A irVenture 2022

Of The

Photos

01 The show, which takes place at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, had a total of 3,226 show planes registered, included 1,375 vintage aircraft, 1,156 homebuilts, 369 warbirds, 137 ultralights, 87 seaplanes, 77 aerobatic aircraft, and 25 helicopters. 12,000 people flew in and camped, while 40,000 drove in to stay. The site really is HUGE. To give it some perspective, in this photo, which was taken from the north looking south, the 18/36 Runway at top left of the photo is 2.4km long, while 09/27 in the foreground is nearly 1.9km long. If you look closely, you’ll see two other grass airfields within the site, for Pioneer Airport, and the Ultralight Fun-Fly zone. There were 18,684 aircraft operations in the 11-day period from July 21-31, giving an average of approximately 121 take-offs/landings per hour when the airport was open.

02 The Timber Tiger Ryan ST-L replica is a 95% scale replica of the Ryan ST. Powered by a 100hp Rotax 912S, the aircraft, the airframe kit is $43,000, with fastbuild options for the fuselage and wing available for an extra $6,000 and $1,700 respectively. ST-L designer Nick Pfastaniel is considering selling kits into the UK.

03 An incredible formation of 50 RV’s made a special flypast on the show’s opening day, to mark the 50th Anniversary of Van’s Aircraft.

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04 The Auster J-2 Arrow is a pretty rare type in the UK, but in America, there is only one example, and even that one surprised enthusiasts with it’s appearance at Oshkosh. Flown to Zimbabwe from the UK in the 1950s, then purchased by the Spence family, it’s been flown by three generations of the family having been sold, then repurchased, and had two rebuilds. LAA member Nigel Hitchman ensured the aircraft was recognised for its rarity and relocated to a main display spot in the Vintage area.

05 The Ampaire hybrid-electric EEL demonstrator aircraft flew 1,880 miles from Los Angeles to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, which included one 1,135 mile leg. Ampaire claimed was the single longest nonstop flight ever made by a hybrid-electric aircraft. The forward Continental IO-360 piston engine is replaced with an electric motor powered by a battery in a parallel hybrid configuration.

06 I’m not sure the ailerons are big enough, is a question no-one asked about the REVO, designed by Eddie Saurenman of Saurenman Aero Works. The aircraft has a steel tube fuselage with a carbon wing, and has a 340kg gross weight. It is being test flown using an 80hp Rotax 912, but a second prototype is due to fly with a ULPower.350. +/-8g, roll rate is 400º per second. An aluminium wing option will be available, and airframe kit prices start from around $35,000.

07 Demonstrated in the Fun-Fly zone, the Mirocopter SCH-2A Coaxial Helicopter is claimed to be the lightest manned coaxial helicopter in the world and is compliant to US FAR Part 103 Ultralight rules. Max take-off weight is 250kg, and it’s powered by a 60hp Fiate MZ202 twostroke motor. The A Slovenian design, it has been flying for 10 years. US agent RotoTrek was marketing the SCH-2A for $35,000, ready to fly.

01/02 The undisputed winner of the ‘Dead Grass’ award, the RV-15 Engineering Prototype unveiled by Van’s Aircraft on the first day of the show was completely surrounded pretty much all day, every day. The first high-wing design from the company, while the aircraft is still in the testing phase, Van’s hinted at a cruise speed of 140kt, useful load of around 900lb. Two seats, with an option of 2+2, powered by a 215hp Lycoming IO-390 Exp-119 engine. Expect 12-18 months until the first kits are available.

03 Following the success of previous One Week Wonder projects to build an aircraft during the seven days of Oshkosh, volunteers built a Sonex Waiex B-Model with hundreds of rivets pulled by members of the public. It taxied under its own power on Sunday July 31 and the aircraft made its first flight on August 18. 04 If you think a two-seat homebuilt jet is for you, then the Sonex JSX-2T could be what you need. Estimated total build cost (including engine is around $155,000).