The daily airshows (and two night shows) at EAA AirVenture this year were awesome as usual. The announcer pointed out that Philipp Steinbach was a remarkable exception to today’s division of labor. He’s the designer of the GB1 Gamebird. He’s the aerobatic demonstration pilot for the machine at airshows. He’s the founder and CEO of the company that builds the machine.
Minnesota governor and erstwhile Kamala Harris running mate Tim Walz contracted PTSD during his deployment to Italy. It’s fortunate that Mr. Walz wasn’t present during the Wisconsin National Guard’s demonstration of its F-35s, Black Hawks, and tankers all while blasting off artillery rounds (blanks, I hope!) every 15 seconds (the video below doesn’t capture the impact of the artillery sounds). If this is only one state’s Guard it would definitely be smarter for a foreign enemy to find a way to take over the U.S. other than via frontal assault (maybe have an army of soldiers walk across the southern border and claim asylum?).
It was great to have Randy Ball back with his MiG-17, whose afterburner is beautiful at dusk. Nathan Hammond in his Super Chipmunk was amazing in the night airshow with LEDs and fireworks coming off the windtips.
Australian Pitts pilot Paul Bennet was new and interesting:
Also in the Pitts and also new to AirVenture, the Northern Stars Aeroteam (strange choice of vertical video; trying to appeal to youngsters on their phones?):
Not new to AirVenture, but frightening to watch… Skip Stewart:
Rob Holland had been scheduled to perform, but instead there were various tributes to him from other performers. (Rob died in April due to a mechanical failure potentially attributable to a small modification made to his plane (FLYING).) Very sad.
The skies were so filled with warbird trainers that it was possible to get a decent photo even with an iPhone:
Blimps also make a decent iPhone airshow subject:
First post. /.
I went straight for the clonidine 0.1mg after I watched that video. I didn’t see your Sturgis ’25 post, seems like the body count was fairly high this year (I probably would have needed 0.2mg for that one):
STURGIS, S.D. — Four people were killed and 80 others were hurt across 66 crashes during the 85th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, as troopers also made more contacts with the public than in years prior.
https://www.mitchellrepublic.com/news/south-dakota/final-rally-tally-troopers-report-4-deaths-80-injuries-across-66-crashes-during-2025-sturgis-rally
I’m going fishing this weekend, unless I run into a grow operation bust. Sheesh.
I have the frunk and trunk of my Lucid EV packed up with fishing gear, and I’m ready to leave. Parting thoughts:
The EAA chapter at Wichita State used to have interesting talks and field trips. Really nice people.
Is the U.S. government going to send the EAA a bill, or should we just call it the Government Subsidized EAA Oshkosh Fly-In?
Rhinebeck was more fun IMO, a lot less flyboys talking about FL30 and FADECs@^@^@^…NO CARRIER
Great commentary, pictures and videos! Thanks for posting!
Did the helicopters fail to impress?
It’s the same Red Bull BO-105 every year!
Intriguing to watch the current wave of interest in general aviation replacing the interest in unmanned aviation of 20 years ago. The quad copter fans of 20 years ago might just have enough money to go full size now or putting a human at risk gets more engagement than a robot. General aviation tube is making zillions of dollars while rcgroups is now dead. It was quite the opposite, 20 years ago.
> Not new to AirVenture, but frightening to watch… Skip Stewart:
Seemed like his show was a mini-Oz Fest. A tribute to Ozzy Osbourne (2025 RIP) , and D.C. politics with “Crazy Train”. I saw Ozzy in ’82 and that was frightening to watch too. (Skip might have been burning a little oil, there was a bit of smoke. Keep up on your maintenance, people.) Also a bit of “Bulls on Parade” by Rage Against the Machine, “Either drop the hits like de la O or get the F off the commode.” Outro of “Enter Sandman”.
> Blimps also make a decent iPhone airshow subject:
Maybe they ought to consider installing TCAS, I mean you wouldn’t think you’d need it with two blimps, but…
I left room for someone to do an obvious one-liner reply…I’ll just go ahead and drop it my damn self, “Yeah, and under VFR..was that blimp pilot Mr. Magoo?” Fun posts this last week, Phil, thanks.
I finally found something A.I. knows…I was joking with Becky about how fun it would have been to have her as a demo pilot:
> Could a Cessna Citation X do an outside loop?
GPT-4o mini:
A Cessna Citation X is a business jet designed primarily for speed and efficiency rather than aerobatic maneuvers. While it is a highly capable aircraft, it is not designed for aerobatics, including outside loops.
Limitations of the Cessna Citation X
– Aerobatic Capability: The Citation X is not certified for aerobatic flight. Aerobatic maneuvers require specific design features and structural reinforcements that this aircraft does not possess.
– Weight and Balance: The aircraft’s weight and balance characteristics are optimized for passenger comfort and performance, not for the dynamic loads experienced during aerobatic maneuvers.
– Flight Control Systems: The flight control systems are not designed to handle the extreme angles and forces involved in an outside loop.
Attempting an outside loop in a Citation X could lead to structural failure or loss of control, making it highly inadvisable. For aerobatic maneuvers, specialized aircraft designed for such purposes, like aerobatic biplanes or certain military jets, are required.