In awe.... the 2011 Chino Airshow

I feel like I should be part of some 12-step program when I say the following. "Hello, my name is James (Hi James) and I... I've..... I've never been to the Chino Airshow." GASP!

Well gasp no more. My good friend Chuck and I spent the weekend in Southern California in awe and gawking at the amount and quality of aircraft both on the ground and in the skies over Chino during the 2011 airshow. If I had to sum up the experience in a single word it would have to be overwhelming.

Driving from Tucson, Arizona we arrived at the Planes of Fame museum and photographed the activities necessary to get your display aircraft ready to fly: washing, polishing, engine runs and test flights. Friday we visited Yanks Air Museum and later photographed arrivals and practice sessions. Saturday and Sunday... photographed. Monday we drove back and took a detour to the Palm Springs Air Museum and again photographed. Notice a pattern? To say there's a bit of processing ahead of me might just be an understatement. So I leave you with a single photo, a partial panorama of the flight line at Chino: four P-51 Mustangs, a P-63 King Cobra, two YAK-3s (one radial powered, one Allison powered), and a Mitsubishi Zero powered by the original engine no less.

On the edge.... Heritage Flight Conference

And by on the edge I really mean on the edge of insanity because of the HUGE numbers of images one could obtain during the weekend. I was able to attend only Friday and Saturday and this is a listing of what flew and in what combination (excluding solo demonstrations):

Friday March 4

F-22 Raptor- 09-4127FF
P-51 Mustang- "February"

F-4 Phantom II- 74-1627 HD
P-38 Lightning- "Thoughts of Midnight"

F-4 Phantom II- 74-1638 TD
P-51 Mustang- "Bum Steer"

A-10 Thunderbolt II- FT
P-51 Mustang- "Fragile but Agile"

F-16 Fighting Falcon- 89-2083 HL
P-40 Warhawk- Planes of Fame 79

F-4 Phantom II- 71-2373 TD
P-51 Mustang- Bum Steer
F-22 Raptor- 09-4172 FF

F-4 Phantom II- 74-1627 HD
P-51 Mustang- "Fragile but Agile"
F-16 Fighting Falcon- 91-0398 SW

P-51 Mustang- "Fragile but Agile"
F-4 Phantom II- 237 TD
F-22 Raptor- 09-4172 FF

And another flight that left afterwards that I missed. Sad face.


Saturday March 5

F-22 Raptor- 08-171 FF
F-16 Fighting Falcon- 89-2083 HL
P-51 Mustang- "Fragile but Agile"
P-38 "Thoughts of Midnight"

F-4 Phantom II- 74-1627 HD
F-16 Fighting Falcon- 92-8923 SW
P-51 Mustang- "February"
P-40 Warhawk- Planes of Fame 79

A-10 Thunderbolt II- 80-0278 DM
P-51 Mustang- "February"
F-22 Raptor- 08-171 FF

P-38 Lightning- "Thoughts of Midnight"
P-51 Mustang- "Fragile but Agile"
F-4 Phantom II- 74-1627 HD
F-16 Fighting Falcon- 89-2083 HL

F-4 Phantom II- 74-1638 TD
F-16 Fighting Falcon- 92-8923 SW
P-51 Mustang- "February"
P-40 Warhawk- Planes of Fame 79

As you can see, there were a lot of planes in a lot of combinations which equals a lot of images. Here's a very, very small sample. And a big shout out to the new friends we made over the two days, it was great hanging out with you all! Please excuse my whispry Clint Eastwood voice, I'm just now able to speak after a nasty bout with the laryngitis gremlins.

On the runway... Coolidge, Arizona fly-in!

Fly-ins happen all across the country and are a time for local aviators to gather and talk , have breakfast and in general act like a community should act. Coolidge, Arizona is no exception and I should add that many of the attendees are quite accommodating towards the gaggle of photographers that can show up on occasion. I feel like a kid in a candy store there; numerous aircraft to photograph from warbirds to brand new kit-build planes and there's never a shortage of people to talk to about their pride and joy. February was no different with a fantastic turnout, a small taste of which you see below.

Grumman TBM Avenger beginning the wing-fold sequence due to a very crowded ramp.

North American Harvard in South African Air Force colors making a pass.

Team Rocket F1 kit plane on a screaming run down the runway.

Grumman TBM Avenger going wheels-up after takeoff.

And a little bit of nostalgia, the Grumman TBM Avenger flown by Pat McGarry in from of the WWII hangar at Coolidge. What a treat it was to see this aircraft up close and enjoy the sound of that big wobbly radial engine.

Thank you again Coolidge, hope to see you again next month!

In the hangar.... Fighting Classics TA-4J

I'm a big fan of trying to live out The Golden Rule in my life: treat folks like you want to be treated for the sake of doing the right thing. No ulterior motive, just doing right for rights' sake. If you get connected with others that think along that line as well then sometimes a phone call out of the blue turns into the start of some very memorable times.

Such was the case a couple of weeks ago. A series of e-mails that started out being fairly speculative in nature quickly led to me standing outside of a nondescript hanger at the Marana Regional Airport north of Tucson, Arizona. On the other side was a lovely sight:

 

Three guys working on a showroom-polished McDonnell Douglas TA-4J Skyhawk. And when I say showroom I'm not kidding. As panels were opened for inspections you could see crisp clean wiring assemblies running through pristine compartments and intricately shaped hydraulic lines carefully winding through their assigned openings. She was, as we would say in the South, purdy. Mike "Maj" McDougall and his crew were working methodically to get her ready to fly. Yes, this polished and painted beauty was going to take to the skies. Volunteering at the Pima Air & Space Museum allows me to see a bevy of beautiful aircraft but they are for display only. This one, equally stunning as any display aircraft I've ever seen, was going up where she belonged!

 

As you can tell this isn't the Skyhawk from the days of the Vietnam War. The front fuselage is from a TA-4 with the rear section being an A-4L. For propulsion she is fitted with a robust Pratt & Whitney J52-P8B axial-flow turbojet instead of the more commonly found Wright J65. Both front and rear cockpits feature modern-day glass instrumentation, GPS, radar altimeter, the works. The canopy can be operated without the need for hydraulic power and you can start it using just a "huffer" as electrical power can be supplied by a re-designed battery system. Very well thought out. She was towed out for additional checks and before too long the huffer was started and things began to get exciting. Don Keating would be taking her up with Maj. in the back for a test flight of the oxygen and pressurization system.

And what a glorious noise that little Scooter made rocketing past us on take off and, a few minutes later, on a low-pass past our position near the windsock. The Skyhawk has a odd-shaped "ovalish" fuselage that is unlike the modern fighters usually seen through my viewfinder. It took a little getting used to but I enjoyed the challenge of trying to find this lil' guy in the pattern. It was easy to see why the Navy chose them as adversary aircraft at Top Gun: fast, nimble and hard to see! A quick crew change and she was ready for flight number two with the sun diving for the horizon.

Off again into the Golden Hour skies of Arizona, the chill in the air momentarily driven back by the exhaust of N518TA as she streaked by and lept into the air to do what she does best: slipping the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God. What a glorious sight and one I was truly honored to be part of, even if just as a spectator peeking into a world that started out 5 long years ago as an idea and a dream. Many thanks to the crew of Fighting Classics for having me out, especially the graciousness of Maj and Don. Without even being aware you and your crew allowed me to have a memorable day with my feet planted firmly on the ground.

For more technical information on Douglas TA-4J Skyhawk N518TA (or perhaps to start the acquisition process) visit the listing page at Courtesy Aircraft.

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