Post
by kalamazookid » Mon Aug 01, 2022 9:29 pm
I guess I'll chime in with my thoughts on the flying. I'm normally only in attendance Monday-Wednesday and was able to stay through Thursday this year, so I have neither the benefit of knowing what the weekend flying is usually like nor what it was like this year (outside of the pics/video everyone posts here anyway).
From my standpoint, I saw more military planes in the air earlier in the week than I ever have at Oshkosh, and some of the arrivals were actually incorporated into the airshow this year- which was a big bonus for me. It's frustrating when you're looking at something all the way in Fightertown only to have a couple F-15s come in randomly at 10 a.m. and not be able to see them well (or at all). T-38s might not be everyone's thing, but it was cool to see some different paint schemes and we got a few missed approaches at least. I liked seeing the Growlers and F-35A arrival incorporated into the Monday show, and it was neat to see the C-17 arrival. The Indiana A-10s put on a nice show when they arrived as well. That said, there wasn't much military action outside of the demo teams - somewhat understandable given the world situation, but a bit of a letdown after all the USAF 75th Anniversary hype. I really enjoyed seeing the F-35A three days in a row and I think the show that was flown with it was great given the limitations of the box at Oshkosh. I would much rather see that than sit further away from the runway for a larger box - that would negate most of what makes an afternoon airshow at Oshkosh fun for me!
From a military standpoint, the Navy definitely stole the show. The Growlers and F-35C were excellent, and the Legacy Flights were top notch. The Navy has really improved the Legacy profile over the last few years. I can remember seeing some truly boring flights that were just two passes that were flown too high to be enjoyed, and these are significantly better. I'm glad the show committed to flying multiple demo teams on multiple days. If the Navy and Air Force are both there with a demo team, fly them both.
I've been frustrated with the warbird shows for years. I thought the Tuesday show was at least average for Oshkosh, though I wish we could have gotten solo passes each of the fighters and more than one pass in front of the crowd by the bombers. The low C-47 passes were excellent and I've really enjoyed seeing them showcased over the last few years. I also enjoyed jet day on Thursday despite the fact that I really don't have any interest in L-39s. The L-bird show is a good idea, but so poorly executed. Having the aircraft orbiting a half mile away at 1,500 feet doesn't showcase the aircraft at all and does a disservice to the pilots who put in the effort to fly in the show. Having aircraft flying right down the showline at 2,000 feet (or whatever it was) also isn't interesting. They need to get the planes down the runway and in front of the crowd, no matter what's flying. The arrival show in 2021 was vastly improved with the P-51 and Corsair flying around while the big formations get turned around. I'd love to see something like that again. Just please get airplanes down in line with the runway and at an altitude where people can see them well. The warbird shows would be vastly improved by making them more practical and less spectacle.
Personally, I think if they're going to do trainer/L-bird shows, they need to find a way to get fighters/bombers/transports in the show during another time slot - that's what people come to see. I think it's great to have the trainers/liaison aircraft showcased, especially since they seem to be ignored at most larger airshows. It's just tough to take when they are the only warbirds in the air on a particular day. The Cat Flight on the same day as the L-bird show, or a fighter acro or two, or a vintage jet demo are great ways to balance this. I still think about when I attended Monday-Wednesday during the "Year of the Fighter" and Warbirds of America put up exactly zero fighters during their Monday-Wednesday segments. That was a sad effort and I was pretty pissed about 30 minutes of L-birds that year.
The Grumman Cat Flight, F-35s, Growler, U-2, Tuesday warbird show, twilight MiG-17 demo and Heritage/Legacy Flights were the highlights for me. Seeing all four prop-driven Cats in the air together was really special for me as the original Air Zoo Cat Flight was a big part of the airshows I went to as a kid. Any opportunity to see a Tigercat do aerobatics is special and the Bearcat aerobatics were a nice bonus. The U-2 is always unique. I also really appreciated the mix of aircraft types and formations in the Legacy and Heritage Flights. This year was my first evening airshow at Oshkosh and it made me mad at myself for not making it a priority before. Great stuff!
The biggest thing to remember about Oshkosh is that it's as much fly-in and convention as it is an airshow. EAA has a wide range of sponsors and interests they have to highlight. That means certain parts of the airshow might not be as interesting if they don't align with our interests. As much as I would personally love to see an afternoon of entirely military demos/fly-by's and a massive warbird show, that probably isn't going to happen. EAA has to promote civil aviation and a lot of the aerobatic acts, showcases, etc. presumably help them do that. There are certain acts I look forward to, like Younkin, Aeroshell and Franklin, but like many of you, I find the flippies repetitive. Red Bull was fun on Monday, but less cool after seeing it three days in a row. I guess I've gotten so used to this over seven years that it doesn't bother me that much anymore.
Oshkosh is as much about looking as being on the flight line for me. I come to see the latest, greatest restorations in Vintage and Warbirds as much as I come for the airshow. Some of the highly anticipated warbird restorations didn't make it this year, but there were quite a few aircraft I don't normally get to see and I was glad to have had the opportunity to see them again.
I'm personally taking a year or two off from Oshkosh just because I want to do some other traveling, which will hopefully include a few airshows and museums. Overall, I enjoyed my experience this year and I would actually rate it as one of the better experiences I've had at Oshkosh. It's just time to go different places and see some different things, even if they might not be as unique or large as Oshkosh.
Last edited by
kalamazookid on Mon Aug 01, 2022 9:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Matt