Oshkosh Air Adventure 2018

regular122 · 2 August 2018, 06:09 PM

Had another great experience at Oshkosh last weekend. I had hoped to examine some truly great WWI machines on display and was not disappointed. I only wish that some of them could have been flying. I know Kermit Weeks made extraordinary efforts to do so but it was not to be.

I was pleased to bring along Jack Brereton, a Member of British Parliament to his first ever Oshkosh and his first visit to the United States. I am hoping his experience and position on the Transport Committee may help general aviation in Great Britain. Lord knows they need it.

With the 100th Anniversary of the RAF, it was nice to see some truly amazing warbirds, from the Spitfire to Mosquito to Gyrocopter. Sadly, the crash of the Venom the week prior to Oshkosh dampened the celebrations of the RAF and there seemed to be little during Air Adventure in terms of flights of old British aircraft but still, just having them around to examine was wonderful.

It enjoyed catching up with Robert Baslee. He always has something new and interesting going on. Was great to see him and his daughter. She is growing bigger every time I see her. Before too long she will be flying. He brought along his full scale SE5a and the Replica Fighters Association folks had one of his Nieuport 17s and Fokker DVIIs. There was also a Bleriot and one of his Camels some folks built and painted in the peacock cammo of one of the training squadrons. His machines were well represented.

While visiting the Replica Fighters Association area, I was blown away by the Balley Bomber, a flyable 1-Seat 1/3 Scale B-17. It was simply stunning. Seeing any home-built 4-engine airplane is rare but this was simply over the top in so many ways. Absolutely beautiful.

I also enjoyed catching up with Kermit Weeks and enjoyed his displays of the Abatros DV, the Fokker DVII, the Sopwith Pup and the Sopwith Snipe. He started many of their engines and was a great crowd pleaser when he took time to explain the engines and how the planes operate.

It was also nice to meet Koz who is here on the forums. His Sopwith Camel F1 is looking extraordinary. It will be a Camel on par with any in the world when complete in terms of originality and craftsmanship. He has I believe an original 130 Hp Clerget 9B in it. Kip Aero also had some nice displays and fired up an original 100 Hp Gnome again on the stand.

The EAA Museum restorers have done an amazing preservation of an original American built DH-4 from 1918 with original Liberty Engine. The plan is to have it fly at the 100th Anniversary Commemorations in France in November. I hope to see it there. It is almost ready to fly. When it does, it will be one of two originals in the world that does, the other I believe is in Australia.

I was honored to meet Bob Brocklehurst, who flew a P-40 in the Pacific and Aleutians in WWII. At 98, he was sharp as ever. We had some wonderful discussions. He related his experiences flying against the Japanese, the Aleutian winds and the cold. Those guys were so very tough. He said they were young and didn't know any better. They thought everyone flew in that weather!

Perhaps the greatest treat was holding a pole for Sean D. Tucker's final Oshkosh performance as he did his unbelievable routine of flying UNDER the tape on the poles at three stations and then knife edging them along the runway length on the final pass. Sean's efforts in furthering flight as the world's greatest stunt pilot continue to bear fruit as well with his Bob Hoover Academy. He is a wonderful man I have been privileged to know and his stunt plane will be added to the Smithsonian Institution National Air & Space Museum at the end of this year.

I will post some detailed pics of the WWI machines by type. I took lots of detailed pictures at all those little items and parts that we care about on the forum. Was a great time at Air Adventure 2018. Steve

regular122 · 2 August 2018, 06:16 PM

Here are the remainder of the pictures referenced above--the DH4, Bob Brockelhurst, and Sean Tucker. I will post the particular types of machines in separate threads for more detail. Steve

regular122 · 2 August 2018, 06:25 PM

I forgot to mention I met Randy Roy, who is building a Replica Plans SE5a. He is pretty far along. The craftsmanship is beautiful. I was very impressed with his solution to the gear--he replaced it with a wooden arrangement that is spot on to the appearance of the SE5a later series of landing gear. Was great to meet him. Steve

Brad · 3 August 2018, 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by regular122

I forgot to mention I met Randy Roy, who is building a Replica Plans SE5a. He is pretty far along. The craftsmanship is beautiful. I was very impressed with his solution to the gear--he replaced it with a wooden arrangement that is spot on to the appearance of the SE5a later series of landing gear. Was great to meet him. Steve

Is that a Corvair engine? I always thought that was the perfect solution for this little bird- the valve covers look closer to correct than anything else I've seen, and they are reasonably inexpensive, and proven.

regular122 · 3 August 2018, 07:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brad

Is that a Corvair engine? I always thought that was the perfect solution for this little bird- the valve covers look closer to correct than anything else I've seen, and they are reasonably inexpensive, and proven.

I think he said it was but I can't be certain. Makes the pipe and cylinder issues easier as long the reliability is certain. Most use Lycoming O-235s. He has almost completed it and it looked very nice. By the time I found him, he had disassembled the wings and was loading to head back to Kansas.

G Sting · 6 August 2018, 03:38 AM

Excellent report on Oshkosh & the WWI aircraft there, sir. ...I saw the interview with Koz' & his Sopwith Camel F1 on an AOPA video last week. Looked beautiful, immaculate.

All the best,

ECramer · 6 August 2018, 06:38 AM

This was my third Oshkosh, and I'm always there on a limited, two-day schedule, so I haven't figured out how to SEE everything. I'm reasonably sure I could be there, with the AirVenture in progress, for at least 90 days and still find things that were new and interesting.

I didn't get to Weeks' Albatross or D.VII, but I watched the demo where he started the Snipe motor, and another gentleman started an original Bentley on a framed-up Camel that will be beautiful. I'm sorry I didn't get to see many of the other things the top poster described, although I did see the Bally Bomber and it's simply amazing.

sator · 8 August 2018, 01:39 AM

Looks like you guys all had a great time, thanks for the photos.

kdahlhaus · 25 September 2018, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by regular122

I think he said it was but I can't be certain. Makes the pipe and cylinder issues easier as long the reliability is certain. Most use Lycoming O-235s. He has almost completed it and it looked very nice. By the time I found him, he had disassembled the wings and was loading to head back to Kansas.

I met Randy at the Dawn Patrol Rendezvous this past weekend. Very nice guy - he was letting kids sit in the cockpit.

It is a Corvair engine.

Brad · 25 September 2018, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by regular122

I think he said it was but I can't be certain. Makes the pipe and cylinder issues easier as long the reliability is certain. Most use Lycoming O-235s. He has almost completed it and it looked very nice. By the time I found him, he had disassembled the wings and was loading to head back to Kansas.

He had it at Dayton for Dawn Patrol Rendezvous. It's close to done.