![]() 07/31/2017 at 09:26 • Filed to: Planelopnik, EAA Airventure | ![]() | ![]() |
Here are the best ones, in no particular order, because Kinja and because I’m exhausted.
F-16s are front wheel drive, apparently.
Listening to Gene Kranz, Fred Haise, Jim Lovell, Buzz Aldrin, Walt Cunningham, and Frank Borman speak was incredible.
This spot was staked out in the P-51 section of the Warbirds area as a tribute to Vlado Lenoch, who died a few weeks ago.
There were TWO P-63s!
Guessing this was a test car. It had obviously been used, but was nowhere near dirty enough to have been a Le Mans car.
The new 10-speed is surprisingly small. Maybe only 2.5 feet long.
![]() 07/31/2017 at 09:36 |
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That B-1B is one good lookin’ plane.
![]() 07/31/2017 at 09:36 |
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Amazing stuff, thanks! And as much as I saw, it amazes me that you saw a few things that weren’t there at all on Thursday. They did do a missing man formation flyover in honor of Vlado Lenoch on Thursday, may he RIP.
![]() 07/31/2017 at 09:40 |
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It was a good one. Too many things to see and not enough time or energy.
![]() 07/31/2017 at 09:42 |
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Great shots!
Here’s just a few of my pics. I had an unfortunate camera malfunction and only had my phone and a gopro. *shameless plug*
http://www.popularmechanics.com/flight/news/g3165/oshkosh-air-show-2017/
![]() 07/31/2017 at 09:43 |
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Gosh darn man, if I weren’t in the middle of moving and repairing a flooded window well (and therefore poor lol) I would be drooling over all the lovely plane out there.
One year, one year I’ll get my arse to EAA.
![]() 07/31/2017 at 09:45 |
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Nope, there never is enough time or energy. At 5:45 or so on Thursday, I was sitting inside the EAA Members Lounge, just sitting at a table and staring out the window because I was so exhausted and my feet hurt— and I still had a 3 hour drive ahead of me. They kicked us all out at 6, so I just wandered back out to the flight line to watch a few departures - including a Spitfire and a DC-3 flightseeing tour (which I was waitlisted for).
Funny, I thought that I missed the P-63's, and then realized that I had a couple of pictures of one of them - didn’t look close, and thought it was a P-39.
I’ve got 2 photo dumps up - one Warbird, one mostly Vintage if you are still looking for more (I know I am).
![]() 07/31/2017 at 09:46 |
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I only took about 200 shots this year, mostly because I’d seen a lot of this stuff before and I’ve reached the limit of the type of shots I can get with my phone. Really want to get a DSLR now.
![]() 07/31/2017 at 09:48 |
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I saw those. You covered a lot of ground!
![]() 07/31/2017 at 09:48 |
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Doooo it!! It’s amazing - as good as the photos are, it still doesn’t do it justice.
![]() 07/31/2017 at 09:51 |
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There’s simply no way that I could go to Oshkosh and NOT spend time poring over both the Vintage and Warbird areas. I tend to miss a lot of the rest of it as a result. I did manage to catch a tram ride down past the Fun Fly Zone and Seaplane/Amphib camping areas, but never got off the tram, and didn’t take a single picture (I love the big Grumman flying boats, too).
![]() 07/31/2017 at 09:53 |
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There was a fatal crash at the seaplane base Thursday night apparently.
![]() 07/31/2017 at 09:56 |
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Three Aircobras?
![]() 07/31/2017 at 09:57 |
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Yeah, I heard - a Lake Renegade flipped over trying to take off in choppy water, apparently. So sad. I didn’t make it out to the Seaplane Base - I was just down by the Seaplane parking down by the South 40. The Seaplane Base is another goal for next year...
![]() 07/31/2017 at 10:02 |
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Dat top picture doe. Nice work. I’ll get there one of these days.
![]() 07/31/2017 at 10:09 |
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1 Airacobra, 2 King Cobras.
![]() 07/31/2017 at 10:11 |
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I went for the first time last year. It’s really neat. Very tranquil.
![]() 07/31/2017 at 10:12 |
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Thanks. I’m really itching for a DSLR. The iPhone is decent for static stuff, but I really want to take some nice action shots with zoom. Hoping I can convince my wife to let me pick up a used one.
![]() 07/31/2017 at 10:13 |
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How much are you allowed to spend?
![]() 07/31/2017 at 10:14 |
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Here’s another one - it must have left before Jcarr got there, it was parked next to one of the P-63's on Thursday.
![]() 07/31/2017 at 10:16 |
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Gorgeous! I’ll have to note it for 2018—
![]() 07/31/2017 at 10:28 |
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I think $300-$350 max. I think I’ve asked for recommendations before and the consensus was to find a decent body and get a 70-300 lens. Does that sound right for a super simple setup that would do the job?
![]() 07/31/2017 at 10:31 |
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Getting to see the Apollo guys must have been awesome. Buzz is good fun.
![]() 07/31/2017 at 10:33 |
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It was. They were all very entertaining. Kranz still sounds like he could kick some ass down at NASA.
![]() 07/31/2017 at 11:09 |
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Great stuff, thanks!
![]() 07/31/2017 at 11:26 |
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That sounds about right. You can get a used body for as little as $200. But you would need a bit more to get a good lens. I’ve got a Tamron 18-270mm that is quite useful. At 18mm you can use it to shoot the static displays, and at 270mm you can shoot the stuff in the air. It’s what is often called “travel lens,” meaning that you get both near and far in one lens so you don’t have to carry two (changing lenses in the field is a PIA). New, the lens is about $400, but you might find one used. The only drawback is that it’s fairly slow at 270mm (f/6.5) so it’s really only good outdoors and in good light at that range. I used it for a couple of years for air shows, soccer games, etc and was happy with it, though I eventually began craving something that produced a higher quality image. The drawback of a 70-300mm lens is that you’d have to stand pretty far away from anything you are trying to shoot on the ground. You’ll find yourself constantly backing up and backing into things. You’d likely find yourself going back to your phone for close ups.
![]() 07/31/2017 at 12:09 |
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Good to know. Hopefully I can convince her to let me do it before next year.
![]() 07/31/2017 at 12:10 |
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What would you recommend for a decent used body?
![]() 07/31/2017 at 12:14 |
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Well, I’m a Canon guy, so that’s all I know. Nikon makes great cameras too, but I just don’t know anything about them. I’d shoot for a Canon 40D or 50D. The 50D was the last of the x0D line to use a magnesium alloy for the body. It’s a shade heavier, but it feels very solid in the hand. I would stay away from the Rebel or Ti cameras. I think they are an ergonomic disaster. Check KEH or B&H (there is a tab for used equipment) or Adorama. I have had good luck with both KEH and B&H, never shopped with Adorama, though I know people have had good experiences with them.
![]() 07/31/2017 at 12:22 |
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Thanks, I think I can successfully sell that to my “CFO”.
![]() 07/31/2017 at 12:24 |
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You have a CFO too? Actually, I refer to my wife as the Finance Minister. She makes all the money and pays all the bills, so all major purchases must clear her office.
![]() 07/31/2017 at 12:38 |
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Ha, I should start calling her that. She definitely runs the show, which I am perfectly fine with.
![]() 07/31/2017 at 12:54 |
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Kind of like a mullet. Business upfront party in the rear. The pilot let me shove my hand down the barrel and feel for the rifling.
![]() 07/31/2017 at 12:56 |
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I liked the p-39 as a kid. Don’t know why.
Maybe rear-engined like racecar? Who knows.
![]() 07/31/2017 at 12:59 |
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Only so many P-51 iPhone shots you can get. I was pretty impressed with the selection of aircraft this year. I was pretty bummed I didn’t have my dSLR.
![]() 07/31/2017 at 13:01 |
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Me too. My wife does the taxes, too. I am not to be trusted with large amounts of money.
![]() 07/31/2017 at 13:02 |
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Its just a really cool airplane.
![]() 07/31/2017 at 13:15 |
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I live nearby Martin State Airport in Baltimore, and every time I hear the cloud shifting screech of a fighter jet engine a mile away I wonder, what are the logistics of running an air show? It’s gotta be costly. Those planes ain’t cheap. Fuel is expensive, and then there’s the aforementioned noise eclipsing an area several miles in diameter.
Now, I look a good air show, but a carshow could be much cheaper and just as much fun. Sure they can cost a fortune to insure, but it’s gotta be less than a plane. And they take up less runway space, are cheaper to run, and are quieter than jet planes. There could be standing one mile and half-mile drags, skid pads, ridealongs, and drifting all in one day.
I see some of our great American sports car icons in these pictures, but I wanna see that Cobra speeding down the tarmac with that patriotic song played from that seven liter V8 trumpet. I wanna see that Ford GT pull G’s at high speed.
![]() 07/31/2017 at 13:20 |
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I’m sure it’s very expensive, but the attendance (~600,000 people this year) proves that there’s plenty of people willing to buy a ticket and subsidize the cost.