By Phillip Johnson, EAA 378381, Tech Counsellor and chapter liaison
Camping at AirVenture 2023 was different this year in that EAA granted the Canadian Council a consolidated location for up to 50 campsites in my usual camping location just North of the Fly-In Theatre. For almost 12 months, the Canadian Council worked with EAA to make this happen. We had a couple of wrinkles as a result of some confusion, but after a rocky start and some compromises made by all parties, everyone had a fantastic time.
My wife, Lois, and our golden retriever Molly and I arrived on Thursday afternoon and were one of the first to arrive following only Murry Manning and Jim Farmer.
The goal of the campsite was to have Canadians from across Canada get together with a common theme, “Canadian Aviation” and that certainly happened. The Council specifically focussed on having a spot within the campsite, where everyone could get together in the evening and mingle. We set up a horseshoe arrangement of motorhomes and travel trailers with a common grass area in the middle with two picnic tables and many chairs under the awnings of the campers. Sharing common coolers, BBQs, and USB charging stations attracted many of the campers to an evening of eating, drinking and song, yes, we even had a guitar playing with Ian Brown and Murry Manning singing many of the old favourites.
Sunday evening brought a BBQ for all Canadians at AirVenture, not from just at the Canadian campsite, but from all over AirVenture. I had a buddy of mine “Mikey” bring in extra picnic tables for the event and he did not let us down. Raquel Lincoln (Chair for the Canadian Council) flipped more than 150 burgers and sausages and was like the Energizer Bunny once she stood in front of the BBQ.
The morning after the BBQ, Mikey came back for the picnic tables but left us two for the remainder of the event. They were well used providing a breakfast table and dinner table for many of the campers.
Wednesday morning yielded the Canadian breakfast, held at the Pixie tent over by the nature centre. The night had been very stormy and there was much water to drain off. Many thought the breakfast would be cancelled but, that did not happen.
Everyone just moved away from the puddles and enjoyed the breakfast sponsored by C-Plan insurance.
Last two photographs, courtesy of Mark Richardson, president of EAA Chapter 245, Ottawa.
Monday morning brought our aviation/camping holiday to a close as we headed off back to Ottawa with an overnight stay in Sault St. Marie. In a couple of months, the Canadian Council will be addressing Canadian Camping 2024 so please keep a lookout for postings for this event once we enter the new year.