Not Just Aircraft To See

As Sun ‘n Fun gears up to start, aircraft enthusiasts and their campers are showing up and filling the campgrounds on the airport.  Cruising around recently, I spotted some unique non-aviation sights to see. 1950 Flxible (not a typo) Flyer bus, restored and converted to a motorhome.  The original gasoline engine was removed and replaced with diesel.  That’s the owner’s other toy next to the bus. A Nash Metropolitan convertible from around 1956-1958, beautifully restored.   Named the Redneck Tiki Bar, this older RV sitting in the closest row to the runway, sports a beach sunset scene, complete with palm trees, in the graphics on the sides.  Tiki torches outside complement the ‘decor’.   Please comment below, even if...

Tucson – Pima Air Museum Redux

  For those of you who are readers of this site, you may remember when we visited the Pima Air and Space Museum on our last trip to Tucson a year ago. Yes, you know who you are. Ellen was having some leg issues then and I had to push her around in a loaner wheelchair outside. Because the ground wasn’t conducive to the narrow wheels, I couldn’t see nearly what I wanted of the many aircraft stationed around outside on part of the eighty acres of the facility. We did, however, get to look around at the displays inside the several large hangars there. So I was determined to revisit the museum and stroll the grounds and see some of the many aircraft I missed last time. Ellen’s leg is much better this year so it was a go. Actually, I wanted to...

Carolinas Aviation Museum Is Worth A Visit

Parked on the ramp as we walked outside the main hangar of the Carolinas Aviation Museum at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport was a rare piece of 1950s aviation history, a restored Douglas Aircraft DC-7B painted in Eastern Airlines livery. Based out of Opa Locka, Florida, the restored four engine aircraft was the last prop airliner developed by Douglas Aircraft before the advent of jet airliners. It had been flown to Charlotte in November 2011 by retired US Airways pilot Sully Sullenberger and his Flight 1549 First Officer Jeff Skiles. But, on takeoff to return to Florida, the aircraft lost oil pressure in one engine and had to return to Charlotte where it still sits, an extra bonus to visiting the museum, waiting for parts and repairs.   As you walk...

Something New and Exciting at BarryOnTheRoad.com

After weeks of research and work, we’re rolling out some exciting changes on the site, and we hope you get as excited as we are.  So, please take a few moments to check out some of the new features. If you’re tired of bouncing around the internet checking here, there and everywhere for travel deals, you can stop now.  With our new affiliation with One Travel, you only need to go to one place for the prices on airfares, rental cars and accomodations you’re looking for. You can simply click over there on the right column where you see Airfare Deals! Or you can click on Hotel Deals! And so on. (Sometimes I will have special coupon codes here in the sidebar, so it’s a good idea to check the sidebar first!) Planning a trip or thinking about a...

Pictures from AirVenture Oshkosh 2012

The Storm Arrives – AirVenture Begins

  As opening day approached, our days began to fill with errands: a trip to Sam’s Club in Appleton for sliced cheese, pretzels, carrots, celery and butter (actually margarine because we don’t use mayonnaise on the sandwiches since we have to deliver them around the field from coolers and are concerned that the mayonnaise might not hold up.) There were other trips to a large local grocery for potato chips – seventy-five cases of them (two trips actually because we didn’t have the capability of carrying all of them at once. And trips to a nearby cookie plant for cases and cases of various kinds of cookies. Everything had to be in place well beforehand. Although the event didn’t officially open until Monday, July 23, we had to hit the...