General Ulysses S. Grant

 I was thinking of going somewhere today but I was feeling a little on the tired side.  So that pretty much meant I stayed home.  I really should do a photo a day and I decided to do just that.

I found a figure of Ulysses S. Grant on Amazon and I decided to order it.  It doesn't look too bad, I guess.

Grant was born on April 27, 1822 in Point Pleasant, Ohio to Jesse Root Grant and Hannah Simpson Grant.  He was admitted to West Point and graduated in 1843.  He served with distinction in the Mexican-American War.  He resigned from the Army in 1854 and rejoined in 1861 at the breakout of hostilities.  He won several victories in the western theater of the Civil War.  This was topped by a brilliant victory at Vicksburg and by that, he managed to split the south in half with control of the Mississippi River.  This victory is often overshadowed by the victory at Gettysburg on the same day.

He was promoted to Lieutenant General after his victory at Chatanooga and then was transferred to the east where he led the final campaign against Lee.

After the war, he was elected to terms as President.  He died in 1885.

The Cleveland Air Show - 2021

So we made it to the Cleveland Air Show.  We decided to watch it from the roof a parking garage that wasn't too far from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  It wasn't quite as good as being at the show but it was too bad.  It also meant that we didn't have to walk that much.

We got there in time to catch the A-10 Warthog demonstration.  It was pretty cool to watch this plane go through its paces.

It was painted in the Southeast Asia scheme, this was a scheme that they used in the 1960s.

I'll have to say it is a pretty cool looking scheme.  Makes me wish the Navy would paint a couple aircraft in their 1960s scheme.

Anyway, they were doing all sorts of loops and rolls.

For the most part, it passed fairly close to us.

In a landing configuration.

I love this look.

I seriously hope they keep them around longer.

They had some fireworks set up and they did a simulated bomb run.  That woke a few people up.

A fairly unusual formation.

Another pass.

I like this shot.

One more pass and then it was on to the next part.

Then the Golden Knights started to climb.

I'm not sure what this plane was but it was put through it's paces.

This is an Interstate Cadet used by Jelly Belly.

I think this is the plane they use to land on a truck.

Anyway, it was put through some pretty weird paces.

And then the Golden Knights came down.  It was pretty cool to watch them free fall for a while.

Displaying the POW/MIA flag.

I don't think this helicopter was part of the show.

Some of the Golden Knights coming out of the plane.

They hooked up.

And then they fell pretty fast.

A trio of them.

Their plane returns to land.

This is a Hughes helicopter belonging to the Cleveland Police.  

This was part of the show because I think they use it to get a picture of the crowd.

And then the Thunderbirds came out.

The diamond as it passes by.

Another pass of the diamond.

The mirror formation almost blocked by the Rock and Roll Hall of fame.

I'm not sure what formation this is but it looked cool.

And they get back in the diamond.

One of the solos passing.

After a loop.

About halfway through the show, they lost one of the solo planes, so they couldn't do the delta formation.

Another one of the solos passing.

I kind of like this shot.

The five ship formation.

This one almost looks like it could be the same plane in a maneuver.

And the final pass by before returning to the airport.
 

Some Land and Some Take Off

Since it was 787 night, I decided to head over to Detroit Metro Airport in order to catch the pair of 787s that fly into there.

 As I was arriving at my spot at the airport, I saw that the Royal Jordanian 787 was almost landing.  I couldn't park quickly enough to get a shot of it.  So I ended up going to my spot on the western side of the airport and caught this 737.

 It was arriving from Seattle.

 This United Airlines E170 was arriving from O'Hare Airport in Chicago.

 I wasn't sure what side of the airport the Air France 787 would be landing on, so I headed over to the parking garage on a chance it would be using the eastern runway.  I caught it taxiing.  They are rebuilding the interior runway, so I think that is messing up some of the approaches.

 It was nice that I was able to get some pictures of it.

 In fact, these may have been better than if I could have caught it flying.  As I finished taking pictures of this plane, I knew that the Fed Ex MD-11 would be coming in.  Unfortunately, I saw that one landing as I was leaving the parking garage.

 I then decided that I wanted to get some pictures of planes taking off.  I haven't done that in a while and it would give me some different shots.  I saw this guy lined up on the runway as I was heading to the north end of the airport.  It was 757 on its way to Los Angeles.

 this A319 was on its way to Milwaukee.   In the time between taking this picture and now, it is back in Detroit.

 I'm not sure where it is heading next.

 An A330 on its way to London.  As I type this post, it is almost there, so it is a little over 7 hour flight.

 I guess one thing I like about taking off pictures is that they are relatively clean once the gear is up.

 This A330 was on its way to Amsterdam.  I think after it gets there it will turn around and head to Portland, Oregon.

 A Southwest Airlines 737 on its way to Nashville.  In the time since taking the picture and now, the plane has been to Austin and is now on its way to Las Vegas.

 This MD-81 belongs to the Detroit Tigers and is taking the team to Minneapolis.  I don't think they have to hurry though as the game tomorrow is postponed.

 A Sun Country 737 on its way to Gulfport.

 I like catching these planes because they give a different color to a white sky.

 A 767 on its way to Rome.  I think this flight still has a couple of hours.

 And its gear up.

 A Delta Airlines MD-90 on its way to Philadelphia.  I hear that Delta may be speeding up the retirement of these planes.  Its kind of a shame but understandable since they are approaching 30.

 Another shot of that plane.

 A 737 on its way to Minneapolis.  It might have a rough flight as there is a nasty front heading our way.

 Another 767 on its way to Frankfurt.

 And gear up.

 After I finished grocery shopping, I heard this guy approaching.  Fortunately, I still had my camera with me.

 It is a Chinook helicopter that came from Selfridge Air National Guard Base.

 I was actually happy with my pictures of it.

And one more shot.