Oshkosh 2010 Pic Stream #3 - Getting Settled In (16 pix)

 Check out that long morning shadow coming off that Luscombe! Tuesday started with loads of sunshine and stayed that way most of the day. Some overcast appeared for a while in the afternoon, but it was a good day for weather.

  Mid morning had lots of activity going on at AeroShell Square. Here, Art Nalls tells a very interested crowd about his Sea Harrier. This is the only privately owned flyable Harrier jump jet in the world. 

The airplane is scheduled to put on some flight demos thru the week, and I'm sure it will attract a lot attention. I also talked with Art and we're working on doing a podcast before too long. I'm sure it will be fascinating to get the story behind the journey of pilot and airplane to reach this point.

  How'd you like to have a grandpa who would make this for you?! As I worked my way around all the goodies on AeroShell Square, I spotted this ultra-cool DC-3 wagon with some pretty happy kids in it. Tho I think they might have been getting tired waving to all the people looking at them... they were very popular!

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Oshkosh 2010 Pic Stream #2 - Sunshine & Avgeek Happiness! (19 pix)

AirPigz 'Bacon Party' Tonight!  5pm-7pm in Camp Scholler
( Lindbergh Ave at 43rd Street - click for map )

 The campground is definitely drying out, but the big Class A motorhomes still aren't being let in as of late Monday evening. Hopefully tomorrow the ground will have firmed up enough for them. My campsite isn't really all put together yet... I've been too busy with airplanes and stuff.

 My early morning trip into the show grounds went right by the fabulous Kirby Chambliss Red Bull airplane that was sitting right outside the Cirrus booth. The second Red Bull airplane on a stick was pretty cool to see in the morning air as well.

  Just to the south of Kirby's airplane was one of the 16 Cirrus SR20's recently purchased by Purdue University for their flight school.

 The Kodiak sitting on amphibious floats was looking pretty sharp in the early sunshine. I've got the camera on the monopod up in the air as I often do, which can make the airplane look smaller than it is... note that the wing is essentially at the height of the building roof. This is a big and tall package of an airplane!

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Oshkosh 2010 Pic Stream #1 - It's All About To Begin! (17 pix)

 It's not really much of a campsite here in this early Sunday morning picture, but it's Oshkosh(!), so I'm off-the-scale happy. Even with all the mud and challenges that have hit the last stages of getting this event up and running, it feels really good to be back at Wittman Field! I'm thinking that in another day or so it should like a lot more like home.

 You can see from this pic that the heavy rains from a few days ago have really left their mark on the campground. Even tho this is a Sunday morning view, most of the campground is much better than this. However, it is a sloppy mess over a lot of the grounds. They actually starting turning away the large motorhomes because there weren't any solid spots left for them, even thru the day on Sunday. Hopefully tomorrow will be better and the thousands of people staying away from the airport around the city of Oshkosh in their big motorhomes will finally be able to get into Camp Scholler.

 After getting some campground pictures, I made my way over to the other side of the airport where Sonex Aircraft was having an open house/lunch. It was a perfect opportunity for them to show off some of the progress they've made on some new aircraft. The biggest news came from a smaller airplane... the Onex. This single seat VW powered airplane is specifically designed to be inexpensive and very easy to store. The simple folding wing concept allows it to fit in some really small spaces.

 Here John Monnett is showing the wing folding process. They've put a lot of work into making it all very simple to accomplish, and it was obvious that the good sized crowd on hand for the reveal was really impressed.

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Can You Buy Friends At Oshkosh With Bacon? I’m Gonna Try!

Come to an AirPigz Bacon party and we'll eat bacon and talk airplanes!

 Oshkosh isn't just about airplanes, it’s about people.  I think the opportunity to share the common bond of aviation, at the world’s greatest aviation event, is pretty spectacular. So, to help foster along my chance to rub elbows with other airplane nuts, I've decided to call in the big guns: Bacon! Seriously, what could be better than airplanes and bacon?

 I've put together two specific events called ‘Bacon Parties’ that will take place at my campsite in Camp Scholler (on the south side of Lindbergh Ave between 42nd and 43 streets) on Tuesday 7-27 and Saturday 7-31, from 5pm til 7pm. Show up anytime during the two hours and you'll find fresh bacon and plenty of friendly airplane talk : )

 You don’t have to register or RSVP, but you can add either (or both) parties to your schedule at OSHplanner.com. They’re listed under ’User Submitted’ events and can be found at this link. 21 people have already added a Bacon Party to their schedule! Ahhh, the power of bacon!

 Check out my OSHplanner post from the other day if you don’t know what it is… I highly recommend you use it to plan the forums and other events you want to attend at Oshkosh 2010.

  And, I hope you’ll stop by and chew the fat with me at the AirPigz ‘Bacon Parties’!

Click pic to go to the CoolPix (hi-res) version of this great A380 pic from OSH09

Video: The Perfect Oshkosh 2010 Promo!

Oshkosh 2010: July 26- August 1

OSH10 Will Be The Best Oshkosh Ever! (Bonus CoolPix-Vintage)

(click pic for hi-res)    CoolPix - Vintage: the awesome Pitcairn Autogiro at OSH09

 It’s not a gimmick, as I said last year, the best Oshkosh ever is the one you’re at RIGHT NOW! With opening day just a week away, it won’t be long before the magical experience of gathering together with thousands of like-minded avgeeks, and airplanes of every imaginable kind, will turn Wittman Field into literally the best place on Earth.

 There’s no other place I know of where so many people gather in a creative, technical, peaceful, and respectful manner, and then do so for a whole week. No where. I’m blessed to be able to go all week again this year, which will also be my 34th Oshkosh experience. I joined the EAA in 1970, the same year as the first Oshkosh (the annual EAA convention was in Rockford, IL prior to moving to OSH), and even tho I was only 9 years old, I was at Oshkosh 1970 - thanks dad!

Airbus A380 stirring up lots of dust and attracting every eye at OSH09

 I get a chuckle out of the people that go for a day or two and say they saw it all. I’ll be there all week long, I’ll cover the grounds all day long, I’ll keep moving thru the evening, and then do my best to be back out there by 7:30 in the morning… and I’ll still only scratch the surface of what this event has to offer. If it’s just some airplanes sitting on a Wisconsin airport in the summer to you, then I guess a day or two will cover it. But Oshkosh truly represents the spirit of aviation, and no aviation event can inspire a person, in a thousand different aviation ways, like Oshkosh can.

A beautiful example of the highly unusual homebuilt Dyke Delta at OSH09

 If you’ve never been to the event, and you aren’t coming this year, I encourage you to keep watch of AirPigz.com during the week from Monday July 26th thru Sunday August 1st. I’m planning to post an update every night. Hopefully these posts will help to display the amazing diversity of aircraft and people that attend, and, what you’re missing. My biggest hope is that it will inspire you to make attending next year a priority. And of course, if you know how great Oshkosh is, but you aren't able to attend this year, please enjoy these daily posts... I hope they'll help you to feel like you're there on some level : )

The remotely piloted Predator B UAV at OSH09

 And if you’re are headed to OSH10, I highly recommend you dig deep and really take the event in (use the awesome, unofficial ’events scheduler’ at OSHplanner.com to help with that), and remember, because you’re livin’ it, OSH10 Will Be the Best Oshkosh Ever!

OSHplanner.com - Fantastic Oshkosh 'Events' Planning App

Fast planning app for 'events' at Oshkosh 2010: OSHplanner.com

 If you’re gonna be at Oshkosh 2010 for more than a day or two, you should definitely look into using the just-launched free application called OSHplanner. It’s an essential compliment to eaaapps.org, the official EAA site designed to help you schedule the forums, speakers and other events you’ll want to be sure to get in on at OSH10. What makes OSHplanner so much more useful is its ability to point out all the conflicting events you’ve selected and help you resolve those conflicts. More important, it specifically takes into account the fact that some events are offered at different times on different days… and OSHplanner does the thinking to make sure you have the greatest chance of seeing all you want. 

 To quickly put it all in perspective: last year it took me several hours to generate a schedule of events that I wanted to be sure to catch at OSH09 using the EAA site. I was able to accomplish the same thing AND resolve conflicts in less than 30 minutes with OSHplanner.

 Here’s all you need to do to use OSHplanner.com:

 Log-in using a twitter or Facebook account, or other OpenID option

 Click ’Programs’ to see the list of hundreds of ’events’

 Click ’add it’ if you’re potentially interested in an ’event’

 When you want to see your selections, click ‘MY SCHEDULE’

 All ’conflicts’ will be displayed at the bottom of the page

 View ’conflicts’ and decide to ‘remove’ one of them, or leave it and decide on the day

 You can also use the ’search’ feature to look for a specific presenter, topic, or anything that seems like it would lead you to an event that you’re interested in. There are also categories down the left side of the page that break the big list down into specific topics. It’s all extremely organized, powerful and useful.

 OSHplanner also has the ability to mesh with several mobile apps to give you notifications and greater flexibility than simply printing out the schedule on paper, which of course you can do if that works best for you. It’s actually a good idea as a backup anyway.

 All this is very useful as the number of forums, speakers, and the wide range of associated events has grown exponentially since the good old days when you might only have a desire to catch one or two events during the day. OSHplanner does the work that significantly reduces the stress of trying to cram a lot into the day, which in turn makes a multiple day stay at the world’s greatest aviation event both more effective and more enjoyable.

 OSHplanner is the work of Adam Fast (twitter: @adamcanfly), a great friend to me and my work at AirPigz. He’s taken his almost sick love of data, code, and Django and mixed it with his perfectly normal love for aviation and Oshkosh. OSHplanner is the beautiful result : )

 The system is very new and pretty grass roots: your feedback to Adam is welcomed. And you are certainly encouraged to spread the word as quickly as possible if you give it a try and like what it does. Oshkosh will be here soon!

Dear Boeing, Please Bring The 787 To Oshkosh 2010. Love, Martt

(click pic to enlarge)

 I've been dreaming of a Dreamliner in AeroShell Square for over a year now, and I know the EAA has extended an offer for the airplane to come to Oshkosh. So, I'm formally, and publicly making my request known: Dear Boeing, Please bring the 787 to Oshkosh 2010. Love, Martt.

 I figure that since both the 727 and the 747 made their prototype first flights on my birthday (February 9) there must be some sort of cosmic connection between me and revolutionary Boeing airplanes. And since I've never asked for anything before, I figure I'm due this one request : )

 I even put some lovely EAA paint on a 787 to show how well the DreamLiner and 'The Spirit of Aviation' go together.

 So, I think I've exhausted my resources in this endeavor... it's all up to you now, dear Boeing. Here's hoping you do the right thing and bring your beautiful girl to Oshkosh and put her on display in AeroShell Square! (here's the Lat/Long if it helps - N43-59.1/W088-33.4)

If you'd also like to see the 787 at OSH, leave a quick comment in support : )

CoolPix - Modern Military: V-22 Osprey Will Stir Air At Oshkosh 2010!

(click pic for hi-res)

 Yep, here's another CoolPix with the Bell-Boeing V-22 already... but technically it's actually the Air Force version known as the CV-22. Oh, wait, the other one is the CV-22 version too. Oh well, the bottom line: both this and the previous Osprey CoolPix are off-the-scale fantastic! (If you don't say 'wow' when you click the above pic, there may be something wrong with you!)

 I'm really happy to have just found out that this amazing tiltrotor flying machine will be at Oshkosh 2010. Looks like it'll be on display, and perform a flight demonstration as well. I'm really excited about that since I haven't seen one fly yet. You can get more detailed info at this EAA link with the Osprey schedule for Oshkosh.

 Oshkosh (the greatest aviation event on planet Earth) runs July 26 thru August 1, 2010. It's kind of a big deal : )

CAF B-29 'FIFI' Scheduled To Fly Again June 29, 2010

Installing 1 of 4 modified Wright R-3350's on the B-29 FIFI    photos: cafB29B24.org

 After 4 years on the ground plus a lot of hard work and financial support, the world's only flyable Boeing B-29 Superfortress, owned and operated by the Commemorative Air Force, is scheduled for a test flight on Tuesday, June 29, 2010. FIFI will be back in the air once again! The flight is expected to take place at 8:00 am at the CAF Airpower Museum in Midland, Texas. Visitors are welcome to come watch, and the museum will be opening at 7am to give interested spectators a front row seat to see pre-flight prep and the flight itself. Admission to the museum is $10 for adults, $9 for ages 13-17 and over 65, and $7 for age 5-12.

 FIFI first began showing up at airshows in 1975 after an extensive search and restoration project by what was known then as the Confederate Air Force. I clearly remember it was a really big deal when she first arrived at Oshkosh, and I have years of memories of this grand aircraft from WWII participating in the Warbird airshows there. My recent ride in the B-17 'Yankee Lady' has really made the historical importance of these aircraft, and the people who did battle in WWII, become so much more real to me.

 The work required to put FIFI back in the air centered around the need to update the huge Wright R-3350 engines. The version originally used in the airplane has always been problematic, and when metal shavings were found in the oil, it was clear that major changes would have to be made. The re-engine project built up a variation of the engine from two different versions and required modifications to the engine mounts and cowlings. Hopefully these modifications will not only get FIFI back in the air, but will make it easier to keep her there for many years to come.

 Much of the re-engine project funding was jump-started by support from Jim Cavanaugh of the Cavanaugh Flight Museum (CFM). Both the B-29 and the Consolidated B-24 Liberator operated by the CAF will be based out of the CFM in Addison, Texas for 6 months of the year, and then be on tour with CAF crews around the country the other 6 months.

 Lastly, I haven't seen any confirmed reports yet, but hopefully FIFI will be included in the large collection of aircraft scheduled to be at Oshkosh from the CAF. The EAA's "Salute to Veterans" along with 75th anniversary of both the DC-3 (C-47) and the B-17 are drawing a lot of significant historical aircraft to the best place on earth: Oshkosh : )