One major highlight of the show was an appearance by a Messerschmitt Bf109
fighter owned by a Canadian collector, the first Daimler powered Bf109
I've seen since the
Warbirds Over Wanaka airshow in New Zealand. This is a
fairly early Bf109E "Emil" model rather than the later and slightly more
common Bf109G "Gustav". The black cross on this plane's fuselage
signifies that it participated in the Spanish civil war in the German Kondor
Legion. The Emil has struts on the tailplane like its Me108
forebear and a 1350 horsepower engine rather than the Gustav's 1850 horsepower,
giving a top speed of 560 kph (348 mph) rather than the Gustav's 685 kph
(426 mph).
The Emil's first takeoff at the show started to come unstuck almost immediately, and it
lurched from side to side several times before the pilot could lift the
tail and straighten up. The instability caused by the Bf109's
narrow undercarriage was a major failing, and some people claim that more
were lost in takeoff and landing accidents than were lost in combat.
A trio of P-47 Thunderbolts put on a great display during the show, whether
chasing the Messerschmitt or doing simulated ground attacks during the
battle reenactment, which I don't remember seeing in previous years.
The P-47s also did a dazzling formation flyby, which apparently was also
done last year.
Rounding out the list of world war two propeller-driven fighters, no fewer than
five P-51 Mustangs flew, as well as this far less common P-40 Warhawk.
When I was a boy I made a plastic model of a world war two Grumman Duck floatplane,
so this particular aircraft type has more than the usual amount of emotional
significance for me. I didn't know that any were still flying, so
it was a pleasant surprise to learn that one was due at this show.
I caught it arriving on Saturday but it didn't get much opportunity to
display, apart from a single pass when it departed during the Sunday show.
The pilot might well regret making this pass, since he misjudged his approach
badly and flew straight over the top of the crowd and the static display
area. This is a serious safety violation at American airshows,
so it could well be that he had lots of explaining to do afterwards to
the Federal Aviation Authority. It's certainly an easy mistake
to make in the Duck, because its huge nose, the float and the bottom wing
all conspire to block the pilot's forward vision. This situation
wouldn't have happened if a banked approach around the corner had been
done, which would allow the pilot to see where the crowd is and would also
give a much better view for photographers.
Dr Rich Sugden brought his FJ-4B Fury to the show, the only flying example
of this early American naval jet fighter. I'd seen it flying
only once before, at Oshkosh in 2003, but the layout of the Willow Run
airport provides much more opportunity to bank, so I was able to get much
better photos this year. Nevertheless many people were disappointed
by the display, since he was often too high up and too far from the crowdline
to provide a good view. In fact this is one of the few airshows
where a pilot has been heard to resist an air traffic controller's suggestion
that he should fly lower!
The Fury was a naval version of the classic American F-86 Sabre jet fighter,
though as you can see the Fury was modified so extensively that it was
virtually a totally different aircraft. There are about 15
Sabres still flying, including this beautiful example, whose pilot had
no hesitation about flinging his aircraft around.
The only nod to the fraternity of modern military enthusiasts was a solo display
by an A-10 Thunderbolt II. This was done much closer to the
crowdline than is customary, adding to the excitement and providing some
nearly head-on views as it made its initial run into the airshow "box".
A touch of vapor and those fluffy clouds and blue skies made for a perfect
scene.
The warthog's solo
display was immediately followed by an Air Force "Historic Flight" which
paired the Thunderbolt with the Sabre. On the Friday arrivals
and practice day they did two passes, one with the Sabre nearest the crowd
and one with the Thunderbolt on the inside. Apparently they
decided that it was best to have the A-10 closest because that's how they
flew on Saturday and Sunday. This was probably sensible but
it did detract slightly from the formation to have the rare and small F-86
obscured by the common and large A-10.
The Sabre was complemented by a Russian designed MiG 17 "Fresco", successor
to the MiG 15 "Fagot" which duelled with the Sabre during the Korean war.
The MiG 17 had an afterburner to improve its performance, and the pilot
switched it on several times during his routine, adding an extra dimension
to the display as it loudly cut in and left a long stream of flame in the
aircraft's wake.
This Dassault-Dornier Alpha jet in a German air force color scheme was another
unexpected treat, arriving and departing on Saturday. It's
owned and flown by Bob Lutz, who was a US Marine Corps aviator and is now
a vice chairman at General Motors. He showed that not only
does he have enough good taste to buy an interesting aircraft, but he can
fly the thing too! He did a number of fast banking passes and
left a very good impression on the crowd, some of whom were under the mistaken
impression that they'd just seen a Tornado fighter/bomber!
The Alpha jet is an advanced trainer which was also converted to light attack
duties. There was quite a fleet of world war two training aircraft
at the show, including the ubiquitous world war two AT-6 Texan advanced
trainer. This is an entry level warbird for those without million
dollar budgets, as is the PT-17 Stearman Kaydet biplane. I've
seen enough Texans and Stearmans to make my ears bleed, but the two Stearmans
at this show put on such a spirited display that I had to take notice.
The sharp banking and good shooting conditions made this the best photographic
opportunity I've had with this aircraft type.
The Stearmen were good but my eyes were glued on a single Vultee BT-13 Valiant basic trainer
which flew amongst some T-6s and a Yak 52 Soviet trainer of much later
vintage. The Vultee looks very similar to a Texan but its tail
is different and it also has a fixed undercarriage, which no doubt saved
many a trainee pilot from the embarassment of an unintended belly landing.
The Vultee's performance was also far inferior to the Texan and earned
it the nickname "Vibrator". After the war a number of them
were converted into replicas of Japanese Val dive bombers or Kate torpedo
bombers, just as some Texans were converted into replicas of Zero fighters.
Two American Avenger torpedo bombers flew at the show, this one in a North
Atlantic paint scheme and another one in a rather unusual and anachronistic
pre-war training color scheme.
An excellent collection of world war two bombers was put into the air following
the fighters. It was a real disappointment that "Fifi", the
sole flying B-29 Superfortress was unable to make the show after serious
corrosion was found in its wing, however there was a nice group of three
B-25 Mitchell medium bombers, a reminder of the 2002 show which had six
of this type. As usual the Mitchell pilots threw their aircraft
around very expertly.
As well as bringing eight B-17s together, airshow organizer Tom Walsh and
his colleagues achieved a somewhat similar, but probably easier logistical
feat by having the only two remaining flyable B-24 Liberator variants at
the show. The Collings Foundation B-24, which previously flew
at this show in
the guise of a world war two plane called The Dragon and its Tail,
made its appearance in the color scheme of a plane called Witchcraft.
It made numerous flights during the show with paying customers who were
willing to fork out $400, but perhaps because of these passengers it flew
only flat passes. Previously the whole left side of this plane
was covered with sponsors' names, but now the right hand side is festooned
in this way; however there were plenty of opportunities to photograph the
unmutilated side, both while taxying and flying.
The
other Liberator at the show is actually an LB-30 cargo variant which lacks
gun turrets. It didn't fly on Saturday and it seemed as if
it might stay on static display for the entire show. However
on Sunday it sneaked into the air on a distant runway and made a single
glorious banking pass before departing back to its home base.
One of those fluffy white clouds was hiding the sun as it made its run
in, but a gap provided a brief opportunity to get at least one well lit
photo.
The stars of the show, of course, were the eight B-17 Flying Fortresses which
had been brought together, the only American one which wasn't in attendance
was Miss Angela of the Palm Springs Air Museum in southern California.
The one at the bottom of this photo, "Yankee Lady" is owned by the Yankee
Air Museum and like the B-24 it flew many times with paying customers.
At the end of each day's show all of the B-17s were put into the air, flying
in a wide circuit before forming up together to fly above the audience
in a single stream. Half of them then returned in a "finger
four" formation with one of them pulling up in a "missing man" salute to
fallen comrades. I somehow lost almost all of the photos of
the Flying Fortresses parked on the ramp, but I'll soon put a separate
page of all eight of the Flying Fortresses in the air.
Check out the Yankee Air Museum "Thunder Over Michigan" Airshow in
2003,
2006 and
2007.
