Lightning Flashes, Pink Panthers, and a Lone Star Flag.

Jack and Bill are seated in the shade under the wing of their Cessna 182.

Jack Tackaberry has a vivid memory of his first time to the fly-in. "In 1980, my first time to Oshkosh, we were in the Theatre in the Woods and there was a tremendous thunderstorm. Back in those days the roof was only over the stage, so everyone in the audience crowded under the nearby ice cream tent. We all had to stand up to fit in, and it was a great way to meet people. While we were standing there a plane took off and a big flash of lightning lit it up like daylight. I think that was about the time that EAA stopped allowing after dark takeoffs."

Jack says that his 1957 red, black and cream Cessna 182 is his "favorite form of transportation". He's owned it for 32 years and first brought it to Oshkosh in 1990. His first time to the fly-in was in a Piper PA-20.

Jack's friend Bill Cheolas has been coming to the fly-in for "eight to ten years." During WWII Bill was a B-17 pilot who was once assigned to fly a glider, carrying a jeep and a couple of soldiers, and land behind enemy lines in Germany. "After we landed I became a soldier and had to fight my way out. But I was lucky and got out pretty quickly."

Jack and Bill made the flight this year from their homes in Avoca, Michigan, which is near Port Huron.

Diane Brady is a co-chairman of the Greeters program here at AirVenture. She made the flight this year from her home in Denver, arriving on Saturday. She's been coming to the fly-in for 24 years.

For many years she came here from Alaska where she was a commercial pilot, and the owner of a local newspaper.

Coming to AirVenture from Denver is shorter, but no less eventful.

"In Reidsberg, Wisconsin, I slept on the ramp, on a tarp spread out under my wing. The airport cat there is named Huey. I was a little worried what a cop passing-by would think if he found me and Huey curled up there on the pavement. He might think I was a homeless person, or worse. But the night was uninterrupted."

Diane's 1977 Cessna 172 is named "Annie D", after her daughter who is 12 years old. Although Annie, the daughter, couldn't make it to AirVenture this year, she flies with her mom a lot. She'll fill the rear seat with all her stuffed animals, then curl up and go to sleep for the duration of the flight.

"Someone once referred to my plane as a 'flying Toys R Us'"

One of Annie's favorites is a large pink panther, which became such a fixture in the back seat that Diane once filed a flight plan with "number of occupants" as "2 + panther".

Jerry Sprayberry & Bill Mackey have quite a spread of snacks and beverages laid out under the blue awning over their North Forty campsite. Jerry has been coming to the fly-in for ten years, Bill for six.

Jerry's favorite memory from past fly-ins was when the Italian military jet team Freece Tricolori appeared. "They were as impressive an airshow act as I've seen," he says.

The fly-in was a lot smaller when he started coming. "We used to camp in row #2, which back then was near the showers that are now in the middle of the Warbirds area.

Bill has fond memories of Sean Tucker's early appearances and Bob Hoover's legendary airshow act.

Both Jerry and Bill say that their favorite thing about AirVenture, after all these years, is the camaraderie. "All the people we see each year, who call each other up in June and say, 'are you gonna be there?'"

One of the flags flying over their plane is the Texas Lone Star. Bill is from Dallas, and Jerry from Grapevine. They flew to AirVenture this year in Jerry's 1976 Cessna 206. He's been a pilot since 1974, Bill since 1966.

Bill and Jerry just completed a project to build a grass strip on Bill's family farm. After two years of passionate, hard work they just needed to let the grass grow for a month or so before they could make the long awaited, first landing. They were really looking forward to that moment. But one afternoon a glider on a cross-country trip ran out of lift and landed on their virgin strip.

Bill says, "I asked him, 'How was it?' 'It was fine.'"

The boys are philosophical about the interloper. Now they're looking forward to making the first powered landing.