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The view: Our flight of five Wildcats from #4
The pilot: Chris Schaich
The airplanes: Lead F4F-3, followed by four FM-2s
The mission: Arrive as a five-ship of Wildcats into AirVenture
The memory: Five Wildcats from around the country had gathered up at the last fuel stop on our way to Oshkosh. We briefed the flight and arrival into AirVenture, I was flying as 4 of 5. We climbed up and were transiting an area of broken clouds. At that point we could have been over the Pacific late in the war, no signs of current society to offer a timestamp. Five Cats trundling along through the footless halls of air, I slid out into route spacing to take a quick photo of this extraordinary sight. Looking over my shoulder to see -5 stacked high on me and it was as if we were setting up the thatch weave in anticipation of an unseen enemy aircraft lurking behind the clouds edge. We all agreed a gathering of Cats like this had not happened in many years and who knows if it will ever happen again.
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A lifelong warbird enthusiast, Chris has flown aircraft such as the B-17, B-25, DC-3, P-40, and P-51 through his work with the Commemorative Air Force and Palm Springs Air Museum. He also raced at the Reno Air Races, competing in the Biplane and Sport classes and serving as a pace pilot through 2023.
With nearly 21,000 hours in over 80 aircraft, Chris credits writers like Ernest Gann and Richard Collins for inspiring his aviation path—and his goal of flying 360 aircraft one day.
- Friday Photo: Timeless Wildcats on the Prowl - October 17, 2025
- Friday Photo: Glimpse of Gold - June 27, 2025
- An Icy Saab Story - January 6, 2025
Just majorly FANTASTIC!!! I am SO envious of you getting that opportunity and would give my right arm to be in one of those beautiful planes (not actually, ’cause I would need that arm to control it!), but you get the idea! ;-)
I appreciate your enthusiasm, glad you like the image. You’ve had some interesting features on here as well.