Lord of the Biplanes

[AgentX]

Did you know director Peter Jackson did this?

http://thevintageaviator.co.nz/

Wow.

[jdrouin]

Very cool! I study WWI so that's an interesting website.

I saw a Fokker DVII replica yesterday. Took my 2.5-year-old son (in the blue shirt and shades) to a fly-in for older planes at the Birthplace of Will Rogers in Oologah, OK. There was so much activity. You could walk onto the field to look at the planes, talk to the pilots, etc., all while aircraft were moving about you, taking off, and buzzing the field. Needless to say, it blew his mind.

Takeoff video: https://vimeo.com/47469175

[Maturin]

The little one with the shades is way too cool 
Ah, the D VII! It was such a superior fighter, after the armistice the Allied wanted ALL of them handed over or scraped!
And it was one of the obstetricians of BMW, their high-compressing straight-six allowed extraordinary power output at great altitude. The Prussian army administration immediately ordered 2000 units, that was 1917.
As a direct result of the lost war and the ban to built airplanes, BMW decided to conquer new frontiers and 1923 they released the R23. The BMW badge is an art-deco-propeller.
So basically this plane is the origin of all the fine Boxers from Munich.
Best regards
Maturin

[barenekd]

Did you happen to ask what kind of engine was in it? There was one at Bartlesville a few years ago that was powered by an inverted Ranger Engine, meaning it was cylinders up.
Much more original cockpit.
They are cool airplanes.
Bare

[Arizoni]

Thanks for the link to a really neat site !!

Who knew the Albatross D. V's Mercedes OHC 6 was sitting right there in front of the pilot so he could watch the valves working as they threw oil drops back into his face?
Ah!  Back when planes were planes and men were men! 

Nowadays, the only real men ride Royal Enfields (and older Harleys). 

[GlennF]

The flight simulator Rise of Flight is a must have for WWI flight enthusiasts. Its free to download with a basic plane set of SPAD 13 and Albatros D.Va (they make their money out of selling extra planes sets).

http://riseofflight.com/tryrof/en

[jdrouin]

Nice pics, Bare. The pilot wasn't around when we were looking at the plane, so I didn't get a chance to ask questions.

[Chuck D]

Hey Jeff,
Charlie's growing like a weed. Very cool pics.
Chuck.

[The Garbone]

Very cool.

2 weeks ago I bought my wife a flying lesson on a Stearman biplane.



At FANTASY OF FLIGHT down here in Florida.

It is a private aircraft museum run with the owners proceeds from evil oil royalties.   They have many warehouses full of origanal aircraft motors and he has sent a few to Peter Jackson who disected them and put them into cad for reproduction. 

The cool thin about Fantasy of Flight is all the musuem pieces are air worthy.  The owner was flying about in his P-51B when we were there. 

[The Garbone]

The owners blog..

http://blog.kermitweeks.com/

[jartist]

When I was a kid there was a guy who ran two stearmans for hire out of a nearby airport. That low, slow radial put a smile on my face every time I heard that music.

[boggy]

2 weeks ago I bought my wife a flying lesson on a Stearman biplane.

Good man!  I wish I was your wife.

[boggy]

Good man!  I wish I was your wife.

Er... you know what I mean. 

[barenekd]

In my younger days, I got to fly a lot of little homebuilt biplanes and instructed in Stearmans. Open cockpit biplanes are still my favorite flying machines. I think the one I enjoyed the most was a Starduster 2 that a friend let me fly any time I wanted to. It was a great machine for fun flying and aerobatics.
I about fell out of it once while inverted because of the way the seat belt was mounted. I didn't do any more negative stuff in it. but it was still great fun. Kinda like an Enfield, just total pleasure.
Bare

[jdrouin]

Hey Jeff,
Charlie's growing like a weed. Very cool pics.
Chuck.

Thanks! Yeah, he's big for his age and talking up a storm.

For anyone interested, here's a short compilation video of various planes in action. I think my favorite (aside from the DVII) is the Beechcraft V-Tail. I used to love those when I was a kid.

https://vimeo.com/47488664

There were also antique cars, motorcycles (mostly 30s and 40s Harleys), and Cushman scooters in the parking lot.