It is not often one gets a chance to see eight B-17 Flying Fortresses gathered together in one place. Toss in to the mix a B-24 Liberator and a few early model P-51 Mustangs and you have yourself a once in a life time event or once in several year event. That was the attraction of the 2010 Thunder Over Michigan Airshow put on by the Yankee Air Museum. My weekend started very early Friday morning. I had a nine hour drive to  Michigan and I wanted to get there early enough to catch some of Fridays arrivals, practices and catch up with many of my airshow friends. After several hours running around the airport to be at the active runways sunlight was fading and dinner was calling. To our dismay the Outback Steak House we normally eat at was out of Business. So we relocated to Johnny’s on Bellville lake.  Good food, local brews on tap  and great views over looking the lake. After far to little sleep it was time to head out for the early morning photo tour, which check in started at 6:20am (my Central time zone body was not happy about this because it was 5:20 to me). But when the line of eight B-17s and 1 B-24 came into view it was all worth it and lack of sleep was not longer a thought. The weather and show Saturday was great. One down side of the show was that the B-24 had to land and not fly for the show due to a mechanical problem.  But the eight b-17s did countless passes which was a great treat before gathering up for a loose, very loose, formation flyover. This was followed by a Missing Man Formation with 3 B-17s and P-51.  The other high light of the day was getting to see a F-100 Super Sabre fly. Not to many opportunity to see that.

Sunday once again started very early and with little sleep. that day there would only be 7 B-17s on the lineup. Texas Raiders was having some gear problems that need to be addressed before it left for a Veteran Reunion in Nashville, TN. Once again we witnessed an incredible performance by the Horsemen, a P-51 acrobatic team, John Mohr in his Stock Stearman, and the F-100. The Bomber flight also had a added bonus. The Collings foundation crew got the B-24 fixed and was going to give us a special treat. They had a M2 .50 cal machine gun ready to shoot blanks why flying over the mock battle going on. Being warned about this happening I was ready to try and get some pictures of the muzzle flash. Needless to say I took a tone of pictures and only got one shot with the flash in it, but I got it.

Once again the Yankee Air Museum put on a great show and I had a great time. Next year should be another can’t miss year. I can’t wait to see what the Navy and YAM has in store.

Pictures of the weekend:

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Sunset over western PA's Vineyards and Lake Erie on the return trip from Geneseo, NY

On the way home from the 1941 HAG airshow at Geneseo I decided to take a short side trip to see the progress of the continuing restoration of B-17G 44-85813 at the Champaign Aviation Museum AT Grimes Field in Urbana, Ohio. The B-17 Flying Fortress known as “Champaign Lady” is undergoing restoration to fly. It will take another several years but the work that has already been done is staggering if you consider what the group started with.

B-17G 44-85813 Champaign Lady

B-17G 44-85813 Champaign Lady

The jig to start building the Radio Room from scratch had been built and the construction was well under way. Some parts, like the radio room, of the aircraft are missing and have to be made from scratch or parts from other airframes need to be used to complete this aircraft. My wife and I received a in-depth tour of the restoration building from an gentleman named Ward ,  I could be mistaken about his name, and heard many story’s not only of the restorations but also his time in the Navy during the Korean War. Even thought there was lots of work to be done on the aircraft and they were getting ready to move the whole operation to the main museum hanger everyone was very friendly and we were made to feel welcome in the shop. It was a great stop and well worth the side trip to see it. Click here for more pictures

B-17G 44-85813 Champaign Lady

The second weekend in July is one of my favorite times of the year. In fact I’m looking forward to it the 2011 show already. What makes this so special is not only the 1942 Historical Aircraft Group (1941 HAG) but the War Bird Information Exchange has one of its largest gatherings during this weekend. Over the years some great friendships have been formed and as we gather at airshows those bonds only get tighter. The weekend starts a little after noon on Friday and general ends late Sunday afternoon. It is a great experience to get to the show early in the morning and hang on the field with old friends and new friends late into the night. Watching the sunset on a turf field is something that must be experienced.

There is a feel to this show that is unlike any other I’ve heard of, it is like a family reunion in the best kind of way. Oh, yes I should talk about the aircraft too. It is almost all WW2 aircraft, ranging from trainers to four engine bombers and everything between. They fly all day and generally after the show pilots take full advantage of the last days light to get some more flying in. I now have to drive 13 hours to get to the show and it is every bit worth the trip. It is the great show on Turf!

Check out pictures here

Friday and Saturday

Sunday

Just before 1 pm “Skyboss” arrived and made a few passes before landing followed shortly by “Marines Dream”. Tom Duffy flying Marines Dream made an incredible carrier approach to the runway and landed. It had to be one of the coolest landings of a Warbird I’ve seen. With the last corsairs on the line and parked it was time we made a run for the gate to head to Spencer, MA. I was sad to leave before the mass Corsair flight but more happy to have been able to spent the morning at the event. More Pictures of the Event can be viewed here: Corsairs Over Connecticut Gallery

The next morning it was off to Cades Cove to make our way to the trail head to Gregory Bald. Due to a road closure we would be taking the longer route to the bald which was fine with me as I wanted to at least once make the complete route around the cove. On our way in we say several deer and one bear that was having a feast high up in  a tree. Due to the sun and me learning my options with the new camera it was just OK shooting.

After getting run off by ranger it was off to the trail head. It was a great hike to the top. There were not many views on the way up which was fine because when we finally broke the tree line it was an incredible view that was only magnified by the clear cool day. The wind on the other hand made it a bit chilly. It was not hard to stand in awe of such a beautiful site.  We moved to the the south side of the bald with less wind exposure and ate lunch. It was time to head down and face the drive out of the park and head home. On the way down we had a coyote cross our trail. One of the few times I’ve ever seen a coyote in the woods. When we reached the car and headed out of the cove we were greeted by traffic.  It seemed a bit funny to be hiking for about 12 miles and see next to know one then be stuck in traffic only minutes after getting back into the car. I have to admit I love the fact that so few people while in the Smoky Mountains get more than a few hundred feet from their car. It makes the experience for hikers so much nicer. Check out more photos in the gallery section.

Click Here for Gregory Bald Pictures

Flint, Christy Nathan and Kelly

I took a trip out to Asheville, NC with Undue Favor to kick off their tour up to the Northeast last weekend. They played at a church called The River. We all had a great time of fellowship with everyone at the church and it was encouraging for me to be able to talk with several people including the pastor about what they they are doing there and were the Lord is leading them. They have a great ministry starting up there and I think the Lord will bless it in a big way. The Friday night show was opened by Flint Zeigler. He is a great story teller and a very talented musician and songwriter. I Can’t wait to hear his next project which he should be starting soon. Undue Favor went on after Flint and played a great set of music off their new CD “Ages Pass” and their first CD “Life Amazing”. I was able to try out the video function on my camera and I hope to be able to post some video at some point. I’m still  figuring out the whole video thing as up to this point I’ve been stuck in the still world. Saturday morning Kelly and Christy were interviewed for a TV show that the River puts together on Christian Artists. I’ll be sure to post a link when that is to air. More pictures and video to come!

Find out more about Undue Favor @ www.UndueFavor.com

As other friends had a few run ins with base security and the local police we started to get worried that we could not get into position for the takeoffs and mass fly over planned for the afternoon. We decided to find some off road parking and walk into position, that way we were not parking on the road and blocking traffic. After scoping out the area and watching security it looked like our plan was going to work.  Now it was just a matter of waiting until the time for the launch. As the time approached more and more people packed in next to the end of the runway and the police

seemed to give up trying to move them. Then one by one each aircraft departed the runway and flew off to join up for a flyover the Doolittle Memorial on the museum grounds. For more photos from the weekend check out the galleries.

]]> http://www.tailhookstudio.beaconartistlounge.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=74 0 http://www.tailhookstudio.beaconartistlounge.com/blog/?p=63 http://www.tailhookstudio.beaconartistlounge.com/blog/?p=63#comments Tue, 27 Apr 2010 03:04:54 +0000 admin http://www.tailhookstudio.beaconartistlounge.com/blog/?p=63

After 2 hours of sleep I hit the road at 12:30 in the morning so that I could reach Dayton Ohio just in time for the 17 B-25s to start landing at the Air Force Aviation Museum. I had my Zingers, case of Sun Drop and coffee and I was ready to hit the road.  Mapquest failed to inform me of a closed exit due to construction and I had to take a 1/2 hour detour. I was able to find a spot on final approach and get some great shots of the last half of the aircraft coming in. As soon as the last aircraft landed I moved to the museum property to meet up with Chris and Zack and any other WIX members I could find. I moved on just in time because the police was kicking everyone out of the area I was just at. After breakfast we moved out to start looking over one of the largest gathering of B-25 Mitchell Bombers in 50 years. Moving among the crowds of people were the four attending Doolittle Raiders that were able to attend the event. THe Doolittle Raid  was the first attack the United States made Japan during World War 2. I can’t do the whole story Justice here but their story was captured in the movie 30 Seconds over Tokyo.  It will give you a great picture of why after 68 years these men are still be honored in such a way.  IT was a incredible sight to behold a line up of 17 B-25s. But like all good things the day at the museum had to end.  After leaving the museum  we scoped out an overlook of the airfield so that we could get some shots of the aircraft in the morning with perfect light. But this was after a slight detour through an open gate. This detour allowed us to get some shots of the B-25 taxing before being kicked moved by the police (this was going to be a theme of the day tomorrow).The evening was to hold a special treat as far as vintage aviation goes. I’ll post about that in the next few days as well as upload pictures of the first day at Dayton.