When a warbird is in the neighborhood, you know it’s going to be a great day. This Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is operated by the Liberty Foundation, which was bringing it and a B-17 Flying Fortress to Martin State Airport in Baltimore as part of a traveling tour.—Jill W. Tallman
It looks like it’s taking a sunny-day flight in the high country, but this Diamond C1 Eclipse is on a mission: It’s actually simulating landing too long at an airport. Mike Fizer shot this photo in 2004 near the front range of the Rocky Mountains near Denver, Colorado. Why was the Diamond pilot settting up for a too-long landing? Because we asked him to. We keep a catalogue of images to illustrate our magazine articles, but in general we assign one of our photographers to work with a pilot to get the imagery we need.—Jill W. Tallman
As AirVenture 2012 draws to a close, here’s a photo of a Waco and a DC-3 sharing space on the grass. Luckily, there’s room for everyone at the world’s biggest airshow. Photo by Al Marsh.–Jill W. Tallman
It’s not just the warbirds or the classic and antique aircraft we love to scope out at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It’s the cutting-edge, unusual designs you aren’t likely to see in person anywhere else. Burt Rutan’s Model 202 Boomerang, photographed by Al Marsh, is a twin-engine five-place aircraft with an asymmetrical shape. Rutan unveiled it in 1996.—Jill W. Tallman
Warbirds? Check. EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, is a popular destination to find warbirds of every shape and size. Al Marsh photographed this rare Corsair.–Jill W. Tallman
One of the more entertaining aspects of AirVenture is that you can always find exotic airplanes that don’t normally turn up on your home airport’s ramp. This BushCat by Skyreach, shot by Al Marsh, is flown in Africa to monitor wildlife. We dig the zebra paint scheme. What do you think?—Jill W. Tallman
With the World’s Great Airshow going on this week, we thought we’d focus our Photo of the Day on images found at this year’s EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis. This shot captures some of the Piper Cubs lined up after a mass arrival on July 22. The J-3 Cub turns 75 this year.—Jill W. Tallman
The very first Cessna 172 (blue aircraft in foreground) to come out of the factory in 1956 went to an Oregon flight school, as Al Marsh explained in “Queen of the Fleet,” April 2006 AOPA Pilot. This photo shoot captures the first 172 in formation with a more modern counterpart. Today’s 172 is very much a presence on the ramp at flight schools, but a careful inspection reveals it has very few similarities to its forebear. Read Pete Bedell’s “The Skyhawk Turns 50″ for an extensive side-by-side comparison.–Jill W. Tallman
The Waco in this photo has a wonderful history behind it. As Alton Marsh explained in the October 2007 AOPA Pilot article “A Waco for Miss Johnston,” it was built in 1935 for a wealthy 24-year-old student pilot–and a lady, at that. Read the complete article to find out all the special touches she requested, including an increased fuel capacity of 75 gallons.
Viewed from this angle, someone thought the bright-yellow aircraft was a straight-tail Ercoupe, and its canopy does resemble that of the iconic little rudderless two-seater. But this is a more contemporary Light Sport Aircraft. Its manufacturer, IndUS, had planned to build it in Texas, but in 2010 announced a partnership with China in which the LSA would be manufactured and assembled there.—Jill W. Tallman
