Grass Roots Perfection: Antique Airplane Association Fly-In 2012 (9 Pix)

(click any pic to enlarge)  The amazing Boeing Model 40C at Antique Airfield (2012)
 

(9 pix - click any one to see enlarged)

 I was a member of the Antique Airplane Association when I was a kid (thanks dad!) but I haven't been active as a member or to any of the official Fly-Ins since the early 70's... until today. I joined the AAA again (you have to be a member to participate in the fly-in) and I'm at Antique Airfield near Blakesburg Iowa right now! The AAA/APM Invitational Fly-In runs August 29th thru September 3rd, and I drove over from northern Indiana yesterday afternoon and evening, slept in the car (of course) and arrived at Antique Airfield this morning. Btw, the APM in the official event name stands for Airpower Museum, the museum that's based at Antique Airfield. Also, just to clarify, the official website for the AAA is AntiqueAirfield.com.

 The weather wasn't the best when I arrived early this morning - overcast skies with some wind and a light drizzle. But there were awesome and beautiful antique airplanes all over the place! There weren't very many people milling about just yet either making it easy to get some great pix. Antique Airfield and the fly-in are pretty much at the total opposite end of the spectrum from Oshkosh. It's very calm, quiet and really laid back at Antique Airfield, and I love that. If you know much about me you know I love Oshkosh very passionately, but I can already see that Antique Airfield is Awesome with a capital AAA : )

The following are some pix from the first hour of checking out the goodies at the fly-in under the morning misty sky. I love this place! The only problem I have is wondering where exactly did we take a wrong turn in the design of aircraft? How and why did we move away from flying machines that inspire passion and excitement? That would make for a very interesting discussion, and we won't debate that right now, but I'm thinking the words Tri and Pacer are a pretty good starting point. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this first look at some of the antique aircraft at the 2012 AAA fly-in... and watch for more to come soon.

Wow, I have always had a very soft spot in my heart for the Ryan SCW!

Click to read more ...

75 Piper Cubs At Hartford Wisconsin! CoolPix 2Fer

(click pic for hi-res)  75 Piper Cubs on 7-28-12 (for the 75th anniversary) all in one pic!

 I went for a ride in a Cub on Friday afternoon July 28 (2012) during the CUBS 2 OSH event going on at the Hartford Wisconsin airport and was able to capture this sweet image of the Cubs on-site at the time. When I was prepping the pic tonight I thought wouldn't it be cool if there were 75 Cubs in the pic to match the 75th anniversary... and when I counted them I couldn't believe it - exactly 75 Cubs! I even counted a second time to be sure : )

 There were actually more than 75 Cubs on the airport and even more still were on the way, but it's pretty amazing to see 75 Piper Cubs all in one picture in the year 2012! The mass arrival at Oshkosh the next morning then moved this amazing sea of yellow into the middle of the world's greatest aviation event to celebrate the 75th anniversary. I'm guessing as long as there are people on Earth, there will be Piper Cubs here too. At least I sure hope so.

 As an added way of showing the indelible nature of this iconic airplane, I'm posting this second CoolPix below. I also captured this pic at Hartford, and I thought it was really interesting how even tho Cub logo sticker was no longer on the fabric covering, you could still make out the details. How cool is that?!

Long live the Piper Cub... and the people who love to fly them!

 (click pic for hi-res) As long as people are on Earth, the Cub will NEVER fade away : )

FYI: I Plan To Win This Cub On September 10th (CoolPix)

(click pic for hi-res)  The gorgeous Cub I plan to win in the drawing September 10th

 Yeah, I know it crazy for me to think I really stand any chance of winning this little yellow cutie in the EAA Win The Cub Sweepstakes, but it never hurts to dream big! I bought a stack of tickets for the drawing during Oshkosh, and they'll pull the winning ticket out on September 10th. I figure this is my best chance to have an airplane of my very own for quite some time yet... so hopefully soon I'll be dealing with the hassles of registration paperwork and which airport am I gonna keep the ole girl at : )

 I captured this image of the sweepstakes Cub on Sunday the day before Oshkosh started. I had just been down at Hartford Wisconsin for the Cubs 2 OSH event and I was dealing with a pretty severe case of yellow Cub fever by this time. And then, with the awesome blue sky and sun, and then waiting a few minutes for the people to clear away from the airplane, I was able to get this really nice image. I did a few photoshop tweaks to it and then noticed that it actually takes on the slight look of a painting. The shadows and reflections in the yellow of the paint all around the airplane are a little extra special here. Especially when you open this CoolPix up big and get in close.

 Anyway, I just wanted you all to have a really nice look at my Cub before I get to bring her home : )

Video: Fabulous Grumman Goose Amphibian 2Fer (Must See!)

 Wow. Can an airplane really get any better than being a Pratt and Whitney R-985 radial twin... that also happens to be a taildragger... and is perfectly happy to land on the water too? I don't think it can get any better than that. Long live the Grumman Goose! And of course I wanna apply that longevity statement to the smaller Grumman Widgeon (inverted Ranger powered), to the bigger Grumman Mallard (P&W R-1340 powered), and also to the much bigger Grumman Albatross (Wright R-1820 powered) - a truly amazing family of amphibious aircraft from the 30's and 40's.

 I stumbled onto the video above and fell in love after about 3 seconds of hearing those two 450hp radials that are right outside the cockpit. Those fabulous radials are even nicer than on a Twin Beech because they are set a little closer to the aircraft centerline, putting the prop arc closer to the forward field of view... what a beautiful sight. And then the video gives you that sweet approach to landing onto nearly calm water, flying low over the trees and then low over the boats. Wow, that's some seriously cool flying right there. Amphibians just might be the most perfect aircraft. I guess it's easy to see why so many people are expressing interest in the ICON A5. I did get a ride in Goose once when I was a kid... probably 7 or 8 years old riding from Long Beach out to Catalina Island and back. Loved it, especially since we buzzed the ship that made the trips back and forth!

 I hope that video above gives you at least half as much pleasure as it did me. And then, for something completely different, check out the fascinating military test video below. In the 50's and 60's, EDO Corporation did testing on several Grumman amphibians, like the Goose, to see if hydrofoils or skis could be used to shorten the takeoff distance of seaplanes. The video has narration and is quite informative. It's extremely cool to see this footage and how the takeoff-assisting contraptions functioned. Mostly tho, it just makes me want to get a seaplane rating really really bad : )

 
 
Grumman Goose hydrofoil testing film from the late 50's or early 60's

CoolPix: 'Golden Age' Antiques Meet The Modern Age At OSH12

(click pic for hi-res)  Antique airplanes and a young laptop user mix just fine at OSH12

 Maybe you don't think like I do, but when I see the shapes and colors of fabulous antique aircraft like these Waco biplanes and that Ryan PT-22, I feel passion and excitement. I think that's the big missing ingredient in most of what modern General Aviation has to offer today, but that's a debate for another time. The point of this picture is how well these great old aircraft mix with a young man using a laptop while sitting in their midst. It's the kind of 'people and airplanes' sight you see at Oshkosh. A lot. There's something incredibly extraordinary about living everyday life surrounded by the magical world of aviation... especially when it's aircraft from the Golden Age!

 I've posted this image as a hi-res CoolPix so you could take in those great colors, shapes and textures, but I didn't actually plan to make this one in the various 'desktop' sizes. I'd be happy to do that tho if anyone is wanting it - just let me know.

And, I'm making plans now to get myself over to Blakesburg Iowa for a couple of days at the Antique Aircraft Association invitational fly-in that runs August 29th thru September 3rd. My young aviation adventures back in the 1970's focused mostly on Oshkosh and the Reno Air Races, but I know my dad took me to one of the AAA fly-ins when I was about 10 or 11. For whatever reason tho, the AAA fly-in didn't become a staple for me. I wish it had. I can see that spending some time at Antique Airfield for this very grass roots event has the potential to be most satisfying! I really love old airplanes!

 Get more info on the event at this page at AntiqueAirfield.com.

Poll: Awesome Or Ugly? 1928 Fairey Long-Range Monoplane

The rather large and unusual 1928 Fairey Long-Range Monoplane

 Please vote in the poll at the bottom of the post to let me know if you think the Fairey Long-Range Monoplane is Awesome, Ugly, or both : )
 

 If you've been paying close attention to this fairly new poll feature I call 'Awesome or Ugly?' you'll have noticed that this is only the third posting, but the second one to include an airplane built by Fairey. That's purely a coincidence. I will add however that the trend so far has been for me to post airplanes that I think lean well over on the 'awesome' side of the fence. That may change in the future, but for now that trend continues as I think this 1928 Fairey Long-Range Monoplane is extremely awesome.

 With an internally braced and fabric covered wing with an 82 foot span, the Long-Range Monoplane was an exercise in learning more about how to make an airplane travel very long distances. Two of these 570hp Napier Lion powered aircraft were built, with the first having a tragic accident in 1929 while on a second attempt to set a distance record. The second aircraft was built in 1931 and it then set a long-distance world record of 5,410 miles in 1933. Imagine flying 50 hours or more in an aircraft like this! What an amazing time in the history of aviation.

A lean fuselage, loads of wing and some big wheels: Fairey Long-Range Monoplane

Please Buy Tickets Now To The Reno Air Races (Even If You Can't Go)

Reno Air Races - September 12-16, 2012
(please buy tickets and/or donate - click now)

 I'm posting this sweet video that focuses on Rare Bear back at the 2003 Reno Air Races for two reasons... first because last night on the AirPigz facebook page I posted the link to the CoolPix category of hi-res images here on AirPigz to encourage people to go experience a great collection of over 110 pix that are pure avgeekery. I needed a CoolPix thumbnail to put with the post on fb and chose the one I captured of Rare Bear back in 1995 at the Phoenix 500 race (below) that really showed off the 3-blade prop they used for many years. Then today I stumbled across this 2003 Reno video that really shows off that fabulous prop and the amazing music that the Wright R-3350  makes, especially at start up.

 The second reason for posting this video is to show a little of the history of the Reno Air Races in an effort to encourage you to go buy tickets right now to the races coming up September 12-16, 2012, even if you can't get out there. The sport of air racing needs our support more than it ever has before... if you see the value that air racing brings to the larger world of aviation, then I encourage you to make an investment in the future. The significant increase in the insurance costs for the races after last year's tragic events mean that financial support is extremely important to the future of the Reno Air Races. Please make an investment in the future of air racing NOW!

The Reno Air Racing Association is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(4) organization.
Contributions to RARA are NOT tax deductible, but are appreciated and much needed!

(click pic to go the original CoolPix post for the awesome hi-res pic of Rare Bear)

Videos: The Pure Flying Perfection That Is The Piper Cub

 Here are two short-but-sweet videos that give a little peek into the Piper Cub invasion of Oshkosh 2012 that celebrated 75 years of Piper's iconic little airplane. The Cubs had gathered at the Hartford Wisconsin airport (40 miles south of OSH) on Friday and Saturday July 20th and 21st and then made the relatively short trip up to OSH early Sunday morning July 22nd, the day before the world's greatest aviation event began. Both of these videos start at Hartford and end at Oshkosh.

 You might also enjoy seeing my post about the Cubs at Hartford from that Friday: Lots Of Cub Yellow At Hartford Wisconsin For 'Cubs 2 OSH'.

 I still believe that the old, original Piper Cub has more potential to save General Aviation in America than any other aircraft. Having 200 or more rebuilt original Cubs scattered around the nation in an organized effort to make flying both affordable and exciting isn't a new idea to me... I originally posted details of the idea two years ago:  Add 'Cub Training Centers' To Save GA In America (CoolPix & Video) - and I believe in this idea all the more after experiencing the Cub celebration at Oshkosh this year.

 The well-established Cub flight training and rental that's been going on at Hartford for years factors heavily into all this too. I hope to expand on this concept in the next month or two with some great insight into the Hartford airport and how Cub flying there is alive and well. Stay tuned. But for now, enjoy these two EAA videos that show why Cub yellow is just as relevant today as it was in the 1940's : )

CoolPix: OSH12 - Duggy! (The Little Yellow Aluminum Overcast : )

(click pic for hi-res)  Duggy, 'the smile in the sky' DC-3 going almost directly overhead

 I'm getting closer to getting things back under control at AirPigz after the failure of my primary computer during OSH12. I'm still taking the easy way out today with just a CoolPix and a couple complimentary images... but very soon I should be able to get back on track with some detailed posts of some cool things from OSH12. The new computer is working great and I should have the all the files restored in the next 36 hours.

 It's hard not to notice Duggy at Oshkosh. A beautiful all yellow DC-3 with a smile on the nose that also doubles as a workhorse for the airshow skydivers. I just happened to be in a good spot one day as the airshow was preparing to begin and had this view of Duggy almost directly overhead. (I'm all about the details: note the tailwheel, it's not on the centerline... a clear sign that the airplane isn't actually 'directly' overhead)

 So if you've ever wondered what the bottom of a DC-3 really looks like, here's your chance. Click the pic to open up the hi-res and have yourself a look. If you're like me, you'll scout around the bottom of the airplane looking for something interesting. The small 'tm' trademark after 'Duggy' was the only thing I specifically noticed, other than the bottom looked pretty clean to me. That's a lot of wing area to keep clean!

A rare look at Duggy without a crowd around the happiest DC-3 in the world at OSH12

The rather small front office of the smiliest Douglas DC-3 during taxi - Duggy.com

CoolPix: OSH12 - Big Prop P-51 In The Morning Sun!

(click pic for hi-res)  The back side of a massive P-51 prop in the morning sun at OSH12

 My inop computer problem from a surprise OSH12 rain won't be under control until Tuesday, so I'm still limping along on under-powered resources... so once again I'm taking the easy way out by posting another OSH12 CoolPix.

 I left CampBacon with a few friends early Friday morning (5am) at Oshkosh for another 'dawn patrol' photo shoot in the warbird area. It was last year on a similar adventure that I captured that amazing image of the B-25 Lady Luck with the rising sun behind it. The effort on Friday wasn't nearly as successful since the clouds way off to the east were in the way for part of the sunrise and there weren't the stunning clouds overhead like the B-25 image had. I now realize just how awesome that pic of Lady Luck really is! Anyway, I got some nice pictures, but one of the best was taken after the sun was well above the horizon, but still casting its light more horizontally on the airplanes. I was just finished with breakfast in the warbird area, standing at the edge of the tent ready to get back to walking, when I saw this P-51 in the distance that had just fired up. I've been working on using a much slower shutter speed to improve the spinning prop results in my pictures and this looked like a great chance to experiment a little more... and this one paid off pretty well!

 With that morning sun lighting up the back of the prop, that big spinning disc really came alive here. Plus, the low sun was really making the all the warbirds in the pic look vibrant with so much light on them. So I thought the combination of the big prop and the layering of two additional P-51's and a P-40 made for a pretty interesting image. And while jets are really cool, I just don't think you can beat a massive prop to sit behind!

 After I get my computer issues remedied, I may come back and make this CoolPix available as a desktop pic in a variety of sizes. For now tho, I hope you'll just enjoy seeing my slow shutter speed experiment of a P-51 in the morning sun at Oshkosh 2012.