Airventure 2015

[dholly 718]

Just a couple more misc pics taken during the tour. Thanks Bill and Tom for the invite and your time, will take you up on your offer for the other hangars and boneyard tour next year.

 

Shop pics:

 

 

 

 

 

Neat bench in the lobby:

 

 

This Husky was in for repair after being flipped onto the fuel shack during the big blow Sat. am. Love them PHAT tires!

 

 

When not out flying, this Wright Flyer replica was stored at Basler.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dholly 718]

Doug,

What happen with that J3 on floats? it looked like it was going to end badly . . . . . .

 

Rob - that's just Jerry showing off. He was doing 360's dragging a tip, then decided to really bury the wing all in good fun. He will do 4-5 loops in a row with that Cub on floats. Some guys got the touch AND the balls, lol!

[RobS 52]

Doug - you said it, the touch and the balls! From the two pics you posted I thought he was in real trouble.

[C5Engineer 1170]

Thought maybe that was Snaps. Amazing pics of the Basler facility Doug. So clean and organized. Thanks for sharing.

[dholly 718]

Snaps was busy pinning the tags on all the pretty girls, HA! 

[dholly 718]

OK, this is a bit OT but...

 

When driving to OSH I pass by the National RV/MH Hall of Fame on Highway 90 outside of Elkhart, IN, which you may know is home to 95% of the RV manufacturers in the country. Sounded mildly interesting but, knowing a few tin can tourists myself, I figured the place must be kinda 'kitschy' and never made the effort to exit.

 

 

Well, I must have been in the mood for adventure this year because I finally decided to stop. Let me tell you, I was glad I did! A very large, modern and newly built multi-million dollar facility showcasing history and housing some very cool stuff kept me busy for a few hours. Clearly, the industry has improved their products but is it amazing to see some of the ideas used in 1915 are still unchanged, ie. dinettes that fold down into beds etc.

 

Lighting was a bit dim inside the big halls but here are pics of a few things I found interesting (double-click to expand):

 

This might be the 'most traveled' travel trailer in the U.S. Purchased new in 1943 (?) and lived in continuously by original owner until only a few years ago, pulled across the country so many times he lost count. Built on an aluminum frame with porcelain toilet in the bedroom, fold out sleeper sofa, wood stove and icebox... that's livin' large! I'm guessing he was a lifelong bachelor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a bunch more. The Popular Mechanics plans built '1916 Telescoping Apartment' on a Model T was very cool, and I particularly like the 1st pickup camper, the Airstream 'Bambi' prototype, fancy Pierce Arrow RV and Model T with matching Model T trailer.

 

[edit] Sorry about the orientation, I tried to rotate but must be doing something wrong.

[EDMO 1078]

Doug,

    We were among the early "Winnebago Set" - Here is 1940's photo of our converted school bus and my Father getting ready for a hunting trip in upper Michigan or Canada.   I don't know what kind of bus it was, but think it dated back to 1930's.

EdMO

Edited 1 Aug 2015 by Ed In Missouri

[Av8r_Sed 82]

Thanks for sharing all of that, Doug.  The Basler pics are fascinating.  Maybe Larry should have had them do his wiring harness.  What an operation!

[Av8r3400 1178]

Too late. ACS is building me a harness!

[akflyer 1427]

Nice pics as usual Doug.  Some of those early campers are pretty damn cool!

 

[dholly 718]

Yes, cool eye candy and interesting history too. There actually is a very strong connection between the RV and aircraft industries...

 

Anthony Fokker and Hugo Junkers initially created and constructed the Junker J2 and J3 aircraft with steel sheeting, but it was too heavy. So the company then experimented with duralumin, a new high-strength aluminum alloy. The J4, tested in 1917, was built with a duralumin fuselage, a duralumin tube frame, and corrugated metal sheets constructed with duralumin. But unfortunately, because they welded together the duralumin parts, the material deteriorated at the seams. What was their solution? They used specially-engineered rivets and company-designed pneumatic tools that ultimately revolutionized aircraft manufacturing for all time.

 

That technology was carried forward and used by William Hawley Bowlus who was Superintendent of Construction and built Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis. Bowlus realized bringing aircraft technology to the trailer world could make them lighter, stronger and more aerodynamic and created the first streamlined riveted aluminum trailer called the Bowlus 'Road Chief' in 1934. Bowlus also produced a smaller model called the 'Papoose', intended for the traveling businessman. Unfortunately, costs to produce these trailers were high which equated to an expensive purchase price (it cost just over $1,000 at a time when a brand new car went for under $600) and the company closed soon thereafter. About 80 Road Chiefs were produced and, in 2010, a 1935 Bowlus Road Chief sold for $187,000 at auction, Only 6 of the smaller Papoose trailers were made (of which 4 are known to have survived), one of which fetched $101,750 at auction last year. Screw the stock market, I'm getting into trailers! A new company has recently resurrected the name. Link ->   http://www.bowlusroadchief.com/

 

in 1936, Wally Byam began producing the first of the now familiar 'silver bullet' aluminum Airstream trailers, essentially a rebadged 1935 Bowlus with the door relocated from the front to the side. Byam had worked in a Curtiss-Wright airplane factory and called that first Airstream the "Clipper" after the largest civil aircraft in service at the time, the huge Boeing Model 314 transatlantic flying boat. The Boeing 314 weighed 40 tons, was powered by (4) 1700hp 14-cyl double-row Curtiss-Wright R-2600 Cyclone Radials and carried 3,525 gals. of fuel (the first to use 100-octane). Of more than 400 travel trailer builders operating in 1936, Airstream was the sole survivor of the Great Depression. During WW II, travel became a luxury most could not afford and non-military industries faced an acute aluminum shortage. When WW II ended, the economy boomed and former war production facilities and defense aviation workers were employed to knock out what have affectionately been labeled 'Tin Cans' and 'Silver Twinkies".

[jjbaker 73]

Instantly thought of Snaps when seeing the hand under the blouse... only one guy who can do this and live to see another day.

 

Nice pics!

[Dusty 126]

Thanks or posting

DC3 C47 powered by a PT-6 and flying for many more years,the original designers would be proud!

Edited 3 Aug 2015 by Dusty