Indy Transponder 27-MAY-2014 1700z

Snowbirds landing in Portage - Portage Daily Graphic | The Canadian Forces Snowbirds Demonstration Team are ready to wow Portagers with an all new routine they will be performing at Southport on June 4. There is plenty to look forward to from the routine this year, including several new manoeuvres, said Capt. Morgan Strachan, opposing solo who flies Snowbird 9...

Snowbirds performing in High River - Western Wheel | High River residents will want to keep their eyes on the sky July 23 when the iconic Snowbirds aerobatic demonstration team is scheduled for a performance over the town. The pilots synchronize their jets and maneuver them into more than 50 different formations, incorporating up to nine jets in the display as they perform...

Warbird Weekend fundraiser set for May 31 · General Aviation News | GRANGEVILLE, Idaho – Food and music will be part of an event set for Saturday, May 31, to help raise funds for Warbird Weekend. The event runs from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Twisted Cellar on Main Street in Grangeville. Offerings will include sliders for $9, along with varying costs for beer and wine. Kim Johnson will host music bingo (participation by donation). Participants play by hearing a musical selection and marking their cards with the correct artist and song title....

Making air show fly takes volunteers - Daily Inter Lake | It takes a lot of people to make an air show happen. The volunteer corps needed for the Mountain Madness Air Show Aug. 30-31 featuring the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds is 1,000 people willing to do what it takes to make the show flow...

Red Arrows To Perform at LegenDerry Maritime Festival - Afloat | The world-famous Red Arrows will take to the skies over the North West Coast of Ireland at the end of June with their display of daredevil aerial manoeuvres, to bring a spectacular close to the 2014 LegenDerry Maritime Festival. Brought to the North West by a partnership between Donegal County Council, Limavady Borough Council and Derry City Council, the RAF Red Arrows will perform their thrilling flying display as the stunning send-off to the Clipper 2013-14 Round the World Yacht Race on Sunday 29th June 2014...

Steam Plant Fly-In canceled · General Aviation News | The Steam Plant Fly-In in Gallatin, Tenn., scheduled for Sumner County Regional Airport (M33) on Saturday, June 21, has been canceled.

Airshow Report – Wings Over Illawarra 2014 Airshow * Warbirds News | The annual Wings Over Illawarra air show took place on May 4th, about sixty miles south of Sydney, Australia. For the first time since 2007, the flying program was nearly blown away. Strong and nearly constant winds hung around the New South Wales southern coast all day and unfortunately affected the air show, limiting the flying program due to the heavy crosswinds. Many in...

Thirsty warbirds need juice at Wings, Wheels, Rotors & Expo 2014 - Orange County Breeze | The 13th Annual Wings, Wheels,  Rotors & Expo, a popular regional event, is fast approaching. This year WWRE is on Sunday, October 26, on the flightline at Los Alamitos Army Airfield. Among the many activities, functions and displays, will be numerous vintage aircraft and military warbirds. These warbirds are classic military aircraft, mainly from the World War Two era but some from other historical flying times...

World War II bomber to land in Montrose - Montrose Daily Press | A visitor to the Montrose Regional Airport is making a special appearance on June 5 — the “Maid in the Shade” B-25 bomber plane restored from its World War II service, will be on display to the public. The authentic, battle-proven plane flew 15 combat missions over Italy, Yugoslavia and Brenner between Nov. 4 and Dec. 31, 1944. Now, having changed ownership more than a few times, the place is in the care of the Commemorative Air Force and invites cockpit tours, photos and even passenger flights...

Sky's no limit for Matt Hall - ABC Online  | Flying must be in Matt Hall's blood - his grandfather flew in World War II, his Dad was into aviation too, so it's no surprise that from the time he was very young Matt wanted to fly. He did so in spectacular fashion becoming a fighter pilot in the Air Force, later a Fighter Combat instructor and even had stint flying with the US Air Force in Iraq - ending his career as a Wing Commander.

Oxcart * The Lexicans | In wandering down assorted internet rabbit holes, I came across a couple of historically interesting articles about the A-12/SR-71 series of aircraft. The first was from the April, 1964 issue of...

Douglas A2D-1 Skyshark  * Let Let Let - Warplanes | With the Douglas AD-1 Skyraider operational shortly after the end of the Second World War, the U.S. Navy was already interested in a successor. Because the jet aircraft of that time still had an excessive fuel consumption, the turboprop engine was regarded as a very suitable alternative; in particular for flying at low altitudes....

Tucson in 100 Objects — the 'boneyard' - Arizona Daily Star * The 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group operates a storage facility at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base that everybody calls the “boneyard.” Here, more than 4,400 aircraft are mothballed in latex coatings to keep their parts safe from the desert sun....

Crossing the Pond * Voices From The DC-3 | It’s one thing to conquer the Atlantic lounging in seat 12A on an American Airlines 777, and quite another to shepherd a part of history (all 70+ year old, 24,000-odd pounds of her) through a similar mission...  So, congratulations to two Douglas C-47 crews (and their supporting teams) on their respective successful transatlantic crossings this month! The crew of Whiskey 7 just reached their destination of Duxford, England, on May 23 in time for its airshow over the weekend. The crew of Union Jack Dak arrived at Coventry Airport on May 10....

CAF Dixie Wing Promo Video · Warbirds News | This is a promotional video which was conceptualized, produced and edited my Mike Schneider and Jay Bess, members of the Commemorative Air Force – Dixie Wing. The Dixie Wing was approved as the 83rd CAF unit on February 28, 1987, and has since displayed its collection of vintage World War II aircraft in numerous air shows throughout the Southeast. The wing is a non-profit, tax-exempt “flying museum” that depends on contributions of time and funds to carry out its mission....

St. Boniface students visit “Rise Above” exhibit * The Beacon | Students then toured the hanger to see the B-17 and B-25 bombers on display and learn of their role in WWII, and see and hear about the ongoing restoration of a Ford Tri-motor airplane. They then viewed the film “Rise Above” about the Tuskegee Airmen ...

Pitman students pilot tour guide program at Castle Air Museum - The Turlock Journal  | Pitman High senior Ryan Hanson’s father was born on the Castle Air Force Base in Atwater so when he discovered that he could return to the site and give tours to younger students at the now Castle Air Museum through a program at his high school, he jumped at the opportunity...

LLA: Celebrate the life and contributions of aviation Legend Ed Swearingen

Ed Swearingen pictured here with the late pilot/actor Danny Kaye Ed Swearingen Flies West The Living Legends of Aviation are sad to report the passing of one of their own, Edward James Swearingen (Pictured with Actor/Pilot Danny Kaye), as a result of complications from hip surgery, which was compounded by Parkinson's Disease. He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Janice; by his daughter Niki Francis McDaniel and her husband Cary Cardwell of San Antonio; and by his son Edward Alan Swearingen of Marfa, TX. Ed was born on September 12, 1925, on a farm outside of Lockhart, TX, to Ruby W. and Edward J. (Sr.) Swearingen. As a young boy he became deeply interested in airplanes, with Charles Lindbergh being his childhood hero. His mother related that he would roll the rug back in their farm house and use chalk on the floor to draw the fuselage of an airplane. Then he would lie on his side to see if he fit in the "plane." He sawed off the handle of a broom to simulate the cockpit stick, and learned to control the airplane. It was destiny that aviation would become his lifelong passion. He had become a very good mechanic and engineer working with farm equipment and other machinery. Combining the two interests, he built model airplanes, some of unusual design. After finishing the 8th grade, he went to work at Kelly Field as a Junior Mechanic's helper, and later at the Galveston Army Air Corps Field. After the war, he left the Civil Service work, took flying lessons to become a pilot, then returned to San Antonio to work in the electronic industry. In time, he met one of Texas' aviation pioneers, Dee Howard, and subsequently was hired by Howard. His work there in designing caught the attention of other aviation notables such as Bill Lear and Bill Piper's son, "Pug." He became an internationally known leader in the identification, design, development, and manufacturing of precedent-setting aircraft programs. An avid music lover, he designed and built a 3300-pipe organ for his home. The organ was later given to Texas State University in San Marcos, TX, for teaching in the Music Department. One of his other passions was in restoring antique cars. Perfection in his work allowed for many 100-point cars and many trophies. He and his wife Janice enjoyed tours in the U.S., Canada, England, and France, making many friends and fond memories. He later founded his own company, Swearingen Aircraft, primarily as a consulting firm, and helped design many other companies' aircraft. He then began to design and manufacture his own planes. He designed 30 airplane programs, with the SJ30, a high-performing and affordable twin-engine jet being the 30th. Before his death he was working on his 31st airplane design. Awards along the way include the Aviation Safety Award from the FAA in 1962. In 1974 he received the highest award of the National Business Aircraft Association. Later he was inducted into the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame and honored as a "Living Legend of Aviation." Ed Swearingen Biography Contact Living Legends of Aviation 11th Annual Living Legends Award Photos Ed Swearingen, seen here at the Living Legends of Aviation gala with his wife, Janice, is among an elite group of aviators, inventors, and pilots who have been honored for their lifetime achievements in aviation. Famed pilot Clay Lacy, left, and Ed Swearingen's history goes all the way back to their days at Piper, where Swearingen was a consultant and Lacy narrowly escaped a test flight in a Piper PA-Arapaho  that crashed after a flat spin. Ed Swearingen, inducted in the Living Legends of Aviation is seen here with other attendees at the awards gala in January 2007. L to R: Roslyn and Hank Beaird, Ed and Janice Swearingen, Kate Woolstenhulme, Roger Humiston and Tom Danaher. Phone : 720-375-0000 26 West Dry Creek Circle, Suite 600 I | Littleton, CO 80120 US

Memorial Day Weekend Recap

Blue Angels Soar Over Naval Academy Class Of 2014 Graduation - CBS Local | ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ)—It’s the finale of four years of hard work. Hundreds of midshipmen at the Naval Academy became commissioned officers. Monique Griego has more from the ceremony that also welcomed back the Blue Angels. For the graduates, Friday’s ceremony marks the end of one journey and the beginning of another. After a four-year absence, the Blue Angels once again take flight over Annapolis....

Blue Angels take to sky on Memorial Day weekend - Fox News | The U.S. Navy Blue Angels took to the sky in New York this weekend. According to Newsday, nearly 231,000 came out to watch the Blue Angels at the Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach State Park Sunday. Cloudy weather kept attendance to about 86,000 people the day before. The appearance last year was canceled because of federal budget cuts, the report said. The crowds also saw Red Bull Air Force skydivers jump out of a plane in "wing suits," streaming colored smoke, Newsday reported...

Aboard the 'Fat Albert' with the Blue Angels | PIX 11 | FARMINGDALE, Long Island (PIX11) – It was a gloomy and rainy day in Farmingdale, Long Island, but that didn’t stop the Blue Angels. I got a special look inside a Blue Angels flight. A once in a lifetime experience in the skies over Long Island. The Blue Angels maintenance and support crew travel aboard a Marine Corps C-130 Hercules aircraft, according to officials, known as “Fat Albert.”...

PHOTO GALLERY: Golden Knights perform at Salute to Veterans Air Show - Columbia Missourian | The U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team performed in Columbia as part of the Salute to Veterans Airshow Saturday at Columbia Regional Airport. It was the team's first Columbia performance in 15 years....

Vibrant aerobatic display by the Patrouille de France,begins commemoration of 70th anniversary of D-Day at Duxford Air Show * Wisbech Standard | Thousands of visitors came to IWM Duxford today, Saturday, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of D-Day at The D-Day Anniversary Air Show...

SLIDESHOW: D-Day commemorations at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford ... - Cambridge News  | More than 10 thousand visitors watched spectacular aerial displays at the Imperial War Museum’s D-Day Anniversary Air Show at Duxford. The weekend event is to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings in 1944. Visitors were able to meet with serving soldiers from today’s airborne forces alongside living history groups who brought D-Day’s history to life...

Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach holds final performances - News 12 Long Island  | WANTAGH - Huge crowds flocked to Jones Beach State Park under sunny skies Sunday for the second and final day of the 11th annual Bethpage Air Show. The Meadowbrook Parkway seemed more like a parking lot for most of the day as cars inched their way to the beach to see the show in the sky....

Daredevil Bethpage Air Show stuns spectators By Tom Wilson | ...The show went off without a hitch despite overcast skies. Along with the famous formation squadrons, the Marine Corps’ MV-22 Osprey, half plane and half helicopter, drew cheers as it hovered over the water...

Fans call 2014 air show a success - KRCG | COLUMBIA -- Newcomers and regulars alike told KRCG 13 Sunday they thoroughly enjoyed this year’s Salute to Veterans Air Show.  Fayetteville, Arkansas resident Tony Miller said while he has been to a number of air shows nationwide, this is the first time he has been to Columbia’s. He said he liked the predominance of propeller- as opposed to jet-driven aircraft. He said the Canadian Forces’ Snowbirds were the main reason he came to Columbia....

SLIDESHOW: Cannon AFB Air Show & Open House 5/25 | Photos from the air show and open house at Cannon Air Force Base.

Sporty’s celebrates 10th Annual Fly-In · General Aviation News | Sporty’s welcomed more than 100 airplanes and their occupants, as well as many guests who arrived by car, to Sporty’s Tenth Annual Fly-In, held Saturday, May 17. “Counting attendance is always an iffy proposition, but at Sporty’s, we can count free hot dogs,” says Sporty’s President Michael Wolf. “We grilled and distributed more than 1,100 hot dogs to Fly-In attendees...

Community Aviation Day Fly-In/Drive-In - Pocono Record | The Mount Pocono Rotary sponsored the Community Aviation Day Fly-In/Drive-In Breakfast at Pocono Mountains Municipal Airport. The majority of this year's proceeds are benefiting the Valor Clinic for Homeless Veterans and Monroe County Joint Veteran's Honor Guard....

Marines put on air show at Orchard Beach - News 12 Bronx | ORCHARD BEACH - The U.S. Marine Corps Air-Ground Task Force put on an air show Friday at Orchard Beach for Fleet Week. Among the spectators was World War II veteran William Johnson, who said it was his first time seeing the choppers up close....

23 Awesome Photos From The Berlin Air Show * Business Insider | The 2014 edition of the Berlin Air Show took place this week at Berlin ExpoCenter Airport, with festivities both in the air and on the ground. First held in 1909, the air show proclaims itself to be the longest-running show of its kind in the world...

The Red Bull DC-6B during its display at ILA 2014 Berlin. · Airliners.net

Fly-In and Car Show draws large crowd to Mercer County Airport - Bluefield Daily Telegraph | BRUSHFORK — When young Aiden Jennings saw all the airplanes in the sky Saturday, he wanted to join the hundreds other people converging on the Mercer County Airport.   “We were going down Airport Road,” said Darren Jennings of Princeton, Aiden’s father. “He saw the planes and he had to come.” Soon, 5-year-old Aiden was getting a peek inside a Soviet jet....

20 Years Flypast Wows Inauguration Crowd - AllAfrica.com | Jacob Zuma's presidential inauguration in Pretoria on Saturday was followed by a stunning aerial display - including a formation flypast in the shape of "20", marking South Africa's 20 years of democracy - that left the massive crowd at the Union Buildings breathless....

Aviation and heritage fans wing it to Old Station Fly-in - Central Queensland news | A BIRTHDAY present doesn't get much better than a joy flight in a Second World War Yakovlev fighter plane. Well, maybe it does - if it's your 77th birthday present. Norman Taylor was one of many aviation enthusiasts that flocked to the Old Station Fly-in and Heritage Show at Mt Larcom on Saturday to see a collection of vintage planes, cars and trucks, as well as live music and Red Bull Air Race legend Matt Hall in action....

Flying in B-17 is a 'Sentimental Journey' - Midland Reporter-Telegram  | The Flying Fortress began to sway and bounce as her four engines roared to life under an overcast West Texas sky Sunday afternoon. I could smell the fuel, and feel the outside breeze whipping around in my hair. This flight is about to be unlike any other I’ve ever taken, I thought, as I sat strapped in near the waist gunners’ stations on the World War II-era bomber for a media flight....

Memphis Belle On Memorial Day · Beau Goff, Photorecon.net  | The early morning fog is thick, heavy and low hanging. It blankets the fields in a gray mist dense enough to block the early morning sun as it creeps over the eastern horizon. The fog touches everything, and when it does it sticks- to leaves, blades of grass and to olive drab green aluminum...

Air Force Museum Foundation hosts annual Legacy Data Plate Wall of Honor Tribute Ceremony by Matt Lynch, Air Force Museum Foundation | 5/23/2014 - DAYTON, Ohio -- Stories honoring the heroic actions and dedicated service of veterans, patriots and loved ones were commemorated yesterday at the Air Force Museum Foundation's Legacy Data Plate Wall of Honor Tribute Ceremony.  Every one of the 665 data plates on the Wall of Honor represents a unique and lasting tribute to veterans, patriots and loved ones. Data plates are custom-etched aviation-grade stainless steel plates displayed near the entrance to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force....

Hemlock Films: A New Aviation Film for the BIG screen

The Restorers - Living History New Aviation Series at the Museum of the USAF The Museum of the United States Air Force will be featuring the entire first season of The Restorers on their giant IMAX-style screen in 2014.  A brand new episode "Living History" will debut this July. The Restorers is a new television series about the men and women who restore antique aircraft.  This documentary series will showcase these restorers as they use their re-built aircraft as tools to promote aviation history. This never before seen episode "Living History" follows three complimentary stories:  Tora Tora Tora A group who re-enact the events of Pearl Harbor at airshows nationwide with high-performance historic aircraft. Bomber Crew Fantasy Camp The public can sign up to re-live the sights and sounds of being a B-24 bomber crew. WWII Airborne Demo Team We ride along as team members train and parachute out of a historic aircraft...WWII-style!! While screenings will begin July 1st, a premiere event will take place on July 12th at 4pm.  Members of the production crew will be in attendance, along with historic veterans:            Ralph Lynn - B24 Bomber Co-Pilot                    Jim "Pee Wee" Martin - 101st Airborne Division A Q&A will begin immediately following the screening with the production crew and veterans. Watch the film's teaser! For more information about screenings, visit: USAF Museum Venue Screenings of The Restorers - Living History will take place through the entire month of July in the Museum's state of the art digital theater.  Show times are 12pm and 4pm.   Each episode will be featured for a full month.  The first episode was in April, highlighting the Doolittle Raiders.  The additional episodes will be: July - Living History August - Aircraft Recovery September - Aviation Destinations October - The Aviatrix The Restorers is produced by Cleveland-based Hemlock Films, filmed nationwide. For more information, contact us at: info@hemlockfilms.com (216) 496-5013 or  Air Force Museum Foundation (937) 253-4629 Hemlock Films www.Hemlockfilms.com (216) 496-5013 We would love to hear from you! Email: info@hemlockfilms.com

Hemlock Films | 1446 Elbur Avenue | Lakewood, Oh 44107

Memorial Day 2014 - Honoring those who gave all

Many times, it's the stories of those that survived that help us appreciate the incredible sacrifices of those in uniform...

Memorial Day * Warbirds News | Today is a national holiday here in the United States, Memorial Day in fact. Today is the day we celebrate the lives lost in our name on the battlefield, and the countless casualties which followed in its aftermath. For many, sadly, it has simply become a day off work to relax around the barbecue, or at the beach or swimming pool with family and friends. The first warm days are finally here after a long and dreary winter, so it’s only natural to want to shrug off the chill, and embrace the sunshine for a while. And these are good things. We must embrace life. However, we must also pause to reflect with thanks upon the ultimate sacrifices made by so many … far too many … that we might enjoy our future days in peace. Nor should we forget the families those brave men and women left behind either. For them there will be no easy days ahead....

'Doolittle Raiders' receive Congressional Gold Medal - Washington Post  | The weather over Arlington National Cemetery was sunny and clear, similar to the day in 1942 when Richard Cole helped change the course of American history as one of James H. Doolittle’s “Raiders” during World War II. As he stood before the grave of his former commander, the 98-year-old ex-pilot who helped stage a daring attack on Japan that lifted American spirits at a crucial time said the memory is bittersweet....

Doolittle Raiders and Fighter Aces Honored - Military.com | ...Obama's signing awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to the 80 volunteers who formed the Raiders and to the more than 1,400 pilots from World War I through the Vietnam War who became Aces....

Tuskegee Airmen meet B-17 bomber pilot their unit escorted during famous WWII mission - Daily Journal | BIG FLATS, New York — A Memorial Day weekend gathering of some of the last surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen has reunited them with a World War II bomber pilot their unit escorted on a famous mission over Germany. The Buffalo News reports (http://bit.ly/1olQpSd) that 95-year-old Bill Strapko of North Tonawanda, New York, was invited to Saturday's Return of the Red Tails celebration at the Wings of Eagles Discovery Center in Big Flats, near Elmira...

WWII vet remembers flying B-17 bombers - The Herald-Times | Don Duncan, 92, remembers his time flying missions in a B-17 Flying Fortress during WWII. He and his two brothers, 91 and 94 and living in California, served in combat roles during the war and returned home uninjured...

Old Glory Honor Flight to make return trip to Vietnam Veterans Memorial - Appleton Post Crescent  | Appleton’s Randy Howell can’t find the words to describe the solemnity surrounding the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. Last year’s Gold Ribbon Honor Flight, originating from Oshkosh, marked a second visit to the memorial for the Vietnam War veteran. It was the first time he examined the 58,000-plus names that are etched in its reflective, black stone walls. On Howell’s first visit, he froze at a distance and sent his wife to take photos....

Big Country Squadron Commemorative Air Force Hosts Annual Memorial Service - Big Country Homepage | Veterans and Others Shared Their Stories At The 28th Annual Memorial Service At Elmdale Baptist Church. Elmdale Baptist Church hosted the 28th annual memorial worship service conducted by the Big Country Squadron Commemorative Air Force. Many veterans shared stories, songs, and other memories of their time serving. There were over a hundred people from different branches and organizations in attendance....

Sgt. Dick Samuelson of Tangerine Woods kept the B-24s flying over Germany · Don Moore, War Tales | Dick Samuelson of Tangerine Woods in Englewood, Fla. admits “I was no big war hero.” He joined the Army Air Corps during the last 18 months of World War II after graduating from high school in Brockton, Mass. Following basic training he went to radar technician and long range navigation school. Then he was sent to Europe...

McCandless brothers, heroes gave their lives in service - Pittsburgh Post Gazette  | When comedian Bob Hope told a joke on his radio program about Col. William H. Councill's record-setting jet flight, his family realized the veteran pilot was at least temporarily famous. "Bob Hope said when my father's plane flew by a bird, it was going so fast that it blew all the bird's feathers off," Frances Councill recalled in a recent phone interview.  William H. Councill, who grew up in the Ingomar portion of McCandless, set a transcontinental speed record on Jan. 26, 1946, flying from Los Angeles to New York at an average of almost 600 mph. He was piloting a Lockheed P-80 "Shooting Star" jet, and his record stood for eight years....

Capt. Johnson: the Piper Cub beat the Germans – As a military plane it had no equal, he says · Don Moore, War Tales | The Piper Cub, used as an artillery spotter plane, did more to defeat the German Army in World War II then any other American airplane, according to Capt. John Johnson.  “The Air Force just went over and dropped bombs on German cities, but the Army’s Piper Cub observer planes spotted enemy positions for American artillery that tore up the German artillery and troops,” he said. “These Cubs did more damage to the Germany Army than our bombers and fighters.”...

Navy Blue Fighter Pilot - Episode Two * Vintage Wings of Canada | In many respects the initial experiences of Victorious’ fighter wing with the Royal Navy's Eastern Fleet was a matter of one step forward, two steps back. They arrived brimming with confidence from their success with the Home Fleet, but after a few months in the new theatre concerns arose as to whether they were truly prepared to attack the strongly defended targets on the strike program. As much as anything...

World War II Navy veteran takes flight in B-25 at air show - Chronicle-Telegram | ELYRIA — The Discover Aviation Air Show was billed as one where youngsters could come within touching distance of fighter jets and war planes while turning their eyes to the skies as aerial acrobats performed death-defying stunts. But the real wonder took place on the ground....

Today Show * Women have long contributed to American military service. In honor of Memorial Day, the Women In Military Service For America Memorial Foundation compiled photos that highlight those who bravely dedicated themselves to America’s defense.

Former "Rosie the Riveter" revisits B-17 history - KTVB | BOISE -- A WWII-era "Rosie the Riveter" got to see a plane like the ones she worked on many years ago. The front lines in WWII were overseas, but there was a massive movement stateside to help in the war effort. Women like Charlotte Ford helped out by building and fixing planes as riveters....

Michael P. Anderson Memorial Statue by travelforaircraft | Michael Anderson is missed in Spokane Washington which he chose as his hometown. He led a distinguished career in the U.S. Air Force as well as NASA before dying with his crew while on duty aboard Space Shuttle Columbia in the skies over Dallas TX on mission STS 107....

Trojan Phlyers Demo Team to perform at Salute to Veterans Airshow, Columbia, MO Memorial Day weekend

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Honoring those who have defended their country through service in the U.S. military has always been the focus of the Salute to the Veterans air show and Memorial Day celebration held at Columbia Regional Airport, Columbia, Missouri.  This will be the 26th year of the event and 41 warbirds will be involved for the honoring and commemoration of the 100 year anniversary of World War I. The mission of this event mirrors the Trojan Phlyers Demonstration Team's mission and they are proud to be invited to return for the third year of performing in this great air show celebration.

Trojan Phlyers Demonstration Team perform for the Salute to Veterans Airshow Memorial Day weekend in Columbia, Missouri to Commemorate 100 year anniversary of World War I

The two ship team is piloted by highly decorated combat veteran pilotsperforming thrilling precision close formation aerobatic routines demonstrating the cutting edge performance of the Trojan T28 warbird and the flying expertise acquired in formal military training.  Their show is unique in the air show industry and they are the only all combat veteran pilot team of the T-28 aircraft.  The Trojan Phlyers are as exciting as a jet team with their high speed action and the roar of the big engines!  They provide the Smoke, the Thunder and the Excitementas they fly their historic T-28 aircraft rich in military history in an exceptional and awe-inspiring performance and salute the veterans of our great nation and the men and women who continue to serve and protect us today.

The Trojan Phlyers have been flying air shows since 1995 and have performed at over 150 shows since 2002 from Oshkosh to Acapulco and from New Jersey to California.  The Trojan Phlyers’ aircraft were actually used by the US Navy as primary flight trainers. These aircraft were used to teach Navy and Marine aviators basic transition, formation, aerobatics, and instrument procedures and techniques.  The aircraft carry the logos of the US Air Force and the US Marines.

Trojan Phlyers, Inc. is a group of aviation professionals dedicated to preserving and demonstrating the rich military history of the North American Aviation Company’s T-28 Trojan. The Trojan Phlyers own and operate two T-28B aircraft. Both aircraft have Wright Cyclone R1820-86B nine-cylinder radial engines rated at 1425 horsepower. The fully aerobatic aircraft can takeoff in less than 800 feet of runway, climb to 10,000 feet in less than 90 seconds, race level above 335 MPH, and dive faster than 380 MPH. In fact, the T28 can outperform most World War II fighters at low altitude and out turn the P-51 Mustang.

The two-ship formation aerobatic demonstration team consists of Chip Lamb and John Sledge. Chip Lamb, the demonstration team leader, flew F4 Phantoms in the active duty Air Force and F16’s in the Texas Air National Guard. He is a graduate of the US Air Force Academy and retired from the US military as a Colonel after 30 years of service to our country.  He is also a retired American Airlines Captain.  John Sledge, the demo team wingman, is a retired USMC Colonel having served in Viet Nam flying F8 Crusaders from the aircraft carriers, USS Kitty Hawk, USS Ticonderoga, and the USS Constellation. John served in the USMC or the USMC Reserve for 30 years before retiring. He is also a retired USAir Captain. Both pilots are decorated war combat veterans and have some 44,000 flight hours amassed between them.

@Trojan Phlyers on Facebook and Twitter      Trojan Phlyers website:  www.trojanphlyers.com

Source: