Interlude chapter will be up tomorrow.
Here is a quick photo (cropped video still, actually) from the end of the airshow this past weekend.
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The turnout was incredible. From memory here's what we say fly:
- PT-22
- PT-26
- Erco Ercoupe
- Boeing Stearman (including a Wing Walking demonstration)
- 2 x BT-13
- At least 6 x AT-6 & 1 x SNJ
- FM-2 Wildcat (if you have never heard one of these tearing by full throttle at ground level you are missing out)
- TBM Avenger
- 2 x F4U-4 Corsair
- Beechcraft 18
- B-25J Mitchell ("Paper Doll")
- P-40E Warhawk ("Desert Shark")
- P-40K Warhawk ("Aleutian Tiger")
- 5(!) x P-51D ("Sweet Revenge", "Twilight Tear", "Gunfighter," "Petie 2nd", & "Old Crow")
- P-38L ("Scat III")
Guests of honor were too many to call out individually but the highlight was certainly Christina Olds (daughter of Brig.Gen. Robin Olds) and none other than Col. C.E. "Bud" Anderson himself. Oh! What stories they all told!
We arrived early (an hour before they advertised the gates would open) to get good parking and after having to shelter under a small awning during a brief cloud bust we were let in early. This allowed us, and the first few hundred people there, to get close to the birds while still in the hangars and I was able to get a couple close shots of the P-38 as well as some of their engine displays and a shot-up vertical stabilizer from a Bf-110 which was downed in the BoB.
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Then we grabbed our chairs and claimed our spot down near the far end (beginning) of the flight-line. This turned out to be the perfect location as most of the maneuvers ended up taking place directly in front us (left of the grand stand). Even better, after they towed the A/C out and stacked them up in reverse order for the planned takeoff times, this was my view directly in front:
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The best picture I got was a complete accident. We were eating our lunch, trying to stay out of the wind after the morning rain front passed by and they rolled "Sweet Revenge" out. I snapped a quick picture and couldn't believe what I got--with my phone, no less:
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I couldn't guess at the number of people but one gate attendant said they were expecting up to 20,000 visitors. Bear in mind, all of this was in a town with a population of less than 3,000 people.
Overall, I would say it was a successful day.