Video: Building The Gee Bee Q.E.D. Replica (And First Flight Coming Soon!)

 Back in May I posted a pic and a link to more pix of the amazing Gee Bee Q.E.D. replica being built by Jim Moss out in the pacific northwest. This recently released high-quality video shares so many more details about the project, and the team of builders that have come together to make it all possible. Both the size and the workmanship on this airplane are amazing! The video is almost 20 minutes long but it's worth every minute. If you don't have the time right now to watch it all, check out the engine start up sequence that starts at 12:30, and the high-speed taxi test that starts at about about 16:50... but seriously, find the time to watch the whole video.

The incredible QED replica out in the sunshine and firing up the big 1,425hp radial!

 The first flight is hoped to take place sometime this fall, but it won't happen until everything is truly ready. Given the size and relatively complexity of this replica, which has over twice the the horsepower as the one-and-only original Gee Bee Q.E.D., this is definitely not an airplane where you wanna rush the first flight in any way.

 It's interesting to note that this replica differs from the original in that it has the much bigger engine, a slightly larger fin and rudder to deal with that extra horsepower, and the landing gear is set further apart to give much better ground stability. That wider gear has also caused the wingspan to increase 2 feet over the original as well. This must be one of the most beastly homebuilt airplanes ever built. Wow!

 Stay tuned for first flight info.

Video screenshot: Big, beautiful beast of an airplane! Replica Q.E.D. from Jim Moss & crew

Video screenshot: wide angle view of the Q.E.D. from a wing mounted camera

Video screenshot: high-speed taxi test... looks like it's right of the Rocketeer!

EAA Founder Paul H. Poberezny: September 14, 1921 ~ August 22, 2013

EAA founder Paul Poberezny passed away August 22, 2013 at the age of 91

 Experimental Aircraft Association founder Paul H. Poberezny passed away on Thursday August 22, 2013 at Evergreen Retirement Village in Oshkosh, Wisconsin after battling cancer.

 His life-long dedication to sport flying and to the knowledge and encouragement to build your own airplane will live on through the work of the EAA, and the through the world's greatest aviation event known as Oshkosh.

 If you love Oshkosh as I do, then you ultimately have Paul to thank for it. His vision and leadership skills brought the EAA from a small group of homebuilt airplane enthusiasts in his garage in Hales Corners (Wisconsin) to a worldwide organization that has fostered sport flying like none other.

 Oshkosh, the annual fly-in and convention for the members of the EAA reflects the common-sense spirit of Paul with a focus on great aviation fellowship and personal responsibility.

 My prayers go out to the family and friends of Paul Poberezny after his passing.

OSH13: Rutan Catbird... Wide Angle In The Evening Sun (4 Pix)

(click pic to enlarge)  From the late 80's, Burt Rutan's Model 81 Catbird at OSH13

 Two years ago at OSH11 we saw the return of both the Catbird and the Boomerang, two of Burt Rutan's designs from back in the day that had their sights set on possibly re-inventing general aviation. Both airplanes were restored to flying status by people who work at Scaled Composites, giving these fabulous airplanes the chance to fly again and the world the chance to see more of Burt's unique work up close once again. You can check out my post from OSH11 that includes some Catbird pix and a link to more info on this 3-surface flying machine. But this post is really all about experiencing the unique shape of the one-of-a-kind Catbird with a wide-angle lens and a gorgeous evening sun.

 Being out on the flightline at Oshkosh in the evening is one of my favorite things to do. It's time that more effectively puts the focus on the airplanes. It's quiet with not a lot of people (or in the late evening maybe no one else at all) and the airplanes somehow speak more clearly to me. When I saw the Catbird parked near the brown arch with the low evening sun I knew some great pix were to soon follow. Be sure to click these pix to enlarge them, and enjoy one of the world's most unique airplanes in a way you've probably never seen it before.

Video: Wasabi Reveals Hot New Formula One Air Racer! (Wasabi Siren)

 Elliot Seguin works for Scaled Composites in Mojave California, but he also runs Wasabi Air Racing with his crew chief Jenn Whaley. They've been busy for the last couple years designing and building an all new Formula One race aircraft for Reno... it's called the Wasabi Special, but its also known as the 'Siren'. You might already know that for a while Elliot was part of Team Nemesis (Jon and Patricia Sharp, last raced in 2009) which is very well know for having been the first team to break 400mph with a Sport Class racer (actually Super Sport at the time) - and Elliot's exposure to the amazing design of the very successful Nemesis NXT has trickled down somewhat into the much smaller Continental O-200 powered Formula One Class Siren. Seems like good thinkin' to me!

 I don't really have a lot of details on the airplane, but the video above gives you a variety of looks at the Siren, along with a fun and kinda artsy presentation of some of the flight testing that's been done in relative secret over the last year. Given that Elliot has a few years of Reno race experience in his antique old-school Cassutt racer, getting out on the race course in a possible contender should be both a thrill and a great learning experience. With this being the 50th anniversary of the Reno Air Races, I don't think he could have picked a better time to introduce an all-new racer!

Reno Air Races: September 11-15, 2013

Go Green... Go Wasabi!

Video screenshot: all-new Formula One racer from Wasabi Air Racing: The Wasabi Siren

Video screenshot: The Wasabi Siren showing its Nemesis NXT heritage planform

Video: The Slick View Of OSH13 - Must See!

 We didn't get a video from 'Slick' for OSH12 with his involvement in the U.S. Navy, but this year he was able to get behind the camera at OSH13 and capture more awesome avgeek beauty from the world's greatest aviation event!

Well done Slick, you've definitely still got it : )

Check out the OSH10 video and the OSH11 video from Slick

Screenshot from Slick's fabulous video of Oshkosh 2013

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: CoolPix - James Redmon And His Fabulous Berkut (Friday 8.2.13)

(click pic for hi-res)  James Redmon under the wing of his gorgeous Berkut homebuilt

 There's been some great press on James Redmon and his Berkut recently, including the July Sport Aviation magazine and this article in the July issue of EAA's Experimenter. I spent some time talking to James and looking over the Berkut on Friday, and I got several pix including this unique view of the airplane and its builder. Wow, this is one sweet homebuilt!

 This Berkut is also known as race #13 and competes in events run by the Sport Air Racing League (SARL) - this design has been tweaked to be able to compete at over 250 mph... and to look really good while doing it! I'm planning a more in-depth post in the future with lots of up-close detail pix, but for now I hope you enjoy this wide-angle CoolPix from under the Berkut that shows James enjoying OSH13 : )

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!

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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.

OSH13 Will Be The Best Oshkosh Ever!

(click pic for hi-res)  Proud lineup of Cessna 195 noses at Oshkosh 2010

 It's a bit of a tradition now for me to make that statement... that this year's Oshkosh will be the best one ever. What's the reason it's the 'best ever' each successive year? Because the best Oshkosh is the one you can experience RIGHT NOW! Avgeek memories of past Oshkosh weeks are awesome, amazing, and many are truly unforgettable, but the ability to experience Oshkosh in the here-and-now always trumps the memories for me.

 I've got memories like way back at Oshkosh 1977 (I was 16) and had just started building a Pober Pixie from plans. I was there all week but had also arrived early. Right up near the main gate was an amazing Starduster Too that really caught my attention for its seemingly perfect craftsmanship. I got to talking with the owner Roger Rourke and quickly wound up being best friends for the week with him and his wife. They were really nice to this young avgeek and I have never forgotten that. I spent a lot of time hanging out right there that week, and after looking over the other contenders, I was confident Roger would win the big award. He did. Grand Champion Homebuilt Oshkosh 1977.

 Then there was the next year, 1978, when the Quickie showed up a few days before Oshkosh started. It was parked up near the main gate, near where Roger's Starduster Too had been the year before. Wow, I spent a lot of hours before Oshkosh even started looking over that freaky-cool 18hp flying machine. It was kinda cool to see it sit there relatively alone at that point... and then to see it swarmed by people all week long!

 There was 1982 when I flew the Breezy homebuilt up from Indiana. I parked it in the showplane camping area just south of the Theater in the Woods. Back in those days we could push the airplanes right in around the trees. It just couldn't get any better than camping like that with a homebuilt at Oshkosh, especially at only 20 years old! These days they don't let you park so close to the trees - I understand the reasoning, but it sure made for the perfect camp experience.

The Breezy I flew to Oshkosh in 1982, camped in the trees (see full post here)

 How about 1984 when Burt and Dick Rutan gave us all something to talk about when they brought the Voyager out from Mojave to show us in detail what they had in mind for flying around the world non-stop and unrefueled. The airplane was parked on display where we could look it over... Burt gave talks on the airplane and the world-flight plan, and Dick put on some flight demos in front of a huge crowd. I'll never forget seeing the wings flap when Dick would induce a little pitching for fun - I actually have an old VHS video of that!

 This is somewhere around my 35th or 36th Oshkosh, and the list of great memories goes on and on for me. Some of them are from spectacular aircraft doing amazing things. Some of them are from spending great quality time with great quality people. Oshkosh isn't a 'show' that you stand there and take in... Oshkosh is a living, breathing experience that each and every one of us has the amazing opportunity to be part of. If you're coming to be wowed by some big, special, or rare airplane, I'd like to ask you to instead come and be wowed by what opportunities for learning, sharing, and growing Oshkosh provides. Don't just come to Oshkosh, BE Oshkosh.

 This coming Monday (July 29) the somewhat surreal experience of being surrounded by thousands of aircraft and way north of a hundred thousand avgeeks will begin again. Back in the 80's I used to call this surreal aspect Okshock, but then this incredible gathering of aviaotica has always been oddly the most important week of my life each year. I'm sure it will be again this year. 

 I hope to see you there : )  #Okshock