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2017 Dayton Airshow Marred By Thunderbird Accident But Highlighted by Other Performers
By Mike Heilman
The Thunderbirds diamond practices upon arrival to 2017 Dayton Air Show. The Thunderbird arrived on Monday before the show but had to cancel their performances due to mishap with the team’s two-seat F-16D. (Mike Heilman)In 2106 the Dayton Air Show attendance suffered from a cancellation of the headline act two weeks before the show, when the U.S. Navy Blue Angels experienced a tragic accident at an air show in Tennessee. Once again in 2017, the show experienced another cancellation of the headlining act due to a near tragic accident of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. The mishap happened at the Dayton International Airport less than 24 hours before the show was scheduled to open.
Thunderbird number 8, the two-seat F-16D “Fighting Falcon,” was conducting a crew familiarization flight in the Dayton area when upon return to the airport the jet skidded off the runway and flipped over trapping the pilot Capt. Erik Gonsalvas and Tech Sgt. Kenneth Cordova for almost two hours. The Thunderbird crewmembers were transported to a local hospital in good condition. There was heavy rain at the time of the mishap from remnants of tropical storm Cindy.
On Friday Michael Emoff, Chairman U.S. Air & Trade Show Board of Trustees, held a press conference to discuss the weekend’s show after the mishap. “When you first hear about something like this you pray that everything is okay and for the health of those involved. Once you understand that everything is under control, you then start working on what I can do. My job as Chair of the air show is to ensure that we produce a safe and quality show for our community.”
Flying the Legendary Spitfire
By David Brown
Richard Paver’s superb shot of MJ627 shows the classic lines of the Spitfire/ (via Heritage Hangar)For many years, I had harbored the desire to fly a Spitfire. This dream started when I was allowed, as a schoolboy, to sit in the cockpit of a Spitfire at RAF Woodvale, and had persisted since my early flying days in England. Together with fellow Air Cadet, Alan Walker, I had spent my weekends at Woodvale supporting operations to fly other Air Cadets at 10 Air Experience Flight, which enabled us at the end of the day to wangle a quick 15-minute flight in the Chipmunks. After college in England, and more Chipmunk flying with the RAF and in civilian life, I started a career in the flight testing of jets, initially in England, and flew light aircraft at weekends.
I still had the Spitfire dream, but Spitfires (especially two-seaters) are rare. Time passed and we moved on, Alan advanced into airline flying, and eventually progressed to a Senior Captain position with Cathay Pacific flying the mighty Boeing 747. By then, I had moved to California where I worked in Flight Test and various Advanced Design groups, taught aeronautical engineering at a university and the USAF Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, and was lucky enough to be involved on the periphery of various warbird operations. We corresponded occasionally, and I saw on Facebook that he now flew a Robin, G-FEEF (aka Fifi), which he based in England. He was also an accomplished warbird pilot and flew Spitfires, Hurricane Sea Fury, the B-17 Flying Fortress, and even the notoriously tricky Messerschmitt 109… pretty impressive.
News from the CAF Nevada Wing
By Joe Gonzalez
The Stinson AT-19 in WWII. (Courtesy of Joe Gonzalez)In an airplane hangar north of Las Vegas, a rare Stinson AT-19 Reliant has been undergoing restoration by the Nevada Wing, one of the smallest units in the Commemorative Air Force (CAF). After 11 years of painstaking work, the Nevada Wings is now on the threshold of returning this aircraft back to the skies where it belongs–but we need your help. With donations totaling just $15,000, this airplane can be back in flying condition–and back to honoring the men and women who built, flew, and maintained this aircraft in World War II. Will you help make this possible by making a gift today?
Contrails: Getting Ready For War
By Steve Weaver
The design of the government built hangars was standardized. This hangar is identical to the one still standing at the abandoned Lewis Field in Buckhannon, West Virginia. (Courtesy of Steve Weaver)Most who are interested in WWII aviation history are aware that one of the reasons the United States won the war was her amazing record of aircraft production once we were in the fight. From producing scarcely more than 2,000 military aircraft in 1939 to over 96,000 in 1944, the record year, the U.S. produced a total of more than 303,000 military aircraft during the war years. But where did we get the pilots to fly them?
In 1939, the Army had a total of only 4,502 pilots, including 2,007 active-duty officers, 2,187 reserve officers, and 308 National Guard officers. The number of new Army-trained pilots grew rapidly each year as war seemed more likely, from 982 in 1939, to about 8,000 in 1940, to more than 27,000 in 1941–but many more were needed, and the Army by itself could not train the huge numbers of cadets desperately required. But we had a plan.
Inside the Gentle Giant
By David Brown
Imposing from any viewpoint, the Super Guppy can carry an amazing variety of shapes inside its 25 ft wide, 25 ft high, and 96 ft long cargo compartment. Based on the Boeing Stratocruiser and modified with a greatly enlarged fuselage, turboprop engines, reinforced landing gear, and a side-opening cargo nose, this is the only flying example of the five Super Guppies built. (NASA)When a giant turboprop cargo plane recently droned into Long Beach in Southern California, it marked the latest chapter in a fascinating tale.
When NASA needed to move a large box-shaped structure some 30 ft long and of 10,000lb weight across country from Southern California to NASA Langley in Virginia, they did not have to look far. As it happens, NASA owns and operates the sole remaining operational Turbine Super Guppy (out of the five built during the ‘60s to carry outsize pieces of cargo). The Super Guppy (NASA 941) is currently based at the NASA facility in El Paso, Tex., and flew from there to the west coast to pick up its cargo. The payload on this occasion was a composite, double-deck multi-bay box made for NASA’s Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) project. This test article represents a 75 percent scale version of the center section of a hybrid wing-body aircraft (think of a scaled-up X-48, flown at NASA Dryden some years ago) but now built of a lightweight, damage tolerant stitched-composite structural concept dubbed PRSEUS (Pultruded Rod Stitched Efficient Unitized Structure) built by Boeing Research and Technology in Huntington Beach, Calif. and assembled in Long Beach. The innovative structure comprises carbon-epoxy panels, which are infused with resin and cured by vacuum pressure without having to use a large autoclave, which would normally be required.
Warbird Adventures, Inc. Exciting from the Ground Up!
(Cover Photo by Michael Jorgensen. Provided by Warbird Adventures, Inc)The idea behind Warbird Adventures, Inc. came to shape on a cocktail napkin back in 1997. Founders Graham Meise and Thom Richard decided to max out all their credit cards and buy a T-6.
By Jan. 7, 1998 the company had been formed and the first aircraft purchased in California. It took six days to bring it home to Zephyrhills, Florida after which extensive modification had to be done. Four months later, the proud owners sat on the ramp with a shiny T-6 waiting for people to come by.
The original plan was to barnstorm around the country, but they ended up in Kissimmee by accident and set up shop out of the Flying Tigers Warbird Restoration Museum instead. The rest is history.
Aviation Photography of Bill Larkins During the 1940s
In In Flight USA’s December 2012 issue, the start of Bill Larkins’ eight-decade photography career was illustrated by the 1938 shot of a Grumman F3F US Navy/Marine biplane fighter parked at the Oakland Airport. Bill was about 16-years old when he took the photo.
The Thrill of Flying with the Blue Angels
By Russ Albertson
Ernie, the C-130 Herclues used by the Blue Angels. (Russ Albertson)The U.S. Navy Blue Angels have thrilled hundreds of millions of spectators at airshows across the country since 1946. The team demonstrates seemingly effortless precision in all their maneuvers as they fly the beautiful Boeing F/A-18 Hornets just inches apart. The team was established just after WWII as the U.S. Navy saw its budget diminishing. The Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Chester Nimitz, directed his staff to find a way to promote Naval Aviation and keep the public aware of the need for a strong military. The Navy Flight Exhibition Team was born in 1946. Lieutenant Commander Roy “Butch” Voris, a Navy Ace in WWII, was selected as the first flight leader and the team acquired the name “Blue Angels” when one of the first pilots on the team saw a reference to the Blue Angel Nightclub in a magazine.
The team, led by Lt.Cdr. Voris, chose the best pilots he could find to fly the Grumman F-6F five-piston engine Navy carrier fighter. The F-6Fs were painted dark blue with gold trim, which was changed to dark blue and yellow as the team transitioned to the F-8F Bearcat in August, 1946. The team started with four aircraft flying the signature “Diamond” formation and later added two “Solo” aircraft. The team has flown 10 different aircraft and received their first jet, the Grumman F-9F Panther, in 1949, and today the team flies the Boeing F/A-18 Hornet. The Hornets are at the end of their carrier arrestment service life. The Hornets are modified by the team with an inverted fuel pump to ensure uninterrupted fuel flow for extended up-side down flying. Other modifications include the removal of the nose cannon, the addition of a fluid smoke system, stop watch, and an adjustable tension spring to the control stick, …and of course that beautiful Blue and Gold paint scheme!
Sentimental Journey: A Living Legend
By Paul Tannahill
Emitting a belch of white smoke, the number three engine of Sentimental Journey slowly comes to life. With a cost of over $2000 an hour (and climbing) to operate, continued public support and donations are imperative to keeping this important piece of history alive. (Paul Tannahill) Smoke wafts through the fuselage catching in the light that streams through the windows as one by one each of the Wright R-1820-97 Cyclone engines belches to life before settling down to a smooth rumble. Crewmember Robert Morril watches intently as each one turns over, looking for any signs of an issue. There are none. Slowly taxiing to the runway, the breaks emit a low groan as they work. Run up on an aircraft of this type takes a bit of time, but eventually we creep out to the runway centerline. With a steady surge of power and a roar like thunder the aircraft trundles down the runway.
As we lift from the ground I glance towards Robert and though he has done this countless times before, a wide grin stretches from ear to ear. I’m sure I look about the same. Undoubtedly, our reaction to the experience is quite the opposite of the feelings of the thousands of Flying Fortress crews as they took off to fly into the deadly unknown of the skies above Europe so many years ago. They are the brave individuals who truly made this glorious aircraft the icon it is today.
Raymond D. Allen: Flying WWII Veteran Still in the Air Today
By Herb Foreman
Ray Allen with his group of 10.Not many pilots have more flying time from the San Carlos Airport in Northern California than Ray Allen. Born in San Francisco and a graduate from the prestigious Lowell High School, he was at the right age to participate in World War II. Initially, color blindness kept him out of the Air Corps Academy and he began his career as a mechanic at Stockton Field in San Joaquin County on Oct. 28, 1942. After pestering his officers and taking new tests, he was admitted to the “cadet program” as a bombardier and navigator. He attended gunnery school and learned how to strip a 50-caliber machine gun blindfolded. He learned both celestial and dead reckoning navigation and after 105 hours of instruction joined a B-17 crew bound for Europe.
Debbie La Mere, Combat Soldier
Two Tours of Duty, Afghanistan
By Herb Foreman
Deborah manning one of the 7.62mm machine guns near the door of the Chinook. (Courtesy of Deborah Lamere)It was almost 10 years ago that I met Debbie and wrote an article for In Flight USA about her. She was a 27-year old computer wizard working for Corio in a new building at the south end of the runway at the San Carlos, California Airport. She could do computations using the computer that few people could comprehend.
The airport proved to be a magnet for Debbie. She joined the West Valley Flying Club on the field in 1998, and was soon immersed in aviation activities. By early 1999, she had her private license and began to work on her instrument ticket. Debbie was a quick learner and she loved to fly. She purchased a 1974 Cessna Cardinal – the year of her birth – and began to spend hours in the air. She learned how to change oil, clean spark plugs and assisted in the Cardinal’s annual inspection. She was a good pilot and had over 600 hours in her logbook.
The Patriots of VAQ-140 Deploy the EA-6B Prowler for the Final Time
By: Mike Heilman and Ed Wells
An EA-6B landing aboard the USS Eisenhower. VAQ-140 will be transitioning to the EA-18G at the end of the squadrons deployment in the Fall of 2012. (Mike Heilman) In the Spring of 2012 the Patriots of VAQ-140 will deploy on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower with the EA-6B Prowler for the final time. The squadron has started initial work-ups for the 2012 deployment. When VAQ-140 returns from the deployment they will transition to the new EA-18G Growler but the squadron is not ready to let the aging Prowler go just yet.
The EA-6B Prowler entered the fleet in 1971. The Electronic Countermeasures Squadron VAQ-140 has been flying the EA-6B since 1985. The squadron is stationed at NAS Whidbey Island, Washington.
The Boeing Bee
By Paul Tannahill
Since restoration began on the aircraft in 1991, the Museum of Flights rare B-17F “Boeing Bee,” has been for the most part, inaccessible to the general public, largely viewable only by special appointment. (Paul Tannahill)One of the most iconic aircraft of WWII is the B-17. And nowhere is this sentiment more true than in the birthplace of Boeing, Seattle, Wash. After years hidden from public view, the Museum of Flight’s rare B-17F Boeing Bee has emerged from the shadows and has gone on display following an intensive restoration by museum volunteers.
Constructed by the Boeing Airplane Company in their Plant II facility at Boeing Field in Seattle, Wash., B-17F-70-BO s/n 42-29782, was accepted by the Army Air Force on Feb. 13, 1943. The aircraft was immediately flown to a modification center operated by United Airlines at Cheyenne, Wyo.
USAF Weapons School Mission Employment Phase Combat PHD
By Richard VanderMeulen
A pair of F-16’s hold formation on the wing of the KC-135 tanker as their element completes pre-strike refueling during the CAS (Close Air Support). Vul. A Vul refers to the “vulnerability period” or the time aircraft are away from base and vulnerable to harm. (Richard VanderMeulen)On June 9 the United States Air Force Weapons School completed its Mission Employment Phase, a seven-mission capstone to a five-and-a-half month training period. During Weapons School Class 11A ME Phase graduating Weapons Officers flew more than 90 aircraft on 500 individual sorties day and night utilizing every aircraft and asset in the U.S. Air Force and Department of Defense inventory.
More than 30,000 man-hours and 1,400 flight-hours go into preparing students for the ME Phase. More than 3,300 personnel support each class. Maintenance Squadrons play a crucial role in the ultimate success of Weapons School students, even more so during ME Phase when operational tempos run at, or even higher than, actual combat operations.
Eddie Stinson: a True Pioneer in the Early Years of Aviation
By Alan Smith
Stinson 108-3, the last Stinson design. (Larry Westin)Edward (Eddie) Stinson was born in 1894 in Ft. Payne Alabama. Nine years later, he learned of the success of the Wright brothers in their mission to build and fly a powered airplane at Kitty Hawk North Carolina and his fascination with aviation was born.
At age 16, he dropped out of school, and headed for St. Louis where two men were building their own powered aircraft. There he convinced them that he should be their test pilot. He didn’t mention that their kite-like airplane was the first airplane he’d ever seen. He did manage to get it into the air but stalled and crashed, destroying one wing. The two gentlemen of St Louis decided aviation was not for them and gave Eddie 
Stinson Detroiter, the first Stinson. (PilotFriend)the wrecked aircraft as payment for his attempt to fly it.