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.
 

The 75th Anniversary of the End of World War II

On this day, 75 years ago, a representative of the major combatants in the Pacific stepped on the decks of the U.S.S. Missouri which was anchored in Tokyo Bay.  They signed the formal documents of surrender and thus ending World War II.  If I remember correctly, World War II formally started on September 2nd after Britain and France declared war on Germany after the German and Soviet invasion of Poland.  The United States would not enter the war for another two years.

Anyway, to commemorate the end of World War II, the Yankee Air Force flew three World War II aircraft across the state of Michigan.  They would take a route that would end over Grand Rapids and then return.  I decided to catch the planes as they returned.

First up was the Yankee Warrior, which is the B-25 belonging to the Yankee Air Force.

The B-25 was a workhorse bomber during World War II.  It is most famous for being the bomber that was used in the Tokyo Raid in 1942.

If I remember correctly, it was also the bomber that was used in Catch 22.

It was mostly used in missions that were too large for fighters but not large enough for the bigger bombers.

Next up was the Yankee Lady.

The Yankee Lady is the B-17 Flying Fortress that belongs to the Yankee Air Force.

It is probably the most famous of the bombers even though it wasn't really a work horse.

But still a pretty nice looking bomber.

And the last plane was the C-47.

The C-47 is the military version of the DC-3 and was a cargo workhorse in the war.

It was also the plane used for many of the parachute assaults.

It is affectionately known as the Gooney Bird.

Catching a Mini Air Show

 As I was finishing dinner,  I heard the distinctive sound of propeller aircraft flying over my apartment.  Since I live fairly close to Willow Run, I figured they had to be warbirds.  I grabbed my camera and headed outside.

The first plane that I ran into was the B-25 known as the Yankee Warrior.

She is one of now five flyable aircraft that are owned by the Yankee Air Museum.

She was built towards the end of World War II, so I don't think she saw any action.

She was followed by the C-47/DC-3 now known as Hairless Joe.  When she was wearing Air Force colors, she was known as Yankee Doodle Dandy and I kind of miss that paint scheme.

Mainly because it was fairly unique for C-47's.  Typically, they are painted in World War II colors like Hairless Joe is now.

I think Hairless Joe is supposed to be replicating a C-47 that flew the China-Burma-India route in Asia.

Another shot of the B-25 as it passes.

And another of the C-47.

This time the B-25 was doing a climbing turn and it looked kind of cool.  It was pretty cool that these planes were flying so close.

And one last shot of Hairless Joe.

I was able to see the B-17 named Yankee Lady but she wasn't in a good photo spot.  At any rate, apparently this was part of a mini air show.  If I had actually gone to the field tonight, I could have seen the Huey and a couple other planes.  Oh well.