Sorry I popped off like that. Forgot to mention I was off to a bit of R&R. Three days with the wifes clan and I'm ready for some peice and quiet fighting off Jerry. Always fun to visit but it is equally nice to get home.
Well, I did get to the airshow last Saturday. Had a splendid time but was disappointed with the no show of the Spitfire and a brutal storm that hit the area at about 3:30 pm that day. Shut the whole show down as it wasnt safe to have thousands outdoors in the open space of an airfield during a violent thunderstorm. I saw Sir JR2, had an even more brutal storm to contend with. Glad everyone is ok down there JR2. Anyway, the show..
Favorite plane flown:
Beleive it or not it was not a WWII warbird. It was a 1936 WACO biplane. The damned thing had a 450 hp radial engine AND a jet engine built into it's belly. That thing was incredible. The pilot was a well respected stunt pilot of 40 years. The plane was amazing going over 500 miles an hour. It could climb like the space shuttle, straight up from low altitude to 5000 ft in an instant. He took off using only 20 or so feet of runway. He did all the stunts you would imagine and then in the afternoon his 23 year old son joined him as a wing walker. Now wing walking is pretty cool on it's own but seeing that kid on the wing of that plane with it's incredible speed was something else. To see a biplane perform like that was truely fantastic.
Best flyover:
A Buff, the ageless Boeing B52. They did a low altitude lowspeed pass over the field. Rocked the whole place.
Most exciting for SNAFU:
Sitting in the cockpit of the Hawker Hurricane. What a thrill to look out the windscreen of this aircraft. Having some time in the pit of the Hurri in BoB it was somewhat familiar territory. Things looked about the same from the cockpit. I can see why Sir Bader has such an affection for the plane. It looked tough, rugged, a real warbird. Painted exactly in the camo colors we see in BoB. A real and rare treat (for me anyway) to see a Hurricane up close.
Most disappointing:
No Spit. Dont know what happened as it was supposed to be there but wasnt.
Most Awesome:
The F18 Hornet. Stole the show as far as sheer performance.
Another thrill:
I saw for the first time in person, the badass P38 Lightning. What a great airplane she was. I knew the plane was large but that thing was huge for a fighter, particularly one from WWII. The wingspan is emense. Once seen up close you can get an idea of why it was so lethal. Many US pilots beleive it was better than the Mustang.
Other planes (not limited to):
B25, P47, P51, Zero, Mig 3, P40, F4U
All in all and considering the early shutdown due to the weather I had a great time.
and a brutal storm that hit the area at about 3:30 pm that day. Shut the whole show down as it wasnt safe to have thousands outdoors in the open space of an airfield during a violent thunderstorm. I saw Sir JR2, had an even more brutal storm to contend with. Glad everyone is ok down there JR2. Anyway, the show..
