Update #18

Mr. Steed Goes to Oshkosh!

Several mornings Canon held Dawn Patrol. They lend cameras and take groups out with professional photographers. The professionals give tips on composition, lighting, focus, vantage point, exposure, backgrounds, and other aspects of taking pictures of and around airplanes.

This summer, Mr. Steed flew back to Oshkosh and attended Airventure 2004. While there, he talked to vendors and possible contributors, judged part of the Wild Blue Wonders competition for middle school and Jr. High students, presented a talk entitled, 'How to Build an Airplane in Your School' to a group of Wisconsin educators, and ogled airplanes for seven straight days.

	The annual Airventure at Oshkosh hosts over 750,000 aviation enthusiasts each summer. It is held during the week that bridges July and August each year.
All manner of aircraft are displayed. This is a highly polished example of a Lockheed Electra.
	This is a VariEzy, a Rutan design that has the large wing in the rear and a smaller wing, or canard, in the front. When flying at slow airspeeds, the canard stalls first, lowering the nose, so that the main wing never stalls. This is a clean and fast design with a pusher engine. Noteworthy is the iridescent paint job.

	Beautiful examples of large radial engines were everywhere.
Many surplus jets are appearing on the market and being flown by private pilots.
	This is a 'Staggerwing' Beech. Most biplanes have the upper wing forward of the lower. The Beech 17 has its upper wing 'staggered' to the rear.
Examples of WWII metalwork were everywhere. This was a wingroot air intake on a B-17.
	This was the Zenith display in the one of the outdoor commercial display areas.
Every day at the Airventure there is an airshow that lasts over an hour. Airshow performers from all over the world put on amazing displays of skill.
	Airventure is half fly-in, half airshow, and half commercial displays. Vendors representing all facets of the aviation industry set up displays and booths both in- and outdoors. Many of the displays are as educational as they are commercial.

Different categories of airplanes fly into Oshkosh every year: homebuilts, warbirds, ultralights, and antiques and classics. Above is a Ryan, a pre-WWII trainer. At the upper right is a trio of Stagger-wing Beech 17s, the bizjet of the 1920's. On the right is a Piper Cub, the civilian trainer and low cost private plane of the 1940s.