Have you ever watched buzzards fly? They are masters of using very little energy to continue to soar.They must stay up flying for long periods of time to catch sight of their next meal. You can learn about soaring from watching
their flight patterns. As they circle in the sky, watch the wing that points to the inside of the circle they flying. When that wing suddenly lifts, the bird will turn in towards that wing and circle the thermal updraft.
When they get to the outer boundary of that column of warm rising air, their outer wing will drop, alerting them to turn in again. When they break
out and glide down and away, they have lost their lift and will search out another lifting thermal. Of course eagles and other birds soar also, but the buzzards are the masters of thermals
Gliders gain altitude using these same lifting thermals
The Oshkosh flight tower becomes the busiest in the world during the week of AirVenture when it is called on to direct tens of thoudands of aircraft.
“Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn’t be able to fly. But the bumble bee doesn’t know it so it goes on flying anyway” -Mary Kay Ash
If you love airplanes, you have most likely heard of AirVenture in Oshkosh Wis. If you have never attended the largest airshow in the world, it’s not to late to plan the trip.
AirVenture is July 27-Aug 2 this year, thats 14 days! Started in 1953, the show has grown to a spectacular event.
Gates open at 7AM and when you pass through them you will be witness to over 2,400 aircraft.
Almost every plane you can build is on display. EAA menbers from around the country and foreign fly in to this show by the hundreds. The warbirds area alone will have over 100 planes.
Every afternoon has a three hour airshow with many of the top airshow performers along with an amazing war bird show.
The first day of the show. WhiteKnight Two, the private space flight mothership designed by Burt Rutan, an EAA menber, will be at hand to check out up close. Others include the Airbus A380 and so many more famous aircraft to mention.
If you have had the dream to build an aircraft, get to this show and get going.
Most any plane is here, kit-built, plans-built and already built, along with workshops and all the other toys.
You can also camp. There is unlimited space in what becomes the city of aviation campers all week. At night attend the fly-in theatre featuring aviation theme movies free of charge including the popcorn. See you there!
The Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites Private spaceflight mothership
This being my first blog, I would like to introduce myself. I’m Dan Budde. In 2004 after many years of dreaming of flying and owning an airplane, I bought a kit, built it and learned to fly it. Its a big part of my life now, flying and keeping “Slighly Dangerous” in airworthy shape.
Next on the aircraft things list I wanted to do was write about aircraft from new perspectives. Mainly light aircraft, their history, building them, registering and getting an airworthiness cirtificate and any other interesting topics.
Two books are almost completed and I will consistantly post to this site daily about current and past topics on aircraft and related things. The focus will be light aircraft; hitory, ultralights, light sport aircraft, early war birds, and engines to name a few along with people who dreamed, built, experimented and flew into the sky in these machines.
