Warbird Information Exchange

I would imagine Rod Lewis' Mossie that just arrived in TX yesterday.

If Rod brings the Mossy, what are the chances the Havoc shows up?
2 Tigercats last year and none this year? wtf
Is the Minnesota F-82 that close to flight?

Probably little to zero. The A-20's been, it won Grand Champ, I guess it doesn't need to go now. As for the Minnesota F-82, that and the XP-82 weren't so far away from each other in terms of completion.

Same as Ripper said, close to zero. Especially since Rod isn't sending anything to Sun N Fun. I think that's an indication of how things are gonna go this year.

And in regards to the Tigercat's, I would say none is probably about right. Slattery sent both of his last year, Colorado isn't even sending the Brewster this year so I highly doubt anything from them will show up. The rest of the Tigercat's are VERY unlikely to go up there.

Ok, how I came up with my guesses: Been going to Oshkosh since 1975 and my dad was Warbird president and on the EAA board for a number of years. That to say, you can have 8 Corsairs one year and only one or zero the next. It requires three or more of a type to receive a “Best of Type “ award.
Here’s my breakdown. I have a very reliable source on the twin mustangs and I’ve heard first hand that the F-82E is coming to very nicely. Not impossible for it to be there this year.
The two Mossies count includes the static example. Don’t think there will ever be more than one flyable unless there are three flown in. (4 on the field.) No Tigercats? Those or the P-63’s or P-47s, a couple types won’t be represented. Some years have had no Wildcats or Bearcats attend.
The P-51 count includes the two EAA examples. There are a lot of P-51’s , nicely restored, flying now.

Can you confirm that about SNF? It’s advertising this:

He's right. No Rod planes at Sun N Fun so far. Rumor there is Lewis's corporation was having some losses where he fired some managers and also suspended all airshow flying. Hopefully it will resume for Oshkosh, but highly doubtful they are coming to Sun N Fun if they aren't there yet.

Sun N Fun is famous for the Their Bait and No Show tactics, so I am sure they will remain on the schedule. Just like the XP-82 that isn't coming either. They will keep advertising it even after the person says they aren't coming to try to get people to show up or buy tickets. they did the a few years back when they advertised a Super Hornet, but the Navy had no one trained on them and they previously canceled Titusville and MacDill Air Show, but Sun N Fun still showed them on the schedule up until the day. Almost surprised they didn't try to pull the Thunderbirds were still coming last year after the crash, but pretty much everyone knew the Thunderbirds season was put on hold for a few weeks.

Haven't heard anything about Lewis, but the rumor adds up...

And I can't speak on previous Sun N Fun's as I rarely follow it, but they did take Lewis off the schedule a few weeks ago it just wasn't formally announced (probably not good marketing to announce a cancellation). I would cut some slack on the Twin Mustang too, anyone following it knows they had intentions of arriving today, so it really isn't on SnF. There are a lot of shows that sorta pull the bait and no show, or stretch the truth (Hornet DEMO when it's just a Legacy flight, etc). All just a part of it sadly, those in the know can usually determine no-shows ahead of time though. The really good shows are the ones that DON'T advertise some planes that show up and it's a pleasant surprise to everyone.

XP-82 is coming to snf tomorrow

Is it just me, or does it seem like we normally have more specifics from EAA by this time (almost mid-April) regarding unique warbirds, unique vintage and unique modern aircraft that are expected to make appearances at Oshkosh this July??

Just curious...hope it is not going to be an off year for EAA AirVenture (if there is such a thing).

It may not be a year for the "special" restorations like OSH typically has, aside from the XP-82. Doc is also going, and even though she's incredible, it's older news now. Lewis more than likely won't show, the Brewster will not be attending, I think the best hope would be the Hellcat from Collings as a new and anticipated showing.

From a warbird standpoint, that seems to take shape more towards summer when the Warbirds in Review schedule is announced. That's when I recall hearing about more of the unusual attending aircraft the past few years. I think that's usually finalized in early June. The XP-82, the P-51 salute to Bud Anderson, mention of a large Corsair gathering, C-47s for the anniversary of D-Day and the T-28 and T-34 anniversaries are a good starting point to be excited about.

One thing to keep in mind this year is some of the rumored aircraft have not yet flown, examples including the Dakota Territory Air Museum P-51D, F8F and Hurricane, the Collings Foundation and Fagen Hellcats, and even the CWH Firefly. I'm sure we'll get more an idea on some of these aircraft as we move into summer, restorations are hopefully completed and flight testing begins.

"The Year of the Fighter" announcement bodes well for modern military participation. We already know the F-22 and F-16 demo teams will be there for Heritage Flights and the Navy is sending EA-18G, T-45 and T-6 for Legacy Flights. The EAA release on the Year of the Fighter also mentioned A-10, F-15 and F-35, which we'll probably see in the air in some form during the week, even if it's just an arrival pass or two. Again, I'm sure there will be more specifics as we get closer.

The Aerial Firefighting feature also provides some interesting possibilities.

I'm not worried about it at all. There are always a few surprises and there's plenty of time until July.

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Matt

Perhaps the Fagen Hellcat will be ready? 3-1/2 months to go!

Here's a "what if"...
What if the XP-82 sells and relocates out of the country before Oshkosh?! Though the thought of a new owner not having it there to almost certainly win Grand Champion seems almost counter productive, it is a possibility... The idea came from corresponding with the restoration team about their pins and patches. I inquired about paying for them in advance and picking them up at Airventure. The reply was basically if it sells, they wont be there and the aircraft may not be either...

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Always looking for P-51D parts.

Hopefully it won't happen, but even if it sells you would think the new owner (domestic or foreign) would want to show it at Oshkosh.

In any case, if something bad like that happens, we will wait to see the Allison powered F-82E under restoration in Minnesota. If not ready for Oshkosh this year, I would think good chance we will see it there in 2020.