airplane time

[dukndog]

Great pics!!
FiFi is a great plane. That FW is also...didn't know there was an original still flying!  I also love the CH-53 Sea Stallion. It's one BIG chopper!!

[beenthere]

Rec'd this link to 4 minute summary of some of the highlights at the Oshkosh air show. Pretty awesome sights.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgf4fKGSdHo&feature=player_embedded

[pineywoods]

Someone spent a bit of time making that video .....It definitely highlites the daily air shows. But the 2 hour daily airshows are just a small part of what goes on for a whole week. Where else can you kick the tires on a B29, get hands on welding lessons, chat one on one with people like Burt Rutan or take a ride in a Ford Tri-motor.

[pineywoods]

dukndog, I did a doubletake when I walked up on that FW. I didn't know there was any left either. There was a Japanese Zero there, but I never did find it. Just too much to see and these old legs don't hold out like they once did

[dukndog]

The cool thing about Osh is the closeness....just like in your pics, people can actually touch the planes...most museums have them roped off. I've seen a ton of planes in my life but very few cockpits due to the ropes!!
And I understand about alot of walking around. When I was there I invested in Goldbond due to the chaffing!!!

[pineywoods]

Where has a year gone ? It's time for the fly-in again. We are leaving at first light tomorrow driving. 35 ft motor home towing a minivan hauling the wife's electric wheelchair..I'll be back in the maintenance shop again, working on Lord knows what, and the wife will be minding the door at the cafeteria. If you like airplanes of any kind, oshkosh, wi is the place to be starting about july 21. I will be taking pics again, but can't post them till I get back home. The campground wifi won't tolerate pics or video...

[Magicman]

Have a safe trip my friend.  Even though you can't post pictures, keep us updated about your daily activities, and take good care of that Lady.   

[trapper]

pineywoods I am 15 mi south of eaa. I have dsl.  Not real fast but you could post a few pictures from here.

[pineywoods]

Airventure 2012 is now in the record books and I'm back home in Louisiana heat. Wisconsin wasn't much better, several days of 100 deg warmth. Made the trip with only 1 minor problem. (other than paying for 185 gallons of fuel) Soon as I get the rv unpacked and put away, I'll have some pics and descriptions. It's hard to believe how much "stuff" can be packed in a motor home..Dirty laundry will multiply if stuffed in an enclosed space...

[John Mc]

Pineywoods, are you a pilot?

[pineywoods]

Pineywoods, are you a pilot?

Yep, commercial and instrument rated, but I haven't flown in a while. The wife has her private also. We flew an old stinson voyager for decades, sold it when the kids went off to college. I have been an active EAA member for nearly 40 years.

[John Mc]

My wife and I are pilots also. She's IFR, I'm Comm, IFR, CFI. We own a 172.

Neither of us are Instrument current right now, and I haven't instructed in a while, but I do keep the CFI certificate valid... one of these days, the kids are going to want to learn.

[thecfarm]

Glad you had a good time. Looking forward to the pictures and the happenings.

[Norm]

Looking forward to some pictures Wayne.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Pineywoods, are you a pilot?

Yep, commercial and instrument rated, but I haven't flown in a while.

I don't fly, but if I ever do, I wanna do it with a pilot that hasn't done it in a while.......just to make it interesting.  :D :D :D

[John Mc]

I don't fly, but if I ever do, I wanna do it with a pilot that hasn't done it in a while.......just to make it interesting.  :D :D :D

Let's make it really interesting:  How about flying with an aerobatics pilot who hasn't done it in a while?

[sandhills]

The other day while I was haying a pivot corner there was a crop duster working the quarter right next to me, I want to ride with one of those guys! He was literally touching the corn going over the hills and watching him turn around and come back down for the next pass right over me actually made duck a few times  . Funnest plain ride I've had I got to sit up with the pilot (for those of us that can't fly that's a big deal  ) in a little cessna flying out of Haines, Alaska, can't remember which river we were following but we were low enough to see all the wildlife along the way.     

[fishpharmer]

Pineywoods, I always look forward to seeing your Oshkosh pictures. Glad you made it home safe.

Sandhills, good to hear you are getting some hay.

[sandhills]

fish, "some" would be an overstatement, baled 15 acres the other night and got 3 1/2 bales  :-\.

[fishpharmer]

3 1/2 giant square bales, right? :'(

[hardtailjohn]

I think airplanes and sawmills/woods work are a natural mix! I'm an A&P/IA for 27+ years, specializing in fabric, wood and round engines. Never did finish my pilot's license, but live on my own airport,  own 4 airplanes and a 5th on the way.... go figure. :D  Pineywoods, I'm rebuilding a 108-3 right now for a guy from the East coast. Great airplanes!!
John

[fishpharmer]

I like the sound of those round engines.

[pineywoods]

John, mine was a 108-0, a bit lighter than the later ones. IFR equipped and my log book shows several hours of hard ifr flying. I stripped off all the fabric and replaced it with .016 alclad. Actually wound up a bit lighter. Is the -3 you are building for a guy named Ken from Ct ?

[pineywoods]

OK, just a brief rundown on the world's largest aviation event..It's called airventure and happens the last week of july in Oshkosh Wisconsin. Lasts a week, during which the municipal airport becomes the busiest airport in the world, by a factor of 4 or 5. Normal years will see in excess of 10,000 aircraft on the field at any given time, the actual number is somewhat larger due to some arriving early and departing early, others come later in the week. People attendance has exceeded  500,000 for the past several years. Obviously any event of this size requires a huge amount of support, both people and equipment. The people end is mostly provided by a bunch of volunteers (over 4000 of them), many of whom come back year after year and work in the same area. We arrive a couple of weeks early, stay in an rv in the volunteer campground. I work in a maintenance shop, fixing "whatever is broke".

The list for me this year
Old volkswagen beetles
street sweeper
electric golf carts
gas golf carts
pickup trucks
handicap scooters
aircraft tugs
bicycles
honda scooters
tractors
fork lifts
people trams
atv's
gas pumps
lots of miscellaneous electrical stuff

This is one of the more common items requiring maintenance. EAA owns approximately 50 of these cut-down beetles, some so old they had 6 volt electricals. Over the years, I have re-done the electrical system on most of them. Used for VIP transport. I know the NZ minister of aviation and the head of our FAA rode around in one for a few days.


 

I did get off work enough to do some looking and picture taking, pics will follow in several shorter posts instead of one long one.

[hardtailjohn]

Is the -3 you are building for a guy named Ken from Ct ?

No, this one's going to a guy by the name of Steve Ruff, from NH.  We're putting an IO-390 Lyc, MT Prop, full IFR panel... and a passel of other things. It's the 2nd "Super Stinson" I've done in the last few years. The first had the O-470.
Gotta love the Stinsons! Fine aircraft!!
John