AirPigz NASM MeetUp Day 2! (Downtown Washington DC - 5 Pix)

(click pic to enlarge) The Bell X-1 that Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier with in 1947

 Day two of the AirPigz National Air and Space Museum MeetUp was absolutely fabulous! We car-pooled to a METRO train station and then rode into downtown DC to experience the incredible collection of historic aircraft. Everyone had a great time... from the youngest at 9 years of age to the oldest at 78. It was a perfect day of great airplanes and great people!

(click pic to enlarge) Most of the 14 people at today's meetup under the Rutan Voyager

 You meet the nicest people at an AirPigz MeetUp! Seriously, what a great bunch of people to share some wonderful avgeekery with. If you've never joined in before, you should definitely consider it when the next chance rolls around.

(click pic to enlarge) Side view of the amazing Howard Hughes H-1 racer from 1935

(click pic top enlarge)  Front view of the H-1 racer (wood wing, aluminum fuselage)

 As I expected, I spent quite a lot of time with the Hughes H-1 racer today. Trust me when I say I got waaayyyyy more than just the two pictures you see here of this amazing race aircraft from the mid 30's! But for now this is all you get... more pix and details yet to come at another time : )

(click pic to enlarge) Wide span of history: Spirit of St Louis, Bell X-1 and SpaceShipOne

 In the future I'll be posting much more from the experiences at the Udvar-Hazy on Friday, the National Mall from today, and from the last day of the MeetUp tomorrow back at the Udvar-Hazy, but for now this is all I have the time and energy for.

 A big Thank You goes out to everyone participating in the MeetUp this year, you've made it a real joy!

CoolPix: Summer Dreamin' - Rutan Boomerang At Oshkosh 2012

(click pic for hi-res) Unique view of a most unique aircraft: the Rutan Boomerang at OSH12

 The combination of some bitter-cold winter air in my part of the world, along with not-enough-hours-in-the-day (too much day-job work to get done) led me to this unique view of Burt Rutan's Boomerang that I captured at Oshkosh 2012. I needed something quick to post and I wanted it to remind me of warm summer days... wow, this Boomerang pic hits the spot perfectly!

 Burt put this incredibly unique mid 1990's airplane in the hands of Scaled Composites employee Tres Clements who headed up a crew that restored the one-of-a-kind aircraft to airworthy condition in 2011. It was a fabulous treat to see the airplane at OSH11, and it felt like an old friend was back again at OSH12. It does my heart good to see people sitting in the grass using the Boomerang for shade on sunny summer day in Wisconsin. That's just one of the thousands of reasons why Oshkosh is the greatest place on Earth to me.

 You can learn more about the airplane at RutanBoomerang.com - and of course I recommend you click the pic to open up this CoolPix so it fills your screen. A closer look means you'll likely notice the airstair door, the windshield-plug-door for cockpit access (along with the retractable foot step forward of the wing), and the off-center nosewheel... which is not only off-center of the main fuselage but probably isn't really on the airplane's centerline. At least I don't think it is. Truthfully, I'm not sure Burt even knows where the true centerline of the Boomerang is! 

 Anyway, a great pic of an incredible airplane at the world's greatest aviation event : )

Would You Please Buy Me An Airplane? (Support AirPigz Today!)

VW powered Nieuport 11 replica homebuilt for sale on barnstormers.com - $8,900

Use this donate button to support AirPigz and help me buy this airplane!

($220 in donations as of 3:59pm EST on 1.13.13)
 

 This might be preposterous (btw, that's the first time I have ever spelled out preposterous in my life!) but I'm asking you to consider supporting AirPigz today with a least a $10 donation (or more, or much more if you are willing and able) so I can buy a very inexpensive flying machine. A great example, and one that I would absolutely consider if it's in good airworthy condition, is the Nieuport 11 replica pictured above that I found on barnstormers.com last night. It's a VW powered homebuilt with 160 TT and is available with an asking price of just $8,900. Just $10 from about 1,000 AirPigz friends gets me back in the air! I floated this idea on twitter and facebook last night and raised $50 already... so maybe I'm not so crazy afterall for asking : )

 But why would you give me money to buy an airplane? Good question, and I'm glad you asked. Well, I have a list of reasons starting with the fact that I'm four years into running AirPigz.com and the total amount of revenue thus far is around $1,000. That's pretty sad. And there are many reasons for it... but it isn't because I haven't been working hard! It's also not because I don't have a pretty good sized audience... I am now solidly over 50,000 page views each month with 25,000 or more unique visitors each month. It's taken quite a while to get to that level, but that's a pretty good aviation audience for a one-man operation. Seems like a small donation to support the one-man-show efforts here at AirPigz isn't really so preposterous! (you paid how much for that fancy cup of coffee?)

 Btw, this might be a good time to point out the CoolPix category here on AirPigz which includes a rather big collection of large images (many now also available in 'desktop image' sizes) - some are historical images, but many are photos I've captured and made available here for you to enjoy at no charge.

A weathered AirPigz logo and web address would look perfect on this Nieuport replica!
 

 I have spent an unbelievable amount of time developing this website as a fun and interesting outreach, and as an entertainment tool for aviation. But the ads you've seen here on AirPigz (except for the book ads like the one currently at the top right) have been just me trading promotion or service with other avgeeks. The book ads are a good idea, but so far the revenue there isn't enough to cover my $20/month blog platform fee. And, in the last 18 months, my day job as a ceramic tile and hardwood/laminate installer has picked back up to the point that it's about all I can do to keep the quality content showing up here 5 to 7 days a week. There's not much time left for figuring out the enigma of generating internet revenue. Most all of my day-job income is still going toward undoing a pretty severe financial crisis that occured in 2008/2009... I'm still on the deep stall side of the power curve!

 I'll happily answer any questions you have about my financial situation, but mostly I'd like to ask you to consider making a donation to support the quality avgeek content that I put out on a consistent basis... and if enough money comes in from this request to buy an airplane like this cute little Nieuport 11 replica, then you can feel good about putting a passionate avgeek, who has worked hard to bring the best of avgeekery to you, back in the air again. (I have about 1,000 total time but haven't been current since 1995)

Thank you for considering my request : )

Video: Early Christmas Gift from Slick - Don't Stop The Aviation: GoPro 2012

 'Slick' is back again already with another must see video. He's mixed some sweet GoPro footage from fun-flying a Mini-Max, a Piper Clipper and his single place Pitts together in what makes a really nice early Christmas present for avgeeks. He's titled it Don't Stop the Aviation: GoPro 2012. Before I say anything else, when you start the video don't get confused thinking it's a swanky Audi commercial or a Top Gear segment, that's all part of the video... you know, the trip to the airport part! Just sit back and enjoy 6 minutes and 22 seconds of three very different airplanes that all just drip the AirPigz tag line: LOVE TO FLY.

 And if you missed Slick's recent return to video editing (due to some time off from the Navy) then be sure to check out SlickHutto Takes A Spin Back In The Video Saddle... 2012 Fort Worth Air Show - you'll also finds links in that post to his ultra fab Oshkosh videos from 2009 - 2011. 

 I'm compelled once again to say what I've said when I've posted his other videos: thanx Slick : )

Screenshot showing the GoPro view of Slick rolling his single place Pitts Special

Poll: Which Logo Best Represents The Experimental Aircraft Association?

 This is the same poll I put up almost a week ago in 3 Reasons Why I Should Be The New EAA President (And 3 Why It'll Never Happen), but the poll wasn't the focus of that post so I thought it might be good to make it easier for people to find it. Almost 200 votes have come in since last Tuesday and I have been extremely pleased to see that my retro logo is currently running at over 82% favorability! I'd like to see where the numbers are at with about 1,000 votes, so if you haven't voted in this poll yet, please do.

 The real purpose for this poll isn't to see if my particular version of the old original EAA logo is better liked than the the current one, it's really about seeing if there's a real desire within the EAA membership to see the organization return to its roots. That doesn't in any way mean shunning new technology for homebuilt aircraft, it's really all about how the organization is run and what it considers its primary mission to be. In my opinion, the EAA of 1970 was doing a much better job of representing its members than the EAA of 2012... and the logo battle is a pretty good graphic representation of all that.

 Oshkosh 1970: grass trampled around Ray Hegy's one-of-a-kind El Chuparosa

Video: The Affordable Sport Fighter - The Sonex 'Onex' Homebuilt

 I've been a fan of the Sonex Onex since it was just a concept... and as this video shows, the little single seat Onex has a long list of enticing qualities. With the first two of customer built Onex's now listed on the Sonex Aircraft completions page, we can expect a steady stream of additional completions to begin taking to the sky.

 The affordable base kit price of $12,995 (without engine) means a completed aircraft can be in the air for just a little over $25,000 when you include a brand new 80hp AeroVee engine. Check out the Sonex Aircraft kit pricing page for more info - scroll down the page for the Onex kit pricing info and options.

 The combination of affordable cost, fast-to-build 'matched hole' prefabricated parts, folding wings for storage in small places, and truly sport-fighter performance in the air makes the Onex a truly remarkable aircraft! I think we should all have at least One[x] : )

(this video is an excerpt from the Sonex Story video)

Video screenshot showing the ultra fun Sonex Onex in the taildragger configuration

Video: The Synergy Aircraft Revolution Explained By Designer John McGinnis

SynergyAircraft.com
Synergy Aircraft facebook page

 I've had the pleasure of knowing about the Synergy Aircraft project probably long before you knew about it. I've been excited at the possible revolution this unique aircraft has represented from the very first day I learned of the details over three years ago. The man behind the project, John McGinnis, is attempting to take the knowledge base of aerodynamics and move it into an extreme that it's never been to before. Will he actually take us all there? There's no way to know until the prototype flies and we see what it can really do, but if you watch this video captured at one of his forums at Oshkosh 2012, you'll begin to understand several of the methods his Synergy design uses that he believes will open up new levels of efficiency and performance. The brilliance of the concept becomes much easier to see as John explains what's going on with the design.

 Synergy represents more than just an attempt to revolutionize small aircraft design... it's everything that the homebuilt aircraft movement, which began in the 1950's, thrived thru the 1970's and continues yet today, is all about: innovation; big achievement on limited resources; the pursuit of excellence; and above all, the passion to build the best flying machine possible to put people into the sky. With the successful kickstarter.com campaign behind him, John and his small, dedicated crew are moving toward a future of flight that previously we've only been able to dream of.

 I'm very excited to see Synergy take us into the future of high performance flight!

see also: 'Synergy' Aircraft Revealed, Prepares To Lead A Revolution
                   Synergy Aircraft Prototype Construction Update - March 2012

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! : )

Video: David Algie's LP1 Making Great Progress Toward First Flight

See also: Algie Composite Aircraft 'LP1' - 385 MPH At FL290 & 14.5 GPH?
                2010 AirPigz 'HOTY' - Algie Composite Aircraft LP1

 David Algie is getting the extremely impressive LP1, his carbon fiber, pressurized, high-altitude 2-seat speedster much closer to the first flight. However, as anyone with experience or knowledge of the prototyping process of a completely new aircraft can tell you, there's just no way to when the first flight will take place. The video above shows the first taxi test that was done recently and the airplane is definitely looking good. With a main landing gear reminiscent of the SX-300, the LP1 looks bold and sounds impressive with its Chevy LS Corvette engine spinning David's homebuilt 4-blade prop.

 Although there had been hopes of getting the airplane in the air in 2011, the combination of several complex systems (retractable gear, cooling system, wiring etc.) along with David's limited resources have pushed the completion back somewhat. However, I don't hold that against David, especially when we see the kind of delays the A380, A400M and the 787 all encountered. Sure, those projects are on a much grander scale, but they also had an unimaginable amount of resources at their disposal. The more you understand what David is accomplishing here on this project, the more impressive his effort is!

Algie Composite Aircraft LP1 on the gear and getting closer to first flight (photo: ACA)
 

 Check out these resources to keep up on the progress of the LP1: the Algie Composite Aircraft website, the Woodward Aerospace facebook page, or WoodwardAerospace.com.

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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