Group Photo of RV-8(A) Crew at OSH

While suffering from Post-OSH let down, I went through my photos. Here is a group photo my Sweet Baby took of the RV-8(A) builders and pilots who met at the Theater in the Woods on Monday morning. It was great to put real live faces with the names. It was also a fantastic opportunity for builders to get help and advice from so many other 8 guys.

Thanks for posting that, Steve. I started those Theater in the Woods meetings many years ago, and I've seen a lot of RV-8(A) builders successfully transition from builders to pilots over the ensuing decade or more. Time sure flies.

I was tickled to see such a great turnout of builders/pilots on Monday. With so little lead time, it was a pleasure to see such a crowd already assembled when I strolled up. Some years we only had a handful of builders, some years dozens. It was great to meet some builders whose names I recognized from here on VAF.

If I think about it in time next year, I'll get the notice out earlier so that more builders can plan on attending. It will be a big year for Van's Aircraft at Oshkosh next year!

Thanks, Steve! That meet-up will be a treasured memory from OSH 2011.

(And it looks like floppy hats are gaining ground as a fashion accessory in the RV-8 community...)

Wow, there were a lot of us!

Thanks Steve

What do you think about some 8(A) forums next year?

I have had great times at the 8(A) confabs each year at the Theater in the Woods. However, the only down side is that we usually clot into several groups of about 4-5 guys each. We have great discussions, but I often wonder if I am missing something just as great in one of the other groups.

I have an idea. What if we scheduled two back to back forums one day for 8(A) folks. The first forum would be for 8(A) builders and would include interesting build topics, like gluing your canopy, painting issues or wiring schemes. The following forum would feature completed RVs (of all types) and discuss topics such as ongoing maintenance. That forum could also feature trip reports from studs who have accomplished some amazing RV trips, like Rosie Rosales, earth rounder Bill Randolph and Vic Syracuse.

The value of these forums is that all attendees could hear what is going on in the RV world. While the Vans forums are certainly lively and interesting, these new forums could be more of a grass roots product of us builders and pilots in the trenches.

Just a thought. If people are interested, I would be happy to try to organize the forums. What say you troops?