john@newave.mn.org (John A. Weeks III) (05/13/91)
From: john@newave.mn.org (John A. Weeks III) I finally located a listing of air show dates for this summer and fall. Here are three places to look: Most complete list: Airshow International, an Air Progress Magazine special edition. Complete through June: Air Classics Magazine, June 1991 Incomplete but very helpful: Private Pilot Magazine (monthly) The following information is taken from these three magazines plus my personal contacts. Please don't feel slighted if I did not list your favorite air shows below, I base my opinions on past visits, magazine write ups, awards, and word of mouth. All of the shows that I list below are worth traveling great distances to see. There are many more air shows, in fact, hundreds of them. Pick up copies of the above mentioned magazines for more details, contact info, and locations. One show that I have to plug: Eden Prairie, MN - May 25-27 - Planes of Fame (East) annual airshow featuring the museums extensive collection of flying warbirds, EAA participation, the flying debut of "Aluminum Overcast", the EAA B-17, and several visitors from Chino CA (Steve Hinton, and a plane or two from Planes Of Fame West, and hopefully Dick Rutan). The "Big Five" Shows: High On Kalamazoo - June 8-9 - the Grumman Cats, Kalamazoo Air History museum, CAF Tora, Tora, Tora show, F-14 SuperTomcat demo, Golden Knights, Silver Bullet Jets. This show got my vote as the show of the year last year (A-10 demo, F-15,16 demo, Blue Angles, F-14A+ demo, F-14 SuperTomcat demo, KC-135 tour, P-3 tour, Il-76, Mig-29 vrs F-14 flyoff, F9F Panther, Grumman Cat formation flybys, and C-130 JATO takeoff were amoung the highlights). Aerospace America '91 (Oklahoma City) - June 14 - Extensive military and commercial display, Tora, Tora, Tora show, T-33 aerobatics, warbird bombing dispaly. Air show is combined with an annual aircraft auction and aerospace technology show. Last year's show featured the An-225 and Su-27's. Wings Of Eagles (National Warplane Museumn, Geneseo, NY) - June 16-18. Last year's largest gathering of WWII bombers & coolest smoke rings. This will be the largest gathering of warbirds east of the Mississippi in 1991. Brekenridge TX - May 25-26 - 14th annual Brekenridge Airshow featuring over 125 warbirds including Howard Purdues Corasirs, West Texas CAF wing, and warbirds from around the US & Canada. If you like warbirds, this is the show to see (too bad Brekenridge is so far from anywhere and has almost no accomodations). Confederate Air Force - Oct 11-13 - CAF Ghost Squadron Airshow featuring the warbirds of the CAF flying history book, WWII air power display, variety of modern military hardware, numberous military flybys, warbird aerobatics, and air show perfromances. This was a _fun_ show last year, and they even had reasonable prices on the concessions. NOTE- the show is in Midland TX this year, not in Harlingen. The CAF has moved to Midland because of the salty air near the coast was damaging the planes. Here a few shows to watch for: London Ontario - June 1-2 - rumor has it that this was a great show last year, and an extensive list of foriegn military participation is scheduled for this year, including an extensive display by the Soviets. This years theme is helicopters and special mission aircraft. Expect to see some unique planes at this show. St Louis - June 8-9 - a gathering of vintage planes are expected at the annual Vintage Aircraft Days sponsored by the St Louis Aviation Museum. This looks like a good chance to see some really old planes. Hamilton Ontario - June 15-16 - billed as the largest flying warbird display in Canada. Dayton, Ohio - July 20-21 - Last years show was mostly rained out, so look for this years show to be bigger than ever. The them will be the 50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Abbotsford Brithish Columbia - Aug 9-11 - Annual Internation Airshow features extensive Canadian military displays, Snobirds and Thunderbirds, and warbirds. Everett Washington - Aug 17-18 - Always on of the top airshows, this years show will feature US, Soviet, Canadian, and other foriegn military aircraft. Palmdale CA - Oct 6 - Edwards AFB Military Dispaly and Open House. Look for many unusual planes, test planes, and military displays. Houston Tx - Oct 26-27 - Wings Over Houston. Displays by the CAF, WWII air battle re-enactments, Combat Jets Squadron (they flew the F-104 last year), and the Thunderbirds. World-Class Air Shows: Paris France - June 13-23 - What more does one have to say... remember the Soviet Ejection Seat display a few years back? Cambridge England - July 14 - Duxford Classic Flying Display, billed as the premier aerobatic and formation flying event. Oshkosh Wi - July 26-Aug 1 - 39th annual EAA show, the largest in the world. Be sure to join the EAA in advance of the show to get access to the flight-line. Cambridge England - Sept 15 - Duxford '91 Air Display. The finest display of flying military aircraft, warbirds, and antique airplanes in Europe. -- John A. Weeks III (612) 942-6969 john@newave.mn.org NeWave Communications, Ltd. ...uunet!tcnet!newave!john
smpod@ariel.lerc.nasa.gov (05/14/91)
From: smpod@ariel.lerc.nasa.gov john@newave.mn.org (John A. Weeks III) writes... > Aerospace America '91 (Oklahoma City) - June 14 - Extensive >military and commercial display, Tora, Tora, Tora show, T-33 aerobatics, >warbird bombing dispaly. Air show is combined with an annual aircraft >auction and aerospace technology show. Last year's show featured the >An-225 and Su-27's. I went to this show once and was impressed. You're close enough to the ole (read: prop) planes that the ground crew have to chase you out of the aircraft path when the're taxying out to the runway! I got to talk to a Red Flag instructor who evaluated the various 'opponents' that he flew against with his F-16. > Brekenridge TX - May 25-26 - 14th annual Brekenridge Airshow >featuring over 125 warbirds including Howard Purdues Corasirs, West Texas >CAF wing, and warbirds from around the US & Canada. If you like warbirds, >this is the show to see (too bad Brekenridge is so far from anywhere and >has almost no accomodations). Another good show for CAF warbirds but as you say, it's in the middle of nowhere. > London Ontario - June 1-2 - rumor has it that this was a great >show last year, and an extensive list of foriegn military participation >is scheduled for this year, including an extensive display by the Soviets. >This years theme is helicopters and special mission aircraft. Expect to >see some unique planes at this show. Went last year and was pleasantly surprised. It was some anniversary of NATO so they had three or four Tornados, a dozen or more Phantoms from various units including Luftwaffe aircraft, the tanker version of the Comet, CF-5s and possibly a Alpha jet. A British Tornado pilot was helpful enough to remove a fairing from the aircraft and explain the operation of the cannon! I think the show also had a flying Spitfire IX, Hurricane and Venom. > Dayton, Ohio - July 20-21 - Last years show was mostly rained out, >so look for this years show to be bigger than ever. The them will be the >50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. The only thing that I hate about this show is that you are forced to park miles away from the show and either stand in long lines to take a bus or walk after waiting in frustration. Therefore you can't easily take lots of food and drink. One show that you don't mention is the show in Waco, TX which I consider one of the better shows. They usually have the Concorde present along with tons of CAF aircraft and the usual transport a/c, e.g. C5B, C141, C130.
dewi@praxis.co.uk (Dewi Williams) (05/17/91)
From: Dewi Williams <dewi@praxis.co.uk> john@newave.mn.org (John A. Weeks III) writes in his excellent summary: > Cambridge England - July 14 - Duxford Classic Flying Display, billed >as the premier aerobatic and formation flying event. > Cambridge England - Sept 15 - Duxford '91 Air Display. The finest >display of flying military aircraft, warbirds, and antique airplanes in >Europe. Both shows are well worth attending, although the billings seem to have crossed over here - the *real* show for warbird gurus is the Classic Fighter Display on July 14th (the September event is still pretty good though - because of my instructing committments I'm only planning to attend four or five airshows this year, and *both* the Duxford events are on my list). Last year's CFD ended with a huge formation which comprised: P-51 * 4 Spitfire * 4 Hurricane P-40 BF-109 * 2 Yak 11 * 2 Corsair * 3 Bearcat Sea Fury Mitchell Invader Tigercat Mosquito TBM Just imagine the noise... Dewi Williams.