Oshkosh Airshow

[Pistolero]

Not something you will see every day.



A pair of B-29s flying formation! Never thought it would be seen again.

And the Blues did their show.



And a few more interesting birds.

Never had seen an F-35 in the flesh, either.



Lots and lots more, homebuilt, factory, vintage, the latest, and WW2 stuff all over.

Got to sit in the left seat of a B-25, and even slide up the narrow chute into the bombardier's compartment out in the nose. Very cool.

This is the one.





Lots more, it was a good visit. Heading home in the AM.

Bill

 

[KHornet]

Good pics! I have a fondness for Cargo aircraft, and in particular C-130''s and
Goony birds. Have quite a few hours in both of them, and a few in C-119's.

Paul

 

[KeithB]

Great shots Bill, sounds like you're living the dream. Have a safe journey home.

 

[Missionary]

Thank you for those photos ! Two B-29's ! And would have sure enjoyed the "crawl through" of a B-25 !!!!

 

[Maven]

Nice photography, Bill! My son & I spent a week there (was an EAA member then; stayed in Appleton; drove over to Oshkosh every day) years ago and saw just about every kind of aircraft one could imagine.

 

[Pistolero]

This is about year 36, I think. Great show.

Keith, -- this should look familiar.



I talked to the young guy at Flyboy, he was very appreciative of your work and skills. He told me about the new tool holder
you made for the CNC.

Bill

 

[Pistolero]

Paul,

Driving or riding?

And thanks for the kind comments on the photos. I have spent decades learning to do a
reasonable job at it, have taken it as almost a hobby in itself, but I am pleased with a
lot of my results these days.

Bill

 

[oscarflytyer]

the old Birds are AWESOME! Have some great pics of them from tours. "The Dragon and Her Tail" is one of the coolest nose arts, imho. Don't think it is still wearing the nose art. Heard it had been changed out.

 

[KeithB]

Thanks for posting that picture. I've never seen their booth set up. You must have talked to Blake, he's a good guy that's taking over the online business from his dad, who is making the parts for the Rocket airplane kits they are marketing.

 

[freebullet]

Very neat, Bill.

My sil's father flew a b29, the original pictures he had are something special. He has since passed & I feel very fortunate to have heard some of his stories.

We get to see quite a bit of interesting stuff doing contracting work on the local AFB. Can't take photos or even a phone in most areas but, it's a treat to see as a civilian.

Sounds like you had a great time.Thanks for sharing!

 

[Pistolero]

OK, Keith here is their booth, although there is another tent to the left with airframe sample pieces on a
table.


freebullet, very cool that your sil's father flew them. The way they were operating them out of Tinian was really scary, right on
the limits of weight, runway length and temperatures, making it very dangerous. The early engines were not fully developed, but
there was a war on and they used them anyway. If an engine failed on TO, they were almost certain into the water, and not likely
to survive.

Bill

 

[Brad]

We are planning a trip next year to Europe. A stop in London will be taking us to an RAF museum where we can see a Spitfire and a Lancaster. Sadly not in flight but still going to be great to see some great planes from WW2.

 

[Goatwhiskers]

lWould love to promote a ride in a C-47. Dad flew them over the Hump, India, Burma, China. GW

 

[KHornet]

Goatwiskers, My Uncle flew both C46's and C47's over the hump. When I was stationed in
Taiwan, the Taiwanese AF flew a C46 that we called the "Mao Guanch"="N0 Sweat", from Tainan
to Tiapie and back in the afternoon. Used to fly it frequently, with goats, pigs, pregnant
women, and crates of what ever. Not many of them left. My last ride in a goony bird was from Viet Nam to Clark AB in the PI, and back to scrounge vehicle parts. Overloaded the bird, and used every bit of the runway to get the thing off.


Paul

 

[oscarflytyer]

lWould love to promote a ride in a C-47. Dad flew them over the Hump, India, Burma, China. GW

Thought I remembered a C-47 still flying. Looks like the only one. Greatest Generation Aircraft. www.gga1.org. looks like the price is right too!

 

[Pistolero]

Brad,
Not sure which museum you mean. There is the RAF Museum in London.
See if you can go to Duxford, 50 miles north of London. This is also has really good air museum, on the
biggest WW2 fighter base. My FIL was stationed at a very close smaller grass strip fighter
base, flying Mustangs. Duxford has the Imperial War Museum and the American Air Force Museum, honoring
US contribution to their war effort. Both are excellent, and you can walk through their workshops, too.

http://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/iwm-duxford

Paul,
I flew a DC-3 from St. Thomas, VI to San Juan in the '77 era, still was doing scheduled
airline service then. Great old birds, same thing as the C-47. I dove on a C-46, sadly
crashed in a shallow bay at a Bahamas drug base. Crashed in the 80s, I dove the wreck
in the 90s.

Bill

 

[Brad]

Thanks Bill. I will look into a day trip there.

 

[RBHarter]

You know there is a Lancaster on this side of the Atlantic ?
Its in Nanton Alberta Canada . I've been in it . It was was pretty bad off when I was there . I see it is in a big well lit hanger museum now .

I've been in a lot of the war birds . I changed every nut and bolt in mostly 1943ish AT6 once . I got some taxi time and runups in it too. Did a Mechanics tour of a Douglas Dive Bomber (the Army called it a Turkey in VN) . I regret not having had time to go for a ride .......
I got to sit in the F4U known as Blue Max . Breath taking ( I was a sucker for it . It makes my top 5 favorites of all time .)

There's a shop in Carson City that restores Albatrosses (Albatri ?) PBYs etc . Not a favorite but I can see ones love .

I got up to almost solo'd in a J4 Cub . It's the side by side sister of the original J3 that became the better known Super Cub . There were 26 flying then , a 27th was resurrected some time later but I think there's just 25 now .

 

[Pistolero]

RBHarter - yes. I is in great shape now, at least the outside, have not seen inside. It is one used for maritime patrol for a long time in Canada, now in their
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. They flew it to Oshkosh a few years back. The sound of 4 Merlins in close formation is pretty
impressive, sounds like a finger four of Spitfires or Mustangs going by.

As to the F4U cockpit....don't drop your pencil. There is something impressive about warbirds. Singular functionality, all else is
jetisonned to do the mission.

Bill

 

[KHornet]

Oscar, think you would find that there are a number of C-47's still flying in
a whole lot of different countries. Think there will still be a few in the air
when they hit the century mark.

Paul