Glacier Girl to Oshkosh

Latest news on Glacier Girl is that once the engine change it complete it will fly from Goose Bay to Oshkosh. EAA press release here. Looks like it will fly to England another year. (Steve Dickey photo)

Hangar Full of History

Another great picture of the busy working going on in Breckenridge via Steve Dickey. Two Mustangs, Super Pinto, and Lightning. Nice toys to work on!

Spartan Landing accident

Sorry to report that the Blankenburgs Spartan Executive has been involved in a landing accident on its way to Oshkosh. Sounds like they walked away with no injuries but the airplane is a little dinged up. Best wishes to them in having it returned to the air soon.

Weekend Flying - July

The weather improved over the weekend for flights on SAT and SUN. Some of my pics from the weekend are here. SAT I flew a quick flight to blow the spiders off. SUN I flew up to Gainesville for fuel and snapped a pic of the propliners parked out on the old runway.

ol'927 Flies

Great news to report that the B24A "ol'927" has flown! Oshkosh is on the schedule so looking forward to seeing the machine in person after its makeover. Pic pulled from WIX under the post titled "Gary - whats the plan for Diamond Lil" Interesting note is that the pilot for this flight was one of my flight instructors, Bill Goeken! Nice pic of your flying the big bird, Bill!

Thunder Over Michigan

The Thunder Over Michigan airshow was also this weekend. The highlight to this years show was the large gathering of B25s. It sounds like 14 of the medium bombers were in attendance! Pics from the show are on this thread on WIX. Be sure to scroll through all the pages. Special thanks to Eric Dumigan for allowing me to post the pic of the B25 line up. Visit his web site here.

Flying Legends

The Flying Legends airshow at Duxford, England was this weekend. Check out the pics here. Always great pictures by the photographers in attendance! Note that the P51 "Miss Velma" completed its trip from the US by flying across the Atlantic. The P38 had to end its trip in Goose Bay and will need an engine change.

Operation Bolero II Begins

The P38 "Glacier Girl" and P-51 "Miss Velma" depart June 22 to start the flight to England. The forum on AirshowBuzz is up and photos are coming in from the start of the trip! Check out the forum here.

June Showers

Still raining quite often here in Texas. Was able to fly Thursday night after some showers rolled through. Took the pic above of a shower just Northwest of the airport. Made for a colorful sunset. Earlier today I checked the mouse trap in the 170 and was greeted by another kill. Two mice down. Hopefully that was all the mice that have taken a liking to my airplane!

Best of the Best

This from EAAs web site... My vote is for the Spartan... other great machines in the running but the Spartan is just highest on my list.

Six of the world’s finest restored vintage aircraft will travel to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh this summer to participate in the National Aviation Hall of Fame’s first “Best of the Best” People’s Choice Award competition. These aircraft will be showcased at EAA AirVenture, “The World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration,” on July 23-29 at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh. AirVenture visitors will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite among these restored vintage aircraft. All six vintage aircraft have been masterfully restored to virtually like-new condition and are great examples of our rich aviation history. The National Aviation Hall of Fame and the National Aviation Heritage Invitational (NAHI) joined together to create and sponsor the competition. The aircraft scheduled to appear are all former winners of various NAHI events held throughout the country since 1999. They include the Lockheed P-38 “Glacier Girl” (owned by Rod Lewis); Piper L-4 (owned by June and Colin Powers); Spartan Executive (owned by Kent and Sandy Blankenburg); Fairchild KR-21 (owned by Pat McNerney); Grumman Duck (owned by Chuck Greenhill); and Waco ATO (owned by Alan Hoeweler). “We at EAA are truly excited about hosting these magnificent aircraft," said Adam Smith, EAA Vice President/Outreach. "This program allows the public to vote on their personal favorite from the group, each of which is a masterful example of aircraft restoration." The presentation of the “Best of the Best” trophy will take place at 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 28 at EAA AirVenture. Representatives of the Hall of Fame, EAA and NAHI will be joined by several enshrinees of the National Aviation Hall of Fame in the trophy presentation. This activity undertakes a completely different selection process than that for EAA's legendary “Lindys” presented each year, regarded as the world’s top aviation construction and restoration awards. The EAA awards are based on a strict set of judging criteria, while the “Best of the Best” program crosses traditional aircraft categories and relies on public-preference voting. The National Aviation Heritage Invitational promotes aircraft restoration via friendly competition, bringing valuable aviation treasures together in one venue. This endeavor is a joint effort under the auspices of Rolls-Royce North America Inc., the National Aviation Hall of Fame, the Reno Air Racing Foundation and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

1930s

At the Chino airshow I was able to take a few pictures of a nice Packard into front of my friends Lockheed 12. Made for a great art deco scene! If I made this a black and white picture some might not know the age of the scene!