The Unofficial 2015 Oshkosh thread...

[Dave Homewood]

Not to incite a riot, but I am curious as to how many difficulty point the Mosquito, as a type, was awarded. Sometimes that makes all the difference. The Mosquito is impressive in its own right, but my opinion is Sierra Sue takes the cake. I haven't seen as much detail of, nor know as much about, Berlin Express, so I'm not factoring her in. For Sierra Sue to be a wartime vet, restored in her original markings, to the degree of authenticity that she was, I think Ehlen and Aircorps should take her to NAHI at Reno. They'd likely do very well.

What is so difficult about restoring this Mustang? I don't understand. There's a massive industry for restoring and keeping these things flying with loads of off the shelf components available to any Mustang restorer. So why does this one differ?

Personally I cannot see how anyone could think a Mustang would be more difficult to rebuild than a ground up restoration of a Mosquito - something no-one had ever done before, ever, not even he RAF or de Havillands, And there was no network of industry all set up to make parts for a Mosquito either, like there is with the common old P-51D. Not to mention the years spent finding drawings, and parts, and recreating the moulds, and basically relearning lost techniques.

[Warbirdnerd]

Here is a guy that knows something about Mosquitos, Homebuilts, and award winning Mustangs:

[k5083]

That's a funny post by Kermit.

If I were Jerry's crew member I would have teased him back asking why they allowed static displays in the warbirds section. But I'm sure there is respect on both sides.

As to Mosquito versus Mustang, it seems to me that opinions depend on familiarity with the various restorations. Dave, the earlier posts in this thread more than answer your question about what is so difficult about restoring Sierra Sue II and how it did not use off-the-shelf parts. That said, I agree that the Mosquito project is more epic by a wide margin. The grain of truth in Kermit's joke really underscores why the Mossie deserved to win.

August

[Rob W]

Did anyone happen to see the actual Grand Champion Warbird trophy? It had some "Jerry Yeagan" guy's name on it. Oooops! Errors always add more value, right? (At least they do when talking about the value of baseball cards...)

Cheers,
Rob

[Taylor Stevenson]

What is so difficult about restoring this Mustang? I don't understand. There's a massive industry for restoring and keeping these things flying with loads of off the shelf components available to any Mustang restorer. So why does this one differ?

Personally I cannot see how anyone could think a Mustang would be more difficult to rebuild than a ground up restoration of a Mosquito - something no-one had ever done before, ever, not even he RAF or de Havillands, And there was no network of industry all set up to make parts for a Mosquito either, like there is with the common old P-51D. Not to mention the years spent finding drawings, and parts, and recreating the moulds, and basically relearning lost techniques.

Pump the brakes and read thoroughly before you post, Dave. I never said that a Mustang was more difficult to restore than a Mosquito... Quite the opposite. I was inquiring about the exact "bonus" Difficulty Points that the judges at Oshkosh assign to the Mosquito as a type. The form of my question suggests that I assume a Mosquito would get a HIGHER amount of difficulty points, and rightfully so. I was merely saying that if a Mustang and a Mosquito were both PERFECTLY restored, the Mosquito would automatically win at Oshkosh due to the higher number of "bonus" Difficulty Points assigned to the type.

I DO suggest that Sierra Sue is more accurately restored to wartime condition and appearance for that airframe, than the Mosquito was. That's one man's opinion from detailed photos I have seen.

With regards to Bob's Mustang, I neither explicitly nor impliedly suggested that his aircraft was painted in authentic scheme for that airframe. I accurately suggested that it IS an extremely authentic restoration in terms of workmanship, finishes, hardware... you name it. It seems like every year the bar is raised higher and higher with respect to authenticity and I couldn't be happier! Although, I do love a good polish job on a mustang!

"[C]ommon old P-51D[,]" huh?

Regardless of my opinions, this was a great year for Oshkosh and I tip my hat to all the award winners.

[garbs]

OK, then - time for more photos, maybe?

Kudos to all who have posted - very nice stuff!

Some to these are ones I haven't seen posted yet and others are more of a "yeah I got that one too"

[garbs]

Some jet stuff...











And a couple from WB in Review:





And of course the Mosquito

[wendovertom]

Boy, Dean's plane is pretty. Too bad that there are not more operational F-100s around. IIRC it is just Dean's and the Collings Foundation plane right? I know there are 3-4 up in Montana but they are not currently flying.

Tom P.

[Zac Yates]

Every time I check in on this thread there are even more simply beautiful photos to enjoy. A very warm thank you to everyone who's contributed images to this thread, it goes a long way to making up for not being there. It's so hard to pick favourites...although it's interesting to see a few unfocused Mosquito photos - I found it hard to concentrate on taking photos of it too, it's such an amazing thing to see fly!

[garbs]

Best I got on the Mosquito:





Also, I thought the 2-man, corkscrew Flag jump was pretty cool...



Haven't seen any of the Wildcat Acro routine yet either:





I was never on the line for any of Scooter Yoak's routines this year.

[Chris Brame]

Another question re the PB4Y: These two areas seem to be painted gray rather than NMF. Reason?

[CAPFlyer]

That's a funny post by Kermit.

If I were Jerry's crew member I would have teased him back asking why they allowed static displays in the warbirds section. But I'm sure there is respect on both sides.

Actually, there kinda was. Jon Brawner (former WiXer, who I think still lurks here) did a "Double Kerfie" with Kermit that he posted to his Facebook. No comment, but I think it's pretty cool that Kermit was up for it.

[Tim Adams]

Here are a few.

[Dave Homewood]

Stunning photos!!

[T J Johansen]

Is the change of paint on the P-38 permanent?

T J