Jetman In The Sky OSH13 - But You Gotta look Close! (With Video)

Jetman high (very high) over the Oshkosh sky... pic taken with a long telephoto lens!

 We were tempted to call him Speckman rather than Jetman after Yves Rossy flew on Tuesday (July 30, 2013) at Oshkosh... apparently the FAA wouldn't let him fly any lower than 2,500' during the demonstration. The pic above was taken with a pretty long telephoto lens and he still looks really small! We all pretty much agreed that what he does is very cool and awesome, but it's not the world's best spectator sport. However, the live-feed that that LiveAirShowTV had up on the two big LED screens during the airshow did help a lot. 

 Fortunately the video below gives you a much better view of what Jetman looks like in flight from up close. And wow, formation flying with a B-17, that's pretty hard to beat!

 I hope he eventually convinces the FAA that a pass at 500 feet is safe... you now, so we can actually see him in flight : )

Video Screenshot of Jetman flying formation with a B-17!

OSH13: Tuesday Airshow Action - CoolPix Triple Play!

(click pic for hi-res)  Fascinating contrast of the Sea Harrier and Lockheed Electra

 You'll notice that my OSH13 coverage this year is scaled back from previous years... 18 hour days for a week straight just doesn't fit my life at the moment. So I'm sharing thinner slices of the activities taking place at the world's greatest aviation event, but hopefully they are still quite compelling. Today I've got three hi-res CoolPix images that come from the airshow on Tuesday.

 The contrast of the Sea Harrier in hover with the classic lines of the Lockheed Electra creates an amazing look at the diversity of aviation over the ages. Then I've got Sean Tucker making a ribbon cut pass as well as Skip Stewart doing knife-edge on takeoff. Biplanes are awesome and these two examples are two of the most incredible double wingers ever built! Be sure to click the px to see them fill your screen, and enjoy : )

(click pic for hi-res) Sean Tucker on a triple ribbon cut (I wanna be that guy on the right!)

(click pic for hi-res) Skip Stewart looking down the runway on his knife edge takeoff!

more pix coming soon!

OSH13: Wide Angle View Of Opening Day (Monday 7.29.13 - 9Pix)

(click pic to enlarge) Wide-angle view of a beautiful Jim Clement built Wittman Tailwind

 While the few days before Oshkosh 2013 began were almost chilly enough for us to call it FrostKosh, opening day was about as perfect as it could have been. There was a low overcast very early but that quickly gave way to some gorgeous blue sky appearing, and then by mid morning the sun was shining, the temperature was great, and it stayed that way all day. It was perfect!

 I started the day by finding a nice collection of Wittman Tailwinds gathered on the flightline and decided to try some really wide-angle views of this classic homebuilt design originally designed way back in the early 1950's. I've always liked the Tailwind because it's relatively easy to build (steel tube/fabric fuselage, all wood wing) and is very fast for the power. I've got a set of plans for the Tailwind and still hope that one day I'll build one.

 So here are two different Tailwinds both built by Jim Clement... and both absolutely beautiful. I really enjoyed the unique views that a borrowed extra-wide-angle lens provided - thanx @adamcanfly! And just in case you don't care for the slab sides and very angular look of the Tailwind, I've got two pix of a perfect Pitts Model 12 for you. And then the last pic is an unusual self-portrait in the spinner of the Piaggio Avante II on display : )

 All I have left to say is: if you're not at OSH13, you should be!

(click pic to enlarge)

(click pic to enlarge)

(click pic to enlarge)

(click pic to enlarge)

(click pic to enlarge)

(click pic to enlarge)

(click pic to enlarge)

(click pic to enlarge)

more pix coming soon!

OSH13: CampBacon Starts To Sizzle - Opening Day Tomorrow!

The AirPigz mobile on the corner of the CampBacon compound at OSH13

 My original plan of heading up to Hartford Wisconsin on the Friday before OSH13 for the staging of the aircraft participating in the round engine rodeo at Oshkosh sorta fell apart when I got there and found out the staging had been cancelled. No worries tho, Oshkosh was just about an hour north so I headed on up and got the AirPigz mobile on the hallowed CampBacon soil!

 The weather has been cool with low-ish ceilings for most of the time since I've arrived, and along with some weather issues on incoming routes, the aircraft count is a bit low, but there was a steady stream of arrivals thru the day here on Sunday. The campground is packed with avgeeks and the weather forecast is looking pretty great for the coming week. It looks like it will be a fabulous Oshkosh. 

Joe Lienau from northern Illinois in the BD-4 he built in 1982 - 30 years ago!

 I made a run down the flightline on Saturday morning to see what was here... turns out at that point that there wasn't much yet. However, I really enjoyed seeing this early-arriving BD-4 and especially enjoyed talking with its builder/owner Joe Lienau. It was built in 1982 and is still a great looking airplane, and like all BD-4's it's a pretty fast flying machine too. 180 mph cruise on 180hp and room for four on the inside.

Joe doing what owner/builders do at Oshkosh... talk about the airplane he built!

 The picture of the BD-4 above with a wide angle lens really accentuates the look that the BD-4 has droopy wings, but I asked Joe and he said it's really an allusion, the wing is really straight. Spending 15 minutes talking with a homebuilt builder like Joe is always great fun and I highly recommend it!

 More OSH13 coming soon.

Why Oshkosh Matters (With CoolPix Marathon - 19 Hi-Res Images)

(click pic for hi-res)  Ray Hegy's El Chuparosa at Oshkosh 1970 (see original post)

 Oshkosh 2013 is fast approaching (July 29 - Aug 4), and I'm as excited as ever to be planning to attend. I was there in 1970 (as a 9 year old) when the very first Oshkosh took place at Wittman Field in beautiful Wisconsin. The annual EAA fly-in and convention was held in Rockford Illinois prior to Oshkosh and I was even at the last one of those in 1969. I've missed a handful of the events over the years, but I've attended well over 30 of them since that picture above of Ray Hegy's El Chuparosa was taken.

 Oshkosh has changed a lot over the years, but in the ways that really matter, it hasn't really changed at all. It's still people (lots and lots of people) who are in love with aviation gathering together to share that love with each other. It's goodness, discipline, ingenuity, and achievement all rolled into a week of learning, sharing, and enjoying. There's just nothing else like it... no other tool we have that does so much good for the world of general and sport aviation. That's why I believe that Oshkosh truly matters.

 I'm well aware that many people have frustrations at times with the EAA and the way Oshkosh is run, and while I've had the same kinds of frustrations going back even into the 1970's, I'm as convinced as ever that the EAA ultimately does a huge amount of good for those of us who love to fly. I can't imagine any other organization (or new group of people) who could, or would do better (or even as well) at fostering a genuine love for flying. So I hope you'll join me in being a big supporter of what Oshkosh does for us all... come to Oshkosh this year and be amazed, entertained, educated, and impressed. But please don't come expecting Oshkosh to do all that TO you, instead, come to Oshkosh and BE PART OF that process. Give, and share, and receive too. It's the human interactions that truly make Oshkosh the beautiful thing that it is.

 To celebrate some of the great avgeekery of Oshkosh, here's an extensive collection of CoolPix images I've captured since 2009 to get you primed and ready for the world's greatest aviation event. I hope you enjoy! Oh, and you might notice that I never ever call the event A**V******, it's Oshkosh to me and always will be. I look forward to the day when that ad agency concocted word is dropped from the EAA vocabulary. And hey, maybe they should go back to a logo that looks more like tho old one too : )

(click pic for hi-res)  Pitcairn Autogiro at Oshkosh 2009  (see original post)

(click pic for hi-res)  Airbus A380 preparing to depart Oshkosh 2009  (see original post)

Click to read more ...

Video: Boeing 787 Aerobatics At The 2013 Paris Air Show!

 Hang on, don't get too excited here... the FAA defines 'aerobatics' in FAR 91.303 like this: Aerobatic flight is an intentional maneuver involving abrupt change in an aircraft's attitude, an abnormal attitude, or abnormal acceleration, not necessary for normal flight. By that definition, the 787's climb-out on takeoff Wednesday at the Pairs Air Show that reached about 40 degrees nose up would be defined as 'aerobatics' : )

 So, while there wasn't really anything else incredible done during the flight demo, it was another great opportunity to see the Dreamliner show off its graceful wings and overall beautiful design. I put up an airliner beauty poll a couple weeks ago putting the 787 up against the new Airbus A350 (which made its first flight last week) and so far the 787 is still well out in front with over 73% of the vote. They're both good looking airliners tho, and they both seem to be selling like hotcakes!

 Enjoy the video... and imagine the wild ride in the cockpit on that takeoff!

Video screenshot of the 40 degrees nose up 787 climb-out at the 2013 Paris Air Show

Video: Can You Say Aerodynamic Braking? (Vulcan Bomber Farnborough 2012)

 I'm constantly amazed at how easy it is to miss really cool avgeek stuff on the internet, like this fabulous Vulcan Bomber landing video from Farnborough 2012 that now has over 1,300,000 views. I had missed it til this morning... but maybe you've already seen it. Even if you have tho, it's definitely worth seeing again. This is some serious aerodynamic braking on display!

 The Avro Vulcan served as a bomber in the British RAF from 1956 until 1984. The airplane is nearly square in its dimensions with both a length and wingspan either a little under 100 feet or a little over 100 feet depending on the version. Max takeoff weight for the later version was just a tick over 200,000 pounds and the max cruise speed was .93 Mach. The Vulcan was an outgrowth of the much smaller Avro 707 that was used to test the viability of a the delta wing platform.

 The Vulcan burned itself into my memory back in my teen years when it was touring US airshows back in 1976. It was truly glorious to see and hear this amazing beauty fly. The example in this video, known as Vulcan XH558, is the only flying of the 136 built. It was restored by Vulcan to the Sky Trust thru charitable donations and had been flying on and off since 2008. It's scheduled to attend several European aviation events this summer, including the 2013 RIAT. Long live the Vulcan!

#vulcanlove

Video screenshot showing the massive Vulcan wing being used for braking on landing

My Take On The 'Sequestration' Blues (And Thunderbirds Too)

(click pic to enlarge)  US Navy Blue Angels in tight formation at Reno in 2009

 I'm certainly no expert on the issue of sequestration, and since I've actually worked the last 15 days straight (with my day-job of ceramic tile installing) I also haven't had the time to do any deep research on the subject. However, it's my understanding that the $85 billion in cuts are actually only a reduction in the planned rate of GROWTH in the budget. So we're saying that we not only have ALL the money from the last budget but also a few percentage points MORE, but the news media and campaigner-in-chief have been telling us that all hell is about to break loose. I'm not buying it. I'm not buying any of it.

 And with reports that the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds have been cancelling their attendance at many 2013 air shows, strong opinions and passionate responses have been popping up all over. Especially since many of these air shows, like the Indy Air Show scheduled for June 15-16, have been cancelled as well since these elite military demonstration teams are by far the biggest draw for these events.

(click pic to enlarge)  Two USAF Thunderbirds back-to-back at Reno in 2011

 
 My opinion might be different than most. I'm 100% for budget cuts... not reductions in rate-of-growth, but real CUTS. And if we had real cuts and they truly meant that the Blues and Thunderbirds had to stop flying, then I'm actually ok with that. This nation MUST get its financial condition in order as soon as possible, tho technically I've given up all hope that we will ever do that. A financially responsible government is the only way we can have hope that these two elite aerobatic teams to will continue flying in the future. Far more important, we need to be fiscally strong to have any hope of having a positive impact on the global landscape in the next 20 years.

 But to pull the plug on these aerobatic demonstration teams when we have such a small actual budget adjustment makes me think that the government is using the impact that this will have on the American people as a dirty little trick. Even worse, this means many large communities won't have the benefit of the positive economic impact that is a direct result of a Blue Angels or Thunderbirds air show. Add to that the fact that these two teams are a very important part of both recruiting and bolstering a sense of pride in the American people, and I come to the conclusion that it's all being used as a weapon against we the people. But then that seems to fit all the more with the idea that the ultimate goal of this administration is to weaken every aspect of the United States of America.

 The more common opinion I'm seeing is one that says we must find a way to stop these cuts and make sure that all the services we need and want so desperately (from the Blue Angels to air traffic controllers to border patrol agents) are able to be funded. So, rather than identify and cut massive waste in poor government administration, or eliminate entire departments that simply are not part of a sensible government mission, they've convinced us that essential services are at risk. Hmm, so it appears that the government has figured out a way for the American people to DEMAND that we spend beyond our means. Well isn't that just precious.

 I don't have any big answers here, but I am fully prepared to say that I just don't buy any of this. And while there are some of you out there who are gonna want to beat me up for my opinion that the United States government is actually against America and the American people, I'm telling you now that I don't have the time or energy to have an online battle about it. This is what I believe from years of observing the actions of our so-called leaders, whether they have a D by their name or an R. My bottom line is simple: get our financial affairs in this country in order NOW, and do everything we can to keep the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds in the sky showing the American people, and the rest of the world, what freedom looks and sounds like.

Video: Forget The Beatles, The Best Music EVER Comes From The Mosquitos!

 The Historical Aviation Film Unit has just uploaded a new video of the incredible Avspecs Mosquito making some of the best stereo Merlin music ever! Forget the Beatles, it's all about the Mosquitos now! Even tho I'm a hardcore old-school radial engine guy, I have to admit that there just is no sound made by man that's better than the Rolls Royce Merlin V-12 engine... and the concert with two of them bolted to the wooden airframe of the de havilland Mosquito is just pure perfection. Some day I'm gonna publish a top ten (and also a top 100) aircraft of all time, and the Mosquito is most likely gonna be on that top ten list!

 So do yourself a favor and stop reading my words and listen to this fantastic video!

 After you've enjoyed the awesome sights and sounds of the video, you might wanna check out these Mosquito links:

Mosquito posts on AirPigz

Avspecs LTD facebook page

SlickHutto Takes A Spin Back In The Video Saddle... 2012 Fort Worth Air Show

 If you've been paying attention the last several years you know that the best post-Oshkosh videos have been made by youtuber slickhutto - but Slick's a busy guy these days with being in the Navy and playing working hard with airplanes, ships and textbooks. So busy in fact that he wasn't able to get to OSH12 to create a video... but there's hope for OSH13! It's not a slam-dunk yet, but he's got Wittman Field on the radar, and he's been recently flexing his video muscles when he found himself with a little free time.

 This video is from Sunday October 7th at the 2012 Fort Worth Alliance Air Show. It wasn't the most beautiful day for video, but as you can sure see it was a great airshow. And while Slick seems to think he's a bit rusty, I think he's looking pretty sharp! If you haven't seen his Oshkosh videos before, check out Videos: Oshkosh Dreamin' As We Head Toward Winter (posted 2 years ago) which includes the 2009 and 2010 OSH videos from Slick, and you'll find the 2011 video here: Heaven On Earth: 2011 Oshkosh Video Recap From 'Slick'.

 Thanx again Slick : )

Video screenshot from Slick's work at the 2012 Forth Worth Alliance Air Show in October