Wings 'n Wheels (7 images)

[JohnnyRingo]

I don't do well with photographing nature, so I generally leave that to others. My interest is in smoke belching death machines, so when the annual Wings 'n Wheels event comes to Sloas Field here in NE Ohio, I'm there.

One side of the quarter mile grass runway features well over 200 classic autos and vintage muscle cars, while the other side is a colorful display of small general aviation craft. The combination is pure euphoria for someone like me with gasoline in my veins and perpetually grease embedded fingernails.

Pardon the post edit artistic license on some images.

Not a straight line in the bunch from Jaguar. An XKE and it's racing ancestor the C-Type:
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This accurate seven eighths scale french Neuport is a yearly favorite:
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As good looking as it is on the flight line, the high speed pass shows it's true grace and beauty:
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The Christian Eagle is a two place aerobatic craft that flies as well inverted as it does right side up. It's the Ferarri of biplanes.
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Smoke on and throttle to the firewall:
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Pre-war Navy trainer lumbering skyward. I believe it's a Waco.:
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Finally, the Ohio Bush Pilots had a field day in their tundra tire equipped Cessnas and Pipers buzzing the crowds with doors removed.
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[Solly Mack]

1. I'd love to have been there!

Wonderful.

Love the colors on the Christian Eagle.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. Wow, those are great, my dear JohnnyRingo!

I've been up in small planes like these and they are so much fun! I was flown over San Francisco at night and it was like seeing jewels on the ground.

Thanks so much for these amazing pictures!

[Girard442]

3. Yellow bipe is a Stearman.

[Major Nikon]

5. I've seen others with their original UK registry numbers displayed

I’ve always wondered how they get away with not displaying their US registered number. Must be an exception for historic aircraft.

[JohnnyRingo]

8. It still has to be registered.

Back in the '60s the N number had to be prominently displayed, like atop one wing and beneath the other in standard block letters, presumably so people on the ground could report unsafe behavior. Now they can apply it in small font elsewhere. I don't know what prompted that change, unless it was the advent of modern radios.

On that Stearman it can (barely) be seen just ahead of the horizontal stab:

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[Major Nikon]

10. It just doesn't make much sense

Anyone trying to identify the aircraft would refer to the old number. The guy flying has a headset, so I'm assuming the plane has a radio if not an electrical system so at least there's that.

[JohnnyRingo]

6. I think you're right

Wacos I've seen usually have the engine cowled. I believe a lot of Stearmans went to England under the Lend Lease Act.

[Girard442]

11. The straight gear legs with no struts is usually a giveaway.

I've seen Stearmans with cowls, althought I imagine those were custom jobs.

[ManiacJoe]

4. Good job with the longer shutter speed...

... to get the prop blur!

[Girard442]

12. I've seen pix taken at high shutter speeds where you end up with a "rubber prop".

It looks bent in the pic. Really ruins an otherwise great photo.

[Hangdog Slim]

7. Jags!

I love those Jags! Thanks for the pics!

[JohnnyRingo]

9. The E-Type is a series 1

as identified by the covered headlights. Certainly the most coveted subset of the model.

Too bad someone ordered it in that color though. Maybe the original owner traded it in for a blue Ferarri just to further his run of bad decisions.

[Callalily]

13. These are great!

I simply adore old car shows, and my state puts on the biggest air show extravaganza known to man!

[JohnnyRingo]

14. Oshkosh?

I'm from Ohio, so I reserve some bragging rights to the genesis, but for at least one week a year Wisconsin is certainly the global heart of aviation. I unfortunately have not been there yet.

I'm also a big fan of the golden age air racing. In the years before the war, the world came to the Cleveland Air Show for speed. Now the air show is just a recruiting drive with the military providing free exhibits.

That's why I'm glad these wings n wheels shows are still around. A quarter mile turf runway is just enough for what I want to see.

[Callalily]

15. Yes. The air shows are amazing!