Compiled By The Staff of the Aero-News Network

For well over a decade, we have recognized the highs and lows inherent in the general and sport aviation community. There are but a few places where that is more a propos than at a major event like the Oshkosh Fly-In.

It's hard to know what really is going to make a difference and what really qualifies as exceptional unless you've been watching this industry carefully for several years... as we have.

So... here are our picks for the Best and Worst of this year's Oshkosh... and why we think so:

Best Aircraft of Show (Overall): The Hughes H-1 racer. An amazing homage to the dreams of a once-famous aviator, this lavish recreation of an exquisite aircraft left people astounded with its craftsmanship and overt beauty. As you all know via ANN's sad reports, the bird is no more, and the justifiably proud airman who created this apparition died with it. Remember them with fondness and appreciation for the gift they both represented to us all for too short a time.

Best Ultralight: SkyStar Kitfox Lite. 'The little company that could' still does. Although embattled by the many broken promises of a Sport Pilot rule that may never be, SkyStar still serves its customers with distinction and professionalism, with great products that are literally the state of the art in their field. Best of all, the Kitfox Lite, a legal ultralight, is a sweet flyer that promises an owner many, many hours of simple pleasure.

Best "Affordable Flyer:" New GlaStar's Sportsman 2+2. One of the best-designed birds in sport aviation just got a little roomier and more capable than before... and became an even better value. I want one so bad...

Runner-Up: Sonex Xenos MotorGlider. Happy to be toodling along under power or soaring gracefully engine-off, the latest design from John Monnett is a beautiful job.

Best High Performance Kit Aircraft: Velocity XL-5. Roomier than most four-place birds, this baby boasts room for as many as five persons, while boogie-ing along at speeds of 200 knots (or more) and for distances as long as 1000 nm! Better: it's backed up by an amazing company with one of the best customer service records in the business.

• Runner(s)-Up: AeroComp Compair 10XL... the loadlifter of loadlifters... and still capable of 200 mph! Van's RV-10... 200 mph performance and RV manners for the whole family!

Best Rotorcraft: AAI Sparrowhawk. Finally! A company with both the knowledge AND the professional ethics to support the sport rotorcraft industry has made a significant commitment in the form of a new bird that maximizes the gyroplane state of the art. Exhaustively tested and engineered, the Sparrowhawk is a breath-taking addition to a field that has really needed this shot in the arm for a long time.

I Gotta Get Me One Of These: Tim wants a Gippsland GA-8, or a Be-103 amphib, or a Diamond HK-36 motorglider. The more-normal staffers, while conceding these airplanes' merits and practicality, tend toward more-normal airplanes. The Murphy SR-3500 Moose, for instance, or the "normal," though over-powered (grin) Cirrus SR22.

Hottest Prospect (not yet evaluated): Lots of competition in this category but we admit to being turned on, most of all, by John Monnett's Xenos. We're looking forward to playing with this one... a lot.

Best Construction: Morane Type H -- The Morane brothers created a number of remarkable aircraft; the first to really win them international recognition was the Type H, which Roland Garros flew across the Mediterranean Sea on September 23, 1913, a distance of 472 miles. From its polished brass and copper detail, to its novel safety-wiring, this flying replica monoplane looked like it was ready to set more records behind that 80-hp la Rhone. [The original had a 50-hp Morane engine --ed.] Built in 1988, this craft actually did fly across the Atlantic to Oshkosh... in the Airbus Beluga, as part of a five-aircraft exhibit courtesy the Aero Club de France and EADS. http://ajbs.com

Best Certified Aircraft: Cirrus SR20. Chosen as ANN's Plane of the year, the SR20 offers the best bang for the buck we've seen in over a decade.

• Runner-Up: One bird that merits watching is the forthcoming OMF four place. Their Symphony two-place is a doll, and as the company gets its act together for serious serial production and establishes a more comprehensive dealer network, this company and its birds might turn out to be a powerful player within a few years.

Funkiest Aircraft: Beriev BE-103. So funky, this newly-certified Russian amphib is just plane cool.

Best Display Aircraft: Airbus Beluga. What a monster! It looks like the thyroid problem to end all thyroid problems... but the bird was a definite crowd-pleaser as evidenced by the many who flocked to see it and make their way through its cavernous interior. Can you hear the echo?

• Runner(s)-Up: Eclipse's See-Through Eclipse Display. The folks at Eclipse, who have probably answered WAY too many questions about how the Eclipse 500 was to be put together, took a partially-completed conforming airframe off the line and showed it off to one an all. This quieted quite a few of the naysayers as they began to get a clue about how this bird was coming together. It's going to be beaut...

Best Powerplant: Superior Air Parts XP-360. A experimenter's four banger, this engine is exciting homebuilders for the many ways that it can be customized to suit one's needs, as well as the quality componentry that makes it up, at prices that demonstrate the cost of certification paperwork.

Best Airshow Performance: Jimmy Franklin's jet Waco biplane. The way it came down was wild, the way (and the way it sounded) going up was something one is NOT likely to forget.

• Runner(s)-Up: The Stars of Tomorrow. While poorly-promoted and hard to get much cooperation in covering, this is a worthy concept that deserves to be repeated... and promoted better.

Best Avionics - General: Avidyne Entegra. Virtually taking over the electronic display market in the GA market, this company has made ALL the right moves in bringing cockpit information and display technology WELL into the 21st Century and setting a market that others are going to have to work hard to compete with. Best of all, they got it all right for a first major product intro of this magnitude... we are blown away with the Entegra.

• Runner-Up: Sierra Chelton Synthetic Vision/Highway In The Sky. Possibly the most technologically-advanced EFIS system out there, this system has the distinct advantage of being sized and proportioned in a way that makes it a GREAT panel retrofit... something that's FAR more difficult to do with the aforementioned Entegra. If better-marketed and promoted, the Sierra Chelton EFIS system could take on a leading role in bringing today's cockpits into the 21st century. This system is beautifully executed and HIGHLY recommended by ANN.

Best Avionics - Portable: ControlVision's AnywhereMap (Repeat Winner). As usual, their booth was jammed all week, up until the last minute of the show. This iPAQ-based flat screen does everything, and better than just about anything else -- and all the functions -- moving map, attitude, terrain, airport directory/flight planner, "zoomable" up to Shuttle altitudes, and down to ultralight levels -- we can't think of what it WON'T do... Best of all, they keep adding capabilities and functionality to this system...

Best Accessory - Electronic: Onboard Weather Reporting/Displays (No Matter Who The Provider Is). No matter the brand or system, the addition of real-time, on-demand, weather display technology is doing amazing things for the safety and practicality of private flying.

• Runner-Up: CO Guardian. Their new multi-function Carbon Monoxide Detector, Model 552, was introduced at Oshkosh. Though the primary function of the unit is to monitor CO levels from 30 to 999 ppm, providing an audible alarm if the count rises above 50 ppm for more than five minutes, there is a whole lot more to this diminutive collection of computer chips and sensors. The Model 552 also features a 12-hour and 24-hour format clock with the additional capability of automatic flight timing and stop watch functions. Add to that pressure sensing that triggers an alarm when cockpit pressure reaches 10,000' and again after 30 minutes above 12,500' or upon reaching 14,000'. The 85 db alarm can easily be heard, even with noise-canceling headsets in place. There is also a built in tone generator for audio panels, which gives additional peace of mind. The system keeps track of aircraft voltage, sounding an alarm if levels exceed high or low levels for the aircraft. A built in temperature probe and an outside temperature probe keeps track of both types of data. The instrument also calculates density altitude, providing readouts on the ground for takeoff analysis. RS232 output, CO level, cabin pressure and temperature may be displayed on an UPSAT CNX80.

Best Accessory - Safety: BRS whole-aircraft emergency parachute systems. Over a hundred and fifty sport pilots are alive due to BRS systems and one Cirrus flyer can now say the same. With OMF adding such safety systems to heir birds, it's great to see the BRS dream really beginning to take hold... and the aviation world becoming a safer place.

• Runner(s)-Up: Para-Phernalia Parachutes. We know of whence we speak... the Para-Phernalia line is the best line of emergency parachutes we know of, and if you don't believe us, ask Len Fox... who just used one to save his bacon when a test flight went awry... 

Best Book or Video: AEA's Pilot's Guide to Avionics. This brand-new guide is a comprehensive, four-color beauty that features numerous articles aimed to help pilots make better buying decisions in the field of avionics. The colorful, spiral-bound guide is to be an annual publication, and includes a detailed section of technical descriptions of avionics, and a directory of government-certified avionics and instrument shops. This thing is a winner.

Best Accessory - Powerplant: Aero Advantage dual rotor vacuum pump. Designed to provide an instant backup for vacuum pump rotor failure, the pump is designed to replace original vacuum pump in most Lycoming and Continental engines. Two models of the pump are available, ADV211CC for counterclockwise rotation and ADV212CW for clockwise rotation. At Oshkosh, the company also introduced its low-profile model, that makes the dual pump available for STC applications where the firewall used to get in the way. Cool idea.

Best Event/Exhibit Of Show: Three cheers for NASA, who's interactive and educational displays, booths and enthusiastic participation made Oshkosh an amazing event for the younger set, as well as we elder adult-types. I was truly impressed with the effort NASA made, not only to explain their mission, but to explain aerospace and aviation properties, programs and technologies to one and all. VERY well done... 

ANN's MVP: Kevin O'Brien. Just back from a short vacation to sunny Afghanistan, courtesy of his UNCLE SAM, Kevin really put his all into covering Oshkosh and demonstrated the kind of enthusiasm, professionalism and expertise that we at ANN strive for. Best of all, Kevin is something of a nut and a truly cool guy to hang around with.

FMI: www.airventure.org