Airventure 2011 - Heaven on Earth

I apologize again to anyone following this blog. This year has proven to be incredibly busy and subsequently has forced me to make less and less updates. But...I wanted to stop back in to tell you that the Airventure 2011 music video is complete!

After a total of 22 hours of flying in our 1949 Piper Clipper, my father and I successfully completed another adventure up to Oshkosh, Wisconsin for "Airventure". Airventure 2011, the 59th year of the convention, was the honorary place for celebrating major aviation milestones, events, innovations, aircraft and people. Themes such as the Centennial of Naval Aviation and Air Mail, Tribute to aviation legends Burt Rutan and Bob Hoover, 75th Anniversary of Lockheed 12s, Salute to Quicksilvers, Gathering of Zeniths, Electric Aircraft, Flying Cars and much more. All of these themes, all of the aircraft, and most importantly all of the people take one week out of the year and literally turn Oshkosh, Wisconsin into Heaven on Earth.

Airventure 2011 - Heaven on Earth

Thanks for watching!

SLICK

Summer Break is Here...

...and it's time for some updates! As you know I've been very busy with school, but now that I've gotten that out of the way I'm pleased to present the first aviation music video of the 2011 season!

Centennial of Naval Aviation Shows

This video is a mash-up of my footage from both the South Texas Shootout at NAS Corpus Christi, and the Air Power Expo at NASJRB Ft. Worth. Both shows were very difficult to film due to the incredibly high winds! In fact, Corpus had the most difficult wind conditions I've ever filmed in. None-the-less the video is up!

Also, this summer I'm pleased to announce a new and different project. It's a fairly large undertaking, but I've decided to volunteer our experiences with home-building in order to repair and make race ready the Texas A&M Crew Team's boats for the fall race season. I've been rowing with A&M for one semester, and so far it's clear that some work needs to be done on our equipment. Well, now that we are in the off season it's time to get crackin!



We have two boats to fix over the summer. One of them is an eight man, 60ft fiberglass shell, while the second is a 40ft, four man shell with a wood structure (our forte!)

This is going to prove to be a very busy a rewarding summer! We've got boats to fix, another cruise with the Navy, Pitts wings to build, and of course we will finish everything off with our annual trip up to Oshkosh!

Until next time!

SLICK

2011 Show Season Begins!

Over the past three month hiatus (busy at school), it's time to begin the 2011 airshow/aviation video season! Having only made it to April in this year's video season and I've already attended three aviation events, with the fourth coming up this weekend. So far I've taken video and pictures from my trip to St. Maarten, the Taylor 150 Air Race, and the 2011 South Texas Shootout in Corpus Christi. This coming weekend I travel up to Ft. Worth for the 2011 Air Power Expo at NAS JRB Fort Worth.

For this interested, here is a link to one of the videos uploaded so far this year: St. Maarten

Also, a few pictures from the three events so far:



Over the break I've received a lot of good comments, critiques and suggestions for this year's videos. Be sure to keep up with the youtube channel for future videos. I'm hoping to have the first music video of 2011 put together over Easter weekend!

SLICK

Fi.156

Not much to update, but the Storch is complete. Just click the picture and it will take you to more pics of the completed build.



SLICK

Happy New Year!

First post of 2011!

With the new year brings the completion of some older projects.

A few days ago my father and I knuckled down and finished the Hogbipe model that we started a while back. It hasn't flown yet but the finished product looks very promising. It's fairly large for a biplane too!


Now that the Hog is finished we will be able to clear room on the roll around tables in order to continue with the largest project, the Raven Wings. Soon we will have the rest of the material to complete the lower wings for the Pitts. I'll be sure to keep everyone updated.

Also, I mentioned the new display case. Well here is a picture of the case with a lot of free space for future models. May need another one in the not so distant future.


Also, here is a nice look at the stash. Since this picture was taken a 55th model has been added...the 1/48 Kinetic EA-6B Prowler with aftermarket goodies.


For those interested in reviewing and keeping up with the Storch and Hawkeye builds just click on their respective names and it will take you to the build log pages.

Thanks for looking!

SLICK

Blog Restart

I apologize for how long it's been since the last blog update. I've been incredibly busy at school, but I have been making videos and keeping up with numerous aviation related projects. There are way too many videos to talk about and post links for, but if you care to check out what has been uploaded since the Airventure 2010 review video you can go to my channel here.

However, my latest video will have it's own link. This is my first video with the GoPro Motorsports Hero HD. Unusual Attitudes

I've been busy flying the Pitts, Clipper and MiniMax recently. I've also got a few new models on the table and finished a couple more since the last update. Currently on the "bench" is a 1/48 Tamiya Fieseler Fi.156 Storch in the paint shop, and I just started my Kinetic 1/48 E-2C Hawkeye 2000 in the VAW-120 50th Anniversary scheme. I have also upgraded the display shelf to a display case! Fancy stuff! Now the dust collectors wont collect so much dust!

I'll be sure to keep everyone updated more often.

SLICK

Long Overdue!

Well, it's been another long hiatus since the last update...and this one is long overdue! Three weeks overdue!

Since we've returned from our 8th trip up to the annual gathering in Oshkosh, Wisconsin for Airventure I have put together many videos from this year...and there are still a lot to come. Anyway, I figure my words probably don't do as much justice for this year's event as video. So, without further adieu, here are some of the highlights...in video...from this year; beginning with the traditional Airventure music video.

Music Video

Also check out the "Ten minutes of Airventure 2010", "Vietnam and Classic Jets" on my channel, and my videos from the flight with the "Trojan Horsemen Demonstration Team".

Thanks for looking!

SLICK

T-minus 4 days remaining until we start our ten day journey back to Airventure! My goal for this year is to one up my video from last year...and of course have a really horrible time!

Keep up with the goings on during Airventure here: http://twitter.com/slick_hutto

Also, be sure to look for updates when we return!

SLICK

Government Funded Vacation

Well, I've been gone a month, but I'm finally back from Navy Summer Camp...err. uhm. CORTRAMID.

Over the past month I've spent my time with each community of the United States Navy while they've tried to sell me their respective MOS's in order to get me to join...however, I'm still going Aviation. Nice try Subs, Surface and Marines. Anyway, on to some pics from the adventure!


As you may know, Airventure is just around the corner and I am having a very hard time standing still waiting the remaining 27 days! I'm eagerly preparing all the equipment (aircraft and camera) in order to make this another outstanding trip. Be sure to keep a look out when it's all over for this year's video. I plan on doing even better than last year!!

SLICK

A lot going on!

Well, school has ended, summing up a very successful freshmen year of college and the Corps of Cadets. No longer am I a "fish". Starting next semester I will be a "pisshead" bringing down the hammer on my new freshmen!

Now that summer is beginning there is A LOT in store!!! Not only have I finished the bottom wing ribs for the new Raven wings, the top wing rib kit is currently in production and should be shipped soon.

Also, starting on Thursday I begin a month long journey in Norfolk, Virginia for CORTRAMID East! "Summer Cruise" as it's commonly refereed to, is a four week rotating experience where I will spend a week on subs, surface ships, the Marines and a squadron. It should be a BLAST!!

As far as dust collectors are concerned, I am in the process of painting my 1/48 Hasegawa Harrier. It shouldn't be long before this VMA-513 color bird is finished.

After summer cruise the arrival of Keagan should be next! As my first nephew, I'm really excited to see the new addition to the family.

...and finally to sum up this summer's adventures...AIRVENTURE 2010!! This year should prove to be another exciting 10 days of aviation and a chance to try to "one up" my previous Airventure Music Video.

Keep a look out for updates on all of this and more!

One more thing...SMOKE '14!!

SLICK

SPRING BREAK UPDATE!

Well, it's been another long hiatus since my last update, but it's spring break so I thought I'd post some progress on the myriad of projects we have going right now.

-The Raven wing project is still in full swing...well, moving at a reasonable pace considering I only get to work on the wings when I come home from A&M on the weekends. Anyway, so far I was able to complete six ribs this spring break; bringing the total to thirteen!
-I also decided to start another model to complement the recently completed CH-53E. It's the 1/48 Hasegawa AV-8B Harrier II Plus from VMA-513 Nightmares. The build progress can be found here.

-This spring break was also productive as far as practicing aerobatics. I was able to get a couple runs through the 2010 Intermediate sequence as well as do some film work and airshow routines.


-Some other projects...the Hog Bipe is in a steady state of very close to finished, but not quite, the Clipper has glue drying after repairing a broken stringer, a new engine is being machined, more videos are being planned, etc...

Until next time! And remember...only 127 days to get ready for Oshkosh!

SLICK

Beginning and End

Well, the past couple of days have been pretty exciting! After seven months of work I have finally completed my 1/48 scale CH-53E from HMT-302. The model has received a lot of attention and In my opinion it is my best model to date.


The in progress thread on ARC is located here.
Pictures of the completed model are located here.

Another major milestone tonight was the running of my father's Hit and Miss engine. It was exciting to see the engine turn from a box of metal on the front porch into a working machine!

A video of one of the first engine runs here.

Now, for the beginning! We've started work on my new Raven wings! So far we've made the boards for the lower wing rib jigs and we will soon be assembling the lower ribs!


SLICK

Aviation Warrior Song

Well, after a very long break from videos I have finally finished the next one. The Aviation Warrior Song is a tribute to all the men and women fighting in the armed forces both past and present. There is more information in the video description as well as the meaning of the song used. Hopefully it inspires more people to purchase the song for the good cause!

Aviation Warrior Song

SLICK

Half Million and Counting!

Well, at 0541 this morning, the Airventure 2009 video had 503, 050 views! Another big milestone passed! Who would have thought that just another one of my airshow music videos would have become so popular? I never expected more than maybe 200 views originally...if it were even good enough. Then all of a sudden someone found the video, and spread it around...then it got spread around even more...kind of like that movie "Pay It Forward". The views just took off! It won #77 most viewed on youtube the second week after posting, and #86 most viewed during the month of August. Another interesting fact is that between 2300 last night and 0500 it had been viewed 500 times. Thanks for everyone who has watched the video! If you've missed it, or want to see it again, here is a link:

Airventure video

SLICK

Home for 24 hours...

Back home from school for about 24 hours. Just a little bit of an update. Currently my desktop is in the dorm without any sort of video editing software or camera hook ups...not that I would have any time right now anyway, but video editing is on somewhat of a hiatus. However, on the weekends when I am able to come home, I would be able to edit video if the desktop were here...so...I should be getting a laptop for school soon and the desktop will be back and videos will once again start showing up on youtube. I'll let everyone know when the next video comes out! Keep checking!

SLICK

Not goodbye, but until next time.

This weekend is rather sad or bittersweet, because not only do I leave for college, but our very good friends and neighbors Cassie, Mark, and Clair Harrison unfortunately moved away today. I'll be back with more video, picture and blog updates in the future...and we plan on seeing the Harrison's again as well. It's all for the better. So, this isn't goodbye from updates, but rather.."Until next time!"

SLICK

Few and Far Between

With college coming up the posts on here will become few and far between....as if they weren't already pretty sparse. Anyway, just a bit of an update on the Airventure stuff. The Airventure 2009 video is still doing very well. It currently has 141,803 views...I guess that's pretty good. Because of the video's success the other videos on the channel have been doing very well.

Youtube Channel Link

Also, I have just finished my EAA Airventure 2009 Pictorial Review. The entire review as well as comments can be found here.

Thanks all for looking. I'll try to keep up with this as much as possible...but I can't make promises until I know what to expect.

SLICK

Video...only a tad more popular than I thought...

***UPDATE***At the time of writing this I have just received a youtube honor...something that's fairly close to impossible unless it was shown on TV, someone gets hurt, or it's a music video. This week, thanks to everyone viewing the new Airventure video, it ranked #83 of the top 100 viewed videos for youtube. That mean, out of every video viewed on youtube, the new Airventure video is #83. Thanks again for everyone who watched!

It's been five days since I've uploaded the Airventure 2009 review video, and the view count...ratings...and comments are off the charts. It has exceeded expectations twenty fold! At the time of writing it has 21,633 views. THAT IS INSANE! I was not expecting anything more than maybe 1,200 views...maybe. To quote my father, "It just keeps feeding itself."

The video's fame has also brought the attention of some veteran videographers, XCOR (creators of the "Rocket Racing League"), and AVweb, which plan on hosting the video on their website Thursday.

Thanks again to all those who have taken the five minutes out of their lives to watch the video!

Also, I've been writing a photo essay for each day of the Airventure trip. You can check that out here.

SLICK

EAA Airventure Video and Picture Review

Well, tis year's music video is finally completed! I guess I could talk all about the video but I'll just post some of the comments others have left me:

"Slick, you make tears come to the eyes with this video! Great editing, music, everything is awesome!

-Jim"

"Slick,

You're getting REALLY good at your videography !

Well shot and edited !

Great subject too ...

Thanks and I'm happy you had such a wonderful time ...


Gregg"

"Slick,

WOW! Fantastic video and exactly what I need and will need to get thru the POD (Post Oshkosh Depression)...great memories of what is always the best week of the YEAR! "

Now, without further ado, here is the 2009 EAA Airventure music video.

Also, I have started a pictoral review of the entire 10 day trip which can be found on the model site at this link....LINK

Let me know what you think!

SLICK

10 Days gone, 356 to go!

To say that this year's Airventure trip was a success is a massive understatement! I don't like picking favorites, but it was one of the best! Throughout our ten day adventure plans changed, surprises were to be had, new friends were made and old ones were reacquainted. Over ten days I took nearly 1400 pictures and shot just short of 6 hours of HD video...nearly 11 gigs worth per tape!

After only a nine hour flight we were tied down at Oshkosh by 1330 on Friday July 24, 2009! Because of some weather we had to skip Brodhead this year...maybe next time. Later that day, through the typical airplane talk, we met our camping neighbor Richard Epton. We also caught up with Larry and Jim, whom we met at Airventure 2008. All week we had an excellent time causing trouble with the "Burn Line Nazis", eating at the Vintage Grill, and enjoying an outstanding week at one of the best places in the world! And with only 51 weeks left until next year (can you believe it's that close?) we're already planning our trip!

I'm going to try to have the pictures and vids up as soon as possible. 6 hours of HD video is a bit difficult to work with so bear with me. For now, here are some teaser pictures!



SLICK