It’s been seven years since the Idaho National Guard unleashed its Gowen Thunder air show spectacular in Boise — and Idaho’s aviation-thirsty segment of the population was ready for it
Japanese seaplanes and the second bombing of Pearl Harbor
Underwing carriage of torpedoes, bombs, or depth charges made the Kawanishi H8K1 and H8K2 lethal sub and shipping hunters. But their debut as land bombers the night of March 4, 1942, proved inauspicious when cloud cover obscured the prized target of Honolulu. The largely unheralded second attack by the Japanese on Oahu was a bust.
Hypoxia demonstration an eye-opener for GA pilots at Oshkosh
General aviation pilots at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2023 volunteered to sustain oxygen deprivation, turn blue, and emulate barely-sentient zombies in the interest of flight safety — their own flight safety.
The oldest aircraft flown in to Oshkosh 2023
The oldest plane to fly in to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2023 was this freshly restored 1926 Waco 9, which won the Golden Age (1918-1927) Champion — Bronze Lindy Award.
Warbird Roundup punctuates Idaho summer
Sue Paul, co-founder of the Warhawk Air Museum proudly says, with reasonable evidence to back her up, that Warbird Roundup “is the pilots’ and crews’ favorite show to attend.”
Better-than-new P-47 Thunderbolt debuts at Oshkosh
After a 12-year restoration by AirCorps Aviation, a Republic P-47D Thunderbolt wowed the crowds at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2023.
A monoplane and a half
Sesquiplanes enjoyed a moment in the sun as designers grappled with the robust structural truss integrity of biplanes versus the lower drag of monoplanes. Sesquiplanes, effectively a “monoplane and a half,” as described by aviation historian Joseph Juptner, used an abbreviated lower wing to enable bracing, while keeping overall span short, and reducing drag below that of a full-bore biplane.
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2023 served something for everyone
What were the highlights of EAA AirVenture 2023? Pick your passion.
Bittersweet end for the last B-17s in the Air Force
Radio-controlled B-17s were first used to bomb Germany, but after World War II, the Air Force found several other uses for the drones, known as QB-17, including taking radioactive samples, water ditching tests, and testing antiaircraft missiles.