The Unofficial 2016 Oshkosh thread...

[Dan K]

Rumor has it a Texan PBY in CG livery will be one of the headliners in WB in review.

Awesome rumor, garbs...first thing I thought of to celebrate Coastie aviation.

[marine air]

ThIs will be my 40th year. It's so much more complex than back in the 70's. Suggest first thing is to make a bee line to the warbird area. I go to the jet flight line as there is always a surprise or two like a panther, or FJ-Fury. One year there was a Canberra. The show line truncated the jet flight line and once the show starts you won't have access.
Leaving there go north or south. North will be the B-25s, C-47's, etc. south is the Corsairs, Mosquitos, etc. one the warbirds start up for their flights, you'll get kicked out . Then I go to the paved area. Where they have warbirds in review. You'll see a few special aircraft like P-38s and early model mustangs.
Tips; find out what day judging concludes. Some rarities will show up on final day for one day only. Some leave after judging. Check the weather. If there are thunderstorms forecast, many airplanes will go home. Especially the L Birds and antiques. Warbird people are peculiar. They take their plane home for various reasons. If you see a prize, like a Seafire, take a photo and look at it closely. It may leave later in the day and not return.
The museum and exhibits are great on rainy days. The seaplane base is a good place when you're tired of walking. It has a nice breeze and I lean against a shade tree and watch water ops for hours.

[Scooby]

Mark, do you go every year? This will be my first.

Short answer No!, long answer H*ll No! ... lol ...

Even longer answer ...

Used to go quite a bit as a kid growing up in Michigan with my dad sleeping under the wing of his Globe Swift and hanging out with his Canadian buddy who owner a black P-51. Interesting flying in and out of OSH back then. Formation flying at it's best and worst and probably still is that way. Since I've been living in the "great lie" known as California (lol) I've become spoiled airshow wise, by usually attending Chino for half a day and sometimes Reno for a day. As I've gotten a bit older I can only take so much of crowds. Humans are different in crowds today as opposed to 30 years ago (IMO) ... ruder, fatter, nuttier and the kids crazier ... but that's just one man's opinion. lolol, Seriously? Oshkosh is a different deal all together. If your going strictly to see an airshow you may be a bit disappointed as it's not an "airshow" per say as much as a gathering of all types Business, General and Sport aviation for the means of swapping information, stories, experiences etc. etc. and for sellers and owners to show off their airplanes. Great stuff indeed for those interested in the fine details of certain types of airplanes and lots to see and do if your into that type of thing. Most of the airplanes sit on the ground most of the time though.

If and when I go these days, I usually rent a car and drive up from Chicago early in the morning, on whatever day I go, and spend the day wandering around the place looking at airplanes that the owners spent way too much money on lol. If your a casual aviation guy and never been to Oshkosh, it's like going to The Louvre in Paris. Great place with lots of amazing and interesting stuff but after a few hours your burnt.

All my opinion only of course.

If you've never been trust me you'll have a great time. Brain overload for sure.

Thanks Mark, no I am not a casual aviation guy, 24 plus years Canadian Airforce, the past three with a Helicopter Air Ambulance group.

I am a total aviation buff, , I almost flew to Oshkosh in the jump seat of a Mustang in 1993. I couldn't get leave approved on a Sunday evening. The person I knew who owned the Mustang, gave me less than 12 hours notice he had the empty seat.

I did maintenance on his Mustang as well as an F4U-7.

Most the Snowbirds that will be attending this show were Squadron mates of mine in my last 8 years in the CAF (CF-18 Hornets).

I too have it planned to fly to Chicago and drive from there. Easier routes for me.

I only plan on attending M-F, I am not interested in the weekend crowds. I'm more into the ground events then to bending my neck to the sky.

Yes, I have heard all about the mad scramble for take-offs at the end of the event.

[Mark Allen M]

24 plus years Canadian Air force

For shame!!! ... all that time in the service and not once attending Airventure ...
Have fun and enjoy yourself. You have a lot to explore.

[Mark Allen M]

Oshkosh 1987, remember it well.

[z24nemesis]

[quote="Dan K

NOW...my pipe dream has the BAHF C-97 squaring off against Coulson's Martin Mars for "Best Transport"

Dan - I LIKE that pipe dream! Two of my favorite vintage aircraft.....

[/quote]

Convince the C-97 gang to make it and you might have that chance!

[Dan K]

Convince the C-97 gang to make it and you might have that chance!

How's this for a plan:

The Berlin Airlift Veterans Association is planning their next reunion in Great Falls, Montana, in August or September.

That's a long haul for the BAHF to attend from the east coast, so I propose they

a) bring the C-97 to OSH in July, and

b) solicit additional fuel funds from the adoring masses, and

c) leave her on the Weeks Hangar ramp until August to then continue on to MT.


Three cheers (and free beers) for the guys in the maroon flight suits!

[spookythecat]

Love that '87 photo. Hope to see Bill's Spitfire back in it's proper place again someday.

[Dan K]

Love that '87 photo. Hope to see Bill's Spitfire back in it's proper place again someday.

Well-stated, Al...plus maybe a Jug or three.

[hurricane_yank]

Great picture from '87!

[Mark Allen M]

Not news!!? Who said 'FIFI' showing up to Oshkosh is "not news" .... no matter where that big thing shows up, trust me "It's news" ..... and "Good news"

[flightsimer]

Nice to see Air Heritage committing to this year's Big Dance on their events schedule.

http://airheritage.org/events/air-shows/

Looks like they're focused on completing a certain C-47 in time. Here's to their pulling it off.

The C-47 may possibly be done in time but we are actually sending our C-123K, Thunder Pig there.

This will only be the second time we have ever attended Oshkosh, the first being in the early 2000's to deliver a brand new Ford Excursion inside the pig to a raffle winner.

[XL446]

flightsimer,

there has been so much excellent news in this thread already, but given that I'm a big fan of propliners and similar-sized warbirds and I've never seen a C-123 fly (the closest I've come is seeing a high-speed run in Alaska by the guys who crashed on Denali a couple of days later in 2010) I just have to respond to your post and say thank you in advance and safe flying getting it to Oshkosh!
And hope to see the C-47 (which is an airframe I haven't photographed yet) at some future event!

Roger

[CoastieJohn]

Rumor has it a Texan PBY in CG livery will be one of the headliners in WB in review.

This will be great if true.

[CoastieJohn]

Anyone know if the Bally B-17 will be there? The below is a 7/21/15 FB entry.

Bally's Bomber

July 21, 2015 ·
..
We're still here ! Sorry for the lack of attention to the FB page folks ! We'll be updating the website tonight with new photos, and we'll be sending out more updates on the progress shortly. Good news, its looking like the bomber will debut next year at Oshkosh! As always we are doing an Interview with EAA Radio, we'll let you know when it airs !