I have flown into Oshkosh 30 times and camped with my plane. It is the greatest airventure of its kind

10,000 airplanes

Oshkosh Arrival scary the first time flying in

This Ercoupe won three BEST IN TYPE Awards at Oshkosh

My 1946 Oshkosh Award winning Ercoupe 2701H

2002 Glass Goose Amphibian built by Tom Olson

Dad's airplane that didn't make it to Oshkosh

Airplane Toyboxes from TJs Flying Circus

The Original Airplane Toy Box

Airplane Toy boxes were created because I didn't have time to build a peddle plane for my 5 year old sons birthday.  The peddle planes you see at EAA are fantastic and the plans are very detailed.  The plans are overwhelming and my Dad (Grandpa Olson) and I only had a couple weeks to build an airplane for my son TJ birthday.  The peddle plane looked like the same amount of time to build as my  ultralight. which took a year.  We bought a piece of plywood on Saturday, a sixpack of beer and created plans on a napkin to create the first airplane toybox.  It took a weekend to build and a weekend to paint.

Click Here for all the airplane toybox models.  What I am most proud of is that Paul Poberezny posed with his P51 airplane toy box in his basement with two thumbs up.  KidVenture also has a couple Christian Eagles toy boxes at Oshkosh and the EAA Chapter house usually has theirs out on the deck for kids to play in.  You can paint or body wrap toy boxes.  You can build your own Airplane Toybox out of a sheet of plywood using detailed plans for $20 (call 515-620-9585) or build it with free plans 

Favorite Airplane Toy Box - Founders plane

Chapter House Airplane ToyBox donted to EAA

Peoples Choice airplane toy box

Heaven is like camping at Ohkosh

What Heaven will be like

I remember every tent I ever slept in. My Dad and I went fishing in 1960's near Alexandria, MN and slept in a green army surplus type tent which had a musty smell of oiled canvas which ment high adventure to me.  I have the first tent I bought myself in the 1970s for Oshkosh I've used it 30 times at Oshkosh.   I flew into Oshkosh and slept under the wing of the Ercoupe at least 30 times with different friends and family.  Pictured here is my beautiful wife Marilyn and youngest son, TJ.   I can't bear to let the memories in the orange pup-tent with broken poles go.

I love waking up to revele at 7AM each morning at Oshkosh, now AirVenture.  It is a magical sense of adventure that comes naturally to any young boy and me.  There is nothing like stepping out of your tent and discovering a whole new world of aviaton.  This is why people vacation in beautiful places like Oshkosh.  It holds the secret to the stories you love.  No politics or fake news, just the sounds and smell of airplanes and visiting with people sharing the fruits of the spirit.  This is what heaven is going to be like landing at and stepping into a whole new fairy-tale world. Yes, I believe there will be an airport in heaven there for your tin mistress.  You won't need a hangar.  Airplanes will all be lined up for everyone to see and go "Ooh, Ah, Wow.  Can you imagine taking Jesus flying in your award winning airplane?

Lake Elmo 21D Hangar

My Icarus V was scratch built in early 1970's. It was day and night working on the project for probably a year.  I flew hanglider once off a long sloping hill in McKnight Park across the I 94 freeway from 3M Corporation.  I added en engine and took off from the Lake Elmo airport crashed it.   I rebuilt and recovered it with a new paint scheme you see here hanging on wall.  I have a broad based interest in aviation.  As you can see in the photo there are R/C airplanes hanging up.  My first R/C,  a 1930s Trixter Beam and smaller balsa model I built from a kit.  My Tin Mistress, a 1946 Ercoupe has the 65HP Continental engine off for painting and also allowing me to polish the firewall.  That's tedious work but worth it making it an award winner Ercoupe at Oshkosh and other National Airshows.

The two Icarus V wings are hanging up on back wall (looks like art) with a second new paint design after recovering from the last crash.   Lot's of painting; lot's of newspaper and tape and personal touch.  A new gold hang cage can be seen lower left behind the propane heater awaiting assembly for future weekend powered hanglider flight.  With all you see in this picture - where is the time to fly?   It's too cold to fly and it looks like there is snow on the ground.  My Dad will be back soon from flying one of his Beechcraft Bananzas.  I'll open the frig. have a beer and think about where to focus my interest in this hobby.  I am too old and fat to foot launch the Icarus V so my 2020 project is to make the IcarusV into a Drone Ultralight with the capability to lift vertically, hover and fly.

 

Flying R/C models since early 1960's, Hangliding started in 1972 and bought Ercoupe in 1974

Icarus V VTOL Drone Drawing #1

Using R/C Technology at first for proof of concept.  First test flights will be at local AMA sanctioned model airplane field using RC propulsion system from a EFlite XVert VTOL electronics.

Electric motors with two large propellors wil be fixed on a one inch aluminum tube with wires going back to ESC, Reciever and LIPO bat(s) for propulsion.  It is very easy integrate and experiment.  The is no need for moving the motors to control Ultralight.  VTOLs ob youtube will rotate the motors from take off to flying for high speeds.  This aircraft only flys at 20MPH-25MPH and motors will only be used when I'm in it to gain altitude.  Then I will glide down to land and use Motors to slow to land vertically so I won't have to run 18 MPH to land.  I will land like a Helicopter or Quadcopter/Drone.


 I visited John Moody in Milwakee and copied ideas from his Powered Icarus II and created a motor mount for a MAC 101 GoCart engine with a straight drive 24" propeller making my Icarus V a foot launched hang glider or Foot Launched Ultralight,predacessor the the Vintage Ultralights and Modern Day Microlights.  Note: I started flying R/C models in 1964. 

Icarus V Foot Launched Hang Glider

HANG GLIDERS - 1974

First saw Icarus V hang glider in Popular Science 1974

Icarus II Designed by Taurus Kiceniuk

Icarus II migrated into the EasyRiser by Larry Mauro and John Moody made it famous at Oshkosh.

Below is a picture of my Icarus V in the early 1970s.  I pulled my 1946 Ercoupe out of the hangar to build the Icarus V by scratch from plans I bought from Tarus Kiceniuk.  I was interested in very low and slow flight to re-live some of the feelings I read about from the Wright Brothers.  I read and re-read an article in 1974 Popular Science Magazine on fixed wing hang gliders and decided to build Icarus V hang glider which at the time was state of the art.  It resembles its predecessor the Icarus II, what most people know as the Easy Riser.  Pilot controls pitch by shifting body weight on parallel bars. Lateral control is actuated by twist grips. 

Photo 1 Construction of airframe. Photo 2 is completed aircraft with original paint scheme at 1st Powered Hanglider Meet in Marilla, MI.. These powered hangliders were not yet called ultralights because anybody could fly them without a licence.  If you look very close I did have an FAA N number (N93675) on the wing tips and for the hell of it I put the word EXPERIMENTAL since I've been an EAA member since 1974.

Photo of my MAC 101 GoCart engine and 24" wooden propellor.  Notice  propulsion was full speed or no speed using a kill switch in my mouth.This photo was taken in the 1970s when very few of us had a motorized hangliders.  I remember Boris Popov who sold me my standard 18' rogallo hanglider had a hangar for ultralights with seats for comfort and and wheels for take off and landings, mostly Quick Silvres.a few miles from my airport in Lake Elmo which led to the dawn of the modern day Ultralight.