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A caravan of flying cars visit Ardy & Ed’s, the iconic local eatery in Oshkosh. View the photo gallery
PHOTO BY BRADY LANE |
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A crowd gathered at Ardy & Ed’s Drive-In to welcome the flying cars.
PHOTO BY STEVE CUKIERSKI |
Ardy & Ed’s Drive-In, located just under the approach to Runway 27, has been an institution in Oshkosh since 1948. Patrons enjoy root beer, burgers, shakes, and more delivered to their cars by car hops on roller skates.
But people quickly abandoned their cars on Sunday afternoon when six flying cars showed up in the lot. Under police escort, three Maverick flying cars and one Aerocar motored from EAA’s Kermit Weeks Hangar on 20th Street to Ardy & Ed’s on South Main Street. Two other Aerocars had been trucked to the site and reassembled.
“It looks like a Batman squad coming down the street, said Sandy Binder, of Neenah, Wisconsin, who rode with her husband, Ray, on their Harley to see the cars. “We heard about this on the radio and thought it’d be fun to ride down and check ’em out,” Ray said.
Margaret and Donald Blecha, of Wichita, Kansas—in town for AirVenture—had stopped at the drive-in after church for a quick lunch and were delighted to have the unexpected entertainment.
Ed Sweeney, who’s owned his original Molt Taylor Aerocar since 1988, drove to the drive-in. He first flew in it with Molt in 1959 and jumped at the chance to buy it when he saw it for sale in Trade-A-Plane. During AirVenture, Ed’s Aerocar will be parked next to the Terrafugia tent in the Main Aircraft Display area.
Steve Saint developed the Maverick flying car—it’s a powered parachute in the air—to provide ground and aerial transportation in remote areas.
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