Warbird Information Exchange

Hi all

Two questions

what is the best warbirds show around at present?
What makes a good warbirds show?

I have recently been to Oshhosh and am on a quest to seek out what is the best show. So far in my limited experience Warbirds Over Wanaka is my pick. They fly fast, low and often with good variety of ww2 era aircraft. Interested to know what other like minded souls think. Given that I will never own one I want to soak up as much as I can

Cheers

Warbirds over Wanaka is certainly one of the best in my experience – at least used to be, when the Alpine Fighter Colelction was running the show. Flying Legends in Duxford is, in my opinion, the other best – minus the special scenery of the NZ alps but with the special atmosphere and setting of the old RAF base...

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Paris, FRANCE

Besides Wanaka and Flying Legends, the show at Chino, California in May is the other that never disappoints. Those plus Oshkosh are the ones worth traveling a long way to attend.

There is a second tier of shows worth attending if you are local or if traveling to see warbird shows is all you have to do with your time. Those would include some of the other events at Duxford; the various events at Old Warden hosted by Shuttleworth; Thunder Over Michigan near Detroit in August; the Canadian Warplane Heritage event in June in Hamilton, Ont.; World War II Weekend in Reading, Pennsylvania in June; the CAF's Airsho in Midland, Texas in October; the show at Geneseo, NY in July; EAA's Sun 'n Fun in Lakeland, FL; the air races at Reno, Nevada in Sept.

August

Hands down....Duxford. Constant flying and I mean CONSTANT. Never been to Wanaka. I'd love to go. Maybe next year. I won't comment on the rest we've been to. Two reasons. It would: 1) Start a big HOO-HA about the rankings and 2) pi$$ off the people who run them.

Mudge the diplomatic

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Land of the free because of the brave

I agree with you Mudge, given that shows have declined over the years (my perception) my intention is not to peeve anyone off but to encourage healthy discussion. If I'm lucky I will get to one major show a year or at least this is my mantra. We are fortunate to have such a large variety of surviving aircraft and more importantly those that preserve and let others enjoy. I am willing to pay good money to see a good show. I know shows must cater for Joe public as there aren't enough enthusiasts or are there? Is it a case of build it and they will come or are they based on what people want to see? just food for thought. I often see on this forum about dream appearances for a particular show. So I say to all Wixers what do you want to see?

For example;

Mixed formations - Fighters and bombers
Formations
Formation aerobatics
Handling displays
Simulated speed trials between different makes
Simulated ground attack or aerial combat
Reviews such as WIR at Oshkosh

I wouldn't call most Thunder Over Michigan Airshows "2nd Tier" - yes some have been better than others - but if you can twice bring in eight B-17s plus some other heavy bombers with them, you are doing pretty good.

A really good warbird airshow that wasn't mentioned is Titusville Florida in March. For a person that goes every year like me, you do see a lot of the same aircraft. However, if you are a first timer it is a great show. This year was the only sort of exception for 2 reasons beyond their control - a. weather - a lot of planes didnt show up because it was a rainy weekend b. Military budget cuts - no modern jets flew (ie no heritage flights).

While a lot of the aircraft are the same warbirds that show up every year with a few surprises - if you never been to the show before you will notice that they try to pack as much show in that they can in just 4 hours. They are constantly launching acts - two different acts will be circling around a few miles away while an act is performing. As soon as the act lands, the next act performs. Other than this year (due to a lot of cancellations leaving some open slots) the show is continuous with no more than literally a 5 minute break. I swear they can jam in about 20 different acts. Another great thing is that these guys are very photo friendly in terms of how they set up the airshow. I seen pictures of Chino (never been there, but it looks like you face south), Thunder Over Michigan faces west. Titusville faces north, which is perfect in the winter sun. The planes all taxi by you very close either after they land or before they take off (depending on the winds) - you can get decent rotating shots also of the warbirds as the runway is pretty close and the planes rotate in front of you. There is a longer runway to the east of the show area- where you can stand literally about 200 ft from that some of the jets use like the F-15, F-16 and F-104 in years past - where you feel the heat of the afterburners as they rotate right in front of you - great for afternoon shots. They also have a nice variety of aircraft in their museum that they pretty much bring out their whole collection on static display every year for the show.

Even though I wouldn't call them an "airshow", I like the Collings Foundation tour stops. It's generally more intimate and more laid back than a full blown air show. No, you don't see a whole lot of planes, but you can really get up close and personal with the planes that are there. Both times I've gone to Westminster, Maryland, I was able to park within sight of the aircraft...try doing that at a major air show.

In its day (the mid 90s), the now-defunct Wings of Freedom air show in Frederick, Maryland was as good as any "second tier" show out there. I believe in their second year, they drew five B-17s (Both CAF birds, Fuddy Duddy, Yankee Lady and the movie Memphis Belle). Unfortunately, it began slipping away, espeically when TOM ended up being scheduled on the same weekend and the show turned more into a military vehicle show. Their last hurrah was a TBM Reunion in 2003 where they were able to draw seven Avengers in honor of the local CAF chapter's (also now defunct) acquisition of FPL's Tanker 18...the same TBM that is now at Jack Kosko's in the final stages of its restoration.

Unfortunately, the first day in 2003 was a washout due to rain and the second day, I was stuck in lamaze class with my wife. You have no idea how frustrating it was to hear radial engines overhead and not be able to see them! At least I got to watch a few of the Avengers fly out at the end of the day on Sunday.

I always thought the "death knell" for the Frederick airshow was the time Jimmy Franklin tore up great chunks of runway/taxiway with the jet engine. (But you know what I always say about my memory.)

Mudge the geezer

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Land of the free because of the brave

You're definitely no geezer. I forgot about the jet powered dragster truck. They used to race an AT-6 down the runway (the AT-6 was airborne, of course). He'd usually nip the Texan, but occasionally, the plane would win.

Jimmy Franklin didn't have a truck. He had a Waco with a jet engine slung underneath.

Mudge the GEEZER (I insist)

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Land of the free because of the brave

I'm probably a little biased, but WWII Weekend in Reading PA has something the other shows don't. The entire airfield becomes a WWII camp again for the event. Re-enactors WWII Vehicles the music, the home front, the entire immersive experience. The aircraft that come are first rate too. I would consider it a must see and it's so nice to have an airshow free from jet teams and endless aerobatic acts in modern planes.
Tom Bowers

Yeah...we like it, too. (When it's not a mudhole.) Although I don't consider it an "airshow". It's interesting to see what the reenactors are doing. Some of them have spent a small fortune on their "kit". Although, to this day, I don't understand why some of them want to reenact the SS scum. But that's just me.

We've been through the "reenactors are just pathetic posers" in the past, so I hope those of you, who are of that opinion, can restrain themselves from bad mouthing our hobby.

Mudge the "poser"

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Land of the free because of the brave

.

Now that mentioned it, I remember that, too. It seems like I'm the GEEZER in this thread.

A friend of mine was a member of DCRC, so I usually hung out with him down with the radio controlled planes at the far end of the flight line. I always preferred staying late on the Sunday show to watch all the planes fly out, and then you didn't have to deal with the parking issues.

One year, I was waiting to get into the lot at the fairgrounds, when a tanker truck carrying heavy cream "burped" alongside me and totally peppered my old Land Cruiser with cream. It looked like I drove through a flight of pteradactyls. After I parked, some of the people who witnessed the event were making comments "They're cute when they're babies" (from the Subaru Outback commercial of the time featuring Paul Hogan). Others looked at me and I just looked back and said "Man, you should have seen the size of that bird". No matter, while I was cleaning some of the heavy cream off, Sentimental Journey flew overhead. There's nothing like four perfectly syncronized Wright Cyclones to brighten your day!

Then again, you're just a reenactor, so nobody cares about your opinion anyway.

-Zack the mischievous

PS: Just giving you some guff this morning Mudge, no offense intended. Seriously, to contribute something a bit more worthwhile to the discussion, I have really enjoyed the Thunder Over Michigan shows over the past 7 years that I have been attending (missing just a few during that time). Some have been better than others, but I've always had fun. I also enjoyed WWII Weekend in Reading, PA, but as some have pointed out previously, the flying takes second fiddle to the ground show, and the SS reenactors are a bit...weird and offensive to put it mildly. It's still a fantastic experience. I know I am biased, but I when I have the time during a lull between interviews and other work, I've always enjoyed the Warbirds area at Oshkosh. Yes, there's a good chance that you won't get to see the PJ-42XYZ "Spitcrackerbolt" fly, but at least it is there where you can see it on the ground. I love to see the iron in the sky, but I get just as much enjoyment from seeing them up close on the ground.

Some of the shows that have stood out most for me are the special shows that do not happen every year: The Gathering of Mustangs and Legends in 2007 and the Doolittle Raider Reunions in 2010 and 2012. These shows have been big, but at the same time very intimate for the attendees. One of my absolute favorite events has been the "Warbird Weekend" event put on occasionally by the Tennessee Museum of Aviation. Standing within 10 feet of two P-47s starting up and taxiing out is a thrill for this Jug nut.

One of these days I hope to get to the Planes of Fame show, the CAF Airshow at Midland, Reno, and some of the east coast events like Jerry Yagen's Warbirds Over the Beach. And of course, Duxford is high on my list.

Zack

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Volunteer Coordinator/Curator - Military Aviation Museum - Virginia Beach, VA
"America's Flying Museum"
http://www.militaryaviationmuseum.org