2023 CAF Florida Tour photos

[wls3]

CAF Airpower History Tour was at Space Coast Regional Airport in Titusville, FL this weekend.
B-24 "Diamond Lil", P-51 "Gunfighter", PT-13, T-6, T-34, and C-45.
Some photos from Saturday below.

[Pogo]

Splendid pix Bill -- THANKS for posting them!! I needed that.

[Chuck Gardner]

Great Pictures, Bill

[Waltz41]

Great shots Bill! Thanks for sharing.

[Jerry O'Neill]

As always Bill, great photos and thanks for sharing!
Jerry

[JohnB]

Not trying to be too picky, but I assume the T-34 is supposed to be Navy judging by the tail codes.
Did the Navy have silver Mentors?
I thought they were yellow in the '50s, then orange/red and white?

I see it has CAF markings....so I (sorta) hold them to a higher standard than a private owner.
Since since the type was used by both the AF and Navy, I can see a rationale for non-specific, generic markings.

Beautiful SNB. The tri color scheme looks great.

[Nathan]

Hi Bill,

You always take amazing photos! Thank you for sharing! Very awesome!

Thanks,
Nate
www.warbirdbunker.com

[sandiego89]

[quote="JohnB"]Not trying to be too picky, but I assume the T-34 is supposed to be Navy judging by the tail codes.
Did the Navy have silver Mentors?
I thought they were yellow in the '50s, then orange/red and white?

I see it has CAF markings....so I (sorta) hold them to a higher standard than a private owner.
Since since the type was used by both the AF and Navy, I can see a rationale for non-specific, generic markings...../quote]

The T-34 scheme looks very much standard USAF scheme, the USAF did fly T-34's in silver. Many enjoyed post front line USAF use with Aero Clubs on USAF bases and by the Civil Air Patrol. The HV tail code is usually associated with Vandenberg AFB, so I would not assume this is Navy/AF mash up. Perhaps the plane has or the owner has a link to Vandenburg or is a tribute? Most CAF aircraft are actually owned by individuals. I would not over think it.

[sandiego89]

[quote="JohnB"]Not trying to be too picky, but I assume the T-34 is supposed to be Navy judging by the tail codes.
Did the Navy have silver Mentors?
I thought they were yellow in the '50s, then orange/red and white?

I see it has CAF markings....so I (sorta) hold them to a higher standard than a private owner.
Since since the type was used by both the AF and Navy, I can see a rationale for non-specific, generic markings...../quote]

The T-34 scheme looks very much standard USAF scheme, the USAF did fly T-34's in silver. Many enjoyed post front line USAF use with Aero Clubs on USAF bases and by the Civil Air Patrol. The HV tail code is usually associated with Vandenberg AFB, so I would not assume this is Navy/AF mash up. Perhaps the plane has or the owner has a link to Vandenburg or is a tribute? Most CAF aircraft are actually owned by individuals. I would not over think it.

[Randy Wilson]

Just for information, the CAF currently owns 177 aircraft. These are registered to one of the four corporations that make up the CAF, the American Airpower Heritage Flying Museum. That number is as of the last meeting of the board of the AAHFM a couple of weeks ago. At any time, the aircraft are either in flying, maintenance, restoration or storage status. The AAHFM board operates under the guidance of the CAF board of directors, known historically also as the CAF General Staff. The other two corporations are the American Airpower Heritage Foundation and the American Airpower Heritage Museum, which includes the Henry B. Tippie National Aviation Education Center. A recent issue of The Dispatch magazine has an article on the structure and organization of the CAF. Again, just FYI.

Randy

[JohnB]

The HV tail code is usually associated with Vandenberg AFB, so I would not assume this is Navy/AF mash up. Most CAF aircraft are actually owned by individuals. I would not over think it.

But the AF did use tail codes when the T-34 was in service. So a mixed historical message. In the Mentor's heyday, just Navy types had tail codes.
And if it is trying to be Air Forve, why not add the U.S. AIR FORCE titles the T-34 had back in the day?

You are right, I'm probably over thinking it.

When I was a kid, the base Aero Club had some surplus T-34s. You could see where they removed the AF titles and stars and bars.
BTW. A recent T-34 model kit came with CAP decals, and they included silver shapes meant to represent painted over or removed stars and bars for CAP aircraft.