35 Pix From Early Saturday At Sun n' Fun 2010

Hot air balloons got the day underway Saturday at Sun n' Fun.  Balloons are such a great morning sight, especially when they drift right over the aircraft display area!  The winds were fine, but the balloons were definitely covering some ground.

Looking to the east as they make their way down range.  Citabrias and Decathlons from the American Champion Aircraft display area.

A couple of great views of a single seat balloon that was part of the morning launch.  The colors sure look great in the morning sun, and I think he was having some serious fun!

A 350hp, 4-blade prop Skybolt in the morning sun.

The true Ultra Lights were up early... and it was fantastic to see John Moody flying this Easy Riser!  I don't remember the year, but I do remember being part of a small crowd many years ago watching him up at Oshkosh in a field away from the main activities when he made the first powered flights.  The Ultra Light movement began that evening.

I'm not up on my specifics when it comes to powered parachutes, but this was a very colorful one enjoying the morning flying.

A weight shift Ultra Light trike looking good in the sunshine, and at touch down.

A Kolb aircraft powered by a Volkswagen engine with a speed reduction unit.  It sounded great and seemed to climb really well.

 

This Fleet biplane with a military paint scheme looked so classic in the morning sun.

I had a nice time talking to the owner of this rare Call-Air airplane.  The 125hp, low wing and strut-braced taildragger definitely has a unique look.

He specifically pointed out the prop to me... it looks like wood, but it's really a metal prop PAINTED to look like wood!  Seriously, you could not tell it wasn't a wood prop - amazing paint job.  The 'metal' leading edge is all paint too.  A very cool little detail to this unusual aircraft.

 Cessna 195's and an Airmaster nestled together and looking really sharp.

Shortly after, the Airmaster taxied out.

Also had a great conversation with the owner of this beautiful Farchild 24 (he's on the right).  It's such an awesome classic design.

This big old Stinson Detroiter was great to see.  I never get tired of seeing the design and engineering of aircraft from the early age of aviation. 

 

The Pitcairn Autogiro is pretty much beyond words.  What a beautiful and amazing flying machine!  It flew early in the morning and then they were doing a little work on it here afterward.

Another rare and unusual aircraft - the Anderson Greenwood AG-14.

A Vans RV-12 LSA.

  

Little Toot homebuilt... I'm not certain, but I think this one was originally built in the early 70's.

The PiperSport LSA.

A mean screamin' machine!  Pitts Model 12.

I'm pretty sure this Commemorative Air Force Curtiss SB2C is the only one still flying.  It's fantastic to see that it's still looking great and flying regularly.

Here it is with the wings folded up.  That's a lot of airplane!

Great view of the rear seat / gunner position with all the windows opened up.

Video: Mower Power To The People - Remembering Leeon Davis

 Leeon Davis very quietly built some of the most unique and great performing homebuilt airplanes.  Ever.  He was all about simple, lightweight, and easy to build.  His designs never really caught on like they should have, but somehow I don't think he even cared.  He was too busy just being a really nice guy to worry about it.  This video gives a great look at one of his last projects, the 20hp Briggs and Stratton powered DA-11.

 You can learn a lot more about Leeon's airplanes and design philosophy in this Budd Davisson article about the DA-2 originally written in 1973. 

 Leeon Davis passed away in 2007.

Never Ever Let Your 11 Year Old Prop Your Airplane!

 And I say again, never ever let your 11 year old prop your airplane.  OK, now that I have the disclaimer out of the way, I’ll tell you that’s me as an 11 year old propping the first Breezy we had back in 1972.  I decided to put these pics up because of the recent flap with the controller’s kids relaying instructions to crews of several active airliners back in February.  Here’s another thing to be clear on: I’m not saying it was a good idea for the controller to allow his kids to relay instructions, but after careful review of the audio, I’m not gonna say it was a horrible idea either.

 This is really such a complicated issue to make perfect logical sense out of, especially in our current culture, which I think is just one slippery finger away from losing its grip.  Of course, letting your kids do your work as a controller isn’t the best idea in the world, but fundamentally, I’d far prefer a controller with a good head on his shoulders allow this, than to have a controller with a bad head on his shoulders quietly working his way thru the system.

 I think the biggest problem in all of this is that both the media and the general public have no idea at all what goes on inside a control tower or any other facility where controllers are doing their work.  I’ve been in several different facilities over the years, and the reality is that it’s pretty much nothing like you think it is before you’ve seen it.  And anyone who’s talked to controllers over the radios in high traffic environments, or even just listened along, knows that it sometimes sounds like a foreign language with the way instructions and responses are tossed about in rapid fire and somewhat garbled fashion.  I’m pretty sure the public perception of how the system works is very far from the reality.

 With this in mind, the controller's kids did an excellent job… an A+ plus job in my mind.  Plus, all they were doing was relaying instructions.  At no time were the lives of anyone in any of those airplanes in the hands of those kids.  In my opinion, for the media to suggest such a thing just further shows me that they are completely clueless.  The really scary part is that at least 90% of the aviation related stories I see in the news media are significantly inaccurate.  If they get aviation wrong, why would we honestly think they're really getting anything right?  Anything.

 My dad spent 35 years flying with United Airlines, and I was raised around that environment.  When those pics of me propping the Breezy were taken, he had recently started flying United’s new 747’s.  He knew how to deal with responsibility, and lots of it.  He also knew I had the basic knowledge necessary to understand both the procedure of propping an airplane, and the risks of it.  He knew I was just big enough to be able to handle the task physically, and, after teaching me how, he had reason the believe I would be able to accomplish the task, and do so well.  I propped that 90hp Continental a lot as an 11 and 12 year old and never had even one problem doing it safely.  And, if I may add, by the age of 13, I was completely competent as a pilot (not licensed of course) in the Citabria 7KCAB that we had.  That's a 13 year old able to handle cross winds in a 150hp taildragger on a really narrow Elgin, Illinois runway.  It's not because I'm special, but because I was fairly mature, and had the right opportunities with the right education and supervision. 

 I know that my story isn’t really apples to apples with the controller’s kids story, but I do think there’s some common ground here.  Young people who have the knowledge needed, who can also be seen to understand the task and the risk, and are taught well and effectively supervised, simply have no trouble doing something that most people would say they couldn't do.

 The controller in question, and apparently his supervisor, are very possibly going to lose their jobs over this.  In my simple, been-propping-airplanes-since-I-was-11-years-old mind, that’s the real tragedy here.

Burt Rutan And Model Airplanes At AMA Expo 2010

 This video is a little over 45 minutes long, but if you have a real interest in model airplanes, airplane design, or any of the work Burt Rutan has done over the last 40 years, then I suggest you carve out some time and soak this up.  It's that good.

 It's Burt talking at the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) Expo 2010 back in January.  It's a great insight into what a big role model airplanes have played in Burt's life (and career), and it showcases one of the things that make Burt so cool... he's just a real person with a cracked sense of humor and a real passion for flying machines.

 It's also good timing since I'll have my own video up soon of Burt from Oshkosh in 1984 when he and his brother Dick introduced the Voyager to the world.  Check back soon : )

1:10 Scale (36’ Tall) Flying Saturn V Rocket - Must See Launch Video!

 While millions of people get their life sucked right out of them sitting in front of the TV every night, people like Steve Eves spend their time doing really cool stuff.  Like his off-the-scale amazing 1:10 scale model of the Saturn V rocket.  It’s the world’s largest model rocket.  A little over 36’ tall, weighing in at over 1,600 pounds, and it really flies!  In fact, as the video shows, it flies fantastic.  Altitude reached with the array of 9 rocket motors was just over 4,000’.

 The flight took place at Higgs Farm in Price, Maryland on April 25, 2009.  You can learn loads more about this inspiring accomplishment at RocketsMagazine.com and also at RocketryPlanet.com.

 Bravo, bravo, bravo!

Low Level Aerobatics - 1986 Video Of The Late Great Bob Herendeen

(video includes a Lomcevak & Inverted Flat Spin.  Also, cool low passes start at 4:00) 

 I’m finally getting around to converting several old VHS tapes into digital video so I can share some cool things from back in the day.  This video of Bob Herendeen is the first one that I've run thru a new method of conversion (my Concorde ride at Oshkosh 88 was the first I converted, but I did it a totally different way).

 Bob Herendeen (1926-1994) was one of the nicest people I ever knew.  He was kind and considerate… a true gentleman.  But put him in a Pitts Special and he could really tear up the sky!  In fact, Bob had been one of the people that really made the Pitts Special so popular.  He had the first one used in aerobatic competition to have 4 ailerons back in the early 60’s, and went on to be the U.S. National Aerobatic Champion in 1966 and 1969.  That’s a pretty big deal.

 Bob’s style of aerobatics was somehow a little more pleasing than most others.  He knew how to push the airplane hard, but it was always something beautiful to watch… not like he was trying to conquer the airplane, but rather like the two were working together to make something truly captivating.  This was all matched by his kind and gentle way as a person. 

 I was fortunate to get to know him in the 80’s at the Mentone Airport in Indiana.  My dad owned that little country airport and I had skipped out on my college career, that was supposed to start in the fall of 79, to become essentially an airport bum.  Life was good.  Real good : )

 Bob was born in Mentone, and his dad had owned that same airport many years earlier, up til the late 70’s.  Bob would stop by for a week or so most summers and visit friends and family, and he’d be out several times to practice aerobatics while giving the locals some fab free airshow.  Airshows at a fly-in are great.  Airshows in your backyard with Bob Herendeen and no rules are awesome!  This video is of Bob practicing, and showing off for the camera some too.  It definitely shows enough of his flying to see that he really was something special.

 I feel very fortunate to have known Bob, and I’m thankful for the chance to share some of his fantastic flying with the world thru this video.

Bob Herendeen in the cockpit of his beautiful Pitts Special at the Mentone Airport in Indiana.  The video above is from 1986, but this picture might be from another year from that era.

This was by far the most exhilarating picture I've ever taken.  It's not from the video sequence, but it might be from the same year.  Bob was going about 200 mph and literally just a few feet off the deck and headed almost right at me.  I had a long zoom lens on the camera so it's just by chance that I had it both framed and pretty well focused with him approaching so fast (no auto focus back then).   I took the pic and lowered the camera to watch him go by... OMGosh - he was only about 20 feet in front of me as he screamed on by with the lower wingtip about waist height!  It was the coolest thing I've ever seen, and then my knees got kinda weak.  Wow : )

CoolPix - Homebuilt: Ray Hegy's El Chuparosa At Oshkosh 1970!

(click pic for hi-res)

 I took this picture as a 9 year old at the first Oshkosh ever in 1970.  It’s not the best image as it was taken with a cheap Kodak Instamatic camera… and it’s 40 years old now too!  But, it’s definitely worthy of being the first CoolPix in the ‘Homebuilt’ category. 

 The airplane is called El Chuparosa (a Spanish way to say hummingbird) and was built by the late Ray Hegy over 9 years, with the first flight in 1959.  Thru the 60’s and early 70’s, Ray would fly the one-of-a-kind airplane of his own design from his home in Marfa, Texas to the EAA fly-in.  Back in those days at the fly-in, it was common practice to have the homebuilts flying around the pattern, running laps, for much of the day.  It was a great way for anyone to put their work on display in the sky for all to see.  Ray was always the first one up early in the morning and screaming around the pattern in the A-65 powered Chuparosa.  She’d make some pretty big noise and it was an awesome way to wake up in the campground!  I can still remember hearing him : ) 

 This is a pretty historical pic for several reasons.  One, simply because it’s of the El Chuparosa, which just happens to be on display in the EAA museum.  But also because in 1970, the EAA fly-in and convention had just moved from Rockford, Illinois to Oshkosh.  This was a pretty big deal to be sure, and it’s really neat to see a pic of the grounds from that first year. 

 Speaking of the grounds, did you look at that grass?  Check out how trampled it is from a week of people walking around the airplane!  That’s not a shadow under the airplane, that’s the green alfalfa still standing.  I don’t remember if the event had already ended, but things do seem pretty well cleared out in the pic.  But that trampled greenery sure tells the story of thousands and thousands of people taking a close look at Ray’s little hummingbird.

 It’s also really neat to see the tower in the background.  It was just last year when it was torn down.  Also interesting to see the early version of the fence, on beyond the airplane, that separated the flight line from the rest of the event for so many years.

 Lastly, it’s cool to see some of the details that made El Chuparosa unique.  The pretty racy overall shape for the day, the plexi windows and windshield that enclose the area under and forward of the top wing, and the little hinged and blue tinted plexi cap that’s in the open position here.  Ray was a little kooky too, as can be seen by the ’Beware of Blast’ placard just above his cool augmented and flush exhaust port. 

 The airplane is a lot smaller than you’d think looking at the pic too.  Ray was a pretty small guy.  The top wingspan is only 12ft 10in and the overall length just 14ft 1in.  That helps to explain part of why I was so taken with it… it was just my size as a 9 year old!  Ray and El Chuparosa were an important part of the 60’s and 70’s in the EAA, and I’m so thankful to have memories of him over so many years.  Ray Hegy is a true icon of the spirit of aviation.

DreamBird Flies Out Of My Head!

 

 DreamBird didn’t exist until a couple weeks ago, and it’s really just an exercise in aeronautical fantasy.  I have these kinds of thoughts.  A lot.  And sometimes, a thought aches so bad that it has to crawl out of my head and be seen. 

 I think great aircraft design is really about stimulating the senses.  If all we really want is an airborne conveyance to quickly and/or cheaply move our body from point A to point B, then I think we’ve missed the wonder of machines that can fly.  Great airplanes get in your head and they don’t let go.  Truly great airplanes demand a response from you.  And they get it.

 So, DreamBird is meant to be a mix of the past with the present.  As I envision it, it’s a roomy two-seat side by side with a large baggage area.  I have specifically designed it with the pilot’s eyes forward of the leading edge of the wing for greater visibility.  There are challenges and trade-offs for sure to accomplish this, but the ultimate goal is not the maximum in efficiency, but rather the well-rounded, highly satisfying experience for the people inside.

 And speaking of well rounded… a radial engine is a must.  The Rotec 9 cylinder R3600 radial that makes 150hp would likely be well suited to the airframe.  Flat engines are dandy, but I have never ever heard a flat engine sound soul-stirringly beautiful.  Every round engine I’ve ever heard does sound that beautiful.  Again, it’s about exciting the senses.  Creating a machine and experience that you can’t take your mind off of. 

 I felt compelled to put this design out for others to see, largely cuz I’m interested to hear your response.  I don’t have any serious plans to bring DreamBird to life, but if I happen to get rich anytime soon, well then maybe!  So please, leave me a comment, tell me if it moves you like it moves me.  And keep in mind that this is really just a napkin drawing that was thrown together quickly, it’s not meant to represent a lot of deep thinking thus far : )

AirPigz Podcast #6: Interview With 'First Flights' Author Jill Rutan Hoffman

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 Jill Rutan Hoffman's dad is test pilot Dick Rutan, her uncle is aircraft designer Burt Rutan, and her husband Lars Hoffman is an Air Force Colonel with lots of experience in the U-2 spy plane... Jill is very well connected to the world of aviation!  In this interview, we talk a lot about her recent book, 'First Flights' - available at Amazon, and how all of the proceeds from it go to scholarships to send young people to aviation or space camps.  We also talk briefly about her first book ‘Oshkosh Memories’ - also available at Amazon. 

 It’s a fun interview that also looks at what it was like for Jill ‘growing up Rutan’.  We talk some about the early days of the Rutan brothers work with experimental aircraft, including the world record setting Voyager from the 80’s, which began like many other great projects… as a napkin drawing at a small restaurant!  There’s also a little talk about the current space project that Burt has been working on, including an interesting behind-the-scenes detail about the beginning of it all.

 In the intro before the interview, I explain a little about why AirPigz was on hold thru the fall, and how things are going now that the site has been rebuilt and re-launched on the squarespace.com platform. 

 I also give a quick update on the building of my updated Volksplane experimental airplane that I call Project VP.  If you’re interested in supporting the project by buying a special PVP t-shirt, check out the recent post ’Project VP Hibernation To End Soon’.

 And, I should have another podcast out real soon : )

Project VP Hibernation To End Soon - ’Sponsor’ T-Shirts Ready To Ship (Help!)

(5 pix + Video)

 (for details on how to order a 6-color Project VP ‘sponsor’ t-shirt, please send an email to me at mcc@airpigz.com - current sizes available: S, L, XL , XXL)

 I’ve recruited the help of my cute niece Madison to help promote the t-shirt ‘sponsorship’ program for my modified VolksPlane homebuilt airplane called ‘Project VP’.  You may already know I started the airplane just 90 days before Oshkosh 2009 with the serious hope of getting it completed and flying in that short period of time.  Yes, it’s true that I lean pretty far over the ‘crazy’ line, but hey, my feet are always still over there on the sane side!  Anyway, I ran out of time, but mostly I ran out of financial resources, which has pretty much been the story of my life this past 18 months.  More on that in a minute.

 I sold several of these $50 Project VP t-shirts before Oshkosh last year - thank you very much to the awesome people who supported this effort from the start!  And now I’m back to get this project once again on track so we can get it done and in the air.  Obviously the shirt isn’t really worth $50, but the point here is: buying a shirt is all about being a supporter of the effort.  And I think I can give you several reasons why supporting this sweet little updated design of the VolksPlane is something you can feel good about.

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