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As a self-employed person who travels a great deal for work, I regularly seek out "photo-ops" of Warbirds, especially areas that I have not been to before and/or unlikely to return to anytime soon.
Like Tulio, I have been known to drive several (hundred) miles out of my way to view a rare bird, or two, or...
Whenever I am going to try to photograph something on "guarded" property, I work hard to get permission and to make advance arrangements to safely photograph the object of my desires.
Working in advance is the key. I have very rarely been turned down in my requests (especially working in advance with the Public Affairs officers) and regularly get escorted to the a/c I want to shoot and escorted back off the "secure area"...and this includes on to USAF Bases, albeit usually only a few hundred feet to their "gate guards" on outside static display.
Being persistently polite and flexible with my schedule has served me well and I have gotten good pictures as a result. I have always been treated with respect and courtesy, probably because that's how I try to work.
Now, with regards to Oshkosh...and air show "security". I have volunteered on the warbird line crew for 8 years (I'm still a "youngster" there). You probably would not believe what we see "civilians" do to aircraft on display...on a daily basis.
My "favorite" was the 5(?) year old who ran across the field full-tilt boogie, jumped up, swung on the gun barrels and hoisted himself up on the wing of an award-winning P51 mustang (that was fresh from a multi-year restoration) and proceded to dance around like an addled-brained chimpanzee while his folks laughed so hard they almost cried, before I could get over to the a/c and quietly ask the youngster to join me on the ground. I never raised my voice and pointed out several items on the P51 to the Chimpanzee before I even spoke to his parents. The parents did not think anything was wrong with their child's behavior and thought I was a plane nazi. Go figure. I just hope the Chimpanzee remembers his first encounter with a warbird and grows up to like warbirds.
So yes, probably sometimes I get a little "jumpy" trying to protect the a/c. The person in shorts with a camera on his hip who reaches under an aircraft and starts touching stuff could be a "civilian" acting stupid or a crew member of the a/c - I usually have no way of knowing unless I "intervene" (as I did above in keeping the general public from damaging a rare a/c) or if they are polite enough to introduce themselves.
I've gotten chastised by crew members when I asked if I could help them when they are touching an a/c, until I apologize and remind them I was looking after the best interests of the a/c. Then they generally thank me for being so attentive to my work on the line crew.
"Catch more flies with honey than with vinegar", my Grandmother used to say.
"Boomerang - Toomerang" said Mr. Rogers (what goes around...)
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