OFF TO OSHKOSH, BY COSH

Seems like every year more and more folks come winging in from Lord knows where-all to show off their fancy flying machines, everything from genuine antiques to newfangled aerial hot rods, all of them setting down smack in Wisconsin for a get-together that is part air show and a lot of picnic. When they're not cutting up above the field, like the Pitts Red Devils team at right, they're parked and polished for everyone to admire—1,389 planes were displayed at last year's silver anniversary fly-in of the Experimental Aircraft Association. As the pictures on the following pages show, building a plane of your own is fun and flying it is better; but for some enthusiasts showing it off is best of all.

Looking like drop-ins from a sci-fi movie, the VariEzes (left) represent the future, while familiar warbirds like the toothy P-40 and the 1911 Curtiss Pusher recall flying's past. That's 72-year-old Dale Crites below, piloting his 67-year-old biplane.

In stepped-down right echelon, a P-38, an FM-2 and a P-51 keep Wisconsin safe for democracy, while fans admire a Starduster Too, custom-built award winner.

SIX PHOTOS

HEINZ KLUETMEIER