Jay Honeck
Touchdown! Greaser!
Okay, boys and girls -- Oshkosh is just 12 weeks away, so here's the first announcement of our annual HOPS Party. Mark it on your calendar!
First off, before anyone asks, "HOPS" stands for "Homebuilding, Owning, Piloting, and Student" -- the four main piloting newsgroups from back in the old Usenet days. Yes, that's how long we've been throwing this party -- jeez, we're getting old!
(The party began back in the 1990s as a way for everyone off the newsgroups to see/meet/greet the people they had spent so much time with on-line. With the demise of Usenet, and the migration of pilots to other on-line groups, the party continues as a way for people from P of A, AOPA, Cherokee Chat, and other groups to do the same thing.)
Here's how it works: On Wednesday, after the airshow, we all gather at our campsite** in the North 40 aircraft campground to celebrate another great year of flying, and to put faces with names.
"Admission" to the party is a 6-pack of your favorite micro-brewed beer from back home -- wherever home may be. This is placed into a common cooler so that everyone can enjoy the best beers from all across America.
Each beer is subject to the same harsh rating system that every pilot's landings are at OSH -- the crowd can be tough. Extra points are usually awarded if you can't see through the beer, but a good, crisp, light wheat beer is always appreciated, too.
Food is provided (ask an early HOPS party attendee what used to happen before we started serving food -- it wasn't always pretty!
) at the site, and the party lasts until the last person leaves, the beer is gone, or the Wisconsin mosquitoes descend upon us -- whichever comes first.
It's a very low-key, open-house style thing, and a helluva lot of fun. This will be our 30th consecutive Oshkosh fly-in (knock on wood), and I hope you can make it!
--
Jay & Mary
** How does one find a campsite in the North 40? Since OSH arrivals are "first come, first served", there is no way to "reserve" a camping spot -- which makes finding someone's site a chore.
Thankfully, in recent years EAA has computerized the process, making things MUCH easier. Just stop at the EAA campground building (at the entrance to the North 40), and give them our tail number: N56993. With this they will be able to vector you directly to our site -- no GPS required.
Remember that the campground building is run by volunteers, and often closes early -- so don't bank on being able stop there "on the way" to the party. Checking before the airshow starts ensures success!
First off, before anyone asks, "HOPS" stands for "Homebuilding, Owning, Piloting, and Student" -- the four main piloting newsgroups from back in the old Usenet days. Yes, that's how long we've been throwing this party -- jeez, we're getting old!
(The party began back in the 1990s as a way for everyone off the newsgroups to see/meet/greet the people they had spent so much time with on-line. With the demise of Usenet, and the migration of pilots to other on-line groups, the party continues as a way for people from P of A, AOPA, Cherokee Chat, and other groups to do the same thing.)
Here's how it works: On Wednesday, after the airshow, we all gather at our campsite** in the North 40 aircraft campground to celebrate another great year of flying, and to put faces with names.
"Admission" to the party is a 6-pack of your favorite micro-brewed beer from back home -- wherever home may be. This is placed into a common cooler so that everyone can enjoy the best beers from all across America.
Each beer is subject to the same harsh rating system that every pilot's landings are at OSH -- the crowd can be tough. Extra points are usually awarded if you can't see through the beer, but a good, crisp, light wheat beer is always appreciated, too.
Food is provided (ask an early HOPS party attendee what used to happen before we started serving food -- it wasn't always pretty!
) at the site, and the party lasts until the last person leaves, the beer is gone, or the Wisconsin mosquitoes descend upon us -- whichever comes first. It's a very low-key, open-house style thing, and a helluva lot of fun. This will be our 30th consecutive Oshkosh fly-in (knock on wood), and I hope you can make it!
--
Jay & Mary
** How does one find a campsite in the North 40? Since OSH arrivals are "first come, first served", there is no way to "reserve" a camping spot -- which makes finding someone's site a chore.
Thankfully, in recent years EAA has computerized the process, making things MUCH easier. Just stop at the EAA campground building (at the entrance to the North 40), and give them our tail number: N56993. With this they will be able to vector you directly to our site -- no GPS required.
Remember that the campground building is run by volunteers, and often closes early -- so don't bank on being able stop there "on the way" to the party. Checking before the airshow starts ensures success!
