CoolPix: Avspecs de Havilland Mosquito In The Air - Bravo!

(click pic for hi-res)  The amazing de Havilland Mosquito in the air in New Zealand

 Words aren't needed here... just click this CoolPix to open it up big and savor the amazing work done by the people of de Havilland over 70 years ago, and the restoration work done the people at Avspecs (and others) over the last eight years. The Mosquito is a stunning human accomplishment, and this is the only one flying in the entire world.

(Mosquito on AirPigz)

(photo: Avspecs open house Saturday 9-29-12: from a friend of AirPigz in New Zealand)

Video: The Amazing Sound Of The Avspecs Mosquito! (Plus 3 Fighters)

 There was an Avspecs open house over the weekend at Ardmore Airfield in New Zealand celebrating the completion of the 8 year de Havilland Mosquito restoration project for Jerry Yagen... it must have been an incredible experience for all who where able to attend. The Historical Aviation Film Unit was there and captured the awesome sound of the Rolls Royce Merlin powered Mosquito flying formation with a Merlin powered Spitfire and P-51 along with an Allison powered P-40. Wow! The Merlin must surely be the best sound ever made by man!

 The first pass made by all four airplanes has been altered to look more like we remember seeing WWII aircraft in films, and then the other passes are as we would have seen them if we were there at Ardmore that day. This is definitely a 'must see' video! I highly recommend you watch this video in 720p HD in fullscreen mode and with your speakers cranked way up. Repeat as need : )

(check out the Histortical Aviation Film Unit youtube channel)

Video screenshot of the Mosquito in formation with a Spitfire, P-51 and P-40

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

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:
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Video: Oshkosh - It Feels Like Coming Home (Must See)

 I got the heads-up on this older video (made by DGL & Asociados Aviacion) from a friend on facebook that knows a thing or two about making great videos about Oshkosh... you might know him by the name slickhutto (check out his AWESOME OSH videos here) - btw, you might have noticed that we haven't seen a 2012 OSH video from slick yet - and unfortunately, we won't. College and the Navy got in the way of a trip to Oshkosh this year for him, so the video work is on hold at least until 2013.

 Given the high quality of slick's video work, it really caught my eye when I saw his fb post of a video by someone else that he thought was the best at showing what makes Oshkosh so special. So, here's that video for you to checkout. It's six minutes long and does the best job I've ever seen at helping us to understand what makes the people that design and build airplanes (including the ones that only get to dream of such things) so unique, and so special.

Video screenshot: homebuilt airplanes are the core of what makes Oshkosh special
 

 I'm grateful to the EAA for bringing Oshkosh to life, but the truth is that it's the people that gather together each year that make Oshkosh such and incredible place to be. There's a line in this video that says: "It doesn't matter if it's your first year or your tenth, it will feel like coming home." That line sums it up for me... I've been experiencing Oshkosh (I never ever say A********e) since I was 9 years old. 2012 was my 35th I think, and it has felt like 'home' to me since the first time I was there.

 If you only know Oshkosh from blasting in for a day and thinking you've seen it all, I'd like to suggest that you find a way to 'live' Oshkosh for many days, or even the whole week. When you get this deep into the OSH experience, it becomes the place you want to call home.

 I've said it before and I'll say it again... Oshkosh is the best place on Earth : )

Video screenshot: at Oshkosh... and he helped HER build that airplane! : )

CoolPix: OSH12 - Duggy! (The Little Yellow Aluminum Overcast : )

(click pic for hi-res)  Duggy, 'the smile in the sky' DC-3 going almost directly overhead

 I'm getting closer to getting things back under control at AirPigz after the failure of my primary computer during OSH12. I'm still taking the easy way out today with just a CoolPix and a couple complimentary images... but very soon I should be able to get back on track with some detailed posts of some cool things from OSH12. The new computer is working great and I should have the all the files restored in the next 36 hours.

 It's hard not to notice Duggy at Oshkosh. A beautiful all yellow DC-3 with a smile on the nose that also doubles as a workhorse for the airshow skydivers. I just happened to be in a good spot one day as the airshow was preparing to begin and had this view of Duggy almost directly overhead. (I'm all about the details: note the tailwheel, it's not on the centerline... a clear sign that the airplane isn't actually 'directly' overhead)

 So if you've ever wondered what the bottom of a DC-3 really looks like, here's your chance. Click the pic to open up the hi-res and have yourself a look. If you're like me, you'll scout around the bottom of the airplane looking for something interesting. The small 'tm' trademark after 'Duggy' was the only thing I specifically noticed, other than the bottom looked pretty clean to me. That's a lot of wing area to keep clean!

A rare look at Duggy without a crowd around the happiest DC-3 in the world at OSH12

The rather small front office of the smiliest Douglas DC-3 during taxi - Duggy.com

CoolPix: OSH12 - Big Prop P-51 In The Morning Sun!

(click pic for hi-res)  The back side of a massive P-51 prop in the morning sun at OSH12

 My inop computer problem from a surprise OSH12 rain won't be under control until Tuesday, so I'm still limping along on under-powered resources... so once again I'm taking the easy way out by posting another OSH12 CoolPix.

 I left CampBacon with a few friends early Friday morning (5am) at Oshkosh for another 'dawn patrol' photo shoot in the warbird area. It was last year on a similar adventure that I captured that amazing image of the B-25 Lady Luck with the rising sun behind it. The effort on Friday wasn't nearly as successful since the clouds way off to the east were in the way for part of the sunrise and there weren't the stunning clouds overhead like the B-25 image had. I now realize just how awesome that pic of Lady Luck really is! Anyway, I got some nice pictures, but one of the best was taken after the sun was well above the horizon, but still casting its light more horizontally on the airplanes. I was just finished with breakfast in the warbird area, standing at the edge of the tent ready to get back to walking, when I saw this P-51 in the distance that had just fired up. I've been working on using a much slower shutter speed to improve the spinning prop results in my pictures and this looked like a great chance to experiment a little more... and this one paid off pretty well!

 With that morning sun lighting up the back of the prop, that big spinning disc really came alive here. Plus, the low sun was really making the all the warbirds in the pic look vibrant with so much light on them. So I thought the combination of the big prop and the layering of two additional P-51's and a P-40 made for a pretty interesting image. And while jets are really cool, I just don't think you can beat a massive prop to sit behind!

 After I get my computer issues remedied, I may come back and make this CoolPix available as a desktop pic in a variety of sizes. For now tho, I hope you'll just enjoy seeing my slow shutter speed experiment of a P-51 in the morning sun at Oshkosh 2012.

CoolPix: OSH12 - Super Corsair Pointed At The World's Busiest Tower

(click pic for hi-res) A great pic of a great airplane at a great place! Super Corsair at OSH12

 
 AirPigz is still running in 'safe mode' after my primary computer (laptop) got rained on at Oshkosh last Thursday. It's still currently reduced to being not much more than a really big paperweight. I thought I had it worked out for a new one to be here today, but I hit another snag... hopefully by Monday I'll have a solution.

 To make my work easier today (because I'm also buried in 'everyday' work this week) I decided I'd put up a CoolPix from OSH12 instead of the string of pix I wanted to get up from Thursday there. I think this pic of a Super Corsair racer pointed toward the 'world's busiest control tower' makes a pretty nice substitute! Be sure to click the pic for the hi-res version.

 I was just walking by when I looked over and saw this view of the Oshkosh control tower and the Super Corsair in the relatively early morning sun. The combo of having this amazing airplane, the interesting angle, the great sunlight and the tower in the background makes a great Oshkosh image to enjoy. When time and energy allow I'll try to format this pic for desktop use... but for now you'll just have to enjoy it as a basic CoolPix : )

OSH12 Tuesday 7-24-12: Living the Oshkosh Life (8 Pix)

One of the most beautiful one-of-a-kind homebuilts ever: 1970's era Polen Special

(8 pix - click any pic to enlarge)

 
 I'm definitely playing catch-up this year getting great images captured and put up for you to check out, please hang in there with this one-man-operation as I try to get a grip! I've pulled 8 images to share with you from Tuesday at Oshkosh... it was a very nice day with waaayyyyy too many things to see and do. Of course, that's one of the awesome things we love about Oshkosh!

 Anyway, a handful of pix here to see with short captions to once again remind you why you should be here OSH12 - I hope you enjoy them : )

RV formation demo that includes my cousin Bill Gunn in the red RV-4 on the left wing

The big and very wide nose of a C-17 Globemaster III on display in Phillips 66 Plaza

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