The Unofficial Oshkosh 2025 Thread

[JohnTerrell]

Thank you August for sharing your photos. That Royal Navy-painted Staggerwing, N16S, was based in the UK for many years, and was last operating in the UK at the beginning of this year when it was shipped to the US.

Here are the heavy-iron warbird (and somewhat warbird-related) aircraft I recorded that have been at Oshkosh this past week (24 Mustangs). I'm sure there are some I'm still missing/should be including.

P-38J Jandina III
P-40K N402WH
P-40N N1226N
P-47D Bonnie
Cavalier Mustang N51DL
P-51B Old Crow
P-51C Thunderbird
P-51D N10601 (Old Red Nose)
P-51D N551WR
P-51D N6306T
P-51D N951HB
P-51D Ain't Misbehavin
P-51D Alabama Rammer Jammer
P-51D Cavallino
P-51D Charlotte's Chariot II
P-51D Gentleman Jim
P-51D Glamorous Glen III
P-51D Gunfighter
P-51D Happy Jack's Go Buggy (only rolled out for Heritage Flights)
P-51D Lou IV
P-51D Old Crow
P-51D Plum Crazy
P-51D Sweet Revenge
P-51D The Rebel
P-51D Quick Silver
F-51D Was That Too Fast
TF-51D N351B
TF-51D Tiger's Revenge
P-47D Bonnie
NA-50 (replica) N80714
F4F-3 N12260
FM-2 N18P
FM-2 N29FG
FM-2 N5HP
FM-2 N551TC
FM-2 N5833
FM-2 N86572
F6F-3 N467RL
F7F-3 N700F
F8F-1 N2209
F8F-2 N14WB
FG-1D N9964Z
FG-1D N83JC ("Godspeed")
FG-1D N451FG
F4U-4 N713JT
F4U-5 N179PT
SB2C-5 N48HD
SBD-5 N82GA
TBM-3 N28SF
TBM-3 N5260V
TBM-3 N73642
TBM-3 N86280
AD-4 N23827
AD-5W N62466
AD-5W N65164
C-1A N189G
Me-262 (replica) N262MF
AT-7C N9109R
AT-11 N214CR
Expeditor N167ZA
Expeditor N21534
Expeditor N40189
Expeditor N40074
Beech 18 N44638
Beech 18 N70GA
Beech 18 N929DV
B-25J Devil Dog
B-25J God and Country
B-25J Lady Luck
B-25J Miss Mitchell
B-25J Panchito
B-25J Sweet Dreams
A-26B Silver Dragon
A-26C Million Airess
P4Y-G2 Super Privateer N2871G
AC-47 Spooky (N2805J)
C-47 N472AF
C-47 Placid Lassie
C-47 Vaerus Jet Sales
C-47 Virginia Ann
C-47 (turboprop-converted) N1350A
C-47 N728G
DC-3 N33644
C-54 Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation
VC-121A Bataan
B-29 Doc
B-29A FIFI
DH Vampire N171LA
DH Vampire N23105
Super Pinto N4229
MiG-17 N1713P
MiG-17 N1726M
MiG-17 N217SH
MiG-17 N717MG
MiG-17 N917F
OV-10D N16854
HU-16C N3HU
HU-16C N7025J
HU-16C N7025N
MiG-29UB N29UB
EAA B-17, F-86, F-84, P-80 (all static of course)

This of course doesn't include the enormous amount of smaller liaison types and trainers (props and jets).

Last edited by JohnTerrell on Fri Aug 01, 2025 12:44 pm, edited 2 times in total.

[kalamazookid]

Just back after attending Mon-Thurs, will try to post pics as I go through them. Had a good time, though not as good as last year.

Warbird turnout was exceptional as seen by tallies others have posted. Unfortunately, it was a static display situation only, as the themes of the Warbirds of America portion of the afternoon shows for the 4 peak days were:

Mon: Mass trainer formations.
Tues: Exact same mass trainer formations.
Wed: L-birds and Chipmunks.
Thu: Jets.

Not a single show featured piston fighters, bombers or transports. No matter how much the crews of the fast and/or large prop warbirds may have wanted to burn an hour of EAA's gas and display for folks, there was no opportunity for them, as there usually is Tuesday and/or Wednesday. Very poor decision IMO; a big missed opportunity considering what was on the field. The only piston combat types we got to see in action were the featured performers or anything that went joyriding during the day. I'll be interested to hear what they do with the segment today, but the pool will be depleted by now.

None of the afternoon airshows was very good, especially relative to last year when there were a couple of excellent ones. Thursday was the strongest of the four, with good demos by the 262, Vampire, T-33, and Mig-17s giving fans of early jet fighters little to complain about. Overall, pacing was slow, there were too many similar flippy flops although I did enjoy this new Northern Stars 3-Pitts team from Canada. Current military displays were on the tame side, and most of the solo warbird acts were familiar from the past couple of years.

I think I probably shot about half the pics as last year, partly because of the above, partly because threatened or actual storms interrupted the post-airshow departure frenzy that is usually one of my favorite parts of OSH from Wednesday onwards. But there were some great moments and all that general airplane goodness that makes it worthwhile.

August

I was also totally miffed and frustrated by the warbird shows Monday-Thursday. It took until Friday and today to have proper warbird shows. I don't mind the L-bird, trainer and jet shows, they're just extremely poorly designed and paced with very little action low enough or in front of the crowd. Having a bunch of aircraft orbiting at 1,500+ feet on the other side of the runway or behind the crowd just isn't interesting at all. The way the show is designed does a total disservice to both pilots and spectators. The pacing for the trainer and L-bird shows is also horrible - they allot 45 minutes to an hour and the actual flying takes maybe 15 minutes, then we have a lot of sitting around while nothing flies and Danny Clisham drones on with barely relevant stories.

The biggest oversight in my opinion was not working the Wildcats into the warbird shows. Here we had the largest gathering of Wildcats maybe since World War II and all we got out of it was a single pass on the way to their aerial photo shoot on Friday. It is absolutely mind-boggling that nobody thought to get them in front of the crowd more. There isn't a better venue or crowd in North America that would better appreciate the rarity of seeing a bunch of Wildcats in the air together - and all we got was one pass. Again, this is a major disservice to the pilots/crews who put in the effort to bring the aircraft and the enthusiasts who paid good money to be there. A few select photographers got to spend an hour with them in the air, but I guess us ground-dwelling peasants should be happy with what we got. We can always enjoy paying to see pictures in magazines though.

Other than that, it's been a good trip. This is the first time I have gone all week. The warbird aerobatics have been fantastic, the Cat Flight is always memorable, the warbird shows the last two days were great and the MiG-29 and MiG-17s were awesome. I love US Navy and USMC warbirds and this was a great year for those types. The Constellation is absolutely incredible. I also really appreciated seeing the FHCAM P-38 and I hope Steuart Walton continues to share his warbirds at Oshkosh. The warbird turnout overall seemed up from my last trip (2022) and the variety of types represented was fantastic. There were also a lot of cool airplanes in Vintage.

Not sure how long I'll stay tomorrow. It's going to be a hot one. Hoping to catch the F-15s and Harriers departing and if it gets miserable after that, I'll just head out.

[JohnTerrell]

Some of this year's EAA award-winners:

WWII Grand Champion: FHCAM's P-38J 'Jandina III' (N988J)
WWII Reserve Grand Champion: Mark & Missy Timken's P-51D 44-72107 (N551WR)
Post-WWII Grand Champion: Rod Lewis' VC-121A 'Bataan' (N422NA)
Post-WWII Reserve Grand Champion: Steuart Walton's F-51D 'Was That Too Fast' (N151JT)
Best Navy Fighter: Rod Lewis' F6F-3 BuNo.40467 (N467RL)
Best Wildcat: John Baugh's FM-2 BuNo.74560 (N29FG)
Best Flying Museum: Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation's C-54D 43-17228 (N500EJ)
Best Jet: Military Aviation Museum's replica Me 262 (N262MF)

[Lynn Allen]

Some of this year's EAA award-winners:

WWII Grand Champion: FHCAM's P-38J 'Jandina III' (N988J)
WWII Reserve Grand Champion: Mark & Missy Timken's P-51D 44-72107 (N551WR)
Post-WWII Grand Champion: Rod Lewis' VC-121A 'Bataan' (N422NA)
Post-WWII Reserve Grand Champion: Steuart Walton's F-51D 'Was That Too Fast' (N151JT)
Best Navy Fighter: Rod Lewis' F6F-3 BuNo.40467 (N467RL)
Best Wildcat: John Baugh's FM-2 BuNo.74560 (N29FG)
Best Flying Museum: Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation's C-54D 43-17228 (N500EJ)
Best Jet: Military Aviation Museum's replica Me 262 (N262MF)

Thank you, John for the updates. Did Ezell Aviation get a golden wrench for their part and effort?

Lynn

[JohnTerrell]

That's correct, Lynn, Ezell received both a Golden Wrench and Phoenix Award for the P-38. Ezell was also awarded a Silver Wrench Award for the Rod Lewis Hellcat restoration.

The Mustang, Was That Too Fast, having won Post-WWII Reserve Grand Champion this year, had also originally won Post-WWII Grand Champion in 2013. This has provided a second Golden Wrench Award for Midwest Aero for the same restoration. Midwest of course was also awarded a Golden Wrench this year for the WWII Reserve Grand Champion, P-51D 44-72107.

[phil65]

Yes, it was a good year to see a bunch of great warbirds on the ground, not so much seeing them fly..

Phil

[Sabremech]

Just back after attending Mon-Thurs, will try to post pics as I go through them. Had a good time, though not as good as last year.

Warbird turnout was exceptional as seen by tallies others have posted. Unfortunately, it was a static display situation only, as the themes of the Warbirds of America portion of the afternoon shows for the 4 peak days were:

Mon: Mass trainer formations.
Tues: Exact same mass trainer formations.
Wed: L-birds and Chipmunks.
Thu: Jets.

Not a single show featured piston fighters, bombers or transports. No matter how much the crews of the fast and/or large prop warbirds may have wanted to burn an hour of EAA's gas and display for folks, there was no opportunity for them, as there usually is Tuesday and/or Wednesday. Very poor decision IMO; a big missed opportunity considering what was on the field. The only piston combat types we got to see in action were the featured performers or anything that went joyriding during the day. I'll be interested to hear what they do with the segment today, but the pool will be depleted by now.

None of the afternoon airshows was very good, especially relative to last year when there were a couple of excellent ones. Thursday was the strongest of the four, with good demos by the 262, Vampire, T-33, and Mig-17s giving fans of early jet fighters little to complain about. Overall, pacing was slow, there were too many similar flippy flops although I did enjoy this new Northern Stars 3-Pitts team from Canada. Current military displays were on the tame side, and most of the solo warbird acts were familiar from the past couple of years.

I think I probably shot about half the pics as last year, partly because of the above, partly because threatened or actual storms interrupted the post-airshow departure frenzy that is usually one of my favorite parts of OSH from Wednesday onwards. But there were some great moments and all that general airplane goodness that makes it worthwhile.

August

I was also totally miffed and frustrated by the warbird shows Monday-Thursday. It took until Friday and today to have proper warbird shows. I don't mind the L-bird, trainer and jet shows, they're just extremely poorly designed and paced with very little action low enough or in front of the crowd. Having a bunch of aircraft orbiting at 1,500+ feet on the other side of the runway or behind the crowd just isn't interesting at all. The way the show is designed does a total disservice to both pilots and spectators. The pacing for the trainer and L-bird shows is also horrible - they allot 45 minutes to an hour and the actual flying takes maybe 15 minutes, then we have a lot of sitting around while nothing flies and Danny Clisham drones on with barely relevant stories.

The biggest oversight in my opinion was not working the Wildcats into the warbird shows. Here we had the largest gathering of Wildcats maybe since World War II and all we got out of it was a single pass on the way to their aerial photo shoot on Friday. It is absolutely mind-boggling that nobody thought to get them in front of the crowd more. There isn't a better venue or crowd in North America that would better appreciate the rarity of seeing a bunch of Wildcats in the air together - and all we got was one pass. Again, this is a major disservice to the pilots/crews who put in the effort to bring the aircraft and the enthusiasts who paid good money to be there. A few select photographers got to spend an hour with them in the air, but I guess us ground-dwelling peasants should be happy with what we got. We can always enjoy paying to see pictures in magazines though.

Other than that, it's been a good trip. This is the first time I have gone all week. The warbird aerobatics have been fantastic, the Cat Flight is always memorable, the warbird shows the last two days were great and the MiG-29 and MiG-17s were awesome. I love US Navy and USMC warbirds and this was a great year for those types. The Constellation is absolutely incredible. I also really appreciated seeing the FHCAM P-38 and I hope Steuart Walton continues to share his warbirds at Oshkosh. The warbird turnout overall seemed up from my last trip (2022) and the variety of types represented was fantastic. There were also a lot of cool airplanes in Vintage.

Not sure how long I'll stay tomorrow. It's going to be a hot one. Hoping to catch the F-15s and Harriers departing and if it gets miserable after that, I'll just head out.

Let me see if I can answer a few of your questions or give insight. I take care of the pilot documents required to fly in the Warbirds of America portion of the Airshow along with the Airshow sign up sheets.
The wildcats didn’t fly because they didn’t sign up to fly. Why is that? You’ll have to ask the owners. That’s no fault of the Airshow planners as they can only work with those who choose to fly. The planners do try to put things together and they did get the ME 262 and two P-51’s to fly during the WOA show. That wasn’t on my schedule until I found out during the daily briefing, of which I participate.
I’d be interested in hearing your suggestions for the show say for the L-birds. Keep in mind the different number of types, those who can and can’t fly formation, along with de-conflicting patterns and altitudes, show lines, which will keep the FAA happy? I can pass them along.

Let me know if you’ll be at OSH next year and you can be my guest for the briefing so you see for yourself what it takes to make it happen specifically there with the number of aircraft in attendance. There’s so much more that goes on that I don’t know enough of to comment about nor will I, but if you have a specific question, let me know and I can probably get you an answer.
Thanks,

David

[hurricane_yank]

I was having this discussion post Friday's show - I think there are multiple factors and while EAA probably shoulders some of it (no fault of theirs, they are a business) it is just the new reality. The hard thing for most is that it is a week long event and showcase and thus they have to fill space. Going back and reviewing past years this was the same airshow schedule as those in the recent past (e.g., Mass Arrivals, Formations, Liaison, Jets, Various Warbirds, Various Warbirds). I wish they would pick a day or two and say this is the big warbird day...I know Friday and Saturday are supposed to be that in theory but so much stuff leaves after or on Thursday that you are already missing stuff. One individual I talked to said why not make it such that if you want to be judged you have to fly at least once in the daily airshow.

I think most of us think back to the shows of yesteryear where tons of stuff went up but that was a different time...pre strict FAA rules, insurance and safety guidelines, fuel costs, etc. No less just general attitudes...Warbird ownership is not just for the "elite" anymore but only the elite of the elite. T-6's now go for $200k+.

I, for one, was glad just to see all 7 Wildcats put up and taxi by me. Would I have loved formation pass after formation pass - sure...but I will give them credit putting them all up.

[Lynn Allen]

That's correct, Lynn, Ezell received both a Golden Wrench and Phoenix Award for the P-38. Ezell was also awarded a Silver Wrench Award for the Rod Lewis Hellcat restoration.

The Mustang, Was That Too Fast, having won Post-WWII Reserve Grand Champion this year, had also originally won Post-WWII Grand Champion in 2013. This has provided a second Golden Wrench Award for Midwest Aero for the same restoration. Midwest of course was also awarded a Golden Wrench this year for the WWII Reserve Grand Champion, P-51D 44-72107.

Thank you, John...

Lynn

[OD/NG]

I was having this discussion post Friday's show - I think there are multiple factors and while EAA probably shoulders some of it (no fault of theirs, they are a business) it is just the new reality. The hard thing for most is that it is a week long event and showcase and thus they have to fill space. Going back and reviewing past years this was the same airshow schedule as those in the recent past (e.g., Mass Arrivals, Formations, Liaison, Jets, Various Warbirds, Various Warbirds). I wish they would pick a day or two and say this is the big warbird day...I know Friday and Saturday are supposed to be that in theory but so much stuff leaves after or on Thursday that you are already missing stuff. One individual I talked to said why not make it such that if you want to be judged you have to fly at least once in the daily airshow.

I think most of us think back to the shows of yesteryear where tons of stuff went up but that was a different time...pre strict FAA rules, insurance and safety guidelines, fuel costs, etc. No less just general attitudes...Warbird ownership is not just for the "elite" anymore but only the elite of the elite. T-6's now go for $200k+.

I, for one, was glad just to see all 7 Wildcats put up and taxi by me. Would I have loved formation pass after formation pass - sure...but I will give them credit putting them all up.

WOA is not a priority to the leadership at the EAA. This accounts for some, but not all of this.

[OD/NG]

Even though there weren't too many daily operations of warbirds, I still enjoyed this Oshkosh more than probably any other in the last decade or so. There was a phenomental turnout of exotic stuff that we haven't seen in years. The P-38 was particularly stunning! I got a chance to see it up close and the level of detail is amazing. Operable bomb racks, gunsight, almost functional .50 calibers, inspection stamps, etc, etc. and the list goes on and on. Congrats to FHCAM and Ezell aviation for their stunning restoration. They set the bar for future projects!

On a side note, there are some very exciting warbirds that are or will be changing hands soon, and announcements that will be forthcoming from their respective owners/organizations. It is an exciting time to be a warbird fan! Lots of cool stuff to look forward to soon!

[hurricane_yank]

Wildcats

Attachments

[Warbird Kid]

On a side note, there are some very exciting warbirds that are or will be changing hands soon, and announcements that will be forthcoming from their respective owners/organizations. It is an exciting time to be a warbird fan! Lots of cool stuff to look forward to soon!

Such a mystery!!


Looked like a great turnout. Wish we could have made it back this year. Maybe next year... How was the weather by the way? 2023 was pretty hot and humid for us. Just wondering if you guys faired any better...

[Mark Allen M]

WOA is not a priority to the leadership at the EAA. This accounts for some, but not all of this.

Agreed!…and the same argument could be made for the Antiques, homebuilts etc. by way of too much attention to one group over the same amount to the other groups.
EAA Airventure was never mean’t to be a main focus on one particular category of aircraft (other than perhaps its origins as homebuilt planes in garages decades ago. H*ll, my dad and I while flying to Oshkosh many moons ago, while sleeping under the wing of his Globe Swift, would complain there wasn’t enough attention given to all the Swifts that used to show up at Oshkosh. My guess is that in order to give equal attention and airshow time (enough to satisfy all those attending) would require an extra couple of weeks minimum. But other than the Planes of Fame Chino CA (now Santa Maria), Duxford UK, and a few other warbird specific gatherings, I’ve never felt Airventure was a real destination for warbird airshows. Great static showings yes, but great flying displays? not so much. There’s just too much else going on in such a short week IMHO.

[OD/NG]

On a side note, there are some very exciting warbirds that are or will be changing hands soon, and announcements that will be forthcoming from their respective owners/organizations. It is an exciting time to be a warbird fan! Lots of cool stuff to look forward to soon!

Such a mystery!!


Looked like a great turnout. Wish we could have made it back this year. Maybe next year... How was the weather by the way? 2023 was pretty hot and humid for us. Just wondering if you guys faired any better...

Yep, most of it was hot and humid with little or not enough wind to feel cool. There was a nasty thunderstorm that appeared late Wednesday afternoon, right before the night show - gusty winds that blew over some tents/pop-ups. I thought for sure the night show would be cancelled, but they had it! Other than a brief torrential downpour, most of the weather was fairly nice, except for the heat and humidity. Mornings, as always, are pleasant though.