• Smithsonian
    Institution
  • Smithsonian
    Journeys
  • Smithsonian
    Store
  • Smithsonian
    Channel
  • goSmithsonian
    Visitors Guide
  • Smithsonian
    magazine

AirSpaceMag.com

  • Subscribe
  • Home
  • History of Flight
  • Flight Today
  • Military Aviation
  • Space Exploration
  • Need to Know
  • How Things Work
  • Photos
  • Videos
  • Blogs
  • Flight Today

Postcard from Oshkosh

Air & Space picks the best of this year’s EAA Airventure.

  • By The Editors
  • Photographs by Caroline Sheen
  • AirSpaceMag.com, August 03, 2008
View More Photos »
This 1928 Zenith biplane was a real people pleaser. This 1928 Zenith biplane was a real people pleaser.

Caroline Sheen

 
Tweet

Article Tools

 
  • Font
  • Email
  • Print
  • Comments (1)
  • RSS
  • Related Topics

    Airshows

    Photo Gallery

    At the WARBIRDS area, not one, but two P-51B Mustangs, the only two B models flying, were constantly surrounded by airplane fans. In July <i>Impatient Virgin</i> made its first flights after more than 60 years, and is one of the few Mustangs flying today that flew combat missions in World War II. In June 1945, the aircraft’s pilot, a member of the 361st  fighter group stationed in Cambridgeshire, England, bailed out on a training mission after the engine’s coolant system suffered a failure, and the P-51 crashed miles away from its home base, RAF Bottissham. Located in 2002 in a British farmer’s beet field, the Mustang was restored by John Muszala of Pacific Fighters in Idaho Falls, Idaho, for owner John Sessions (after Sessions reimbursed the farmer for the time his field was not planted while the wreck was excavated). Both it and the other P-51B, which is painted in the colors of World War II ace Clarence “Bud” Anderson’s <i>Old Crow</i>, have the “Malcom bubble,”  a sliding canopy the British substituted in the field to increase the visibility of the B Model’s original canopy.

    Postcard from Oshkosh

    Explore more photos from the story


    The best thing about the show this year is that everybody showed up. Despite the price of avgas and expectations for a slow show, the biggest fly-in in the world stayed big. Vendors at the Oshkosh, Wisconsin, report strong traffic and sales, the North 40 camping area for private aircraft has been full of airplanes and tents, and the U-2 spyplane, Commemorative Air Force warbirds, famous P-38 Glacier Girl, and vintage DC-3s parked on Aeroshell Square are surrounded by crowds, on this, the last day of the fly-in. Although the EAA hasn’t compiled all visitor statistics, the association reports that international attendance has outpaced last year’s, with 1,657 airshow fans from 64 countries (compared to 1,333 from 56 countries last year).

    At the show, the Air & Space team followed the crowds to several airplanes that have caused a stir (click on the photo gallery at right to see a selection). We’re sure you’ll hear more about all of them in the future.

    The best thing about the show this year is that everybody showed up. Despite the price of avgas and expectations for a slow show, the biggest fly-in in the world stayed big. Vendors at the Oshkosh, Wisconsin, report strong traffic and sales, the North 40 camping area for private aircraft has been full of airplanes and tents, and the U-2 spyplane, Commemorative Air Force warbirds, famous P-38 Glacier Girl, and vintage DC-3s parked on Aeroshell Square are surrounded by crowds, on this, the last day of the fly-in. Although the EAA hasn’t compiled all visitor statistics, the association reports that international attendance has outpaced last year’s, with 1,657 airshow fans from 64 countries (compared to 1,333 from 56 countries last year).

    At the show, the Air & Space team followed the crowds to several airplanes that have caused a stir (click on the photo gallery at right to see a selection). We’re sure you’ll hear more about all of them in the future.



    Related topics: Airshows


    Tweet Digg
     
    Comments (1)

    I enjoyed Carolyn Sheen's "Postcards from Oshkosh". The comments she made about the airplanes were accurate and interesting....and the photos were very good, as well.

    One small comment; in the Postcard about the two P-51B's that were at OSH this year, Carolyn referred to the "Malcolm bubbles". In actual usage during the war, I am told that such canopies were referred to as "Malcolm Hoods". They are, indeed, bubble-shaped....but were not called "Malcolm bubbles".

    Posted by Roger Baker on August 15,2008 | 04:51 PM

    Post a Comment


    Name: (required)

    Email: (required)

    Comment:

    Comments are moderated, and will not appear until Smithsonian.com has approved them. Smithsonian reserves the right not to post any comments that are unlawful, threatening, offensive, defamatory, invasive of a person's privacy, inappropriate, confidential or proprietary, political messages, product endorsements, or other content that might otherwise violate any laws or policies.



    Advertisement


    Most Popular

    • Viewed
    • Emailed
    • Commented
    • Topics
    1. The World From Your Airplane Window
    2. The Legacy of Flight
    3. Grab the Airplane and Go
    4. D’oh! 10 Goofs in Space
    5. Inside the Enola Gay
    6. Where Have All the Phantoms Gone?
    7. 100 Years of Marine Aviation
    8. At the B-17 Co-op
    9. The Jet as Art
    10. Combat on Canvas
    1. 100 Years of Marine Aviation
    2. Grab the Airplane and Go
    3. At the B-17 Co-op
    4. A Sudden Loss of Altitude
    5. The Other Harlem
    6. The Rise and Fall and Rise of Iridium
    7. Ride-Sharing With the Rich
    8. *Pilot Not Included
    9. Extraterrestrial Outfitter
    10. Ground Proximity Warnings
    1. At the B-17 Co-op
    2. Where Have All the Phantoms Gone?
    3. Why do airline seats have to be in an upright position during takeoff?
    4. Commentary: Metric Mayhem
    5. 100 Years of Marine Aviation
    6. Inside the Enola Gay
    7. Tools of the (Astronaut) Trade
    8. Top NASA Photos of All Time
    9. Viewport: The Great Collector
    10. The World's Highest Laboratory
    1. Fighters
    2. Bombers
    3. Experimental Aircraft
    4. Cold War Era
    5. 21st Century Aviation
    6. Vietnam War
    7. Military Aviators
    8. Aviators
    9. Aerospace
    10. Aerospace Technology
    11. Air Racing

    View All Most Popular »

    Advertisement


    Follow Us

    Air & Space Magazine
    @airspacemag
    Follow Air & Space Magazine on Twitter

    Sign up for regular email updates from Smithsonian.com, including daily newsletters and special offers.

    Popular Videos

    • Newest
    • Most Viewed

    The East Coast at Night

    (1:20)

    The Milky Way From Orbit

    (0:22)

    Cameras Instead of Guns

    (2:00)

    Resisting Enemy Interrogation

    (1:05:34)

    View All Newest Videos »

    Go For Launch!

    (3:52)

    Directing Hermann Goering

    (3:16)

    Refueling Over Iraq

    Refueling Over Iraq

    (02:20)

    Cameras Instead of Guns

    (2:00)

    View All Videos »

    In the Magazine

    FM2012 Cover

    March 2012

    • The World's Highest Laboratory
    • 100 Years of Marine Aviation
    • At the B-17 Co-op
    • Extraterrestrial Outfitter
    • World War II: The Movie

    View Table of Contents »

    Snapshot

    Old Recruit

    A rare Ryan PT-22 goes up for auction.

    Reader Scrapbook

    Over the Pacific

    Check out our scrapbook of readers' aviation and space pictures. Then add your own.


    Smithsonian Store

    24K Space Shuttle Orbiter Model

    Item No. 68048

    Smithsonian Journeys

    Astronomy in Arizona

    Enjoy exclusive observatory visits and skywatching in the southwest (May 9 - 13, 2012)




    View full archiveRecent Issues

    • FM2012 Cover
      Mar 2012


    • Jan 2012


    • Nov 2011

    Newsletter

    Sign up for regular email updates from Air & Space magazine, including free newsletters, special offers and current news updates.

    Subscribe Now

    About Us

    Air & Space/Smithsonian magazine has been delighting aerospace enthusiasts with the best writing about their favorite subject since April 1986. As an adjunct of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, Air & Space matches the grand scope of the Museum, encompassing every era of aviation and space exploration. With stories that range from the Wright Brothers to the design of NASA's next lunar lander, Air & Space emphasizes the human stories as well as the technology of aviation and spaceflight.

    Explore our Brands

    • goSmithsonian.com
    • Smithsonian Air & Space Museum
    • Smithsonian Student Travel
    • Smithsonian Catalogue
    • Smithsonian Journeys
    • Smithsonian Channel
    • Site Map
    • Privacy Policy
    • Copyright
    • About Air & Space
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising
    • Subscribe
    • RSS
    • Topics

    Smithsonian Institution

    Produced by Clickability