Unofficial 2024 Oshkosh thread...

[k5083]

Mark is right that we are starting to recycle an old conversation and that is where it ended up. The broader your aviation interests are, the more appeal Oshkosh has. If you are just into seeing warbirds in action, or fast gray jets, then there is something for you at Oshkosh but there are better options. Commercial aviation is the one aspect that is hardly represented at all, and you might be happier spending an afternoon spotting at JFK or LAX than at OSH. The afternoon airshows are not usually something I would pay or travel any distance to see, although this year I would say the Wednesday and Saturday shows would have been solid stand-alone airshows.

The surprises that occur, like the Rutan Boomerang and the couple of random B-1 flypasts, can make up for some of the featured things being disappointing. But again, you have to take the attitude, "As long as it's cool and it's an aircraft, I like it."

This year one of the coolest things was the Aeronca 80th anniversary. Aeronca owners really leaned into this, and I counted 6 full rows of about 15 Aeroncas each in the dedicated part of the camping area, plus many more scattered among the other showplanes. There were two C-2/C-3s, a few Ks, an L, and any number of Champs, Chiefs, Sedans, L-3/L-16s, and it seemed like each one was prettier than the last. Don't think I've ever seen so many of that make there.

August

[Blackbirdfan]

When I was at Osh 2019, the F-22 demo or F-35 I forget which, supplanted a very rare and unique opportunity of B-29 XP-82 formation.
That was a real disappointment.
Replace the unique with the mundane.

I was thinking about that also. Another time when they flew plenty for the photographers, not for the paying members.

Then EAA puts out videos and magazine spreads of the photo shoot that make you think, "Wow, if I'd gone to Airventure, I'd have seen that!" No you wouldn't, sucker.

They even tried that on the ground one evening in 2019, when they set up a gathering of XP-51, P-51B x2, P-51D, P-51H, and P-82 on Warbird Alley, then tried to chase everyone away so that only EAA could get a good look and pics. Ha, nice try. They could get away with that in the air, but those few of us who were around, were not having it.

August

The better version of the same pic...

[k5083]

Didn't like that angle as much. Too hard to see which plane is which in the head-on view.

August

[Mark Allen M]

I like the more elevated official EAA photo.

[Mark Allen M]

Of course seeing the VB-83 Helldiver was really cool.

U.S. Navy Curtiss SB2C-4 Helldiver dive bombers of Bombing Squadron 83 (VB-83) fly against the backdrop of ships of Task Group 38.3 operating off Okinawa.

[Blackbirdfan]

Didn't like that angle as much. Too hard to see which plane is which in the head-on view.

August

Considering there were only two pics taken from that angle, and both were by me, its a rare angle to see. I was standing on the tug used to place them for the dawn photo shoot. I shot one pic with someone's phone of all the people who were working to set the planes, and, the one I posted. They drove off with the tug as soon as I got down.

This was an official EAA photoshoot that was top secret even to those of us shooting for the EAA. Literally a year's worth of work went into putting it together.

[k5083]

Don't be so sure.

My pic from that angle with my camera hoisted up on a monopod is a bit more zoomed in. I didn't like the angle enough to bother with a wide shot or a pano. Someone else probably did, though. You never know what pics people got.

I agree with Mark though, the high shot from the photo crane is better than both of our head-ons. Our angles just don't give you the separation between the planes or enough of the surfaces.

Anyway ALL angles of that grouping are rare angles, so it's just a question which one you prefer. I got it from pretty much all points of the compass, but preferred the front and rear quarter views.

August

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Last edited by k5083 on Tue Jul 30, 2024 8:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[mike furline]

Taylor Swift is Taylor Swift, but she lip syncs sometimes, she knows about six chords, and she sings too much about ex-boyfriends we don't care about.

August

How dare you, Sir! This is quite shocking. Swifties Attack!!!!

[Xray]

Taylor Swift is Taylor Swift, but she lip syncs sometimes, she knows about six chords, and she sings too much about ex-boyfriends we don't care about.

August

How dare you, Sir! This is quite shocking. Swifties Attack!!!!

I'm one of her ex boyfriends, but I prefer to keep it on the down low !

[Zac Yates]

As someone who's grown up wanting to go to AirVenture as a warbird fan, I've come to learn that it's far far more than that, and I'm still as excited - actually more so - because of it. Thanks to those who have shared their photos. Boy is that Helldiver pretty!

Taylor Swift is Taylor Swift, but she lip syncs sometimes, she knows about six chords, and she sings too much about ex-boyfriends we don't care about.

How dare you, Sir! This is quite shocking. Swifties Attack!!!!

I'm one of her ex boyfriends, but I prefer to keep it on the down low !

To paraphrase the famous saying: "In the future, everyone will be Taylor Swift's boyfriend for fifteen minutes".

[Xray]

Aw man poor Taylor, who would have ever thought she'd get ripped on an old airplane forum ?
I've heard maybe 3 or 4 songs of hers, not my style but no denying the talent, plus she is pretty wholesome compared to most of the trash out there.
She found the formula that John Fogerty pioneered decades ago, a song does not have to be complex and technical to be a masterpiece, it just needs to resonate with a generation of folks and be catchy.

Ok I digress back to planes, I think its obvious a wider, more elevated vantage point would have been better for the Mustangs shot, apparently people were taking what they could get. You would think they would showcase a historic static like this rather than hide it.

[JohnB]

Taylor Swift?
I didn't even know Taylorcraft built the Globe Swift.
Of course everyone knows about the LL Cool J-3.

[k5083]

Ok I digress back to planes, I think its obvious a wider, more elevated vantage point would have been better for the Mustangs shot, apparently people were taking what they could get. You would think they would showcase a historic static like this rather than hide it.

That was very much the idea, and EAA had the cherry picker there for the guy to get the shot Mark posted. That was the money shot. I could see that from down on the ground, even if you could raise a few feet, it wasn't going to be a very good pic. I'm not big on set-piece photos anyway, and mostly wanted to get among the aircraft and shoot details of them overlapping each other.

The planes were towed into position the prior evening and some of them had their canopy covers on. They took a few pics of volunteers lined up in front of the XP, but I could see they were aiming for a dawn shoot the next morning, so I got a few pics at sunset and made sure to hustle out there early the next morning for more. Several others had the same idea. EAA staff asked that we clear the area when they were getting their pics, which was fine. Getting out of someone's shot is airshow shutterbug common courtesy, and EAA deserved clean shots for all their efforts in setting this up. They also tried to get us not to take pics of the grouping even when they were not shooting, so that theirs would be exclusive. This was not so fine and most of us ignored it. EAA had an exclusive on the best angle, we figured that was enough.

They left the planes in position until 8:00 or 9:00 before dispersing them back around the warbird zone, so there was a brief chance for members to get a look at the grouping in not such good lighting. I couldn't blame them for keeping the shoot a secret, I'm sure it made crowd control a lot easier and resulted in a much cleaner pic. Overall, except for their attempt to get us regular members not to shoot anything, it was well handled and resulted in a cool moment.

August

[Dave Hadfield]

We were required to display "Victory Flight" on the 1000 ft showline, not our normal 500 ft line (which is over the main runway there at OSH). Not sure why. The 1000 ft line is "36R" (Taxiway A for the rest of the year.)

We took off on 27 that one day because we showed up on time for takeoff on 18R. Nobody told us that the show was running >:15 min late due to a comm problem at some point, and the box was full. Note: this is our fault -- we should have been monitoring the acts, not just the clocks -- but we were up at Warbirds for that start, facing west, and couldn't see much. Anyway, when we reported in on P1, the AirBoss launched us on 27 because she knew I couldn't wait too long in the Spitfire or I'd boil over. Good call on her part. We rejoined west, out of the way, and held until our showtime arrived.

We flew 3 times, but had to abbreviate our displays due to schedule constraints. Couldn't do the regular whole routine. That was no problem. We were just happy to be there. It's an honour to fly a fighter formation at OSH -- a high point in any pilot's career.

On Saturday we flew with the Hornet. It's the first season that the RCAF has ever approved it to fly with a multi-ship close-formation of vintage aircraft. We've done it at three shows so far. And at AeroGatineau we'll have another chance. Only two passes were practicable because the Hornet was short of gas after its display.

But overall it was a great experience for our team. Very intensive, but very successful. We sure got interviewed a lot. All good fun.

[k5083]

Thanks Dave, and congrats on bringing home the hardware and for the successful trip.

I knew that there must be external constraints and limitations that affected the display. From what I've seen, such things are never the aircrew's fault! They always want to show the aircraft off as much as they safely can. From what I heard on the crowd line, reactions were very positive.

The formation with the F-18 was a very pleasant surprise, and the 1000-foot separation was much more understandable on that occasion. Really, the all-fighter heritage flight makes more thematic sense than Lanc + F-18, and was one to remember. Saturday felt like "Canada Day at Oshkosh" with the Skyhawks jumpers, you guys, and the Snowbirds.

I enjoyed your interviews and the fact that your crew was around the aircraft to answer questions so much of the time.

August