At the end of July every year, one of the greatest shows in aviation starts in Oshkosh, Wisconsin – EAA's AirVenture.  This year I was hoping to have my dad along in tow, but that just didn't work out.  Instead, I went up by myself for "Warbird Friday."  The weather had been somewhat cloudy and rainy f=during the week, but Friday was a gloriously beautiful day with very few clouds in the sky, bright sunshine and unlimited visibility.  A great day to head to an airshow.

Since I was going on Warbird Friday, you can assume that I'm there primarily for the classic military aviation planes.  You'd be right, and my favorites are the WWII aircraft.  It is always a treat to see the B-25s, P-51 Mustangs, and all the other aircraft, but the excitement is seeing them fly.  As part of this year's show, the only flying B-29 in the world would be at this year AirVenture.  FiFi (which I had seen the previous week at DuPage Airport would be flying in the Friday afternoon airshow.  That was something I wanted to see, but little did I know I would have further surprises in store for me.

In addition to the old warbirds, there are plenty of other aircraft to take a look at – commercial, current military, homebuilt, experimental, and other aircraft types.  This year another star attraction besides FiFi was Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

I spent the day looking around at the aricraft, admiring the detail that the planes carries, many of them looking like they just fly a WWII sortie.  I was awestruck by the attention that is given to these aircraft – not from a maintenance perspective because that's a given – but from a reverence to pay homage to the machine and the men who flew them in combat.  The further surprise came later in the day when I got to witness not only FiFi fly, but also an F4 Corsair and a P-38 Lightning.  These planes had been at other AirVentures I have been to, but I never got to see either of these aircraft types fly before.  It was an additional treat for the day.

Overall, I had a great day, as evidenced by the pictures below.  If you have a chance to visit EAA's AirVenture in the future, I would highly recommend it.  Even if you don't fly or have no interest in flying yourself, but have interest as an "aviation enthusiast" you will have a great day (or days as AirVenture is a week long event).

Enjoy the images below.

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Here's another panorama image I just cobbled together.  This is a view of Monaco and the harbor as viewed from Monaco-ville.  I took these images on my last day in town before heading to Nice and then home.  Unfortunately, most of the days I was there were cooler and rainy – not warm and sunny as pictured here.  Off to the left you see some of the old fortifications of Monaco-ville, moving to the expanse of the city-state of Monaco (the most densely populated country in the world) and then the bright waters of the Mediterranean.

Over the walls of the 16th century Spanish fortress of El Morro looking toward Old San Juan.  I was playing with some images and a new photo stitching program and decided to give the panorama view a shot.  The image didn't turn out too bad, I only see one real error in it, but it's still a pretty cool image.  This was the view that Spanish defenders inside El Morro saw if they were facing an attack from land.

As EAA AirVenture 2011 steps into high gear, I re-discovered my images from last year's AirVenture.  So if you didn't make that show and if you're not in the position to come to the 2011 AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI. sit back and enjoy these images.

I visited AirVenture 2010 on Friday, July 30 mainly because Friday is Warbird Friday, when the veteran military aircraft take part in the afternoon's airshow.

Hope you like the images!

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So a friend of mine recently asked if I had any pictures from San Juan, and I answered – Yes, I do.  However, I've just been too lazy or busy to put them up.  Well, I'm trying to rectify that now, so here are some images from those few short days on that very pretty island.

I went down to Puerto Rico to help with an iPad deployment, and I was busy for much of the working hours.  Now while I did not have lots of time after work, I would have been able to see some sights in the evenings before the sun went down, however, it was an unusually stormy few days with lightning and thunder that reminded me of home.  Thankfully, the last full day in country I was about to visit Castillo de San Cristobal – a Spanish fort built in the 1600s to defend the landward approaches to San Juan city.  The harbor of San Juan was recognized by the Spanish as a very important anchorage for their merchant ships, so defense was needed.  This massive fort complemented the older fort protecting San Juan harbor – El Morro (built in the 1500s).  The images below show shots of both forts and some shots of old San Juan.  Hope you enjoy.

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Earlier this month, I traveled on business to Europe – Monaco specifically. I was looking forward to it, but when I got there the weather was less than spectacular. I was able to venture around the small principality and took some pictures. Due to work and the resulting problems that arose during the short time I was there, I really didn’t see much outside of the Fairmont Monte Carlo and the Le Meredien hotels. Although the walk between the two was beautiful – against the Mediterranean water front – it was soggy some of the time due to the rain.

During my short stay, I saw Monacoville – where the Prince resides – the Monte-Carlo Casino, and the marina. It’s truly a beautiful area of the world. And if you do go, stop by McCarthy’s Irish Pub for a Guinness!

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In February, I traveled to Las Vegas, NV for a business event. I was part of a team that was supporting some iPad efforts for our largest deployed iPad base. While the days were long, some of us managed to escape in the evenings for some sight-seeing. Here are some images from that week. I’ll try and tag them later.

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B-24 bomber from WWII

The deep thrum of the four engines, the cramped, tight spaces, walking across the bomb bay on a 10 inch metal strip, sticking your hand out the window at the waist gunner position – these were experiences I had on my flight aboard “Witchcraft” a WWII B-24 Liberator bomber.  I was able to experience this thrilling flight when the Collings Foundation brought the Wings of Freedom tour to Chicago Executive airport in July.

I had always wanted to fly on one of these vintage aircraft, and I’m glad I got the chance.  Witchcraft is the only flying B-24 in the world, and the flight made me appreciate the sacrifice that the airmen made during WWII.  In many places within the aircraft, there was literally no place to turn around.  And you had to watch were you stepped – the nose wheel doors and the bomb bay are designed to give-way to weight – not a nice thing to happen if you’re a few thousand feet up.

B-24s over Polesti

I was able to move along the length of the plane in flight – from the tail gunner’s position to the nose gunner’s turret.  This was not your normal flight experience – I mean there was a three to four inch gap between the fuselage and the retracted ball turret – looking down I could see houses, roads and trees passing below.  When you get to the waist gunner’s positions – with the 50 caliber machine guns still in place – you get a feeling for what it might have been like fighting for your life and your crew mates as you fended off Axis fighters.  These planes weren’t pressurized – crewmen had to wear special suits and needed oxygen masks to survive the frigid temperatures at altitude.

The ride on Witchcraft was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I won’t soon forget.  Who knows how long this plane will keep flying – it did see actual service in China and Burma with the RAF, and spare parts and expertise are dwindling away.  Enjoy the pictures below or check out the Flying in a B-24 video page.

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I wasn't planning to go to the Rockford Airfest this year, but the kids determined that they wanted to go.  Who was I to say NO to an airshow.  So we shlepped out to Rockford on Sunday, August 1 to see the show.  Things started well as the A-10 Warthog was flying as we approached the airport.

Once we got parked and into the show, we ate some food, looked around at some of the static displays, and watched the flying.  As always at airshows, we did plenty of walking.  My son was interested in everything and my daughter was impressed with how noisy the jets were.

Some of the show highlights were the F-4 Phantom in flight, a heritage flight that included the F-4 Phantom, the A-10 Warthog, and an F-15 Eagle.  The final flight performance of the day was the USAF Thunderbirds in their F-16 Falcons.  Besides the airshow, we also went to the Jeep event on site.  Here I was able to drive a Grand Cherokee on a road course and a Grand Cherokee and a Rubicon on the off-road course they had set up.

Overall, it was a great day, topped off with a view of a DC-3 returning from Oshkosh on our way home and dinner at DQ!.  I think we want to do it again next year!

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August is the time for air shows, and I was able to get to one that is fairly close to home, the Rockford, IL AirFest.  I haven’t been to the Rockford air show since it resumed after a lapse in time, but I wanted to head to this one.  The headliner for the event was the F-22 Raptor.  Now if you’ve read my site a little bit, you’ll know that In attended the EAA air show in Oshkosh, WI last year.  The Raptor was there too and it put on a heck of a show, but the ceiling was low and there were storms in the area, so it didn’t do its full routine.  I was hoping for better weather this year.

I wasn’t disappointed by the weather. Sunny with broken clouds provided a bright, magnificent day – so much sun that I got burnt (forgot the sunscreen!).  I didn’t spend too much time at the static exhibits since I arrived at the show just as the aerial portion was just beginning – a Czech built Albatross was flying as I entered the grounds.

Highlights of the show

I usually go to air shows for the rip and tear of the air as jet aircraft scream by and I wasn’t disappointed by this show.  I  really enjoyed the Navy/Marine heritage flight.  The F-18 put on quite an individual show.  At the end of the F-18 show, the two aircraft paired up while in flight and did  several fly-bys in front of the crowd.  In all of the shows I’ve been at, I’ve never seen a WWII Corsair in flight – it was great!  After several photo passes, the Corsair came in for a landing.  As the craft was slowing down after landing, the F-18 screamed over the top in a high speed fly-by that excited the crowd.

The AH-64 Apache helicopter and the Sea Harrier also put on good shows.  The Apache cruised up and down the flight line showing off its capabilities.  The Sea Harrier flew as a normal plane does in flight but then it also transitioned to vertical flight.  I’ve seen several different Harrier versions in flight and it never ceases to amaze me how an aircraft can transition from straight flight into a vertical mode.

Towards the end of the show, a B1-B did a series of fly-bys before coming in to land at the airport.  This aircraft flew from  its base in Texas to put on the show in Rockford.  The B1-B come in low and slow with the wings extended and then did a couple high speed passes with the wings swept back.  It’s always amazing to see how long it takes for an aircraft of this size – traveling at high speed – takes to turn around.

Lastly, the F-22 put on a HECK of a show.  If you look at some of the pictures I got, you’ll see that it was able to pull vapor off of its wing and controlling panel surfaces.  It is an amazing aircraft.  This plane combines stealth, supersonic speed and a high tech weapons system into one lethal airplane.  Toward the end of its solo performance, the F-22 paired up with  P-51 Mustang for an Air Force heritage flight.

Lowlights of the show

One of the things that bugged me about the Rockford AirFest is that they have pavilions from sponsoring companies that obscure the view of the runway and flight line.  While I can understand the need and desire to keep sponsors happy and reward them in some way, there has to be some way to do it so that all paying participants can fully enjoy the show.

But I’ll probably be back – maybe not next year,but I’ll be back.  Check out my gallery of images from the Rockford AirFest!