I received a call from my friend Glen that he and Bob, aka "Dutch", were going to the Commemorative Air Force air show at Falcon Field Airport in Mesa, AZ. I had heard about it and wanted to go but had completely forgotten about it so I was more than happy to join them.
There was quite a crowd, but fortunately, they ran a shuttle service from the parking lot to the show area. Our driver might have been practicing her stand up routine and had us laughing as we headed over to the show. She asked how we were doing and then told us she was having a pretty good day since she just got her driver's license back. She made the short trip pretty entertaining and it was a nice start to the day.
Not far inside the gate, we encountered what I suspect was the highlight of the Commemorative Air Force fleet. There were probably few if any B-17s flying in WWII that were quite so polished as "Sentimental Journey" below. I would have enjoyed crawling through this lovingly restored work of art but the line was always longer than I was willing to accept.
I had to stop for a "selfie" below. The pride of ownership was apparent in the attention to detail on display in these aircraft.
The beauty below was identified as an "experimental aircraft" but it looked pretty authentic to me. I loved the "bomb" under the fuselage that actually was just an auxiliary fuel tank.
If you're going to fly it seems like an open cockpit would be the best - one of these days I may just find enough nerve to strap myself in and give it a try - just not today!
Did I mention the CAF was located just a few miles north of our park so I was already pretty familiar with seeing today's formation flying? Their practice flight path was usually within view of our site and the distinctive sound of big radial engines announced their approach so you always knew when they were overhead.
As we were walking around the B-25 (sporting nose art "Maid in the Shade") we were cautioned to stand back as it was towed to the end of the runway in preparation for take-off. Anyone with enough cash and a sense of adventure could buy a ride in the vintage aircraft and they had apparently booked enough hardy souls to fly. The engines fired up with a mighty cloud of blue smoke and with a satisfying rumble, the old girl sped down the runway and launched into the wild blue yonder. We never did see them return making me wonder just how long was that ride.
Yes, you could also fly in a U.S. Army Cobra helicopter!
I was never able to find out if John Deere actually made a small utility aircraft or if the plane below was just owned by a rabid John Deere fan who really loved the green and yellow color scheme.
I loved the paint on the local water tower that left no doubt we were at "Falcon Field".
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