Friends/Foes over the Falls

[Jeff Hunt]

Anybody going this weekend to Ed Russells place for his annual get together? His web site is not particularily helpful in saying what aircraft are attending so my second question is, has anybody heard the word as to who/what may show up.

I plan on going both days weather and wife permitting.

Jeff

[mrhenniger]

You need to check out the Gatherings Forum for these subjects. There is already a thread there...
http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/p ... php?t=7208

Also a second thread was started, but the one I just gave contains a list of aircraft.

Mike

[Steve T]

Jeff--

I intend being at Russell's field till probably about 2pm Saturday, likely wearing a bright red and orange Hawaiian shirt and definitely lugging a small but heavy black camera bag...first real show of the season, finally here! And I don't even need to cross the border. Will wonders never cease.

Cheers

S.

[TimAPNY]

I wish I could but it is not going to happen. Why do people need to get married on Airshow Saturdays?

Tim

[Jeff Hunt]

Good morning all. Attended yesterdays show and here is a quick report.

Arrived early and was allowed immediate access to the airfield. - plus
All aircraft attending were on field with one or two exceptions - plus
Not allowed access to aircraft parking area at any point during day- minus
Many aircraft parked far away and at bad angles for photogs. - minus
Canadian air display regulations ( not shows fault) - minus
variety of aircraft - plus
flying by pilots - plus
cool temps and high winds ( wind kept Bf 109 on the ground) - minus
timing between acts was poor - minus
show ending Spitfire aerobatics - plus


Being just the second year for the show, Ed and has team have made many improvments since last year. Some of the gripes listed above are clearly not the fault of the show and overall I would score this show at a 6.5 out of ten. Biggest complaint I have again this year is not being allowed out to the aircraft and how they are are parked head on to the crowd in rows making photography very difficult.

Very nice selection of aircraft in attendance. One must keep in mind that this is a smaller show and if you are expecting dozens of aircraft then you are going to be disappointed.

By my recollection the aircraft in attendance:

Spitfire Mk IX
Hurricane Mk XII
Bf-109E
P-51 D Mustang
Harvards X 5
SBD Dauntless
B-17 ( got stuck taxi-ing out for display and did not fly)
WW I replicas DR-1 X 2, SE5A, Nieport, Sopwith strutter
Tiger moths X 3
Chipmunks X2
Fleet 16
Yale
Cornell
Liason aircraft of various types X 3

All in all a respectable effort considering the over cautious Canadian air regulations.

[TimAPNY]

Ok Jeff,
What are the regulations that are adversely effecting the shows in Canada? Inquiring American’s want to know.

Tim

[Jeff Hunt]

Tim, in answer to your question I looked through the Canadian Air regulations and specifically Regulation 623. ( its longer than most books I read). Anyway, as I interpret the reg. for aircraft that fly above 156 knots the minimum distance from the crowd line is 1000 feet. This is for a straight and level pass. Throw in any manouvers and the distance from the line go through the roof, doubling at least. The minimum altitude for the same class of aircraft is 500 feet.

Cat. 1 aircraft are aircraft that fly at more than 245 knots.
Cat. 2 aircraft are aircraft that fly 156-245 knots
Cat. 3 aircraft fly less than 156 knots.

Minimum flight line to crowd line distance for Cat. 1 aircraft is 1500 feet for straight wing, level flight.

For complete read of the regulations type in Canadian Air Regulations into your search engine and you will able to see for yourself how complicated and ridiculous they are. ( sorry, I don't know how to link the gov't site)

Photographing warbirds in the air at Canadian airshows is next to impossible for the average airshow guy.

God bless the United States for their much more relaxed air display rules.

Geneseo and T.O.M......I can hardly wait.

Hope you find this helpful.

Jeff

[TimAPNY]

2000 some feet away and 500 ft above does not sound like great #s to me. That is too bad, but I'm not really sure what most airshow in the US fly at so it’s hard for me to visualize. . I look forward to some pictures.

Any Canadian's want to jump in on the flying regs?

Tim

[pbeegle1]

Anybody have pics?

Thanks

Philip
Dixie Wing

[Mike Berry]

Here are a few that I took......













Regards,

[Manonthefence]

Very nice shots Mike. Thanks for posting them.

[Ontario-Warbird]

Was at the show Saturday and Sunday, met up with Mike H, Steve T and another chap ( sorry bad with names ). Overall for the second year I thought the show was great, just wish they had a select area for shutter bugs away from the crowd. The only complain I could see was people letting their kids feed the Sea Gulls in the area. ( as will be seen on the video when ready ) . Was the first time seeing a Spit doing acrobatics since approx 1987 ( Jerry Billing ofcourse ), Mr. Walker and Mr. Romain did a fantastic job in the Spit and 109 ( as for the rest of the pilots )

Here is a few pic's, I have 5 mini disc's of video to go through ( coming soon )





























Cheers Dave C

[GIJOE290]

Whoa, Nice Photo's!! Thanks for sharing'em!

Dave Cheeseman, What it is plane above the first Lancaster picture, with the number 5 on the side of it? (Second one up from the bottom on your first post).

[Steve T]

GI Joe--

I'm not Dave, but I can answer that query; that airplane is the Commemorative Air Force (Dixie Wing) Douglas Dauntless, one of only about three Dauntlesses currently flying. Very nice to see the CAF presence at the Russell show. The Mustang is theirs too, "Old Red Nose" as it's known having been Lloyd Nolen's and a founder member of the CAF fleet in the late fifties. Arguably "Old Red Nose" is the very first Warbird.

Friendly Foes was once again a great way to kick off the active airshow season in our area. Good to see Jeff, Mike H, Dave C, and Martin Keenan there this year. Hats off to Mr Russell and crew for giving the event another try; hope to be there again in '07.

S.

[GIJOE290]

Thanks Steve!