Oshkosh Pix #1: Sunday 7.24.11 - Before It Starts (14 Pix)

  Even tho Sunday is still a day before Oshkosh officially begins, there's still a ton of things to see and do. One that's always interesting to check out is the Sonex open house over on the east side of the airport at Sonex headquarters. I ran over there at 10am when things got started to see what I could find out about the Onex. As these first two pix show, the Onex is all prettied up for OSH11 with (surprise) yellow paint. I found out that the airplane is still short of 40 hors total time but that flight testing has progressed nicely.

 Initial kits components for the Onex are just beginning to ship to customers, tho the Sonex team is still finishing up the complete package. The good news however is that Onex airplanes will soon be under construction, and there's every reason to think that the follow-on components will be fully prepped soon to keep these builders moving forward. As expected, the prototype Onex was drawing a lot of attention at the open house, and I'm sure it'll be heavily gawked during the week!

 Inside one of the hangars was a second Onex aircraft still under construction, and as you can see, it's a trike version. The airplane looked pretty decent, but in my mind, there's never been a tricycle version of any airplane that looks anywhere near as nice as the taildragger version. However, the already more pleasing lines of the Onex over the Sonex translate to a good looking little airplane, even without paint.

 You probably already know that OSH11 is a big year to recognize the rather amazing career of aircraft designer Burt Rutan. A real highlight already is the appearance of the Model 202 Boomerang... and it was flown in! The Boomerang has a very non-symmetrical design, which of course makes it very odd to look at, but this very unconventional configuration actually makes the airplane far more symmetrical-like in the event of an engine failure. Not only is just about everything a different shape or size on either side of the centerline (where exactly is the centerline?!), but the engines are even different. They are different versions of the Lycoming TIO-360, one making 200hp and the other 210hp.

 The airplane was recently restored and returned to airworthy condition, which is pretty darn awesome. The airplane was getting lots of attention even on Sunday, and it's sure to draw a huge crowd of curious folks thru the week. I'll have lots more info on this exceedingly unique flying machine and the guys who brought it back to the sky before long.

 This replica 1909 Bleriot XI is on display as part of a special recognition of the 100th anniversary of air mail in the US. The airplane was recently completed by a group of EAA volunteers, and it has an original three-cylinder radial Anzani Fan (W-3) engine. (check out this 6 cyliner Anzani radial at The Henry Ford)

 While this airplane looks very primitive, it's actually pretty fascinating to realize that even tho this design is over 100 years old, it very accurately reflects the foundational state of the art of aircraft design today. This replica is also extremely well crafted... very cool stuff!

 The stunning Bugatti 100 replica project is indeed on display at OSH11. While it's still a way from being completed, the amount of work done so far is fantastic! In my mind, this is one of the most passionate and technologically advance designs ever conceived by mankind. It's certainly going to be interesting to watch this project move closer to first flight... especially since the original Bugatti 100, built in 1937, was never flown. (check out my previous post: Coming Down With A Bad Case Of Bugatti (100P) Fever - With Video)

This is the Frasca Focke-Wulf Fw 190 that was at Reno last year. I've been a Fw 190 fan since I was about 9 years old, and this one sure can stir the emotions. Check out this CoolPix and this NTP game that show more of this awesome airplane.

 One of the best parts of Oshkosh each and every year is the sights and sounds of the P-51 Mustangs! Here's a small glance at some of them in the Warbird area on Sunday evening.

 And here's Camp Bacon running at about 90% capacity. There's about 10 different avgeek groups that are stuffed into this really nice spot in Camp Scholler. Life is good : )