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I'm still learning about my camera. I tried taking some action shots with blurred backgrounds by shooting at a slow shutter speed and panning with the subject. This was my favorite shot. |
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This plane is almost impossible to get a representative shot unless you can get to some high point and shoot down on it. The reason is that its configuration is so unconventional. For example, notice that there is a bit of horizontal stabilizer on the right side of the right tail boom, but none on the left side of the left tail boom. There isn't a single flying surface on the whole aircraft that matches any other. Burt Rutan had very good reasons for designing this plane this way, and apparently it makes for a twin engine aircraft with very docile handling characteristics. But it's just too hard to build, and he doesn't intend to provide plans. |
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The AgCat is most commonly used for crop dusting. This one has been given floats and is used for fire fighting. Odd looking setup, but I bet it works nicely. |
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The restoration of this WWII Fairey Firefly was immaculate. I've never even SEEN one of these in the flesh before, and to see one in such perfect condition was marvelous. I imagine it's going to be an award winner this year. |
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Good thing this engine wasn't running. These two guys are chatting about the engine of the 747 that they are leaning on. |
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While Oshkosh is about airplanes, there's lots of other stuff too. Rather than show you pictures of John Deere tractors or this years Fords, I thought I'd show you this. It's a motorcyle engine powered 3 wheeled vehicle called a Merlin. Looked pretty quick, and kids were in love with it. They aren't being produced yet, but the company building them is currently producing a similar battery powered vehicle. |
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To me this was the big news of the show. The Rutans (again) are using this plane to gain experience with rocket engines. The plan is to gain experience until they can win the X-Prize. That's a 10 million dollar reward for the first private venture to launch 3 people into space, recover them and their vehicle, and relaunch another 3 people within a certain time period. (2 weeks?) Sure, sounds crazy. But this plane flew like, well, a rocket. Fast as blazes. It's powered by 2, 400lb thrust XCor rocket engines. Fuel is liquid oxygen and (something else I don't remember.) They've found the engines to be very reliable, and are now preparing to build and fly a larger aircraft with engines closer in size to what they'd like to use for space flights. Pretty cool. |
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This is the business end of the Rutans rocket plane. The two engines are mounted close together. One has it's protective shield removed. The pod below holds, I think, LOX, while the other fuel is in a tank behind the pilot. |
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You see a lot of P-40 Warhawks painted with the famous shark mouth grin. But how often do you see one painted like the P-40 in the foreground?. |
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One of the more recent exciting things to emerge from the kit built airplane movement is an influx of new engine designs. This is a brand new radial engine design. Looked ready for action. Producing (I think) anout 120 horsepower, it could be just the engine for builders of scale replicas of many WWII fighters. |
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I never got the story on this sea plane, but the paint job is an eye catcher. |
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I just like the lines of these Ryan STs, and I think the gentleman looking it over agrees with me. |
That's my best shots from Oshkosh 2002. Hope you liked them.