Oshkosh 2010 Pic Stream #7 - The End Is Nearing (21 pix)
Tuesday, August 3, 2010 at 08:38PM 
By Friday, Oshkosh 2010 was getting closer to reaching the end, and I was really beginning to wear down from covering the grounds 12+ hours a day, but that doesn't mean there wasn't still a bazillion things to see! As usual, there were cool things to look at right up until I left the grounds on Sunday. These pix however are from Friday. This is the Plane Driven PD-1, a highly modified Glasair Sportsman configured to actually be able to drive down the road with the wings folded.
This big black pod under the cabin is hiding an 80 hp engine that is used to drive the main-gear wheels for road driving. Tho none of the pictures here show it, the pod actually gets moved way aft along those rails creating a really long wheelbase when in the driving mode. It's moved forward, as shown, for the flight mode to keep the weight of the engine and associated components on the airplane's CG.
It all makes a very unique solution to the decades long quest to make an airplane that also can roll down the road. But honestly, I still struggle with the idea of putting a lightweight airframe thru the potentially punishing experience of potholes and rough roads. And then there's all those crazy drivers on the road too! Overall tho, the PD-1 seems well executed, and only time will tell if this is an idea the world is really ready for.
I thought it was pretty cool to see three Pitts Model 12 aircraft with a KC-135, a C-5, and the Erickson Air Crane all in the background. As usual, loads of aviation diversity at Oshkosh.
People never seem to get tired of walking thru the mammoth C-5 Galaxy.
I had an extra-wide-angle lens borrowed for part of the day that made it kind of fun to get unique pictures like these of the C-5.
There aren't very many of the first airplane that Cirrus brought to market, the homebuilt VK-30, but this one sure is a beauty. If you don't know, it's a pretty big airplane (5 seats) for a homebuilt.
I always thought it interesting that this airplane was so unique, but when they designed an airplane for certification, it wound up being essentially conventional in almost all of the aerodynamic elements. No doubt tho that using composite materials and great attention to detail put the SR 20/22 performance in a very desirable spot.
The VK-30 looks a lot like the kind of airplanes I used to draw in high school when I was supposed to be listening to the teacher : )
The Speedstar is a really cool modification of an Aerostar into a single engine Garrett Jet Prop powered turboprop. The airplane was at Oshkosh last year without any paint on it, and it really caught my eye. I meant to find out the status of the project before the week was over, but with too much to do and dwindling energy, I didn't get that done.
I'd say by the fact that she's been all prettied up with paint and brought to Oshkosh that there's a pretty good chance this little hottie is on the way to an STC conversion. I'll do some research here soon to find out what's up with the project.
At pretty much the other end of the spectrum is the Hummel H5, a slightly enlarged version of the ole Hummel Bird. With a full VW engine this time around (the Hummel Bird actually used a VW engine cut in half!) and a little extra room in the cockpit, this looks like a really nice, inexpensive way to get in the air.
The H5 and the upcoming Onex from Sonex will both likely be really nice solutions to affordable flying.
Oshkosh continues its reputation of working to educate people on how to build and restore aircraft. The fabric workshop shown here is a great way to get some actual hands-on experience with the fabric covering process.
You can get some experience doing a little rib stitching too!
The welding workshop always seems to have someone learning to take a torch and melt two pieces of metal into one. This is an excellent way to find out if a steel tube airplane is something you'd really be interested in building.
Lots of people, young and old, build a sample wing rib at the wood workshop. Again, these simple experiences can really help a person decide what type of materials they are most comfortable working with as they consider the airplane building process.
I got this picture of the composite workshop as a good sized group was getting basic instruction via video and an instructor. The tables off to the right would later provide a place to mix epoxies and practice building sample components.
If you're looking for beautiful airplane shapes to take pictures of, a WACO is a great place to start! This ZPF-7 was interesting in that it had a sliding canopy installed.
Another gorgeous WACO shape... now this is the way to fly!
And yet another WACO, this time a Cabin WACO showing an altogether different mindset of aircraft interior design than we see today. Roll up windows too!
And, while the DC-3 gathering wasn't as big as it was once thought it would be, there were still more DC-3's on one airport than I've ever seen before. Some may have thought there weren't very many at Oshkosh, but the wet grounds made it a huge challenge to find adequate parking areas, which meant the big birds were spread out all over. The most visible of all of them of course was the big yellow smile in the sky known as Duggy : )
There's more Oshkosh pix yet to come.. stay tuned!
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