Speed
We think this is an F-18 E/F Super Hornet which flies at Mach 1.8+. This fighter was simply amazing. Attempts to find it in the sky produced both grimaces and smiles of wonder because we could not hear it coming; it was almost gone by the time we saw and finally heard it!
Emotions
The spectacular display of WWII aircraft and the courageous feats of skilled men and women tugged at our emotions as we remembered history.
Statement
This bomber definitely made a statement as it pulled up from a run with bomb bay doors still open.
Shiny
The American WWII B-25 Mitchell was known for its accurate low flying bomb strikes as well as its ability to skip-bomb across the waters into enemy ships.
Activities
Aerial activities above Whittman Airfield during the EAA convention included WWII aircraft and smoking Japanese Zero fighters.
Experimental
The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) once again held its annual convention in Oshkosh, WI. Acrobatic biplanes were very popular and they did not disappoint during the airshow
Dark
Dark skies rolled in just as this Navy T-28 Trojan joined in the Warbirds exercises. We left to put up the TR8’s hood (British convertible top) and raced to beat the ensuing storm to our home. The storm quickly followed, ending the air show. Worst reported casualty: One tipped over portapotty . . . hopefully unoccupied at the time.
Action
The P51 Mustang quickly darts out from its tree line cover to simulate an attack run during the EAA air show.
Motion
The ghosted motion of its four-bladed propeller is visible as this Mustang P51 appears in the sky during the Warbirds exhibition at the EAA air show In Oshkosh, WI.
Airborne
Model warbirds displayed in a diorama at the EAA Museum in Oshkosh, WI.
Each year during the last week in July, the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture turns Wittmann Field in Oshkosh into the busiest airport in the world. Enthusiasts from around the world fly in to celebrate the joy of aviation.
Sky High
An exact working replica of SpaceShipOne, a piloted spacecraft that carried two passengers to an altitude of at least 328,100 feet, is on exhibit at the EAA Museum in Oshkosh, WI. SpaceShipOne made three successful spaceflights in 2004.
Elegant
A replica of The Spirit of St. Louis, named after Charles Lindberg’s supporters from St. Louis, Missouri, is exhibited at the EAA Museum in Oshkosh, WI . In 1927 Charles Lindberg flew solo across the Atlantic and is quoted as saying,
“The Spirit of St. Louis is a wonderful plane. It’s like a living creature, gliding along smoothly, happily, as though a successful flight means as much to it as to me, as though we shared our experiences together, each feeling beauty, life, and death as keenly, each dependent on the other’s loyalty. We have made this flight across the ocean, not I or it.”
Stripes
This North American P-64 fighter was built in 1940 and intended for export to Siam, but delivery was interrupted when that country fell to the Japanese. It was later used for stunt work and cloud seeding. By 1963 it had received its present blue and yellow paint with red, white and blue stripe.
Matched Pair
The all-wooden twin engine bomber, the de Havilland Mosquito, was used as a combat aircraft during the Second World War. The “Wooden Wonder” could reach speeds of 388mph at 22,000 feet while carrying sizable loads.
Shiny
The fighter plane in the foreground is a Lockheed P-38 Lightning painted in the markings of WWII Ace pilot Major Richard Bong. The medium-class bomber in the background is a B-25 Mitchell, named after General William “Billy” Mitchell, one of the earliest advocates of American airpower.
Art
This P-38 Lightning bears the nose art of Major Richard Bong’s P-38. Bong and Thomas McGuire were the two top WWII American Aces. The woman is Marge Vattendahl, who later became Bong’s wife.
Costume
This costumed mannequin adds a feminine touch to a 1930 Spartan C3-225 biplane. Just as birds leave their nests, so did the flappers leave theirs.
The Letter Q
Queen Monoplane: Louis Bleriot flew his homebuilt monoplane across the English Channel in 1909, almost 18 years before Lindbergh’s flight across the Atlantic. This is an EAA replica, but it is powered by a running Anzani 3 cylinder fan engine, the same type used in the original.
Hanging
A mannequin pilot hangs on as he glides above the Wright Brothers display at the EAA Museum in Oshkosh, WI.
Exhibit
Oshkosh, Wisconsin is home to the EAA AirVenture Museum. Over 250 historic airplanes are on display including a tribute to World War II aviation, space travel, Wright brothers, Spirit of St. Louis and many more.
A Photo Journey 