BBQs and Birds of the Manufactured Variety

Despite ongoing technical problems with Google stuff, I've finally found a way to post a pic from a recent multifaceted event held at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport in Florida.  Watch for a review in the, hopefully, not too distant future.

70 Years Young

For anyone familiar with central Florida weather, summer afternoons are usually punctuated by rapidly building thunderstorms containing incredible amounts of lightning and rain.  The mornings, however, are generally dominated by great flying weather – blue sky and light winds.  The other day was no exception and your unaware scribe, dropping by Kissimmee Gateway Airport (KISM), was fortunate enough to arrive with only seconds to spare.  The lads at Stallion 51 were returning to their home base from a two-ship P-51 excursion and at least one useable image recorded the event for posterity.

(above) Two North American P-51D Mustangs, N851D and N351DT, are part of the small fleet of working warbirds at Kissimmee Gateway-based Stallion 51.  Both were built in 1944 at the height of the Second World War and converted to two-seat, dual-control trainer configuration during their civilian use afterward.  In this view, N851D roars over the photographer for a short final approach to Runway 15.  Seventy years ago, when N851D rolled off North American’s Dallas, Texas assembly line, the P-51 was making significant contributions to the Allied war effort in the European, Mediterranean, China and Burma-India theaters of operation.  The white and black stripes, shown to advantage here, were identification markings adopted for use on Allied aircraft of all sorts during Operation Overlord.  The largest seaborne invasion in history was launched on 6 June 1944 to liberate Europe and the stripes were still in use in August.

Military Aircraft Formation Teams over Florida

The annual Sun ‘n Fun International Fly-In and Expo was held at the beginning of this month at Lakeland, Florida.  Lakeland Linder Regional Airport has been home to the event since the first fly-in was organized in 1974 and this year continued the tradition of assembling a very large number of aircraft for inspection by large audiences over six days.  The US Navy’s Blue Angels aerobatic team and the US Air Force F-22 Raptor were present but US military aviation was otherwise conspicuously absent as the post-sequester trend continues.  Those who rescue, restore and display warbird aircraft filled some of the void and several formation teams took to the sky with former military trainers.

(above)  Representing the other side in the 45-year Cold War, two groups unite for this flyby.  Leading this formation of prominent Warsaw Pact trainers are two Aero L-39 Albatros jet trainers – N139TB (119) and N239PW (239) – of The Hoppers display team and three Aerostar IAK-52TW trainers flown by the Aerostars aerobatic team.

(above)  The three-ship Aerostars team derives its name from the name of the Romanian firm which continues to produce the Yakovlev Yak-52 primary trainer as the IAK-52.  Available in tricycle or conventional landing gear configuration, this version, the IAK-52TW, derives its variant suffix from the tail wheel clearly visible as N621TW leads N252TW (right wing) and N718PH in a maneuver.

(above)  The North American AT-6 Texan advanced trainer of Second World War fame remains a popular warbird type today and its aerobatic abilities are familiar to millions of air show spectators today.  In this view, the four-plane Aeroshell aerobatic team is caught in a ‘diamond’ turn.

(above)  Known as the AT-6 in Army Air Forces service and the Harvard when wearing the blue, white and red roundels of British Commonwealth air arms, North American’s famous trainer was the SNJ when assigned to US Navy or Marine Corps units.  Six early SNJ-2 aircraft are flown by the GEICO Skytypers for their multiplane, modern version of traditional skywriting and for full aerobatic displays at air shows.  Here they are seen reforming during one of their aerobatic shows.

(above)  They’re back.  After a disappointing 2013 air show season, the US Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron is back in the spotlight with their Boeing F/A-18 Hornets.  The Blue Angels six-ship ‘delta’ formation heads for the midpoint of a roll with the team’s two-seat bird nearest the camera.

Warbirds at Orlando

Several unique and interesting former military aircraft flew into Orlando Executive Airport, Florida for public display between March 20 and March 23.  Most were Commemorative Air Force birds or aircraft associated with that organization and they were part of a CAF tour of Florida communities which began in late February.  The tour is built around the only flying Boeing B-29 Superfortress in the world and celebrates the 40th anniversary of the aircraft’s return to the sky in 1984.

Some accompanying aircraft have been replaced during the six-week tour but all of them help raise public awareness of vintage aircraft restoration and operation efforts, warbird museums and provide a physical link to veterans who flew or supported aviation operations during the Second World War and during the period since that global conflict.  The tour also allows members of the public to experience most of the aircraft in their element during local flights while helping to fund their continuing operation.

The B-29 will return to its home in Texas in early April and is scheduled to embark on a tour of Arizona, California and Washington in mid-May.

(above)  A welcome visitor to Orlando Executive AP was Douglas EA-1E Skyraider N65164 from the Cavanaugh Flight Museum at Addison, Texas.  A stalwart single-seat attack type during the Korean War and Vietnam War, the big Skyraider was further developed to carry out a multitude of roles.  The A-1E, known to US Navy and Marine Corps aircrew before 1962 as the AD-5, was a multiplace version used in the attack role and as a platform for electronic warfare and airborne early warning work.

(above)  This very nice North American AT-6D Texan was also on the ramp.  N36 is associated with the Commemorative Air Force through its pilot, Colonel Tom Malone.  Orlando Executive is no stranger to T-6s as it was a major Army Air Forces base during World War II with at least a few Texans flown by its support squadron.

(above)  The CAF’s Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver is seen taxiing in following a local flight.  The only airworthy example in the world, N92879 represents a design which had, by the end of the Second World War, become the standard Navy scout-bomber.  Although early versions suffered from design, performance and handling flaws, the bugs were worked out on later variants.  However, the SB2C’s reputation continues to suffer at the hands of authors today.

(above)  One of the unsung support types of the Second World War and two decades which followed was the Beechcraft C-45 Expeditor.  The type served in the training, light transport and photo-reconnaissance roles with the US Army Air Forces, US Navy and Allied air arms during WWII and in the postwar years.  This CAF aircraft, N70GA, is a postwar civilian D18S and is painted in the wartime camouflage and yellow markings applied to Royal Air Force training and support aircraft.  The black/white identification stripes were applied to all Allied aircraft operating in the United Kingdom when Operation Overlord – the invasion to liberate Europe – began on 6 June 1944.

(above) The star of the tour for most is Boeing B-29A Superfortress FIFI.  The B-29 was the ultimate AAF heavy bomber of the Second World War and is synonymous with the strategic bombing campaign against the Japanese Home Islands during the last year of the war.  The final blow was delivered by two B-29s – Enola Gay and Bockscar – which dropped a single atomic bomb each on targets in Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively in August 1945 to bring WWII to an end.  A few of the many who turned out on 23 March are seen waiting for a chance to look around inside N529B.

(above)  Complex for its time, the B-29 still requires a good amount of ongoing maintenance over 70 years later.  In this view, FIFI gets a little attention around No. 1 engine following a local flight.