Kiwi Oshkosh AirVenture Tour
December 1st, 2008
Gaye Pardy, a New Zealand travel manager who has organised and led numerous aviation tours to Oshkosh in the past, is currently organising a tour to AirVenture Oshkosh in 2009.
The tour will leave New Zealand in time for its members to enjoy the whole week of Oshkosh events, and will be followed by a number of optional “after tours” to other events and locations around the US.
In 2008, at the conclusion of the Oshkosh air show, for example, the tour group visited the Harley Davidson factory, the Evergreen Museum (home of the “Spruce Goose”), the Boeing factory in Seattle and the Abbotsford Airshow.
The tours typically comprise 35–40 members each year (the biggest year drew 96 participants) and have been regular events for 30 years. Gaye Pardy’s brother, who was the first person to build a VariEze in New Zealand, organised the first tours. Gaye took over organising and leading the tours 15 years ago after her brother died tragically in a microlight crash.
