Bob and Pat Wagner

Feature: Oshkosh Airshow 1988

Every summer [see note below], the Experimental Aircraft Association sponsors a fly-in at Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Over the years it has grown to enormity. I covered it in 1988, and this is some of what I saw. NOTE: This year, the Federal Aviation Administration withdrew air traffic control from the event unless organizers came up with $450,000 to pay them, even though the cost is already included in t…  (read more)

09 Sep 2010

167 visits

Not to be seen again

The Concorde buzzes the field. This one's a British Airways plane. Nikon F3, 500mm Reflex Nikkor, Ektachrome

09 Sep 2010

170 visits

Hardly ever seen

Here's the Concorde at a couple thousand feet. Note that the nose is now raised for high-speed flight -- though it didn't fly supersonic at the show due to federal noise regulations. Nikon F3, 500mm Reflex Nikkor, Ektachrome

09 Sep 2010

194 visits

DeHaviland Mosquito

Florida's Kermit Weeks had restored this scrappy British bomber, and it drew a constant crowd. There are hundreds of planes on display at Oshkosh during the fly-in. Nikon FA, 24mm Nikkor, Ektachrome

09 Sep 2010

154 visits

Another famous pilot

Dick Rutan, who along with Jeana Yeager flew the Voyager around the world nonstop, on one tank of gas. Dick's brother is innovative airplane designer Burt Rutan. Nikon F3, 105mm f1.8 Nikkor, Ektachrome

09 Sep 2010

136 visits

And yes, it flies

For airplane owners and builders of every stripe, Oshkosh is the place to be, to show off not just their new planes and restored warbirds, but also restorations and replicas of airplanes from the era of the Wright Brothers, Glenn Curtiss, Louis Bleriot, and other greats, near-greats, and not-very greats. Nikon FA, 35mm Nikkor, Ektachrome

09 Sep 2010

157 visits

Self-portrait in a warbird's spinner

Hasselblad Superwide held on a monopod and triggered by its self-timer, Ektachrome

09 Sep 2010

140 visits

They make great shade, too

Hasselblad Superwide, Ektachrome

09 Sep 2010

152 visits

The B-1b Bomber

The military sends planes to Oshkosh for both static display and demonstration flight. It's a good recruiting tool -- and shows aviation enthusiasts how a small part of their tax money is spent. Hasselblad Superwide, Ektachrome

09 Sep 2010

362 visits

The French Connection

Among the most precise and beloved airshow pilots were "The French Connection," the husband-and-wife team of Daniel Heligoin and Montaine Mallet. Their signature was the canopy-to-canopy maneuver pictured here. They would go on to die when their planes collided during practice in 2000. Nikon F3, 500mm Reflex Nikkor, Ektachrome
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