Warbird Kid reporting:
Once again it was a fantastic weekend for my father and I! It was great catching up with Bill, Bill's wife, Ryan, Ken, Sharon, Nathan, Julia, Glen, Ollie, Austin, and new friends like Andy. Great job on that Tigermoth Andy! Can't wait to see it next year! (Sorry if I misspelled or forgot any names. Im writing this at work!)
The show was as great as it ever has been. As far as attendance, it seemed a little lacking but thats how these things go. Regardless, the show was still well organized with very few stops. One thing my father and I tried on the second day was to change up our vantage point along the flightline. We decided to pack-up and move as far away to the edge of the show line as possible. When looking on a map, we we're located on the S/W corner of the runway. Past the "Heavy Iron" lineup and next to the derelict 1950's Fire Engine. The advantages of this secluded location was that it was eerily quiet (aside from the aircraft), and the flight path. Being away from show center, allowed us to witness some dramatic flyovers, literally right over our head! This included seeing the B-25 and Lancaster at a remarkably close and exciting viewpoint. I think next year we'll consider starting off from this vantage point.
Some highlights for me were:
C-46Homegrown bird. Alot of local connections. New attendee.
Barbie III & Georgie's GalTwo new B-25's that have never attended Geneseo before. Barbie III didn't fly though.
Mini Tora TeamGreat to see Doug and Ken in there Zero and Val again at Geneseo. If theres one thing they need at that field every year... it's Tora aircraft. Maybe we'll see the Kate N3242G join them next year? Isn't that Kate and it's owner "more local" as opposed to the other one's in Texas? And for that matter, I wonder what it would take to see the Tora team return to Geneseo?
P-51 Tail ChaseOn Sunday we we're treated to Scott in Quicksilver and Mark in Never Miss beat up the field in a Duxford-esq tail chase around the field. Very impressive stuff.
Lancaster and BoB DisplaySeeing the Lanc, Spitfire, and Hurricane in a formation was awesome enough but then to see the Lancaster fly a solo routine was just amazing. Especially since it seemed like they we're flying her like a fighter!
CorsairNuff said. Any day I see a Corsair fly is a good day.
PyroAn unexpected treat was the pyrotechnics used during the show. Im sure somebody here knows the last time any pyro was used on the field but WOW! Did it make an impression on me! I really hope the NWM makes this a permanent fixture to the show as I've always thought pyrotechnics adds so much to these flying displays.
My suggestions for the 2014 show are:
More PyroAs I've stated above, I believe it adds so much. And who doesn't like alot of boom booms.
More Reenactment GroupsWhile Reading seems to be the biggest Reenactor show on the East Coast, theres no reason why Geneseo couldn't be number 2. I'd like to see the Reenactor Bivouac expand 50% next year as the living history groups really add to the idea that time stops for one weekend at the field.
Reenactment BattleSimilar to how Thunder over Michigan used to have a huge reenactment battle in the nearby bean field, I think Geneseo could easily create their own battle, somewhere on the property there. This accompanied with fighter ground attack, L birds, and C-47 troop drops would really make an impact.
Again these are all constructive suggestions to try and enhance the 2014 show. Im still just glad their is a show at all that I can share with the old man!