OSH13: Dawn Patrol - Warbirds (Thursday 8.1.13 - 6 Pix)

(click pic to enlarge)  North American FJ-4B in the beautiful morning sun

 Getting up early and heading out about 5am to get sunrise pictures of fabulous airplanes is one of the most satisfying things to do at Oshkosh. My first Dawn Patrol experience at OSH13 was yesterday morning with three other CampBacon avgeeks. It was the Warbird area that we wondered thru looking for just the right combination of aircraft and rising sun. The warm glow of the sun and sometimes stunning cloud formations can sure produce some wonderful images. And if things go well with weather, and my desire to get up early, then I'm hoping to join a Dawn Patrol tomorrow morning thru the antiques!

(click pic to enlarge)  A little different view of the FJ-4B - great clouds above!

(click pix to enlarge)  Fabulous Curtiss P-40 Warhawk in the morning sun

(click pic to enlarge) A line of T-28's as the sun gets another day at OSH13 under way
 

more pix coming soon!

OSH13: A Trip To The Seaplane Base (Wednesday 7.31.13 - 6 Pix)

(click pic to enlarge)  Beautiful seaplanes at the beautiful seaplane base... ahhhh

 In addition to being all over Wittman Field on Wednesday, I also joined three other avgeeks staying at CampBacon for the short drive over to the seaplane base. Whether you spend just an hour or all day at the base, it's definitely a must-see experience while at Oshkosh. The beautiful setting and calming environment is the perfect way to re-charge your batteries. And if you take the free (donations requested) pontoon boat ride around the moored seaplanes you'll feel connected to the general awesomeness that is airplanes-on-water. I love the seaplane base!

(click pic to enlarge)  A beautiful amphibious Super Cub firing up to go flying

(click pic to enlarge)  A Lake Amphibian that has just arrived at the dock

(click pic to enlarge)  Yeah, that wonderful Cessna 195 on floats once again

(click pic to enlarge)  A pretty yellow Cub with polished aluminum floats

(click pic to enlarge)  The one boat ride everyone should take while at Oshkosh!
 

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.