Spotted For Sale: 100HP Clip Wing CUBy Homebuilt - Wish I Could!

A beautiful Clip Wing CUBy homebuilt spotted for sale on Barnstormers.com

(click the pic to see the listing)

 It's true, my heart rate might increase more than yours at the sight of this gorgeous looking Clip Wing CUBy, but c'mon, what could be more fun than sweet 100 hp taildragger that can fly all day with the door open and costs less than half of a Cessna Skycatcher? Yeah I know, the Skycatcher would be new, and this is a used homebuilt. Whatever. This thing is awesome! If I had some bucks in the bank or a credit score that wasn't in a flat spin, I'd be hopping in the car right now to go check this little gem out. Ultimately, in my opinion, it's the clipped wings that really make this airplane special... more on that in a minute.

 If you check out the listing for this airplane you'll see it called a 'Cubby', but to be accurate it's really a CUBy, by Wag-Aero. It's pretty interesting that Dick Wagner was on the cutting edge way back in 1975 when he introduced the homebuilt Cub clone that he named CUBy. There's quite a bit of story that goes with all the CUBy development, and hopefully one of these days I'll research it up and post the details. But for now it's good to note that while the Cub clone frenzy has been booming in the last dozen years or so, it really had its beginning with Dick Wagner and the CUBy back in the 70's.

 But the real story here to me, is in this next picture!

Click to read more ...

OMGosh! Museum Quality, Half Scale (UAV) Hughes H-1 Racer

Screenshot from the video below of the Aero Telemetry half-scale Hughes H-1 racer

 Wow, this couldn't get much cooler! A half scale flying model of the Hughes H-1 racer... and it has a 35 hp radial engine! Even better, it's being built by the guys at Aero Telemetry for the 75th anniversary celebration of the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) which will take place July 14-17, 2011 at the AMA headquarters in Muncie Indiana... just 2 hours down the road from me! You can count me in : )

 You've probably seen the work of Aero Telemetry but didn't even know it. They produced some very large scale RC models/UAV's for the movie The Aviator including an approximately half scale H-1 along with an XF-11 with about a 30' wingspan and a Spruce Goose with about a 25' wingspan. Some serious models! Read more about The Aviator models here. Aero Telemetry also makes UAV's for military and aerospace applications.

 Watch the awesome video now, and then read a bit more about it below.

 This new H-1 model from the video differs from the movie model in that it's being built to museum quality standards and includes a scale landing gear which the one built for the movie didn't have. That one was designed and built in under 8 weeks and since all the filming was to be done with the gear up, a scale gear wasn't needed.

 The new H-1 will also have a Lawrance 5 cylinder radial engine from the 1940's instead of the 30 hp 2 cylinder 2-stroke used in the movie model. There's very little info on the internet about this uber cute little radial engine, and often times people incorrectly spell the name Lawrence, but I did find this pic and this pic to show how absolutely cool these engines are. The engine makes about 35 to 38 hp and was built to be an APU, but they were mounted vertically and weren't designed for spinning a prop. You can get a little more more info from Aero Telemetry on the Lawrance for their H-1 model here. 

 I also saw some interesting info floating about the net suggesting that these guys are also building a full scale(!) version of the H-1 with an aluminum fuselage and wood wing. Don't really have any details on that yet, but wow, I can hardly wait to know more about it! Stay tuned for more info on the wild and wonderful world of Aero Telemetry and their Hughes H-1 projects : )

A Real Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Is In The Air!

Flying Heritage Collection's Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-5 first flight on 12.1.10 (photo: FHC)

(2 pix and 3 videos)

 The last time this airplane flew was July 19th, 1943. What that means is this is a 'real' German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 rather than the replicas that have surfaced in the last several years. Any Fw 190 is amazing, but to know that there is an actual example that's been faithfully restored is pretty phenomenal. The first flight actually took place about a month ago, with veteran race and warbird test pilot Steve Hinton at the controls, but since I somehow missed it when it happened, I thought you may have too. (if you're an Fw 190 fan, check out my other Fw 190 posts)

Paint scheme of the lost 1943 Fw 190  (image: FHC)

 The airplane is owned by Paul Allen's Flying Heritage Collection, and it will make an awesome compliment to the already stellar collection of historic World War II combat aircraft from around the world. These restored aircraft are brought back to flying condition, and done so at the highest level. The Flying Heritage Collection, which is based on Paine Field in Everett Washington, honors the amazing technological leaps that took place during the WWII aviation era.

 I've been fascinated with the Fw 190 since I was a kid, so this is pretty exciting stuff to be sure. Even more, I've recently been gathering a far greater understanding of the events of WWII than I'd ever had before. The more you understand about the people, the battles and the motivations involved in WWII, the more significant artifacts like this Fw 190 become.

 Here a three videos of interest related to this specific Fw 190:

Click to read more ...

Videos: Oshkosh Dreamin' As We Head Toward Winter

 The high temp in northern Indiana today was right around the freezing mark, and with the clear knowledge that winter is on the way I found myself aching for some pure summer feelings... and that of course left me thinking about Oshkosh! It's pretty hard to beat a video (or two) from youtuber slickhutto for getting that OSH feeling stirred up, so here ya go! The 2009 Oshkosh video from Slick is above - I figured if you've already seen it, it's probably been a while, so it should feel pretty fresh...

...and this video is the one from 2010. Slick does a great job of capturing the real feel of Oshkosh, while also doing a fab job of editing. If you're a purist and would rather watch some Oshkosh without it bering a music video, check out Slick's youtube page for the more recent uploads that run 10 minutes and feature airplanes with all their natural (beautiful) sounds.

 I hope watching these videos inspires you to push ahead with whatever aviation project you're into. Whether you're building an airplane, learning to fly, upgrading your ratings, or maybe needing to fall in love with flying again (or just soaking up all the aviation knowledge you can find), watching moments from Oshkosh is one of the best ways to be motivated. I know it sure helps keep me going - thanx Slick : )

More Video Of The Crazy Cool Akromaniac Sean Tucker

 A great sequence of video on Sean Tucker shot for a TV station in Houston.

CoolPix - Vintage Military: Curtiss-Wright AT-9 (Racy Trainer!)

(click pic for hi-res)

 Nearly 800 of these cute little Curtiss-Wright AT-9's (Advanced Trainer) were built between 1941 and 1943 for the purpose of getting new pilots up to speed with the more demanding larger twin engine aircraft such as the Martin B-26 Marauder and the Lockheed P-38 Lightning. The goal was to produce a small aircraft that could be challenging enough to make sure the pilots were ready. It seems the AT-9 was plenty challenging all right... so much so that some pilots thought they maybe should have learned in the front line airplanes first! Only two examples of the AT-9 remain today, which kinda points to the military's feeling that it wasn't a good airplane to make available to the public like they did with so many other aircraft.

 To me, the AT-9 'Jeep' is an extremely good looking design. The beautifully shaped nose section with the great looking windshield really sets the tone for the airplane. The smoothly integrated doors with streamlined hinges make really cool details. And, with only two seats and two, 295hp Lycoming R-680 radial engines, it just seems like it would have to be fun (challenging) to fly. With the short nose and the engines set well forward, the prop discs aren't very far apart... I always think that looks awesome. And then it sits nice and proud on that main gear and has plenty of other curves in the right places to simply make a great looking flying machine.

 It's interesting that the prototype had a steel tube and fabric fuselage, but the production airplanes had an all metal, stressed skin fuselage like is seen here. The only fully intact example of the airplane is on display at the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. I'm looking forward to going over there this winter to get loads of pictures and details on the AT-9, and as many of the other airplanes as I can while I'm there. You can expect a lot of great detailed posts to come out of that trip!

 I'm considering putting together an AirPigz avgeek meetup at the Air Force Museum (Dayton, Ohio) for sometime in late January or February. It's a phenomenal facility, and admission is free - you can't beat that! I'll have more details posted later, but if you're interested in finding out more about the chance to meet up, send me an email at mcc@airpigz.com and I'll include you in the discussion that will help us pick a date that works well for as many people as possible.

 I don't know about you, but I can hear that AT-9 calling my name!

CoolPix - Airshow: Kent Pietsch 'Jelly Belly' Motorhome Landing! (3 Pix)

(click pic for hi-res)       Kent Pietsch landing on the motorhome runway!

(3 pix)

 I had a really cool opportunity at the Indy Air Show back in June... and these three pix are the result of it. Airshow pilot Kent Pietsch (say peach) does some of the coolest aerobatic routines in his humble 1942 Interstate Cadet, including landing on the tiny runway on top of this motorhome while it's driving down the runway. At some airshows he uses a modified pickup truck with a platform mounted above it, but either way it's very, very impressive. (learn more about the Jelly Belly sponsored Cadet and Kent Pietsch in AirPigz podcast #12)

 He was making some promo passes down the runway that were being videotaped by a guy in the bed of a pickup truck that I was riding in, except I was hanging out in the breeze sitting on the passenger door sill with my still camera. What an awesome sight it was to be this close to Kent! His skills with the Cadet are amazing. I was really impressed with how well he could put the airplane right where he wanted it... and how much fun he was having doing things like this picture shows, putting just one wheel on the platform.

Click to read more ...

CoolPix - Racers: The Galloping Ghost (This Is Reno Air Racing!)

(click pic for hi-res)

 I took this picture on Sunday, the last day of the 2010 Reno Air Races. It seems to capture what the Reno Air Races are all about. Seeing it opened up big as a CoolPix image really helps to make you feel more like you're there.

 First, you've got one of the slower groups of Unlimited racers on the course, and it's a pretty cool variety of aircraft at that... a P-51 going by first, followed closely by a P-40 that's also followed closely by a Corsair. Where else you gonna see that?! Second, you've got a great look at The Galloping Ghost. This fabulous clipped and chopped P-51 from Jimmy Leeward wasn't just cool to look at, it was also exciting to follow the journey of the team. They didn't qualify early in the week as expected, and instead found themselves working their way up thru the field with hopes of gaining a slot in the big Gold race on Sunday. In this picture, they had just finished taping up all the seams with alumanized furnace tape as they had indeed earned a slot in the final big race that was scheduled for the end of the day. And third, while really big crowds of people are farther down the show line in the grandstands, you also see part of the long line of people at the edge of the pit area watching the race that's on the course. This one picture says a lot - it's all about people with a passion for air racing coming together to make the fastest motorsport in the world become a reality.

 You probably already know that the big race on Sunday was not run due to excessively high winds making the conditions on the race course unsafe. It was an interesting twist to the story of The Galloping Ghost. Just when it looked like maybe the silver P-51 might be in a position to surprise the Gold Unlimited speedsters, it wound up without a chance to prove itself. The good news is that 2011 is coming, and Jimmy Leeward and crew will likely be ready to show the world what they've got. It should be really exciting to watch!

 I'll have more in depth info on The Galloping Ghost before long. It's an airplane, and a story very much worth pursuing.

MythBusters' Tory "Cold Feet" Belleci Gonna Meet Sean Tucker!

 When you get 'cold feet', do you really get cold feet? Looks like the MythBusters are gonna try to answer that soon when Tory Belleci meets Sean Tucker for some hardcore akro! This 2 minute promo for the episode (which appears to be scheduled for Wednesday 10.20.10) has some awesome footage of Sean flying low over the Tory, Kari and Grant. Most awesome!

Video: 'Live Airshow TV' 2010 Reno Air Races Wrap Up Part 2

 Here's part 2 of the Live Airshow TV wrap up from the 2010 Reno Air Races. It's full of lots more interesting details from the races, including amazing footage of George Giboney's landing in his Thunder Mustang 'Rapid Travel' that destroyed the airplane but left him almost completely unhurt. 

 Follow the link to 'wrap up part 1' if you missed it.