OSH12 Monday 7-23-12: A Great Day To Go Flying! (15 Pix)

Me in the co-pilot seat flying Cory Robin's WilgaBeast on his last leg into OSH from Utah

(15 pix)

 The first day of Oshkosh 2012 was fantastic for me as I had the great opportunity to meet up with Cory Robin and his WilgaBeast early in the day down at the Portage Wisconsin airport, about 60 miles southwest of Oshkosh, and ride along on his final leg from Utah. I'm very familiar with the Polish-built Wilga as my dad had one back in the late 80's that I got to fly a fair amount, including bringing it up to OSH88, so getting a little stick time in the Wilgabeast was a ton of fun. It was a gorgeous day and the arrival process into the airport with the world's busiest tower worked great... and we got some GoPro video from out on the wing that gave an awesome view of the approach and landing on 36L. The video screenshot (2nd pic below) gives you an idea of how cool the video will be once I get it posted sometime after Oshkosh.

(click any pic below to enlarge)

The awesome view of 36L at OSH from inside the Wilgabeast - great day for flying!
 

The GoPro video camera view of the approach (camera mounted at the tie-down ring)

  The large and unusual Wilga after we parked in the Warbird area - more on that later

 Getting to arrive on opening day via the air was a really special treat for me, but you don't have to arrive from the sky to have an incredible time at Oshkosh. The following are some additional images from the first day of OSH12 without a lot of explanation... mostly they'll just show you that if you aren't at OSH12, you should be. I know it's often difficult to make the trip to Wisconsin work out from both a time and money point of view, but if you can only do one aviation event a year, this is the one to get to!

A great view of people and airplanes... that's what Oshkosh is all about!

Click to read more ...

OSH12 Sunday 7-22: Collings A-36 Apache Arrives (CoolPix)

(click pic for hi-res)  The beautiful Collings Foundation's A-36 Apache arriving at OSH12

 In recent years I pushed as hard as possible to put up a large number of images from each day at Oshkosh but there just isn't enough of me to go around these days - so for now I plan to scale back the OSH posts, sometimes giving you just one big pic that's definitely worth seeing. I think this CoolPix of the Collings Foundation's recently completed North American A-36 Apache is one worth seeing! 

 The A-36 is a lot like the early P-51's in that it has the razorback multi-panel canopy and higher aft fuselage behind the cockpit, as well as having the Allison engine, but it differed in a variety of ways, mostly by having dive brakes built into the wings. 500 of them were built but only three remain, with two them now airworthy. This A-36 is in nearly perfect condition after the restoration... it's was amazing seeing (and hearing) it taxi in after arriving today. I'll have more pix and info on this aircraft before long.

 And just so you know, I'm capturing a huge number of images each day, but it's just too time consuming to be able to get very many posted at the end of the day.

CoolPix (Poll): Life's A Beach... And Then You Fly!! Blue Angels 2Fer

The world right-side-up: Blue Angels at Pensacola Beach Airshow (photo: facebook)

(click each pic for hi-res CoolPix version)

 This amazing picture was posted Monday on the Blue Angels facebook page - and of course you should go hit the like button there right now if you haven't already! Then today they made it the cover pic for the facebook page. However, they have the pic as it was taken, which is actually flipped from the way I have it posted above.

 I decided it should definitely be a CoolPix image, so I also tightened it up quite a bit to make it 'pop' a lot more, and then just for fun I flipped it from the way it was originally taken. Wow, for me it just came alive when flipped! But you might disagree... so I figured I should have a poll to see if more people wanna see this pic made available in a variety of desktop sizes with the world right-side-up as I have it above or with the world up-side-down as seen below. The first one to get to 100 votes will be made into the desktop pix for anyone needing another stellar Blue Angels image for their computer. Please vote now!

The world up-side-down: Blue Angels at Pensacola Beach Airshow (photo: facebook)

Video: FlyingMachinesTV - RIAT 2012 in Super SlowMo!

 I just finished two weeks of intense and nearly non-stop work in two of my other lives... one as a ceramic tile installer and the other doing graphic design/magazine layout. I feel like I've been run over by a truck. But I'm happy to say that this super slo-mo video captured at the 2012 Royal International Air Tattoo by FlyingMachinesTV was remarkably calming and satisfying. I'm feeling a little better already.

 I love to watch props and rotors turn in slow motion, and I really enjoy seeing smoke from display aircraft in flight as it traces the track of the air around them.  And my favorite moment is the view of the Lancaster. That was enough to make my whole day : )

Video screenshot of the Lancaster bomber captured in super slo-mo at RIAT 2012

Goodyear Blimp Coming To OSH12 (With Retro OSH71 Blimp Pic)

(click pic to enlarge) Goodyear Blimp & N8407 Ford Tri-Motor (now EAA's) at Oshkosh 1971

 The Goodyear blimp will be coming to Oshkosh 2012 and that makes me very happy! I think having an airship overhead while living the avgeek life at the greatest place on Earth is both calming and exciting.  The Zeppelin NT was awesome last year and the Goodyear Blimp will be fabulous this year. Looks like it's scheduled to arrive on Wednesday, July 25th and then will be departing Saturday, July 28th.

 I did a little digging thru the AirPigz family photo album and found this nifty pic of the Goodyear Blimp 'America' from way back at the second Oshkosh in 1971. The annual EAA fly-in and convention was held at Rockford Illinois before making the move to Oshkosh in 1970. I was fortunate to make the last Rockford in 69 as an 8 year old. Then I caught the first Oshkosh in 1970, and every one after that until I finally missed one in the early 90's. This year is something like my 35th Oshkosh experience... and I can hardly wait for it to start!

 Another interesting part of that pic above is the Ford Tri-Motor... it's N8407, the 4-AT (slightly smaller than the 5-AT) that wound up being blown over in a wind storm a couple years later. It's the one that the EAA rebuilt and has at Oshkosh every year. Pretty cool seeing it way back in the day here. It's especially cool for me because my dad and I got to know Chuck LeMaster really well about a year later. Chuck flew this Tri-Motor at Oshkosh and let me take the control wheel that year when I went for the co-pilot ride! A few years later I had the amazing opportunity to travel with Chuck and his crew several times in the 5-AT N414H that he operated in the ride business thru the mid 70's. And I got to do even more of the same with them when he operated N7501V, one of only two Bushmaster 2000's built.

 So I think an old 1971 pic of N8407 and the Goodyear Blimp is a perfect way to keep our eyes on July 23rd and the start of Oshkosh 2012!

Will OSH12 Be As Hot As OSH88? (With Concorde Video!)

 I actually posted this Mach 1 Concorde ride video on day number 1 in the life of AirPigz.com back on December 8, 2008. It was the first real piece of content that I produced for AirPigz and it's actually from an old VHS tape I shot way back in 1988. I'd do a better job with the editing here 3-1/2 years later, but it's not bad. Anyway, 1988 was a very hot and dry year, much like it's been for a large part of the country this year. So I thought it might be interesting to wonder if OSH12 will be as hot as OSH88 was. Ha! No way to know til we live it, but one thing we'll sure miss this year at Oshkosh is Concorde. What an airplane, and what an amazing opportunity it was at Oshkosh back in the 80's and 90's for us to see the airplane up so close, flying multiple times, and then for a very few fortunate ones like me (thanks dad!) getting to actually ride Concorde!

 So please check out my primitive video of the incredible ride on Concorde at Oshkosh 88, the ride where we hit Mach 1 while traveling over Lake Michigan! It's all explained in the video. I hope you check it out... I hope you enjoy it : )

 Lastly, my OSH12 Will Be The Best Oshkosh Ever post should be coming soon as well as some info on the upcoming Bacon Parties at CampBacon in the EAA campgrounds. I'm currently cramming 48 hours of work into every 24 hours that passes by so I'm a little strung out at the moment, but that stuff will be up soon. Oshkosh is coming, Oshkosh is coming!!!!!!!

CoolPix: Michael Goulian In Formation With The Blue Angels - Wow!

(click pic for hi-res)  An amazing display of blue and yellow paint!  (photo: facebook)

 Last night, Michael Goulian posted this amazing picture on his Goulian Aerosports facebook page, and it just happened to be hi-res enough that I was able to make it into a CoolPix. What a fantastic display of aerobatic blue and yellow paint as Michael flies formation with the incredible Blue Angels! His caption for the pic on facebook reads: Some days are just better than others. Thanks to "Boss" & The Blues for the honor and the privilege!!!!!!

 I was already really enjoying the new Goodyear paint on his Extra 330SC, but when you put it in front of the similar colors of the Blues you wind up with a stunning combo. I'm not sure, but I think this pic is from the prep days for the Dayton Air Show this weekend July 7-8 where both the Blue Angels and Michael are performing, so I'm guessing it's from yesterday or the day before.

 I knew right away when I saw this pic that it would make for an excellent desktop image, so I've prepped up the standard sizes for y'all... I hope you enjoy this awesome pic as much as I do : )

Desktop Downloads: Michael Goulian with the Blue Angels 2012

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(check out the AirPigz 'Desktop Pic' category)

(check out my 2010 podcast interview with Michael Goulian)

Video: 1970 Super 8 Home Movie: Blue Angels In F-4J Phantom II's (Mesmerizing)

 With this video you get flicker, lint, and projector noise. But the cool part is, I think all of that is truly genuine. That's what makes this 3-1/2 minutes of vintage 1970 home movie (Super 8mm) so mesmerizing to me... it's just awesome. It's the most unusual little portal into a part of Blue Angels history in the early part of the 5+ years that they flew the McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II. Filmed at Suffolk County AFB in Long Island New York in 1970, this film reminds me so much of the many airshows I attended when I was around 10 years old in that same era.

 There's a chance some of you just won't get this video, it'll seem odd and very unimpressive. I'm willing to risk that to be able to share it with the others who, like me, will think it's one of the coolest things they've seen in a long time. It's also kinda neat that it was uploaded only a little over a month ago and only had 125 views when I found it. A big thanx goes to youtuber distar97 for putting this little gem of history on the net for us to see. And wow, I had definitely forgotten how hot the F-4 looked in that Blue Angels paint!

 

UPDATE 6-29-12: Wanna watch this video with amazing background music?

First, mute the audio in the video window (you might have to hit play first, then just click the speaker icon to mute), then click here to open new browser tab with some awesome music on youtube - then start the music (it may start on its own), and after about 8 seconds, start the Blue Angels video. It's stunning. Seriously. STUNNING. It made me cry.

A big thanx to Jenessa who discovered this combo and shared it on the AirPigz facebook page.

Video (film) screenshot: Blue Angels F-4J Phantom II during 1970 airshow in New York

Screenshot: The Super 8MM view shot thru trees of a Blue Angels F-4J in 1970

Video: MV-22 Osprey Full Demo At Andrews AFB May 20, 2012

 I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure all the people trash talking about the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey are people who have never designed, engineered and built a machine that can do something no other machine can. When those people accomplish something as full-force awesome as the Osprey, then maybe I'll listen to them. Til then, I'm gonna simply be blown away by what the Osprey can do. When you consider that this aircraft represents the only truly viable tiltrotor to be produced, and that it also has the weight and complexity penalty of massive system redundancy and the ability to fold itself up for storage, it's amazing it can even get off the ground. But it does way more than that! I know it's very expensive and there have been some tragic accidents, but that's the world of military aircraft... always has been.

Video screenshot showing the MV-22 in fast forward flight mode. Awesome!

 
 This excellent video is from the airshowfansh youtube channel and it provides the full MV-22 demo as seen at the Joint Services Open House at Andrews Air Force Base back on May 20, 2012. You get a great view of the entire demo along with very good audio of Rob Reider's announcing and interviews with servicemen related to Osprey operations. Of course they don't get very technical but it's still interesting to hear the commentary. I'm a fan of the V-22 Osprey and the people who have taken the tiltrotor concept and finally put it into operational reality. It's an impressive and amazing accomplishment to which I say: Bravo!

Screenshot of the MV-22 in vertical flight mode during the extensive flight demonstration

CoolPix 2Fer: Dave Folk's F4U-5 Corsair At The 2012 Indy Air Show

(click pic for hi-res) Dave Folk's awesome F4U-5 Corsair in the sunshine at Indy

(6 donations received so far - thank you, I really appreciate it)

I'm without a long lens of any kind for my awesome Canon T3i camera so I'm having to think up-close and personal this time around at the Indy Air Show. This might be a good time to mention how much I could really use YOUR support. Please don't be fooled by a good looking website that just keeps cranking out high-quality content... I promise you I am one of the poorest people you know! I continue to struggle so much financially that I slept in the car last night - not because I wanted to save some money, but because I didn't have the extra $60 for a hotel room. And I do work a day job, but climbing out of the massive hole in my life that 2008/2009 created has been extremely tough. So if you like what I do thru AirPigz.com, and you've been blessed financially, please consider making a donation (any size) via the PayPal 'donate' button above and to the left. I don't usually ask for support, and I don't usually get it. Now I'm asking.

 So, with me having to think up-close, I decided that the incredibly beautiful F4U-5 Corsair brought to Indy by Dave Folk would be an excellent subject for some nice tight images, kinda like what I did with Glacier Girl a while back: P-38 Glacier Girl - Up Close & Personal... Real Close! (23 Pix) - so I spent about an hour early today getting about 50 images of the Corsair, and I was gonna get a handful of them posted now, but there were so many good ones that there just isn't enough time to get all that prepped up. So I'm taking the easy way out and just giving you two images, in the CoolPix super size, to give you an idea of what to expect before long when I get 25 or 30 images strung together for you to enjoy.

 The first image above is the whole airplane so you can see what an F4U-5 Corsair looks like, if for some interesting reason you don't already know. And then the second image below begins the journey into looking at the Corsair more closely, and with a slightly skewed perspective. The beautiful sky and sunshine make these pix all the nicer... be sure to click them to open up the biggie size. And then keep an eye out in the next week for a big string of fabulous Corsair images to appear. I can hardly wait!

(click pic for hi-res)  Big prop, big sky: F4U-5 Corsair at the 2012 Indy Air Show