airventure Archives

AirVenture Volunteers: One Lady’s Story

Publisher Note: One of the best parts about Jetwhine is that Scott and I often receive stories from readers out of the blue. While we can’t use them all, there are some that simply jump to the top of the pile as soon as we finish reading them.

This story, sent in last July by Marah Carney from Emporia KS, really caught my eye because it reminded me so much of the days when I too volunteered on the EAA flight line. Perhaps because I was celebrating an anniversary this year of my first volunteer days with orange paddles directing airplanes, or maybe it was just the sense of fun and energy about flying that I picked up on in Marah’s story. Really doesn’t matter I guess. The point is that there are still quite a few young people with a keen interest in aviation, keen enough to stand around in the hot Wisconsin sun as they help the airplanes park at AirVenture.

marah 1 — Three generations of Carney pilots. (L-R) Grandfather Glenn, Marah and Marah’s dad Mark

And yes, I did manage to meet Marah and her dad Bob at this year’s AirVenture, but it didn’t take much cajoling to get them to don those snappy Jetwhine buttons.

Let me introduce you to Marah Carney, a student pilot and a Senior Member Captain in the Civil Air Patrol.

Rob

_________

Marshaling My Father

Ever since I was an AirVenture newcomer, I wanted to volunteer at the largest air show in the world. Nine years later in 2010, I finally had the opportunity. In the past, I would attend Oshkosh with my family. I have experienced the AirVenture culture by staying at Sleepy Hollow campground, boarding in a dorm room at University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, and from underneath the wing of our family’s aircraft on the North Forty. Then in 2010 I got to experience Oshkosh with the Civil Air Patrol at National Blue Beret. I worked hard to get slotted for National Blue Beret—many hours of training have finally paid off.

This year, I had the unique opportunity to marshal my father and grandfather into general aircraft camping (GAC). They took off in a Cessna 172 from small town Kansas headed for Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Our CAP’s Juliet Flight was tasked, Thursday morning, for Flight Line North. After a night’s stay in Portage, Wisconsin, my father and grandfather landed on runway 27 shortly after 0800. They pulled off onto the paved taxiway and began their trek to GAC.

marah2 — At AirVenture 2015, Jetwhine Publisher Rob Mark, Marah and Marah’s dad Mark

As a flight commander, my duty was to walk the flight line to check on the flight members and assist where needed. Because of a great distance between two marshalers, I was helping direct the ground traffic. Many Cessnas had landed about the same time, and all were in search of a camping spot. With the sun behind this particular Cessna, I could not tell the color or the tail number until it was almost past me. However, according a fellow fight member, I looked like a kid waving at my family after recognizing the tail number. Many hours of training had finally paid off.

It was a great privilege to marshal my father – then a fellow CAP member – and my hero at AirVenture 2010.

Marah Carney

Every aviation blogger I’ve ever met is certain they possess a magic grasp on their own little corner of the industry, which is of course why we all do what we do.

Some bloggers are just better writers than others, or better marketers of their magazines or are simply luckier than the rest … maybe even some combination of all three. We offer a look at some aspect of the industry the mainstream media either doesn’t see or believes no one cares much about in general aviation, the airlines, business aviation and safety. Then of course, there are the aviation stories the mainstream media simply don’t understand too.

There is a black hole in new media though since anyone can hang out an “expert” shingle. Honestly, some industry speculators are really lousy at explaining anything, not to mention just plain wrong at times. A growing number of aviation netizens have started getting cranky lately when any of us new-media types start trying to educate the media about aviation and I think that’s a mistake.

As a kid who earned his pilot certificates in the general aviation world before moving on to bigger iron, I’m always excited when the mainstream media contacts me for an explanation or opinion because they’re already acknowledging they don’t have all the answers, but want them. Often it’s something simple like translating aviation speak into a language the other 99% of the people in America can understand. Other topics are more serious, like a few weeks ago after the Asiana 777 accident in San Francisco. Reporters and producers called in search of someone to help make sense out of an industry they understand little about, not to mention explaining the facts as they emerged that weekend. And certainly in the Asiana accident, the NTSB made my job easier by releasing facts as they appeared early in the process.

Jail the Speculators?

I see my media sessions as a chance to give something back to people who want to know more … people who often have no more connection to aviation than buying a seat on an airliner or watching the trainers fly patterns at their local airport. I certainly have no allegiance to any particular network, which is why my mug was plastered around quite a bit on Fox News, NBC and CNN after the SFO accident. On the radio, calls came in from WGN Radio in Chicago, WLW from Cincinnati and WTMJ in Milwaukee. I found all the hosts bright and cordial and all needed the same thing … to help their viewers and listeners understand aviation by adding the perspective of someone who flies, teaches and writes about the industry. [Read more…] about Bloggers Play a Significant Role in Aviation Media