“They look like a field of buttercups,” is how one visitor to AirVenture 2012 described the sea of J-3 Cubs parked in the vintage area of Oshkosh.
This year is the 75th anniversary of the popular Piper airplane and as part of the celebration Cubs arrived in droves at the big show, one after another like a disciplined line of butterflies. One of those belongs to Frank Swinehart, from Lock Haven, Pa., the very home of Piper Aircraft back in the day.
When it comes to aircraft production, timing is critical. The history of general aviation is replete with designs that had the misfortune of being introduced at the beginning of the Depression or World War II, and then being lost to a nose-diving economy or a change in resource allocation. If it was a good design, the airplane came back when fortunes changed.
The Swift is one of the designs that went dormant during World War II and came roaring back in the post-war years to become one of the more popular two-place designs on the market. The Swift is a low-wing tailwheel design with side-by-side seating. In some circles, it’s compared to a flying sports car or even the P-51 Mustang.
What grabs you about the Swift when you see them parked in disciplined rows at airshows and fly-ins is the number of subtle variations to the design and finish. [Read more...]
In my last post, I had the gall to be less than positive about things at the Oshkosh airshow. I was surprised at the positive feedback about similar experiences. However, our publisher, Ben Sclair commented that to see Oshkosh through the eyes of a new aviation enthusiast is like a kid on Christmas morning — it is one of the greatest experiences ever (A suggestion for keeping the magic of AirVenture alive) And he is absolutely 100% correct.
But where are they going to find 500,000 new aviation enthusiasts every year? Since they are not available, they are going to have to depend on repeat visitors. And why do pilots return to Oshkosh, pay for their transportation, fight large crowds, and pay $250 dollars for a small hotel room? Well, most of us do it to learn what is new and to get answers to our many technical questions.
There are many reasons people chose to build an airplane. Sometimes, it’s the challenge of the project, or an attempt to reduce the cost of flying. Other times it’s to build a dream machine to handle what would otherwise be a less-than-enjoyable commute. Greg Marlow from Kingsport, Tenn., falls into the last category. He is the proud builder/pilot/owner of an RV-9A.
According to Marlow, the decision to build the RV came out of the need for a plane he could use to commute to his Air Force Reserve unit in Charleston, S.C., where he flies the C-17.
By MATT FERRARI
This summer at Oshkosh, I was walking along with my daughter Kate, listening to her explain the layout of the AirVenture grounds along with the “have to dos” and the “must sees” to her cousin Nate, who was a first-timer at Oshkosh. The heat that day was almost overwhelming and I was feeling the tops of my ears, flying a loose formation just outside my ball cap, searing in the mid-day sun. I was having visions of a Bob Hoover style big-brimmed straw hat and the shaded relief that it would provide when I noticed a golf cart coming our way.
Next thing I know, I’m eyeball to eyeball with Bob Hoover himself! As he approached, I waved and yelled “Hi ya, Mr. Hoover!” Either out of shock or just curiosity, he decided to stop and say hello. I asked him if I could get a picture of the kids with him. He smiled that Bob Hoover smile and said, “Why sure, I’d be glad to.”
“Do you have a headset?” Ivy McIver asked after I said “Yes,” to the offer to fly home with her from AirVenture in a Cirrus SR22T. “Uh, no, but I’ll get one.”
As luck would have it, my wanderings around AirVenture took me into Hangar C, where I found beyerdynamic. I explained the opportunity of flying 8-plus hours in a Cirrus, to New York-based beyerdynamic sales manager Peter Carini, and he kindly offered the company’s flagship HS 800 to sample. “The pilot will be using a Bose A20, so this will give me a chance to compare the two fairly easily,” I mentioned.
Spotted while walking through the vintage aircraft area at this summer’s Oshkosh was a 1947 Navion sporting military colors. Why wasn’t it parked in the Warbird area? Because owner Robert Gaines of Nashville wanted to park close to his friends.
During a quick chat at the show, he noted that the Navion’s previous owner get the credit for not only the yellow invasion striping, but also the “Jus Buzzng Round” logo on the nose.
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