Aviation
Indoor Aerobatics
Look up! Above the lobby of the EAA AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh, WI you will find three acrobatic aircraft hanging from the ceiling. These are not models. They are the original, full-size aircraft – the famous Christen Eagle I stunt planes – flown by the U.S. Aerobatic Team that won the 1972 World Aerobatic Championship. The Christen Eagle I was built specifically for the Eagles Aerobatic Team.
You can learn more about these iconic, colorful aircraft at the EAA website.
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High Flying Five
These vintage Navy planes were part of the air show at this year’s E.A.A. AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI. I think it would be very cool to fly with a group like this.
I’m not positive about the type of aircraft, but I think some might be the North American SNJ-4, an advanced trainer for WWII aviators. (It was also called the T-6, the AT-6, and the Texan.)
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Zeros
Three vintage fighter planes circle back for another simulated strike during a reenactment of the attack on Pear Harbor. This was part of a spectacular air show at the 2013 EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Though I’ve had little opportunity, I could really get into aviation photography. I am not a pilot, but I love to fly and love all type of aircraft.
These planes are Japanese Zeros. Here’s some info gleaned from Wikipedia…
The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a long-range fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was usually referred to by the Allies as the “Zero”, from 1940, the year in which the aircraft entered service with the Imperial Navy. The official Allied reporting name was “Zeke”.
When it was introduced early in World War II, the Zero was considered the most capable carrier-based fighter in the world, combining excellent maneuverability and very long range. In early combat operations, the Zero gained a legendary reputation as a dogfighter, achieving the outstanding kill ratio of 12 to 1, but by mid-1942 a combination of new tactics and the introduction of better equipment enabled the Allied pilots to engage the Zero on more equal terms.
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Pathway to Glory
These are all images taken at AirVenture in Oshkosh Wisconsin – the annual convention of the Experimental Aircraft Association. These are long exposure images snapped during the night airshow. The above photo was a 32-second exposure, the image to the right was 8, the image below was 35.
How were these graceful forms created? An airplane flew an acrobatic routine with some kind of sparkly fireworks shooting from the wings. To capture the action, I had my camera on a tripod and positioned on the area of sky where I guessed the plane would be flying. These were my best guesses and even these have moments where the plane went beyond the camera’s view…and came back.
The long exposure captures the brightest light from the aircraft’s flight pattern. In the dark, the aircraft, itself, wasn’t bright enough or in one spot long enough to be registered by the camera’s sensor.
If you look closely, you’ll see stars that show up as little white dashes. The whisps, particularly noticeable in the bottom photo, are the smoke left behind from the fireworks.
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