My First Landing At Oshkosh Was In A Citabria In 1974... At Age 13 (8 Pix)

Here was the Oshkosh 74 campsite with the Citabria in the North 40

3-seat Citabria?

 With OSH14 being just weeks away now, I got to thinking about the first time I made a landing at Oshkosh. I guess I dream about the past since once again I won't be flying into Oshkosh... it'll all be ground-bound again this time around. Nothing wrong with driving in, but of course it's always better to be able to fly in. While things are indeed better for me now than most of the last 5 years, I still seem to have crazy strong headwinds in my life. No matter what direction I go, strong winds are on my nose. It gets tiring, the fuel burn is high, and the ground covered is greatly reduced. Oh well, this is my life.

 Back to that first OSH landing. It was Oshkosh 1974, I was just 13 years old, and I made a nice wheel landing on runway 27. If I remember correctly there was a little light rain at the time, and I know the tail was riding just a little lower than on most of my wheel landings. More on that in a minute. I was in the front seat of our still-smells-new 7KCAB Citabria, which we had picked up at the Bellanca factory in northwest Wisconsin earlier in the year. My dad had taught me early on to fly the Citabria out of the Elgin Illinois airport. The north/south runway there was very narrow and there always seemed to be a crosswind. And I learned in the winter. It was a perfect place to learn to fly a taildragger! By Oshkosh time, still 13, I was quite proficient with the airplane and felt comfortable flying it in various conditions.

 This trip to Oshkosh was a bit unusual. My dad was in the back seat for our flight from Elgin to Oshkosh, which was about an hour and a half long. But today, he was really in the middle seat. My dad had a habit of bending rules whenever it suited him, and for this trip, our Citabria was a 3-seater. My sorta girlfriend/neighbor Cindy, who was also 13, was riding in the baggage compartment along with a small tent and some basic Oshkosh supplies. I think we were still within the CG limits since she was probably only about 80 pounds, but I'm guessing the lack of a seat and seatbelt made this trip a little on the outside of the FAR's.

 Me at 13 with my sorta girlfriend/neighbor (Cindy) in the donut tent at Oshkosh 1974

 Since we had left Elgin with quite a bit of fuel onboard, and with Cindy in the baggage compartment, the airplane definitely was heavier on the tail. If I had been really thinking I would have added 5 mph to the approach speed to compensate, but I didn't. No worries tho, the tail was just a little low as I squeaked the mains on the nice big and very wide runway 27 at Oshkosh.

 I should probably mention that the view from the baggage area in a Citabria is fantastic. The large rear windows extend all the way to the back so Cindy had a great view for the ride. However, the trip back home a few days later was pretty bumpy and she wound up tossing her cookies. It wasn't a big mess tho and we continued on with her feeling better after the upchucking. She was a great friend back in those days and a real trooper for being willing to sit in the back seat of our 3-seat Citabria!

 Below are more pix I found from that Oshkosh 74 trip. There's some pretty cool stuff to see. And of course by now you should now that OSH14 will be the best Oshkosh ever... because the best Oshkosh ever is the one you are at right now! (previous best OSH ever posts: OSH09 / OSH10 / OSH11 / OSH12 / OSH13)

Oshkosh 1974 the day we arrived when I made my first landing at Wittman Field

First year for the War Aircraft Replicas (W.A.R.) and the VW powered FW190

Click to read more ...

Video: Fascinating Historical Account Of The 1965 Reno Air Races (Progress In The Air)

 This recently uploaded gem of a video is an old-school professionally produced film that chronicled the wide variety of aviation related activities taking place during the 1965 Reno Air Races. It's 21 minutes long but very well worth your time if you have any interest in the era that defined so much of what modern aviation is all about today.

A young Bob Hoover talks about how the 23 year old P-51 design still flies beautifully

 National air racing had just returned the year before in 1964 when the first Reno Air Races took place at the Sky Ranch airport just north of Sparks Nevada. Bill Stead was the driving force behind the rebirth of national air racing and it's great to see him in this video.

 Lots of dirt and a short runway were pretty much all they had, but the event included aerobatics, parachuting, hot air ballooning, the US Air Force Thunderbirds in the F-100D Super Sabre, and of course various classes of air racing. Those first two years of the Reno Air Races were an amazing celebration of a love for flight no matter the machine used to accomplish it.

Before the Red Devils, before the Eagles Aerobatic Team... a young Charlie Hillard

 I was fortunate as a young kid to experience Reno from 1967 thru 1970, and much of what is seen at the Sky Ranch in this video reminds me of the early years at Stead Airfield. It's interesting to note several things about the Stead name as it relates to these early Reno years. Bill Stead, a late 1950's world speed boat champion, pulled the first two events together after retiring from boats and moving on to racing airplanes. The location for these first two years was the Sky Ranch, but the airport was barely up to the task of handling the larger aircraft. Tragically, Bill Stead was killed a short time later in 1966 in a Florida crash of his midget racer in preparation for the St Petersburg races. The airplane was the newly acquired Deer Fly racer that had been the winner in the 1965 races at Sky ranch, as seen in the video.

A fascinating look at the early days of the modern hot air balloon movement

 For 1966, the National Air Races moved from Sky Ranch to what had been Stead Air Force base, named in honor of Bill Stead's brother Croston Stead who had been killed in a P-51 training accident at the base in 1951. When the base was deactivated in 1966 and turned over to the city of Reno, it was renamed Stead Airfield. Today it's known as Reno Stead Airport. The excellent facilities of Reno Stead have served the races well for nearly all of the 50 year history of the modern National Championship Air Races, known simply as the Reno Air Races... and the memory of two Reno brothers lives on.

Mira Slovak trying to win again, but Darryl Greenamyer started his win streak instead

This is definitely a must see video if you're interested in sport aviation history!

The Thunderbirds after replacing the short run F-105's with the F-100D Super Sabre

Like this post? Tell your friends... use the 'share' or 'email' article links below - thanx : )

Video: Long-EZ Cloud Skimming (Music Video)

 This fresh and beautiful video of a homebuilt Long-EZ skimming along the edge the clouds sure looks like fun! (note that the airplane is flying IFR to keep things legal and safe)

 I've been familair with Long-EZ history since I was 14 when it's predecessor the VariEze first showed up at Oshkosh in 1975 powered by a Volkswagen engine. But even with years of knowledge and exposure to the design, I've never even had the chance to sit in a Long-EZ... so I especially enjoyed this video because it gives me a great idea of how awesome the view from the front seat is. I just added the Long-EZ to my 'fantasy hangar', but honestly that hangar is really gettin' packed tight!

 So many airplanes. So little money : /

What a view from the front seat of a Long-EZ while cloud skimming!

Like this post? Tell your friends... use the 'share' or 'email' article links below - thanx : ) 

Poll: Awesome Or Ugly? The 1960's Era 'Dyke Delta' Homebuilt

Dave Williams' beautifully built Dyke Delta at Oshkosh 2010

 I can still remember being somewhere in the EAA campground at Oshkosh in about 1970 or 1971 and hearing John Dyke talking to someone about his Jetsons-like Dyke Delta. Even as a 10 year old I knew this airplane was something very special. I assumed then that the Dyke Delta would be built in large numbers because of its incredible look, its 3-1/2 place cabin, and the relatively high cruise speed of 170mph+ on 180hp. But for whatever reason, this high-performance flying machine never really caught on with homebuilders... only 50 or so have been built from the plans (no kits were available) despite the fact that the prototype for the JD-2 Delta has accumulated over 2,000 hours of flying time since its first flight in 1966.

Dave Williams' Dyke Delta in flight  (photo: eaa.org)
 

 Maybe the look was just too far into the future for people? I don't think that's it, but I did figure that the Dyke Delta is a perfect subject for an Awesome or Ugly poll. As I mentioned in the last AorU poll, every unusual design I've picked so far is one I personally think is awesome. That continues here with the Dyke Delta, which I think is one of the coolest collection of thoughts to ever wind up sitting on the flightline at Oshkosh. You avgeeks in the AirPigz camp usually agree with me, so let's find out again... please answer the poll question below: is the Dyke Delta awesome or ugly??

read more about John Dyke and his Delta in this EAA experimenter article from 2009

Like this post? Tell your friends... use the 'share' or 'email' article links below - thanx : )

CoolPix: Beautiful Berkut At OSH13... (Remember What Summer Is Like?)

(click pic for hi-res)  Summer, a beautiful Berkut, and Oshkosh 2013. Perfection!

 For those of us who live where winter is wintery, it's been a very wintery winter! In northern Indiana where I live, we've had bitter cold and loads of snow for weeks on end, and it's snowing again this evening. However, the forecast is for above freezing temps for the next several days as winter finally gives us a bit of a break. That gets me thinking about summer, and when I think of summer, I think of OSHKOSH!

 I captured this image of James Redmon's gorgeous Berkut late in the week on Friday when the flightline was showing signs of clearing out, but the extra wide angle lens shows an Oshkosh that's full of life, beautiful clouds and lots of sunshine.

 Ultimately this is another one of my attempts to get you to make plans to be at Oshkosh this summer to experience the world's most amazing collection of aircraft... antiques, classics, ultralights, warbirds, extreme aerobatic, and everything in between. And then there's special attention on the airplanes that have been built by individuals who have the drive and dedication to build an airplane with their own hands. Mix it all up with well over 100,000 of the nicest people on earth and you have the best week of the year, year after year!

Oshkosh 2014: July 28 - August 3

Video: Mutant Offspring Of A Super Cub... The Amazing DoubleEnder!

 With me being very busy with day-job work and having ongoing issues with 'focus', I've never posted anything yet about the very unique DoubleEnder homebuilt bushplane even tho I've known about it for since well back into last year. But since it's on the cover of the latest Sport Aviation magazine I figured today was a good day to post a couple videos of this awesome mutant beast!

 As a guy with loads of homebuilt Breezy time, I really like that the pilot sits forward of the wing on the DoubleEnder, even if just barely... especially since a bushplane with enhanced all-around visibility is a really great idea. The DoubleEnder just looks like a really fun airplane to fly, plus you have the added power and safety of being a centerline twin. It'll sure be interesting to see if their goal to eventually make plans and/or kits available is achieved. I'm guessing there's a pretty good Alaska and worldwide market for such a fabulous flying machine. Find out more at BushPlaneDesign.com.

 I can just imagine a 12 seat version with two 600hp PT-6's on it! Maybe a 300 foot takeoff with 5,000 pounds of friends, food and fuel in a built-like-a-tank taildragger. Now that sounds like some serious fun : )

The twin engine DoubleEnder homebuilt bushplane (photo: BushPlaneDesign.com)

Before Brown Arch, The Blue Arch At Oshkosh 1971 - Nostalgic Picture!

(click pic to enlarge) The humble blue arch at the flightline entrance from Oshkosh 1971

 This pic from my old picture album is what I remember the main gate to the flightline at Oshkosh looking like back in the really old days. 1971 was the second year for Oshkosh (before that the event was in Rockford, IL) and for the first many years of the week-long fly-in and convention, access to the flightline was restricted to keep the general public away from the airplanes. That's why an 'entrance' was needed there in the first place. In this CoolPix image from a post back in 2010 you can see a neat old picture of Ray Hegy's El Chuparosa homebuilt and that flightline fence. Those were some great old days!  

 The blue entrance in the pic above looks to be in the spot just south of where the brown arch is these days, which means it's a current motorized vehicle access point to the flightline. But in 1971 this was the big entrance! After the main entrance moved a few feet north sometime later to the current brown arch spot, it served as the restricted access entry point for many more years... but when the access restriction was lifted, the brown arch became a symbol of the past. Today it's a memorial to the legacy of the event.

 I was I had a lot more of the pictures that my dad and I took back in the early days of Oshkosh, but most of them were lost in some water damage years ago. I was only 10 years old when this picture was taken, but it was already my third trip to an EAA convention. Oshkosh 2014 will be getting me pretty close to my 40th convention! I still get just as excited as I did when I was a kid : )

 If you haven't been to Oshkosh in a while (or ever), then I'd like to suggest that now is a great time to start making plans to make it happen. It's the greatest aviation event in the world, and you should be there!

 Oshkosh 2014

Replica Gee Bee Q.E.D. In The Sky (The Beauty Of Teamwork)

(click pic to enlarge) The Jim Moss Gee Bee Q.E.D. in the air! (photo: James Polivka)

 There's a good chance you already know that the Gee Bee Q.E.D. replica envisioned by Jim Moss made its first flight back on September 26, 2013. But if you're like me you didn't realize that Jim had been ill for some time during the latter stages of the project, and in fact he passed away on September 1st. It was the team of dedicated friends (wonderful aviation craftsmen) that carried Jim's Gee Bee dream into the sky.

 This helps to explain why the Q.E.D. video that I posted back in August didn't feature Jim and instead showcased these friends who honored Jim by never giving up.

 It appears that the first flights were very successful, and it's encouraging to see that getting the airplane to Oshkosh 2014 to share it with the aviation world is definitely a goal. Congratulations to all involved for building an incredible aircraft, but even more for being such dedicated and hard-working friends.

(click pic to enlarge) The Q.E.D beauty is deeper than its skin (photo:  James Polivka)

more info:

QED Flight Update (Antique Airfield)

Jim Moss's Gee Bee Q.E.D. Makes Maiden Flight (EAA)

Videos: 49 Homebuilt Aircraft Build World Record Formation Over Arrowhead Stadium!

UPDATED 10-14-13 at 7:33pm: additional video now posted at the bottom of the post... Tom McNerny, who races at Reno in his Lancair 360 'Unleashed' (race 55) shared the link to his youtube video as the 'formation dresser' for the fly-over. His video is shot from inside Unleashed and directly below the formation as he coordinates the pilots positions within the formation. It's another stunning view of this great piece of work!

 The video above gives you some details about the prep for the massive 49 aircraft fly-over of Arrowhead Stadium yesterday... it's an incredible Van's overcast of RV's! It was performed by the KC Flight Formation Team and it shows that we sure don't need the government to put on an awesome stadium fly-over! The video below shows the amazing 'arrowhead' shaped formation from inside the stadium.

 The fly-over was more than just a fantastic civilian aerial demonstration to open the NFL game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders, it was also tied into the fundraising efforts related to breast cancer research. Accordingly, the RV's were outfitted with pink smoke!

 It was a great day overall in Kansas City as the KC Flight Formation Team set a Guinness Book world record for largest aircraft formation (49 aircraft), the crowd set a world record for being the loudest in a stadium, and the unbeaten Chiefs won the game 24 to 7. The heartland scores big yesterday!

Video screenshot of the 49 RV homebuilts in an 'arrowhead' formation yesterday!

Video Proof Of Why Oshkosh Is The World's Greatest Aviation Event!

 This 4 minute 11 second video gives you just a small slice of what took place at Oshkosh 2013, and yet the avgeekery seen in this just-released FlyWithEAA video is crazy huge. Try to imagine the other 95% that you aren't seeing here. Oshkosh is simply incredible.

 If you've been making excuses of why you shouldn't or can't be there, stop it. Stop it now. It's time to get serious about OSH14. You've got 10 months to get your plans in place, which translates to: there are no excuses. Rich or poor, near or far, there's always a way to make this trip work out if the desire is truly there. If you need help or have questions, send me an email. I'm here to help any way I can.

See you in Oshkosh... the World's Greatest Aviation Event!

(check out AirPigz OSH13 posts) 

 Video screenshot: one of about a million awesome Oshkosh 2013 moments!