This first one is my old pal, the F-86 gate guardian at the base. It's been moved to a nice display platform and restored nicely since the last times I photographed it here and here. It's great to see them finally taking proper care of this long-neglected aircraft.
Here's one of the C-5 galaxy transports of the 167th Airlift Wing that always seems to schedule their flights specifically to boot me off of the runway when I'm out to fly. But hey--they're bigger than my Cessna and they have actual work to do, so who am I to argue.
The business end of the C-5.
Here are some of the other ones that were moved across the field to make room for the airshow displays. They look funny sitting over there...and big.
Here's a smaller transport, a C-130 Hercules. These birds can land and take off from just about any sort of field, even dirt strips. This one came in from Minnesota for the show.
Here's a T-38 Talon trainer. Sweet-looking ride, isn't she?
Here it is from the other side with it's pilot. I was going to talk to the pilot but ran into some friends and never made it back to him before the crash.
An A-10 Warthog up from Ft. Smith, Arkansas. The pilot informed me and several others that it is a myth that the recoil of it's gun slows the plane down in flight. He said that tale came from a crash of one of the prototypes where the gases from the gun made the engines stall, causing the pilot to eject and the test aircraft to crash. That's why these now have those little vertical fins just forward of the wing, to direct gun gases away from the engine intakes.
Here's pilot Scott Yoak flying P-51D "Quick Silver" past the crowds. Beautiful.
As he flew by, you could hear a whistling sound from the air moving over the gun ports in the wing leading edges. My Cessna should whistle like that.
Quick Silver is called “The Resurrected Veteran.” The aircraft is comprised of parts from more than 200 different Mustangs.
The paint scheme celebrates veterans, with every marking a symbol representing something about our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines. This P-51, “The Resurrected Veteran,” is a celebration of our nation’s Armed Forces. Every aspect of the paint represents those who have served and those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.
While the identity of the pilot killed yesterday is still officially unconfirmed, he T-28 that crashed was owned and apparently flown by Jack "Flash" Mangan. His pilot's credentials are impressive. He was a graduate of the USAF Academy, and spent 13 years active duty as an Air Force fighter pilot flying over 2500 hours in the F-15 and F-4 aircraft. His aviation awards include three Meritorious Service Medals and Tactical Air Command's Instructor Pilot of the Year. He has over 4000 hours and held an Airline Transport Pilot and sailplane rating.
When my time comes, I could think of worse ways to go than quickly while doing something that I love.
