Warbird Information Exchange

Thats a mighty fine looking C-54 you have there....

_________________
Kevin Kearney
Vice President
Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation


C-54D "Spirit of Freedom" 43-17228
C-97 "Angel of Deliverance" 52-2718 (painted as YC-97A 45-59595)
C-54E/R5D-4 "Spirit of Freedom" 44-9144 BuNo 90414 (wfu April/2020)
http://www.spiritoffreedom.org

Wilkes-Barre airshow was always fun. I only went a couple of years, but it was the one airshow that every plane in the hangar(Mid-Atlantic Air Musuem) at Reading that could fly, went to the show.

And then there was always the night out at the Woodlands for the airshow dinner!!!!

I made it to that show twice and really loved it!

I still have great memories of the T-birds and performers disappearing into the valleys around the airport.

One of my favorites was an F-15 buzzing the crowd It was heaven. I was directly below it...

I also remember seeing an F-14 putting on a fantastic display on a lousy day and seeing all the water vapor coming off of it as it performed...

I got to tour the CAF's late (Casa) HE-111 and Sentimental Journey.

Another memory was the TWA connie looking beautiful. I also remember seeing that Hawker Hunter, shame to hear it was lost.

_________________
Share your story: Rutgers Oral History Archive http://oralhistory.rutgers.edu/

Eastern Pennsylvania sure has lost some great shows. As a kid in the 80's the shows at Harrisburg International were my "larger than life shows". I had heard that the organizers screwed the airport out of money. Not sure how much truth there is to that, but i miss it.

When was the last time Reading had a show? Last one i was at was in '95 then i went to college and lost touch with reality for a few years. The stories I have heard about Reading's shows in the 60's and 70's seem almost fairytale-like. The blues and T-Birds in F-4s AND the Red Arrows at the same show? I'll believe it when i see photographic evidence.

_________________
Jeff

Pete,
You are absolutely right that was our girl sitting back there. Have to say that jumped right out at me. One day She will be back and share the ramp with all our friends, even that Douglas.
Bob

Pete,

Nice pics of the Wilkes barre Airshow. I was the owner of the Hawker Hunter shown and to correct make a correction to your post, the hunter shown was one of several I owned, fortunately, that was NOT the aircraft crashed and was lost at Wilkes barre airport. The aircraft is still alive and flying... FYI
Andy

Hi Andy,

That's great to hear! Do you know who has it and where it's flying now? If you have any photos or stories from your time owning her please post them.

The other Penna. Hunter I remember seeing was one of the ex Swiss airframes (in original markings) at the 2000 MAAM WW2 Weekend. It was on static display and I remember talking to the owner. I thought he said it was RDG based but I'm not sure. I wonder what became of that airframe?

Pete