So, is it Helicopter Week on the Discovery Channel or something? Nearly every submission in this week’s “POTW” file has rotors – from military choppers all the way to gyrocopters. We love a good coincidental theme as much as anyone — gives us a picture of what AVweb readers are interested in this week, y’know — but come on, seriously, did you guys stage this? Out of 108 entries received this week, 66 feature rotored aircraft, and another 12 were taken from the seats of gyrocopters. Nevertheless, our top photo this week comes from James Lawrence of Old Chatham, New York — and while it doesn’t feature any helicopters, it mayjust rekindle an old debate … .
So - is it Helicopter Week on the Discovery Channel or something? Nearly every submission in this week's "POTW" file has rotors - from military choppers all the way to gyrocopters. We love a good coincidental theme as much as anyone - gives us a picture of what AVweb readers are interested in this week, y'know - but come on, seriously, did you guys stage this? Out of 108 entries received this week, 66 feature rotored aircraft, and another 12 were taken from the seats of gyrocopters.
James Lawrence of Old Chatham, New York kicks things off this week with "a beautifully restored P-51 in Provo, Utah reflect[ing] a beautiful mid-afternoon sky." James admits to using some PhotoShop filters, which makes him the first "POTW" winner we've had in a couple of years to apply a digital effect to his photo. The result is "an image that captures for me the mystique of bridging earth with sky through the medium of an airplane."
We'll be sending James an official AVweb baseball cap for contributing this week's top photo. If you'd like a shot at one of these hats, remember: You gotta be in it to win it!
(Comments on the use of PhotoShop filters and "POTW" rules? It's an ongoing discussion we haven't revisited in a while, but if you have opinions to voice, we'd love tohear 'em. Depending on volume, we probably won't be able to respond individually, but we will read all your comments and take them under consideration.)
AVweb continues to receive a large number of excellent images for our POTW contest. Here are some of the runners-up. Due to privacy issues, AVweb does not publish e-mail addresses of readers who submit photos.
Timothy O'Connor of Cincinnati, Ohio sent us a handful of photos from his Twinstarr Autogyro, but this was our favorite - a shot of passenger Connie Brockman enjoying the view over the Ohio River.
Simon Barlow of Manchester, England (U.K.) submitted a nice Huey photo, but had to sideline our helicopter theme when we saw this photo of the "Utterly Butterly" wing-walking team.
(Simon shot this one at the Jurby Air Show on Isle of Man.)
Shannnon Wamsley of Torrance, California writes, "I caught this image as a front-seat passenger the last day of September in Alaska. It was the only day it didn't rain on my trip and the perfect day to fly around Mt. McKinley in a De Havilland Beaver."
Man, you guys always seem to have more fun than we do ... .
Mark Murdock of Griffin, Georgia "had the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation using our back yard as a practice arena over the weekend." And if you think that sounds cool, you should see the rest of the photos Mark submitted. Apparently he spent the weekend riding around in Cobras and eyeing some of the U.S. Army's best toys.
(See what we mean about you guys having more fun than us?)
A Reminder About Copyrights: Please take a moment to consider the source of your image before submitting to our "Picture of the Week" contest. If you did not take the photo yourself, ask yourself if you are indeed authorized to release publication rights to AVweb. If you're uncertain, consult thePOTW Rules orsend us an e-mail.