Video: #CubLove On The Water - Summer 2016

 It's really cold outside, and winter doesn't even actually start until 11 days from now... so to brighten my day I finally got around to uploading a short Cub-on-floats video from early September. I got my seaplane rating on October 31st (yay!) after a few training/fun flying sessions thru the late summer. I must say, flying an antique airplane on antique floats off of ancient northern Indiana lakes is some serious fun! 

 I realized my last rating check ride was about 35 years earlier when I got my multi-engine rating. Wow I'm getting old! Anyway, fortunately the checkride went great, which makes me think I should do that kind of thing more often. Like eventually a commercial, hot air balloon, and maybe (but not very likely) an instrument rating. Mostly, I'm just really thankful that I'm actually flying airplanes these days instead of just talking about them.

 Below I've include the video of when we first launched the J-3 off of the trailer at the airport back in July, and also the landing on grass back at the airport at the end of the summer season.

 I've learned, without any doubt this summer, that airplanes and water are a perfect combination : )

#CubLove 

2016: The Year Of The Cubs!

Me flying off Winona Lake during seaplane training in the Warsaw Flying Club J-3 Cub

(click any pic to enlarge)

 The Chicago Cubs just won the World Series, and that is a pretty big deal, but 2016 has been the 'Year of the Cubs' for me in another way that's just as big... since April I have been maintaining and flying a J-3 Cub that's part of the Warsaw Flying Club fleet, AND I'm currently doing a restoration (as full time work) on a 1959 PA-18A Super Cub for one of my brothers who lives in California. For a guy with an 18 year dry spell of being hands-on with aviation, this has been a huge year!

 And earlier this week, on Monday October 31st, I got my seaplane rating in the Warsaw Flying Club's J-3 Cub - Holy Cow!

August 15, 2016, the day the Super Cub arrived from Arizona to the hangar in Indiana

The Warsaw Flying Club's A75 powered 1946 J-3 Cub N88282 back in April 2016 

Video: Beaver Over The Bay (More 'This Is Why We Fly') #MustSee

 I hopped on over to vimeo.com today to search for something different in the way of a great avgeek video to share... the video above is the one I decided was just what I was looking for. It's really a promo of sorts for Seaplane Adventures in San Francisco, but I was pleased with how this almost four minute video captured the beauty and majesty of flying. What I didn't realize at first is that it's just the short version of the real video which is almost 18 minutes long.

 So I watched the 18 minute video (posted below) and I must say that it might be the best video I have ever seen at capturing the depth of why I love to fly. If you can afford the 18 minutes out of your day, you MUST watch the long version below. You might not get tears in your eyes like I did, but I wish you would... it would tell me a lot about you.

Screenshot of the Seaplane Adventures Beaver over the Golden Gate Bridge

 I admit the long version of this video might be more powerful to me since it's about a Beaver on floats flying out of the San Francisco bay, after all, I was born in that city... I'm pretty sure the hospital where I entered this world had a view of the Golden Gate Bridge. So a beautifully shot video that goes in-depth about a genuine love for flying set in my birth city, including views of the Golden Gate from the air, is pretty much guaranteed to make me emotional. But I think the stories of flying shared by the people in the video stand a good chance of moving you too.

 Watch it. Share it.  #LoveToFly

Video screenshot of the throttle quadrant on the Beaver: nostalgic perfection!

Seaplane Adventures full version from John Vigran on Vimeo

Video Triple Play: Twin Beech On Floats! #seaplanes #nostalgia

 I just needed a radical break from the things I've been posting about the last month or so, and for some reason tonight I found myself immensely pleased with these Twin Beech on floats videos. Seaplanes are extra-cool to begin with, but a Twin Beech on floats is magical to me. It's about as close to the nostalgia of the old flying boats as you can get with what really amounts to a modern-era airplane (never mind that most all of the Beech 18's are at least 50 years old!)

 So here are two takeoff sequences and one landing that all made me really happy... I hope they do something for you too : )

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!

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!

Why Oshkosh Matters (With CoolPix Marathon - 19 Hi-Res Images)

(click pic for hi-res)  Ray Hegy's El Chuparosa at Oshkosh 1970 (see original post)

 Oshkosh 2013 is fast approaching (July 29 - Aug 4), and I'm as excited as ever to be planning to attend. I was there in 1970 (as a 9 year old) when the very first Oshkosh took place at Wittman Field in beautiful Wisconsin. The annual EAA fly-in and convention was held in Rockford Illinois prior to Oshkosh and I was even at the last one of those in 1969. I've missed a handful of the events over the years, but I've attended well over 30 of them since that picture above of Ray Hegy's El Chuparosa was taken.

 Oshkosh has changed a lot over the years, but in the ways that really matter, it hasn't really changed at all. It's still people (lots and lots of people) who are in love with aviation gathering together to share that love with each other. It's goodness, discipline, ingenuity, and achievement all rolled into a week of learning, sharing, and enjoying. There's just nothing else like it... no other tool we have that does so much good for the world of general and sport aviation. That's why I believe that Oshkosh truly matters.

 I'm well aware that many people have frustrations at times with the EAA and the way Oshkosh is run, and while I've had the same kinds of frustrations going back even into the 1970's, I'm as convinced as ever that the EAA ultimately does a huge amount of good for those of us who love to fly. I can't imagine any other organization (or new group of people) who could, or would do better (or even as well) at fostering a genuine love for flying. So I hope you'll join me in being a big supporter of what Oshkosh does for us all... come to Oshkosh this year and be amazed, entertained, educated, and impressed. But please don't come expecting Oshkosh to do all that TO you, instead, come to Oshkosh and BE PART OF that process. Give, and share, and receive too. It's the human interactions that truly make Oshkosh the beautiful thing that it is.

 To celebrate some of the great avgeekery of Oshkosh, here's an extensive collection of CoolPix images I've captured since 2009 to get you primed and ready for the world's greatest aviation event. I hope you enjoy! Oh, and you might notice that I never ever call the event A**V******, it's Oshkosh to me and always will be. I look forward to the day when that ad agency concocted word is dropped from the EAA vocabulary. And hey, maybe they should go back to a logo that looks more like tho old one too : )

(click pic for hi-res)  Pitcairn Autogiro at Oshkosh 2009  (see original post)

(click pic for hi-res)  Airbus A380 preparing to depart Oshkosh 2009  (see original post)

Click to read more ...

Video: Taking A Dip In SeaRey Amphibian Paradise!

 I put up an amphibian SLSA poll back in February to see if the airplane that makes the most sense to me would come out on top... and it has in a big way. With over 500 votes in currently, the Progressive Aerodyne SeaRey is way out in front with over 51% of the vote. The SeaMax M-22 is in second and the is-it-hype-or-is-it-not ICON A-5 is now lagging way back in last place with just under 18% of the vote. 

 I wasn't looking to put any airplane down in this poll, but I was interested in seeing the SeaRey get the credit it deserves for being such a great, versatile and fun flying machine. And now that the kit airplane that has had over 600 deliveries is now being made available as a ready-to-fly SLSA, there's more reason than ever before for people who are interested in an affordable amphibian to take a good long look at the SeaRey. The recent comments on the poll page from SeaRey owners echo all the advantages that I pointed out when I personally picked it as the best SLSA amphibian available... and owner opinions are worth a lot more than my observer opinion! 

 The video above does a great job of showing how a well-designed amphibian (especially one that's a taildragger!) comes about as close to being the perfect flying machine as you're ever gonna find! I want a SeaRey!

Video screenshot showing some sweet fun flying in SeaRey paradise

FLY Energy Bar Dips A Toe In The Water (Golden Age Of Air Racing Too!)

A version of the FLY Energy Bar logo... designed by me!
 

@FLYenergybar on twitter  |  FLY Energy Bar on facebook

 A came up with a concept for an energy bar and the branding to go with it in late October 2012. Since that time I have been developing the details of the graphic imagery and marketing concept, along with the actual food product itself. Yeah, I'm developing the recipe too! I've really enjoyed the research required to learn about how to make all this happen... and then there's the testing. Testing concepts, even food recipe concepts, is just pure awesome to me! I love the challenge and the quest for solutions.

 I'm very excited to present some of the details of what I've come up with. It's called FLY Energy Bar... they are premium-quality and all-natural energy/meal replacement bars made with grains, seeds, and fruit, with very little or no cane sugar, no high fructose corn syrup, low fat, most likely gluten-free, low sodium, high protein, good fiber, and with an energy kick! Best of all, these energy bars taste great! I'm still in development and tweaking the recipes, but I have two of the three flavors for launch already 95% defined.

 I don't have the cash to start a business like this, but crowd funding thru a website like kickstarter.com can make all the difference. That's why I'm revealing the basics of this project now, so I can create some awareness in preparation for launching a kickstarter campaign in July. That campaign will give you an opportunity to contribute to the project in return for some of the products, as well as a variety of unique rewards at varying contribution levels.

Gee Bee R-1 racer right after winning the 1932 Thompson Trophy race

 I'm most excited about the way I'm incorporating Gold Age of Air Racing aircraft into the packaging. I wish I could share the first package graphic with you but at the moment I can't, but I'll tell you that it's the coolest looking food package I've ever seen! I'm also confident that people who have no specific interest in aviation will find the packaging fun, exciting, and motivating. FLY bars are intended to be for everyone and anyone... it's just that people who love aviation will be all the more drawn in : )

 I'll be using custom artwork based on amazing race aircraft from the 20's and 30's like the Gee Bee R-1, Hughes H-1 and the Curtiss RC3 to encourage people to see how eating a FLY bar will help them feel like they're able to spread their wings and do their own flying thru the day.

The Howard Hughes record-setting H-1 racer - first flown in 1935

 FLY Energy Bar is meant to represent more than just food... it's all about a culture of being driven to succeed while also making the world a better place to live. I have some huge concepts to go along with the making-the-world-a-better-place idea, but again I have to wait to tell you about them. I'm as sure as I can be tho that you'll really connect with what I have in mind. I also feel that these benevolent aspects will really encourage people to contribute to the kickstarter campaign once it's up and running.

Curtiss R3C seaplane in the late 20's... beauty and grace meet power and speed!

 One other plan for the culture of FLY Energy Bar is an annual event called FLYfest... mixing several cool elements all into one awesome event: a fly-in focusing on antique/classic and homebuilt aircraft, a small airshow, lots of live blues music, AND a BBQ food fest! The goal would be for the first event to take place in the summer of 2014. And, since I founded and ran a Christian rock music fest for 10 years (1999-2008), I'm thinking pulling off an awesome FLYfest would be right up my alley : )

 I hope you think this all sounds cool and that you'll consider contributing to the kickstarter campaign, once it's up in July, so you can be a direct part of making FLY come to life. 

 FLY: fuel for you.

Poll: Pick Your Fave Amphibious SLSA (ICON A5, SeaMax M-22 And The SeaRey)

Amphibians rock! Water, ground, and sky... all in one!  (Progressive Aerodyne SeaRey)

 Seriously, the combo of a flying machine that can fly off terra firma AND terra aqueous is pretty much the best ever. I've also learned that the people who fly of the water are extra special avgeeks, so if you're into this idea, then you're probably extra special too!

 As winter has taken another swift grip on me in my neck of the woods, I can't help but do some summer dreamin'... and a relatively affordable amphibious SLSA is what has me whipped into a frenzy today. Never mind that I can't afford any of these machines right now. But hey, I certainly hope I won't be this financially challenger forever - so I think I've got some very reasonable dreamin' going on here.

 There are three choices that I'm aware of when it comes to a factory-built LSA that's amphibious. The Progressive Aerodyne SeaRey from Florida, the SeaMax M-22 from Brazil, and the ICON A5 from California (by way of the Cirrus factory in North Dakota) - maybe I should say two-and-a-half-choices since the A5 is still inching its way toward production. They do seem to be getting closer, but man, this sure is taking a LONG time.

The sexy but still not-really-in-production-yet ICON A5 amphibian SLSA
 

 Here's the way these three break down for me: If you want the sexiest looking machine that is also designed to take the effort (and skill) out of flying safely, then the ICON A5 is your choice, especially if you're not in any hurry to go out and have your fun. Overall performance isn't exactly known yet, but the A5 is the heaviest of the three. I'm not sure of the price either but it seems to be based on the 2008 quote of $139,000, but it might go well north from there to adjust for the fact that it's now 2013. And, if you order one today, you won't have it to play with til at least 2016.

 Btw, all three of these phibs use a version of the Rotax 912 water cooled engine that makes 100hp, and the SeaRey is also available with the 115 hp 914 engine as an option.

The Brazilian built SeaMax M-22 amphibian available now for $150,000
 

 The SeaMax M-22 is available right now for $150,000 and it's a design that's been around since 2001. It's the fastest of the three with a cruise speed of 115 mph, and like the A5, it offers a tricycle landing gear for those times you aren't landing on the water. The fact that it's a proven design that's available right now, along with a good cruise speed makes it an excellent choice.

Progressive Aerodyne SeaRey amphibian... now available as an SLSA for $125,000
 

 The Progressive Aerodyne SeaRey SLSA is a production-built updated version of the very popular SeaRey kit that has been available for many years. A very proven design, the SLSA versions are in production right now and deliveries should begin soon. The SeaRey is the slowest of the three with a cruise speed of 90 mph, but for me, the combination of a canopy design that allows for one or both sides to be opened in flight, along with the taildragger gear configuration make the SeaRey the clear winner for me. And of course it doesn't hurt one bit that it's also the most affordable option for mixing your flying with water : )

 Those are my thoughts... but what do you think? Please vote in the poll below: