Met up with my Rise of Flight/IL2 buddies. After 13 years it was quite an experience to finally meet. But if felt quite natural too. Friends are friends.
I STILL haven’t purchased that kit. Parting with so much 
is proving even harder than I imagined.
Paid a visit to the LZ and learned more than I needed about Rotorway/RotorX. The dog was as friendly as they come. Day 6 and I am still wearing the Oshkosh Smile.
The Navy has arrived!
I don’t know if there are any rivets to buck in a helicopter kit, but if you buy it, I’ll gladly come contribute a few days of labor to the project.
Ohhhh…Spooky
I chickened out…again. It’s a lot of money but a good deal for what you get. And they gave me time with a half dozen owners here. They are good, passionate people promoting a solid, proven machine. But when it comes to buying things, I am a coward. I knew that if I wrote a check for $92k, I would feel guilty the whole flight home. I’d rather maintain the “Oshkosh Smile” for one more day.
In other news…
Tora. Tora. Tora.
It’s like a Spielberg movie set. You can feel the heat.
I have become a big fan of smokerings!
These are from a couple of years ago at the Central Texas Airshow out of Waco. A bit of post production on the colors/BW.
Every time i see your pyro pics i initially think there’s been an accident. 
BTW, @smokinhole… Have you watched the Discovery UK series, https://www.markevans.co.uk/television/a-chopper-is-born/ ?
British veterinarian and TV host Mark Evans is building a Rotorway Helicopter and learns to fly.
Filled with corny British humor. I love it! 
2 requests pls. If Cubcrafters is there, would like to know if you fit in the FX/EX and pls grab a GoPro video of your departure. Would love to see that. Otherwise, have a safe trip home!
@Troll and @chipwich, I failed on both counts. I departed early this morning 2 minutes before the field went IFR. I didnt record the departure in part because I had a frustrating hour trying to get out. Eventually I blew off finding a volunteer and shewed away spectators and stacked chairs from the showline myself.
No worries and nicely done. Beautiful photo!
Thanks for taking us along for the ride and showing off some of the sights at one of the greatest events on the planet. Glad to hear you were smiling throughout most of the show. I still have my signed book by Gordon Baxter on my shelf that I picked up at Oshkosh many decades ago. It really is a special place…
Thank you for providing a place for me to share the experience. When I want to relive it or get my memories straight, I’ll return here. I will finish with a few more shots. On Friday the IAC hosted a banquet at the nature pavilion on the grounds of the EAA museum. Its just a few hundred yards away from the show but may as well be a million. Hearing the not-so-distant airshow noise intermixed with the song of waterfowl made for yet another beautiful experience.
How is the Pitts as a cross country machine? I assume it is a bit more of a sportster than station wagon… 
The Pitts is a torture machine for cross country! She had the legs for 2:30 but I am in agony after about an hour. The legs yesterday were all around 1:45. With the tailwind at 9500’ I was getting a bit over 200 miles/leg. Total flight time for the round trip was 13.3.
When I took the canopy cover off early yesterday morning, this fell out…
Oh and one (maybe) last word…the A400. That thing turned out to be the centerpiece of the show. It was kept in the middle of the ramp like the esteemed guest she was. She attracted more tour lines than any other machine on the ramp. The combined German and American flag displayed from the cargo hold was a nice touch. And the crews seemed as if they were actually enjoying mingling with the horde while baking in the sun. Beautiful and immense, she was a marvelous display of aircraft design. Score one for Europe!
And also also… the Oshkosh Morning Yodel…
I wish Laborie Roland would bring his A400M into MSFS. It would be really cool with that HUD in VR…
It’s that time again!!!
Was passing by there yesterday heading home from northern Wisconsin. Tons of activity on the ground and in the air. Exciting stuff! I will actually be there on Friday.
