A Parade of Pursuit Planes

Ever since they started to do air shows at Willow Run, they've been getting progressively better.  I think they have been trying to become one of the premiere warbird shows in the nation.  Each year, they get closer to achieving that goal.  For all the planes that were produced in World War II, it's kind of sad that there are so few of them left in flying condition.  That tends to make these sort of gatherings difficult especially since there are other places competing for them.

 First they had a flight of fighters.  This is the group of fighters that flew past.  It was kind of cool to see a formation like this.  I can only imagine what a formation in World War II would have looked like.

 First up was the Corsair.  The Corsair was originally designed for use by the US Navy but the US Navy found it difficult to fly these off Aircraft Carriers.  The Marines loved them for flying from land bases and used them to great effect.  The most famous group being the Black Sheep Squadron led by Pappy Boyington.

 The P-51 Mustang was probably one of the most famous airplanes of World War II.  It is considered by many to be one of the best airplanes of World War II.  It was developed by the North American Aviation Company at the request of the British Government.  Orginally, North Americans was requested to produced another aircraft under license but they decided to build a different aircraft.

 Originally it was built with an Allison engine but that wasn't very effective.  The British sent the planes for a Rolls Royce engine some of which ended up being built in Detroit.  The rest is history as they say.

 The P-51 also used laminar flow wings which meant the air flowed over them fairly efficiently.  This made the P-51 one of the fast planes of the war until the invention of the jet.

 Probably the next most famous aircraft of World War II was the Supermarine Spitfire.  These were used by the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain.  It was a thoroughbread compared to the draft horse of the Hurricane (although some will argue the Hurricane was better).  The Spitfire was a pretty cool aircraft.

 Another shot of the Corsair.  They were also used by the Royal Navy who ended up developing a method of take off and landing so that they could be used with carriers.

 Another view of the Spitfire.

 And the Corsair.

 I'm not sure which one of these is owned by a local man.

 I think this is my favorite scheme because I used to have a model of this one.

 This is one of the earlier models of the P-51, as evidenced by the canopy.  It was pretty good but had limited visibility in the back.

 Just look at the sleekness of the Spitfire.

 Probably the most famous feature of the Corsair is its gull wings.   These were because the designer didn't think it could get high enough for the propeller.

 Another shot of the Mustang.

 Another shot of the Corsair.

 Probably my favorite shot of the Mustang.

And I end with the shot of the Mustang.