Thread: CAF 2015 Air Show @ New Century (Old Olathe Naval Air Station)

Tweet

The local CAF Wing held their annual air show a couple of weeks back, and the field is close enough that I kept hearing round engines roaring around, and when the last flying B29 went over it really got my attention. I went over to see what else was there besides Fifi, and ended up going back for a bit Sunday when they were doing their fly-by's. My #1 favorite plane from that era is the F4 Corsair with the gull wings and massive engine. Second to the Corsair is the P51 Mustang or the F8F Bearcat with dual range supercharger and water injection. We had both a F4 and P51 there, and they did some nice simulated dog fighting with the old Japanese Zero. It was a treat to my ears, as I cut my teeth working on radials in the Navy. A few pictures for your enjoyment -

Awesome! Great camera work right there Mr. Spears. , Looks like it was a great way to spend a few hours.

Originally Posted by 34_40

Awesome! Great camera work right there Mr. Spears. , Looks like it was a great way to spend a few hours.

Thanks! Note the Navigator's Map in the B29 is signed by Dutch Van Kirk, who was the Navigator on the Enola Gay when it dropped the bombs on Hiroshima. Dutch passed away a few years ago, but the guys from Dallas/Ft Worth where Fifi is hangered, shared that Dutch thoroughly enjoyed being in Fifi, and taking a ride to bring back some of the memories. Good stuff, to me.

There is no prettier plane than the F4U. None. I've been to that airshow a couple of times, and I really miss being able to see those old warbirds up close.

Nice camera! The props aren't even fuzzy.

What is that one red hose on the bucket of bolts?

Originally Posted by firebird77clone

Nice camera! The props aren't even fuzzy.

What is that one red hose on the bucket of bolts?

I'm not checked out on that engine, but the main oil sump sits between the two lower cylinders, with number one straight up on top. I believe that the red hose is the oil return line to the tank, which sits atop the accessory section behind the cylinders.

I admire your ability to catch them in flight............I find that difficult to do.
I agree that the Corsair is a very attractive bird, one of the first aircraft models I built as a youngster. But I can't narrow it to only one aircraft as "prettiest"............I really like the form of a P 38 Lightning at least as much............
Got to see "Legal Eagle II" on static display at Ellsworth AFB earlier this year.............those B 29s are majestic!

Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter

I admire your ability to catch them in flight............I find that difficult to do.

What I did for these was put the camera drive in high speed continuous which shoots five or six frames/second, then track the planes and try to adjust the range as they come by letting the auto focus do the hard work, shooting in bursts of three to ten or more frames at a time. Lots of frames to look at and cull through for the one or two that "work", then cropping the good ones for best effect. Shooting digital is amazing, especially for things that are moving, as it's so easy to shoot 500 frames to end up with 5 or 10 to keep.

Excellant collection of leading edge stuff------------After being around flying things since early 1960s---I love them all
Just seems strange that in our country where we did all that to whip THOSE guys---most of our current folks drive stuff that was built by the enemy-------

Roger, did you get some access to limited/restricted areas for pics as I don't see many people on flight line?????? Nice to get up front!!!!!! Was this with your Canon?

Bucket of bolts-----ain't that the military version of Beech 18?????got hundreds of hours in 3 or 4 of them

Wish they had a show around here, but usually just flying thru enroute to OshGosh

Originally Posted by jerry clayton

...Roger, did you get some access to limited/restricted areas for pics as I don't see many people on flight line?????? Nice to get up front!!!!!! Was this with your Canon?
Bucket of bolts-----ain't that the military version of Beech 18?????got hundreds of hours in 3 or 4 of them.
Wish they had a show around here, but usually just flying thru enroute to OshGosh

The show was Friday/Saturday/Sunday so I went by on Friday to walk among the aircraft. Much, much smaller crowds which let me pick a vantage point, wait for any people around to move, then quickly shoot Yes, I was using the Canon with a lens hood to reduce glare.
The Bucket of Bolts is a C45, which was based on the Beech 18 shortly after it was introduced in the late '30's. They were used a lot for utility service through the '60's and maybe into the '70's.
You might check out the CAF (Commemorative Air Force, formerly "Confederate", changed to be more PC) to see if there's a similar show in your region. They list a Great Lakes Wing around Chicago, and there's an Indianapolis Wing, too. I'm fortunate that the Heart of America Wing is based less than five miles from our home, but NOT in line with the runways!

Thanks Roger-

I haven't flown a B 18 since sometime early 1969 would probably enjoy a couple flights- well actually would even enjoy another B777 flight

Did some looking at that site where you have the pics-interesting

Originally Posted by rspears

Good stuff, to me.

And me also..

My favorite would be (what else) the P-51, been awhile since I've heard a Merlin in a Mustang... but you just never forget that song..

The P 51 is a terrific bird.
Nellis AFB does an airshow each November that usually is very good. The Thunderbird stuff is always there to enjoy of course, but they do a good job of mixing in a wide variety of aircraft. A few years back they arranged a fly by of three aircraft intended to demonstrate changes over time of the fighter inventory. They brought together a P 51, an F 4 Phantom, and an F 22. I chuckled a bit as they flew past; you could hear the Merlin at full tilt, churning for all it was worth......sounded great. On the other hand, I imagined the jet jockeys were throttled way back, trying to maintain above stall speed (only a slight exaggeration) to hold the formation. It was great to see! It would have only been better if they'd found an air worthy F 86 to add.......

When I was in the Navy at NAS Corpus Christi they held the annual Navy Relief Festival, opening the base to the public and featured a daily show by the Blue Angels. When they were flying Phantoms about '69 there was a Father/Son team of matching Bearcat's there, and Dad's had the two-stage blower with water injection, and they'd made up a poster describing a drag race to 10,000 feet between Pop's Bearcat and an Angel's Phantom. Very nicely done, it described that as the flag dropped the Bearcat would be rolling immediately, but the pilot had to be careful not to give it too much throttle too fast or it would torque roll into the tarmac. He would be off the ground before the Phantom had rolled 100yards, standing on his tail and boring a hole in the sky, balls out, blower cranked, water flowing to keep from melting plugs & pistons. As I recall the Bearcat would be at about 5000' when the Phantom tucked his wheels and stood up on his tail, hitting afterburner, and they were then racing that last half. The statistics for each plane said that the Phantom would pass the Bearcat in the last 500' or so, and of course could then continue into the heavens in a corkscrew motion. It made an impression on this young sailor, and sealed my love for radials for life.

Unc, your comment about an F86 brings back another memory. I couldn't have been more than five or six, which would put it at about 1952 or 1953 in Noel, MO. One Saturday morning I had wandered down to the school grounds and was walking around the baseball field chucking rocks towards the fences when I heard this loud "WOOOOOSH" in the sky, and looking up I saw what I later learned to be an F86 Sabre fly down the valley at about 1000' or so. Not sure how many people saw it, as it was kind of early on a Fall morning; where it came from or where it was headed, but I expect that the pilot probably had ties to the area and was checking things out from his vantage point. Again, it made a lasting impression on a young hill country boy!

I think my interest in flying was definitely sealed with the constant low level F86 flying over the farm in the fifties------I had seen many formation flights of prop planes in the forties but those jets--------- during th Korean war ---keeping up with the war in the news paper, radio, etc but being almost blown off the tractor by the fighters and B47s doing all that low altitude stuff( think they probably were out of Scott AFB down near St Louis-made me apply for AF Academy in 59-- Congressman gave spot to one of his FAMILY friends kid , but he offered me Naval Academy which I didn't want, however I have many times wondered "what if" oh well-did fly some impressive stuff during my career and have a list of some that I'd still get in if given the opt---I definitely wouldn't turn down any of the ones Roger has photographed--

Again nice pics Roger-looking forward to next years also????



But not off a carrier!!!!!!!!