Video: Over The Alps With No Engine, Whatcha Gonna Do? Enjoy The Ride : )

 Soaring is still relatively unknown to the average avgeek... I wish I knew what to do to change that. Sailplanes are a fantastic and exhilarating way to fly, and flying some of them over the Alps as this video shows makes for an incredibly amazing adventure. One thing you sure don't need for this adventure is an engine!

 The video can be watched in HD thanx to the GoPro Hero2 cameras used, and you might notice a few of the views are from a camera mounted on a stick and held out thru the open fresh air vent! I love that. In fact, the thumbnail for the video is an example of this. It's also cool to see that the sailplanes are launched with a winch rather than with towplanes. I'm sure not against towplanes, but winches are an extremely affordable method for getting airborne.

 You can also learn a little more about this June 2012 Alps flying adventure by checking out this post at the Devon & Somerset Gliding Club News blog (England) - these guys sure know how to have fun : )

Remembering Neil Armstrong For His Biggest Accomplishments

 I admit that I take a different view of life and our earthly 'accomplishments' than most people do. Interestingly, it appears Neil Armstrong did as well. His death this past Saturday (August 25, 2012) put the man who first walked on the moon in the biggest spotlight since he took those steps back in July 1969. But the spotlight was not Armstrong's favorite place to be. In fact, you could probably say it was just about his least favorite place to be. And given the instant (and lasting) stardom that the first moonwalk brought him, it's a pretty amazing accomplishment that he succeeded in staying out of the spotlight.

 Was Neil Armstrong a weirdo or a recluse? It doesn't seem so... it appears his biggest motivating factor in laying low was that he didn't feel he deserved so much attention and stardom for what was really a group accomplishment driven by the hard work of thousands of additional people. That level of humility is extremely remarkable. Personally, I look up to Neil Armstrong far more for that than for the reality that he happened to be the right guy at the right time to be able to take those first steps on the Moon. Sure, he was a true engineer nerd/geek who also had great piloting skills and an excellent ability to solve critical flight problems as they were happening, and I respect and admire all that. But being a humble human being is the real accomplishment in my book.

 I've intentionally waited a few days to say anything here about Neil because it's my estimation that he wouldn't really like all this media attention over his death. I figured I'd spend a few days contemplating the fact that he now knows what happens to a human being when we die, and honestly, nothing that happens on Earth (or the Moon) can compare to that. I've always found it very curious that we humans spend so much time and energy paying attention to when people die, but most of us act as though we care nothing for wanting to seek answers to life's biggest question: what happens when we die?

 I had always understood that Neil Armstrong was a Christian. As a Christian myself (and a person who always wonders how and why things work) I've felt I was in pretty good company knowing that a large number of astronauts, engineers, and otherwise sharp-and-critical-thinkers are also fully willing to acknowledge (even with all of our scientific progress) that we really don't know much about life and the universe... and we have no trouble at all seeing the Bible as truth, now more than ever.

 In my research about Neil's life, I found the following account of his thoughts when he experienced the Temple Mount site in Jerusalem:

 Inside the Temple Mount, much of the original staircase and the arched, elaborately carved Herodian ceilings survive. According to archeologist Meir Ben-Dov, "On his way in and out of the Temple, Jesus must have walked here." Ben-Dov recalls that he was once asked by Neil Armstrong, the American astronaut, to show him an area in Jerusalem where Jesus might have walked. Ben-Dov took him inside the Hulda Gates in the Southern Wall and Armstrong said that he was just as thrilled to stand on this staircase as he had been when he took his first steps on the moon. (from the Southern Wall wiki)

 Godspeed, Neil Armstrong.

Video: GoPro, Red Bull Wing Suiters And Kirby Chambliss At OSH12. Wow!

 GoPro had quite a display at OSH12 and they sold a boatload of HD HERO2 cameras and accessories during the week. In fact, they sold out of everything before the week was over. But they didn't just show up to make some coin, they came to capture video to entertain us as well. Ok, they entertain us to sell cameras to make coin... but I think you get my point.

 This awesome video from many different HERO2 perspectives is part of the Red Bull Air Force, specifically two of the wingsuit flyers and Kirby Chambliss having some big fun during the airshow. The wingsuiters exited the DC-3 'Duggy' over Wittman Field and then they fly a wingsuit formation as Kirby does barrel rolls around them. It was a perfect day (with some really nice views of the airport and Lake Winnebago) and the aerosports are fantastic. Be sure to watch this in HD fullscreen for maximum effect!

Screenshot of the wingsuiters over OSH with Kirby's smoke visible in the background

Video: The Synergy Aircraft Revolution Explained By Designer John McGinnis

SynergyAircraft.com
Synergy Aircraft facebook page

 I've had the pleasure of knowing about the Synergy Aircraft project probably long before you knew about it. I've been excited at the possible revolution this unique aircraft has represented from the very first day I learned of the details over three years ago. The man behind the project, John McGinnis, is attempting to take the knowledge base of aerodynamics and move it into an extreme that it's never been to before. Will he actually take us all there? There's no way to know until the prototype flies and we see what it can really do, but if you watch this video captured at one of his forums at Oshkosh 2012, you'll begin to understand several of the methods his Synergy design uses that he believes will open up new levels of efficiency and performance. The brilliance of the concept becomes much easier to see as John explains what's going on with the design.

 Synergy represents more than just an attempt to revolutionize small aircraft design... it's everything that the homebuilt aircraft movement, which began in the 1950's, thrived thru the 1970's and continues yet today, is all about: innovation; big achievement on limited resources; the pursuit of excellence; and above all, the passion to build the best flying machine possible to put people into the sky. With the successful kickstarter.com campaign behind him, John and his small, dedicated crew are moving toward a future of flight that previously we've only been able to dream of.

 I'm very excited to see Synergy take us into the future of high performance flight!

see also: 'Synergy' Aircraft Revealed, Prepares To Lead A Revolution
                   Synergy Aircraft Prototype Construction Update - March 2012

FYI: I Plan To Win This Cub On September 10th (CoolPix)

(click pic for hi-res)  The gorgeous Cub I plan to win in the drawing September 10th

 Yeah, I know it crazy for me to think I really stand any chance of winning this little yellow cutie in the EAA Win The Cub Sweepstakes, but it never hurts to dream big! I bought a stack of tickets for the drawing during Oshkosh, and they'll pull the winning ticket out on September 10th. I figure this is my best chance to have an airplane of my very own for quite some time yet... so hopefully soon I'll be dealing with the hassles of registration paperwork and which airport am I gonna keep the ole girl at : )

 I captured this image of the sweepstakes Cub on Sunday the day before Oshkosh started. I had just been down at Hartford Wisconsin for the Cubs 2 OSH event and I was dealing with a pretty severe case of yellow Cub fever by this time. And then, with the awesome blue sky and sun, and then waiting a few minutes for the people to clear away from the airplane, I was able to get this really nice image. I did a few photoshop tweaks to it and then noticed that it actually takes on the slight look of a painting. The shadows and reflections in the yellow of the paint all around the airplane are a little extra special here. Especially when you open this CoolPix up big and get in close.

 Anyway, I just wanted you all to have a really nice look at my Cub before I get to bring her home : )

Video: Fabulous Grumman Goose Amphibian 2Fer (Must See!)

 Wow. Can an airplane really get any better than being a Pratt and Whitney R-985 radial twin... that also happens to be a taildragger... and is perfectly happy to land on the water too? I don't think it can get any better than that. Long live the Grumman Goose! And of course I wanna apply that longevity statement to the smaller Grumman Widgeon (inverted Ranger powered), to the bigger Grumman Mallard (P&W R-1340 powered), and also to the much bigger Grumman Albatross (Wright R-1820 powered) - a truly amazing family of amphibious aircraft from the 30's and 40's.

 I stumbled onto the video above and fell in love after about 3 seconds of hearing those two 450hp radials that are right outside the cockpit. Those fabulous radials are even nicer than on a Twin Beech because they are set a little closer to the aircraft centerline, putting the prop arc closer to the forward field of view... what a beautiful sight. And then the video gives you that sweet approach to landing onto nearly calm water, flying low over the trees and then low over the boats. Wow, that's some seriously cool flying right there. Amphibians just might be the most perfect aircraft. I guess it's easy to see why so many people are expressing interest in the ICON A5. I did get a ride in Goose once when I was a kid... probably 7 or 8 years old riding from Long Beach out to Catalina Island and back. Loved it, especially since we buzzed the ship that made the trips back and forth!

 I hope that video above gives you at least half as much pleasure as it did me. And then, for something completely different, check out the fascinating military test video below. In the 50's and 60's, EDO Corporation did testing on several Grumman amphibians, like the Goose, to see if hydrofoils or skis could be used to shorten the takeoff distance of seaplanes. The video has narration and is quite informative. It's extremely cool to see this footage and how the takeoff-assisting contraptions functioned. Mostly tho, it just makes me want to get a seaplane rating really really bad : )

 
 
Grumman Goose hydrofoil testing film from the late 50's or early 60's

CoolPix: 'Golden Age' Antiques Meet The Modern Age At OSH12

(click pic for hi-res)  Antique airplanes and a young laptop user mix just fine at OSH12

 Maybe you don't think like I do, but when I see the shapes and colors of fabulous antique aircraft like these Waco biplanes and that Ryan PT-22, I feel passion and excitement. I think that's the big missing ingredient in most of what modern General Aviation has to offer today, but that's a debate for another time. The point of this picture is how well these great old aircraft mix with a young man using a laptop while sitting in their midst. It's the kind of 'people and airplanes' sight you see at Oshkosh. A lot. There's something incredibly extraordinary about living everyday life surrounded by the magical world of aviation... especially when it's aircraft from the Golden Age!

 I've posted this image as a hi-res CoolPix so you could take in those great colors, shapes and textures, but I didn't actually plan to make this one in the various 'desktop' sizes. I'd be happy to do that tho if anyone is wanting it - just let me know.

And, I'm making plans now to get myself over to Blakesburg Iowa for a couple of days at the Antique Aircraft Association invitational fly-in that runs August 29th thru September 3rd. My young aviation adventures back in the 1970's focused mostly on Oshkosh and the Reno Air Races, but I know my dad took me to one of the AAA fly-ins when I was about 10 or 11. For whatever reason tho, the AAA fly-in didn't become a staple for me. I wish it had. I can see that spending some time at Antique Airfield for this very grass roots event has the potential to be most satisfying! I really love old airplanes!

 Get more info on the event at this page at AntiqueAirfield.com.

CoolPix: The Flipped Blue Angels 'Pensacola Beach' Desktop Pix!

(click pic for hi-res)  The flipped version of the amazing Pensacola Beach airshow pic

 You might remember that I had a poll up back in July to see if y'all liked the original version of this amazing pic that the Blue Angels posted on their facebook page, or the one that I flipped over so that the world was right-side-up. I felt that the flipped image somehow had more impact, and interesting, so did 71% of the people who voted in the poll. The whole point of the poll was to determine which version I would re-post as 'desktop' images so you could easily put this awesome pic on your computer screen.

 So, here ya go, this perfect pic for desktop use in four of the most popular sizes. Enjoy!

1920x1080
1366x768
1280x800
1024x768

 You might also like these other AirPigz categories:
more desktop images
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Poll: Awesome Or Ugly? 1928 Fairey Long-Range Monoplane

The rather large and unusual 1928 Fairey Long-Range Monoplane

 Please vote in the poll at the bottom of the post to let me know if you think the Fairey Long-Range Monoplane is Awesome, Ugly, or both : )
 

 If you've been paying close attention to this fairly new poll feature I call 'Awesome or Ugly?' you'll have noticed that this is only the third posting, but the second one to include an airplane built by Fairey. That's purely a coincidence. I will add however that the trend so far has been for me to post airplanes that I think lean well over on the 'awesome' side of the fence. That may change in the future, but for now that trend continues as I think this 1928 Fairey Long-Range Monoplane is extremely awesome.

 With an internally braced and fabric covered wing with an 82 foot span, the Long-Range Monoplane was an exercise in learning more about how to make an airplane travel very long distances. Two of these 570hp Napier Lion powered aircraft were built, with the first having a tragic accident in 1929 while on a second attempt to set a distance record. The second aircraft was built in 1931 and it then set a long-distance world record of 5,410 miles in 1933. Imagine flying 50 hours or more in an aircraft like this! What an amazing time in the history of aviation.

A lean fuselage, loads of wing and some big wheels: Fairey Long-Range Monoplane

'Name The Plane' - ID MAKE And MODEL For Free Bacon! (8.16.12)

(click pic to enlarge)  Hot homebuilt from the 60's - Ed Lesher's record setting Teal

GAME OVER - correctly ID'd by 'seerjfly' as the Lesher Teal

 I really thought my cropped pic below would last at least 24 hours in the Name The Plane game that I put up at lunchtime today. I was wrong. In a little over an hour, 'seerjfly' offered up the correct answer of the Lesher Teal. Getting this airplane correct from that cropped pic is definitely worthy of the bacon sandwich prize at OSH13!

 I have lots of memories of seeing this little all-metal one-of-a-kind homebuilt from the mid 60's out on the flightline at Oshkosh in the early 70's. I spent a lot of time looking over the details, and it inspired a whole lot of thinking in my not-yet-a-teen head. I think this airplane deserves a lot more attention than it typically gets... hopefully one of these days I'll have the opportunity to put together a really detailed post on both Ed Lesher and his 500kg class (1,102 lb) record-setting Teal. This little Continental O-200 powered airplane set a lot of closed course records, and near the end of it's record days, in 1975, set the straight line distance record of 1,835 miles!

 Ed Lesher passed away in 1998 at age 83. I never knew him, but his little aluminum pusher with the odd retractable landing gear sure was an important part of my early days of learning about home-built (and home-designed) airplanes. His children donated the airplane the EAA Museum in 2002.

 You can learn more in this wiki page about about Ed Lesher and some cool record-setting details about the Teal in this page from the EAA Musuem. 

*     *     *     *     *     *     *

GAME OVER - correctly ID'd by 'seerjfly' as the Lesher Teal
 

 You never know when I'll feel the urge to throw up a little Name The Plane action here on AirPigz. Usually it happens on a Saturday night, but here we are on a Thursday in the middle of day with a new game popping up... and it's also your first chance to win a bacon sandwhich at OSH13! The first correct answer in the comments area below (with both make and model) wins a tasty bacon sandwich at next year's Oshkosh.

 I've dug deep into aviation history with this challenge, and I'm specifically hoping that no one comes up with a correct answer in the typical 45 minutes or less. I'd be very happy if we get 24 hours out of this game : )

 All you gotta do is ID both MAKE and MODEL to win - so if you've got sharp aircraft ID skills, be the first person to ID both MAKE and MODEL of this aircraft to be the winner!

 Your answers must go in the 'comments' area in this post, and as always, please don't use the shotgun approach to answers - only put up truly educated guesses that you've arrived at via really thinking it thru.

 And I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but to win, you have to give me both the MAKE and MODEL! : )