So today was the day that I was going to the Thunder Over Michigan Air Show at Willow Run. I was hoping it was going to be exciting and for the most part it was. It's always great to see airplanes that I don't often get a chance to see. Anyway, pictures.....
In 1969, there was a war that was fought between Honduras and El Salvador called the Football War because it started over a soccer riot. By this time, the most of the developed world had moved on from jets but not these two countries.
In the last dogfight, Honduras was equipped with Corsairs and they initially defeated the Salvadoran pilots who were equipped with Mustangs that were heavily modified to be more suited to ground attack than aerial combat. A couple more Salvadoran Mustangs joined the fray and defeated the Honduran planes.
The Mustang split off and started to do its own thing. And that was pretty cool because it was doing maneuvers.
A pass.
And another pass. I do like the looks of the Mustang but I'm still more partial to the Hellcat.
The next part was an aerobatic display put on by Kevin Coleman in his Extra 300.
It was pretty cool to watch and he has been a pilot since he was 10. He soloed in 16 when he could and got his license when he was 17.
He flew in a few aerobatic contests and he now flies with Red Bull.
Next up was an F/A-18 Hornet from the West Coast Demo team. This comes from VFA-122 which is known as the Flying Eagles out of NAS Lemoore. The squadron serves as a training and replacement squadron.
I'll have to say that this was a really cool demonstration and the pilot the F/A-18 through its paces.
There was just enough moisture in the air to create vapor trails but it was still pretty hot.
Not a view I would want if I were an enemy pilot.
One of the passes.
After a turn.
This was part of a high speed pass where the plane was flying just under the speed of sound. As you can see behind the wings, it was forming shock waves. We know it didn't hit supersonic speeds because we didn't hear the boom.
And then it pulls up.
I kind of wish it were under afterburners in this picture.
"Because we were inverted".
I think this might have been a high alpha pass where the plane was going as slow as possible.
I like this shot.
And one more pass.
Then they did a heritage flight with a Corsair.
I didn't realize it, but apparently the pilots that do these have to be certified. I guess that makes sense since the F/A-18 is at fairly low speed for it and the Corsair is at a fairly high speed for it.
When you don't upgrade all your units in Civilization.
And since this one as a little different.
Just before the break.
They split the show into a morning and afternoon show. This was during the break between the two. This is a Ford Tri-Motor that the Air Museum picked up a couple of years ago.
Another view of that plane.
This was probably my highlight of the show. More on this one a little later.
The Air Museum's C-47 Hairless Joe. It was taking some folks out.
Landing after taking those folks out.
The museum's Huey helicopter. I love the sound these make.
And they are pretty cool looking too.
One more shot.
This group was called the Jack Aces P-51 demonstration team.
They put the P-51 through its paces but in a pair.
Apparently these have two seats because they are used to qualify pilots on the Mustang. The Mustang is one of the more difficult warbirds to fly and it helps to have experienced pilots teaching it.
This was the Red Bull pilot that performed earlier.
He did quite a bit more in the afternoon shot.
I kind of like this one.
After this roll.
Inverted.
Another highlight of the show for me was a P-40 Warhawk. The P-40 Warhawk was the aircraft that was used by the United States as it entered the war. It also served with many allied nations. In fact, I think the first official US kill was by a P-40 Warhawk at Pearl Harbor.
It was outmatched at the beginning of the war but upgrades were made and it remained a capable fighter throughout the war.
Probably the most famous user of this was the Flying Tigers in China. That was a mercenary team of American pilots. It is said they had some degree of approval from the US Government though.
Another view. It was common that pilots would paint a shark's mouth on it.
This particular plane was known as the American Dream because the pilot came over from Sweden and was able to fulfill his dream.
Another view.
Then there was a team up of a P-51, Corsair and the Warhawk.
It was pretty cool.
But they mostly did passes.
I kind of like this shot.
Then they did individual passes.
Another shot of the Mustang.
It was easier getting shots of the Warhawk during this.
The Mustang.
The Corsair.
The Mustang.
The Corsair again.
The Warhawk.
One more of the Mustang.
One more of the Corsair.
Next up was a demonstration of the HH-65 Dolphin from Selfridge.
I think this one flew from Selfridge and I suspect it might have been busy today because the Port Huron to Mackinac race started today.
They just flew around though.
Normally they would do a rescue demonstration.
But I'm okay with this.
I slowed down the shutter speed to get some rotor blur.
One more shot of that.
This was probably the highlight of my day.
This year is the 50th anniversary of the F-16 Fighting Falcon as her first flight was on January 20, 1974.
This is the paint scheme they used for that first Falcon and I'll have to say it looks pretty cool.
I don't remember if I had a model with this scheme. I'm pretty sure if I did, it would have been a snap together plane with stickers for decals.
I do remember having a fairly old model of one but I don't remember if it was this scheme.
This scheme would be used by Matchbox planes for a few years. I also think there was a plastic toy plane that used this scheme.
I think this was part of the high speed pass but I think the Navy's was cooler because I could see the shock waves.
I'm not sure if that was a function of the plane or that the Navy plane flew closer to the speed of sound. I just know this is called the transonic zone.
I do love this scheme.
This plane came from the Viper Demo Group out of Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina. The used to have one that was painted to look like a viper. It was also pretty cool.
Like I said, the show was pretty fun but there was supposed to be more. They were supposed to have an Airacobra, Spitfire and Wildcat. I get it that warbirds are temperamental but it seems like this happens quite a bit. And given what they charge to get in, they should have contingencies for that.
In a couple months, I am going to the air show in London, Ontario. That has twice the acts at almost half the price.
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