Oshkosh-Day 3.

Arriving back at Camp, we found our stuff even wetter than the night before. I set the sleeping bags out on the Mustang to dry and settled in in my clothes to stay warm. We'd heard from the Shuttle driver that the rain was finished for the week and I hoped the bags would dry out overnight if not the next day.

I was wrong...I awoke at 2:20 am to the sound of rain, raindrops dripping on my stomach thru the tent. Shazbot! I had to urinate. I put on my flip-flops, grabbed my flashlight and avoiding puddles and muddy areas, made my way to the Porta-potty. Getting old isn't for sissys!

Sky was awake when I came back. He had to go too. Our spirits were about broken. The only saving grace was his scheduled B-17 ride in the morning.

We slept fitfully thru the night, wrung out our clothes and headed off to breakfast.

The Mustang, wet towels and sleeping bags line the muddy road to the showers.

We ate at the Roxy again. Nothing great but at least it was hot. Then walked over and checked in for his ride. They said I could ride with him up to Appleton in the van and I gladly accepted.

Getting to Appleton, we were dismayed to see the first flight of the day people still there but ecstatic to see the B-17 pilots, Ken and Lorraine Morris. I had emailed Lorraine a couple of weeks before Oshkosh to ask if the would be flying the airplane together. She said yes and gave me their schedule and I had booked one of these flights for Sky.

We talked to Ken outside the airplane for a while and then seeing Lorraines silhouette in the cockpit, made our way to the entrance in the tail and upfront to the cockpit.

Sky and Lorraine in the cockpit of the EAA's B-17 "Aluminum Overcast."

Lorraine then told me to get upfront and switched places with me in the crowded flightdeck.

Capt'n Sky at the controls of the B-17, numbly assisted by his first officer.

Ken explaining the big fan on the left wing of the B-17.

The ceiling finally rose enough they could go fly and the first flight was off!

They came back 25 minutes later and now it was Sky's turn!

Ken and Lorraine Morris maneuver the big Boeing on the taxiway at Appleton.

Sky guards the sky against the wily Hun during his B-17 flight.

Sky disembarks after his B-17 ride.

On the ride back to Oshkosh, we decided to have lunch, pack up and head down to Madison

back to a hotel. The temp that night was supposed to get down to 55 f and I didn't was us getting hypothermia at Oshkosh.

We had lunch, made plans to leave right after the Warbird portion of the show.

We stayed just long enough for me to catch the EAA's P-64 making fly-by's. I had seen it fly in the 70's, maybe early 80's but it had been grounded since due to it being a one-of-a-kind airplane.

We said goodbye to our friends and packed up the Mighty Mustang. On the drive to Madison, we called the hotel and made a reservation. Had a great burger across the street at Daly's Bar and Grill and settled in for a good, WARM and DRY nights sleep.