Thunder Over Michigan - Part I

So the Air Show was finally upon us.  So I went to the morning show first (obviously).  Once again, they had the drive in format which I think is pretty nice but it makes for expensive tickets.  But part of the reason for the air show is to raise funding for the museum, so I guess that's okay.

First up was the Corsair.

The Corsair was made famous by the show "Baa Baa Black Sheep".  It was designed by Chance-Vought to compete with the higher performance fighters of the war.

It was given the gull wing design in order to accommodate the larger engine and propellor that was used.

It also made a whistling sound as it flew which led to the nickname "Whistling Death".

The placement of the cockpit and the size of the landing gear used to accommodate the engine made it difficult to use on aircraft carriers.

The British figured out a way to do that.

Many of the Corsairs in the United States were used by the Marines as a result.

The Corsair ended the war with an 11 to 1 kill ratio.

I'd have to say it was a pretty cool looking plane but I'm partial to the Hellcat myself.

A shot as it was coming in for a landing.

Next up was the F-100 Super Sabre.

It was one of the first US airplanes to be equipped with an afterburner.

That gave it the capability to go supersonic in level flight.

They were in service from the mid 50s until the late 70s.

Next up was the Hawker Hurricane.

The Hawker Hurricane was the other plane to fight with the more famous Spitfire.

Alot of people think this is the better of the two airplanes.

I think it looks pretty cool and it was basically the workhorse of the Battle of Britain.

I was able to catch the prop making vapor trails.

Another pass.

It was pretty cool to watch.

One more shot.

This is the P-40 Warhawk.  It also saw service in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth Countries.

This is wearing New Zealand colors.

The Hurricane again.

The P-40 Warhawk was designed just before the war.  It was fairly heavily armored and armed.

But it couldn't compete very well with the more nimble Zero except in a dive.

The Hurricane and Warhawk.

Not a view I would like to see if I were an enemy.

Next up was the F-16 Viper Demonstration.

The F-16 was designed as a cheaper alternative to the F-15.  Like the F-15, it has enough thrust to go up vertical when not carrying anything.

That makes it pretty maneuverable.

This particular one comes from Shaw Air Force Base.

It's amazing that this aircraft still looks fairly modern.

It was the first fly by wire plane in the US inventory.  That replaces the hydraulics with electronic signals.

The joystick is mounted to the side.  The seat is at a 45 degree angle to help with violent maneuvers.

The plane is used by many of our allies.

I think it is still going to be used by us for a long time.

I like this shot.

It was moist enough yesterday.

Climbing.

Turning.

Turning tighter.

I really like this shot.

One more.