Welcoming the Yankee Lady Back

 As I was putzing around on the computer before going out, I heard the distinctive sound of an old aircraft.  So I looked on Flight Radar and it turned out that it was the Yankee Air Force's B-25 heading out somewhere.  I figured it was heading out to do the flight experience.  So I checked flight radar at about the time it would be returning and I saw that the Yankee Lady was returning from Osh Kosh.  I decided to go out and catch her.

But that wasn't what I was welcoming her back from.

A couple of months ago, I saw a post on the Yankee Air Museum's Facebook page that they were cancelling the Yankee Lady appearances indefinitely.  After some poking around, I found out that they had to send her out for an inspection.

It turns out that it was an inspection that was happening because of an airworthiness concern coming down from the FAA.  Apparently, they are finding that the wing spars of old warbirds are wearing out sooner than expected.  So the Yankee Lady had to get a special test.

I saw that she was out again a couple of weeks ago.  Unfortunately, I couldn't catch her because I was at work.  Nor was I able to catch her as she headed out to Osh Kosh.

Needless to say, I was happy to see her today.  The clouds made for a nice picture taking opportunity.

Especially since the sun was out too.

I'm glad that they fixed whatever they needed to fix.

Hopefully I will see her at the air show in a couple of weeks.

I like this shot.

I was sticking around because I thought that maybe I would catch the B-25 as it was coming back.

Instead I caught this Piper Archer III.

I waited for a bit and then I saw that Hairless Joe was returning.

Hairless Joe used to be Yankee Doodle Dandy before they repainted her.

I guess they wanted her green.  I still prefer the old colors.

She is a C-47/DC-3.

It's amazing that these aircraft are still flying.

In fact, I think there are a few DC-3s that are used in cargo service.

One more shot of her.

The Piper Archer III came back just before I headed out.

Catching a Cool Sight

 So last Sunday, I had to go to my cousin's daughter's (so I guess my cousin), birthday party.  Before heading over there, I heard that the Goodyear blimp was leaving Ypsilanti.  I decided to head over to Willow Run to catch it.  I wasn't sure if I would or not but I was happy when I saw it.

I can't really call it a blimp as it is actually a Zeppelin.  Goodyear's current three blimps were built by the Zeppelin company.  While it is not the same company that built the Hindenburg, it is descended from it.

In 2011, Goodyear confirmed that they wanted to replace their blimps with Zeppelins.

The first one was called Wingfoot One and it was stationed in Popano Beach, Florida.  It was delivered in 2014.

The second one was called Wingfoot Two and it was stationed in Carson City, California.  It was delivered in 2016.

The third one was called Wingfoot Three (this one) and is stationed in Suffield Township, Ohio.  It was delivered in 2018.

The Zeppelin is crewed by two and can carry 12 passengers.  It can fly at a maximum speed of 77 miles per hour.  It can get up to 8,500 feet.  It has a range of 559 miles.

This is a Bombardier Phenom taking off.

Goodyear does not allow the public to ride on the Zeppelins.  It only allows members of the press and people related to the company.  Apparently, they have a contest for their stores on occasion.

As I was waiting for the Zeppelin to take off, Hairless Joe took.  I wish I had my longer lens but this wasn't too bad blown up.

A beam shot.

And then I caught a Sirrus SR22.

And then the blimp was starting to take off.  They could tilt the front propellers to help with liftoff.

It was amazing how effortlessly it lifted into the air.  I suspect the helium had something to do with that.

These look so cool in flight.  And given that there are only 28 of them in the world, that makes it doubly so.

I'm not sure these would have been viable even if the Hindenburg hadn't blown up.  Helium is getting rarer and more expensive to acquire.  There are only a handful of qualified blimp pilots in the United States.

The gondola.  I would imagine it is more spacious than it looks.

I had too much lens on my camera.

She starts to head towards Akron.

One more shot before moving on.

An Air Show of Sorts

 So about a month ago, I got an e-mail from the Yankee Air Museum that they were doing a private air show.  For $250, you could be one of a select few cars to go on their property to watch an air show.  It was a way that folks could social distance.  I wasn't sure I wanted to pay that much to see an air show but I was sure that I wanted to see an air show.

Unfortunately, I forgot about it until I was poking around the planespotter page and someone posted a picture of the grounds.  That of course triggered my memory and I went to a place where I could see the planes.  Given the planes that they were flying, that was good enough for me.

First up was the museum's B-17, the Yankee Lady.

She's a beautiful bird.

The light was perfect where I was at.  This makes me think that if they have another evening air show, they should use their own grounds to host it because the sun would be at people's backs there.

Another shot of the B-17.  I love this plane.

The B-25 made a couple passes.

And then there was the C-47.

The B-17 coming in for another approach.  I'm pretty sure I would not want to see this view in anger.

This is pretty close to being one of my favorite shots for the night.

she passes by.

And again.  Unfortunately, I had many throw away shots but I had enough nice shots for a good blog post.

They started the smoke.  I almost looked like it was having problems.

And the B-17 coming in for another pass.

The C-47, Hairless Joe.  It is nice seeing this plane, but I would love to see a DC-3 in commercial livery.

Another angle.

And probably my favorite shot of the night.

The a P-51 Mustang took off.  Old Crow is a recreation of Bud Anderson's P-51.  He was an ace during World War II.  He is also still alive at 98.  Which I suspect means that he might be the last living American ace from World War II.

And then there was another P-51.

This one is also owned by Jack Roush and is a recreation of a P-51 belonging to Jim Browning.  He was also an ace.  He died in a collision with an Me-262.

Another shot of the B-17.

And another.

And another.  It was a perfect day for an "Air Show"

And the B-25.

I kind of like this shot because it looks like I could have been in a plane next to it.

And the C-47.

The two P-51s in formation.  I think both pilots served in the same unit for a time.

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

Nor this one.

I kind of like this angle.

And this one.

And one more pass.

And climb.

It was pretty fun to see all the warbirds.