Like Tim, I feel like it has taken me forever to get around to posting the pictures from Thunder. I have actually posted a few different albums as a photo documentary of the trip Catherine and I took to Belleville for Thunder.
The trip started with a 4:15 AM Friday departure from Ottawa with our first stop at the Canadian Forces Staff College in Toronto near the 401 and Avenue Road. This facility is one of the locations where officers for the Canadian Forces go for training. The grounds and buildings are beautiful. Of course it does help that there is a CF-104 on the grounds!
A few weeks before arriving I phoned and arranged for an escort to see the Starfighter. A Captain showed Catherine and I to the Starfighter, and I was able to get these pictures…
http://community.webshots.com/album/416677558OUHmFH
When we left Toronto we headed north on the 400 towards Barrie, but of course our destination was CFB Borden. I had been to Borden before, but I wanted to stop by again since I had heard that a few more airframes were viewable. We entered through the south entrance and went straight to the old flight line. I was surprised to see a CT-133 I had not viewed before as well as other airframes belonging to the training schools there. On our way out through the North entrance I was able to photograph a newly pole mounted Kiowa. If anyone knows the serial number of the Kiowa please let me know. I didn’t bother to write it down since I though I would get it in the picture. Unfortunately the serial was not readable. You can find all of the pictures in this album…
http://community.webshots.com/album/547442068FTCzKe
When we left CFB Borden we went for a scenic drive due west to Creemore. I had heard there was a Silver Star on a pole there. It wasn’t hard to find since it was a rather small town. It was located at the local Legion (no surprise) and was pole mounted as well. The pictures are here…
http://community.webshots.com/album/416678000lPJyIZ
I then put the camera away for a while. We went on a scenic drive on secondary roads all the way to Lake Huron at Pentang. We then drove south through the small towns, and eventually found our way to Sarnia. In Sarnia we went Sabre hunting. We eventually found it in Germain Park off of East Street N. The Sabre is pole mounted. You can view my pictures here…
http://community.webshots.com/album/416679741SjyevO
…The identity of this one is somewhat in question. The RCAF serial number 23163 has been quoted before. This would make it a Mk 5, but the absence of wing fences would indicate it is a Mk 6. This also is a Frankenstein machine since at one point a CF-100 canopy was grafted onto it. It is also hurting as it appears to be suffering from corrosion which you can see in one of the pictures.
We then hit the road again, spent an hour crawling along in a line of cars to cross the border, then headed south on I94 for Belleville and checked into our hotel.
The next day we went to the air show and had a great time. There was a gathering of B-17s (eight in total if you had not heard already), and technically a gathering of two B-24s with both Witchcraft and Diamond Lil on the ramp and the Yankee Air Force’s on static display near by. Being a P-51 fan I was also pleased to see two new-to-me Mustangs, Cincinatti Miss and Sweetie Face. It additions Mr. Hansen’s P-40 (really a former RCAF Kittyhawk) was there as well. There was also a Grumman Duck (a Pearl Harbor vet), a number of O-2s, two new-to-me T-28s, MiG-17… it suffices to say I was kept busy with the cameras. I reduced my selection of photos down to what I thought were the best pictures and put them in this album…
http://community.webshots.com/album/416681760LaTgdX
…The show was followed by a symposium dinner with four excellent speakers, and the P-51 Sweetie Face in the back ground. Look for the picture with two sweetie faces in one shot. Catherine might just kill me for posting that one, but what the heck, I am out of town for a few days so I can still live for a while.
The next day we got up early and departed for home. Getting to the bridge in Detroit was fun. The ramp from I94 to I-96 was closed for contruction (the normal route from I94 east bound). This wouldn’t have been so bad except that NO DETOUR SIGNS HAD BEEN POSTED. We ended up touring through a number of neighbourhoods in Detroit. I am sure you have heard cliché descriptions about the Detroit communities, and for some of those communities THEY ARE TRUE. We avoided stopping when ever possible. I must admit the burned out church and the drug dealers on every corner were nice touches. It was really nice of the road construction official to set us up with that nice tour. NOT!
We did finally find the bridge and made our way towards home, but it was not a direct trip. Catherine allowed me to stop off at the Markham airport to view the Al Rubin collection. It is an interesting collection. You can find the pictures here…
http://community.webshots.com/album/416680669fQHtTd
…Unfortunately I was very tired at this point and made the mistake of missing about a third of the collection. If only I had walked further up the hill to the field. Oh well. I now have a good reason to go back!
We continued home with a scenic drive on highway 7 to back to Ottawa.
Looking forward to next year’s trip. Perhaps a route taking us through Fort Erie and Dunnville (more planes on poles) would be in order.
I hope you enjoy the pictures.
Regards,
Mike
_________________
Mike R. Henniger
Aviation Enthusiast & Photographer
http://www.AerialVisuals.cahttp://www.facebook.com/AerialVisualsDo you want to find locations of displayed, stored or active aircraft? Then start with the
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