AirVenture 2011- Warbirds |
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There was a nice sunset Monday evening when we were checking out the Warbirds.
There were a lot of warbirds at this year's AirVenture. But I did
not get to see most of them fly, which was disappointing. I wrote the
following in the EAA's AirVenture feedback thread:
"I
know this will be controversial as many think there is too much emphasis
on Warbirds already. But I -- a homebuilder -- love to see the Warbirds
fly, especially WWI, WWII, & Korea. I've seen them all on static
displays in museums, but the great thing about AirVenture is that you see
them fly. That said, there are many Warbirds at Oshkosh but don't fly. For
example. this year the following planes were there but didn't fly (at
least not while I was there Wed & Thu): P-38, B-29, P-40, Grumman
Duck, F4U Corsair, Zero, FW-190, Dauntless, Avenger, Bearcat (flew briefly
in heritage flt). I think that one of each type that is airworthy should
fly in a Warbird parade -- every day. EAA should pay the owners expenses
for it. Some company sponsored the airshow for the entire week - money
shouldn't be a problem."
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| The steady rain
Wednesday morning didn't stop us from checking out the Warbirds.
Here's one of my favorite planes: the SBD Dauntless
Divebomber. |
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The F8F Bearcat was the first airplane
flown by the Blue Angels. |
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| I saw it fly briefly
during a Heritage flight. |
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The big Grumman Duck
amphibian. |
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| A Grumman F4F
Wildcat |
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| There were two P-3
Orions in AeroShell Square, both in throwback paintjobs. This one
was in a 1942 paint scheme. |
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| An F-18 parked in
front of another P-3 in 1960's throwback paint. |
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This was the 1960's paint scheme. My Dad flew P-3s painted like
this. |
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The Navy's T-45 Goshawk advanced
trainer jet in pre-WWII throwback paint scheme. |
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This picture wasn't taken at
AirVenture but I like it here it is. |
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| An F/A-18F Super
Hornet with a 'digi-cam' paint scheme. I believe this
is the same scheme the Navy now uses on its battledress uniforms (BDUs).
Not sure why the Navy needs camouflage uniforms ... |
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Every year there is one plane that steals
the show: this year that plane was Fifi -- the only flyable B-29
in the world. |
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I didn't get to see Fifi fly, but I
downloaded this picture off the EAA website. |
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A real Japanese Zero. Very rare. |
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| It sure looks like
the real thing to me, but this FW-190 is a kit-built replica. The
kit is made by a company called Flug Werk of Gammelsdorf, Germany, and
only costs $760,000 USD. I'll have to build one of these
someday! |
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Bob Hoover's old ride: Old
Yeller. My Dad and I went to the Reno Air Races when I was a kid and
I remember Hoover flying chase in this plane in the Unlimited Race. |
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| A big Curtiss
Helldiver, which was the replacement for the SBD Dauntless. |
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The HellDiver in flight. Doesn't
look too big compared to that F/A-18 Hornet. |
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