THE SOUNDS OF FREEDOM.

It probably defeats the purpose of having a stealthy drone to make it sound like a B-17 or a formation of Mustangs.  All of those are available at the Experimental Aircraft Association's annual gathering in Oshkosh, which does, as well, feature experimental aircraft, including the planes people built themselves, and then flew to the show.  National Review's L. R. Abel went there, and liked what he saw.

From the Kitty Hawk trials to the X-15 supersonic experiments, we’ve been strapping ourselves to increasingly volatile and ingenious air-based machines for over a century. Nowhere can you observe this altitudinous affection more than at this week’s Experimental Aircraft Association’s (EAA) AirVenture event in Oshkosh, Wis., which routinely brings over 600,000 visitors to the shores of Lake Winnebago. Walking the grounds here, I was struck by just how proud we are of our heritage in flight, the uniqueness of the American piloting community, and the freedom we enjoy of going wheels-up.

Does anyone else see echoes of the X-15 program in those private space flight projects taking place today?  And yes, the serious builders go to the workshops, and the budget-minded among them prowl the extensive swap meet area.  The guts of the show, though, are ... those Warbirds.

The first stop one should make at the EAA is Warbird Alley. Here in tidy rows are warplanes from World War I to the present day. Japanese, British, American, and Russki aircraft sit alongside one another as P-51 Mustangs swoop overhead. The opportunity to fly in a B-17 bomber or C-47 paratrooper transport is available to the general public for a nominal fee. Sit in the bleachers, and servicemen from multiple eras will regale you with tales of action they saw while standing in front of the types of planes they fought in. As one wanders the grounds, one of the many volunteers will occasionally hold you back as a Spitfire taxis past 20 feet away. The care and dedication provided these craft are a testament to those who maintain them, revealing a pride in what the craft represent and their impact on the world.

He argues that if aircraft didn't exist, Americans would have to invent them. Oh, wait ...

Americans have a unique relationship with aviation for reasons practical and dispositional. Ours is a vast nation with a topography ill-suited for ground transport, while aircraft allow us to skip over the Rockies, Appalachians, and grizzly-infused Alaskan wilderness with minimal effort. The Midwest does not need the plane for its ability to circumvent treacherous terrain, but to apply pesticides and weedkiller on the swaths of farmland, providing the nation’s food with chemical protection efficiently.

We attach national pride to airborne events as well. Every schoolchild knows the accomplishments of Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart. We celebrate the American World War II fighter pilots rebuffing the Zeros in the East and the Messerschmitts in the West while our B-17s bombed the enemy into submission, and rightfully so. Most of all is when we looked to the stars and landed on the moon, besting the USSR and making the case for freedom over tyranny. This culture of exploration and air superiority continues today in the launch of spacecraft from our shores, most recently by private-sector pioneers. The world comes to us when it wants to push the limits of human progress, and that is no accident.

Not sure about that "every schoolchild" or whether Mr Lindbergh is the next to be de-pedestaled for his 1930s attitudes. But this is supposed to be today's good cheer post. And the crop-dusters were at work in the neighborhood a few days ago.

If you go, you probably won't run across many robe-and-sandals metrofexuals. (Or if you know somebody like that who could benefit from some education, show him through the swap meet area.)

Europeans and American progressives will occasionally mutter into their facial hair about our lack of “public transport” like trains and buses, not realizing just how vast this country is. Chicago to D.C. is two hours by air, eight times longer by rail. New York to Los Angeles is several hours by plane, a journey that would otherwise take a week. These longer air routes are often less expensive than public ground transport is or could be, particularly if one were to go the bus-and-hotel route. It commends the American spirit that we are constantly improving upon long-range solutions rather than remaining complacent with anachronistic technologies.

But if you go (next year, this year's event is done) please understand that "no beer until after five" means "after five p.m., Central time."