@ Madras Municipal Airport, Oregon
August 2015
A dawn patrol of a very different sort rumbles by for an early morning Madras Air-to-Air Experience photo session. This extremely rare Ki-43 Hayabusa “Oscar” is part of the impressive Erickson Aircraft Collection located at Madras Municipal Airport. The Ki-43 was a land-based fighter used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force in World War II. Pilots in the Ki-43 shot down more Allied aircraft than any other Japanese fighter and almost all the JAAF’s aces achieved most of their kills in it. The museum’s Oscar is powered by a 1,200 hp Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp 14-cylinder radial engine, which is close in size to the original Nakajima powerplant. Nikon D300 w/80-200mm Aperture.
