon, but the few men who blasted into space are still treated as rock stars.
Which is as it should be.
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo space program, the 2017 EAA AirVenture, which opens Monday, is organizing an astronaut reunion, a new exhibit at the EAA Aviation Museum featuring a moon rock brought back by Apollo 15 astronauts and a panel discussion Friday evening.
Organizers are expecting eight Apollo astronauts and Gene Kranz, the white vest-wearing NASA flight director who handled several of the moon landings.
Among the Apollo astronauts scheduled to attend AirVenture are Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon; Milwaukee native and Apollo 13 Commander James Lovell; his fellow Apollo 13 astronaut, Fred Haise; Frank Borman, commander of Apollo 8, which made a memorable trip to the moon on Christmas 1968; and Harrison Schmitt, the only geologist to walk on the moon.
“To have the majority of Apollo astronauts that are still with us here in Oshkosh will be a pretty big deal for us,” said Rick Larsen, EAA’s vice president of communities and member benefits, who coordinates AirVenture features and attractions.
The weeklong aviation convention begins Monday at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh.
“All of these guys started as aviators before they were astronauts, almost all on the military side, and a handful are really good friends of EAA. Once we started to talk to them about what we wanted to do, they took the ball and ran with it,” said Larsen
AirVenture draws thousands of planes each summer to Oshkosh, from the latest technology to vintage aircraft and warbirds, as well as pilots and aviation enthusiasts. They come come for the afternoon and evening air shows, to walk around military jets parked on the flight line, listen to lectures by famous aviators and aircraft designers, buy plane parts and fly drones in the large drone demonstration area.
Among the notable planes this year will be a large lineup of bombers — as the Air Force celebrates its 70th anniversary and the 8th Air Force observes its 75th. They include the A-20 Havoc, B-1 Lancer, B-2 Stealth, B-17 Flying Fortress, B-25 Mitchell, B-29 Superfortress and B-52 Stratofortress. Some of the bombers will fly throughout the week; on Saturday a unique formation flyby will feature a B-1, B-2 and B-52.
“You’ll see the history of the Air Force from World War II to present, from warbirds to the current generation,” Larsen said.
Other EAA AirVenture highlights:
The Blue Angels Navy flight demonstration team will make its first full appearance at AirVenture with six jets arriving during Wednesday’s afternoon air show. On Thursday, one of the pilots will speak at Warbirds in Review at 1 p.m., and four of the jets will fly an orientation flight at 5 p.m. The Blue Angels will perform its air show at 4 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday, among other appearances.
AirVenture will commemorate the 90th anniversary of Charles Lindbergh’s solo flight across the Atlantic and the 75th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid with lectures, appearances by Lindbergh and Doolittle family members and re-creations of the flights with vintage warbirds and a replica of the Spirit of St. Louis.
For the first time, AirVenture is scheduling a series of flying events at the ultralight area beginning at 8 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Twilight Flight Fest will feature demonstrations by fixed-wing ultralights, gyroplanes, powered parachutes, 3D radio-controlled planes and powered parachutes as well as the Paradigm Aerobatic Team.
source:-https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2017/07/22/apollo-astronaut-reunion-set-wisconsins-eaa-airventure/486299001/
