Kalamazoo Air Zoo Oct 08

cg51 · **Posted:** Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:57 pm

Taken during Oct 08, lighting was poor as usual, i touched up the brightness a bit.

cg51 · **Posted:** Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:59 pm

Part 2
From there last show in 2001

mustangdriver · **Posted:** Fri Dec 11, 2009 4:02 pm

Man I wish they still had the F7F and F8F. It was cool having all the Grumman Cats there.

mlenoch · **Posted:** Fri Dec 11, 2009 7:08 pm

I gotta confess, those are fabulous Hellcat pix!
(Great flying machine; no wonder it was an ACE maker for Ensigns!)
VL

Pat Carry · **Posted:** Fri Dec 11, 2009 7:20 pm

Hey Vlado, does your Mustang still winter at the Air Zoo?

cg51 · **Posted:** Fri Dec 11, 2009 7:29 pm

vlado wrote:

I gotta confess, those are fabulous Hellcat pix!
(Great flying machine; no wonder it was an ACE maker for Ensigns!)
VL

They are arent they, i know the pilot that was flying it that day, wonder who that could be!

Pat Carry · **Posted:** Fri Dec 11, 2009 7:39 pm

I have probably said this before but the staff at the Air Zoo sure did an outstanding job restoring the Ascender. Perhaps they can get additional aircraft on loan from the NASM and do some equally outstanding restoration work on them.

bdk · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am **Posts:** 11324

I used to ride my bike to see that Hellcat when it was a derelict.

kalamazookid · **Posted:** Sat Dec 12, 2009 1:32 am

Quote:

I have probably said this before but the staff at the Air Zoo sure did an outstanding job restoring the Ascender. Perhaps they can get additional aircraft on loan from the NASM and do some equally outstanding restoration work on them.

They actually just finished a V-1 Buzz Bomb from NASM not too long ago. It was built up from a pile of junk. Looks pretty good, especially considering what they started with. Unfortunately, I haven't had the motivation to photograph it yet...

I'm holding out hope that NASM will share their J7W1 Shinden. That would make for an interesting display of how both sides were experimenting with the pusher/canard designs during the war.

And thanks for the pics of the old Warbirds Over Kalamazoo shows. I grew up attending those and they're some of the best memories I have of warbirds. Seeing a Cat Flight or Legacy Flight every year and John Ellis fly aerobatics in the Tigercat was quite a privilege.

mlenoch · **Posted:** Sat Dec 12, 2009 2:57 am

Pat wrote:Hey Vlado, does your Mustang still winter at the Air Zoo?

No, since they filled the museum with so many more 'on-loan' aircraft, I have not been wintering there.
It was getting harder to shuffle their airframes with so little floor space. It was a wonderful place to store an airplane and everyone was always so helpful and friendly.
VL

Steve Nelson · **Posted:** Sat Dec 12, 2009 3:38 am

Great pics! Our model club had its annual show there a couple days after they were taken.

Those airshow shots are bittersweet. I really miss seeing the Cats, Corsair, and T-Bolt in the air. I was at that last show..all the warbirds were grounded at the end of the 2000 season due to skyrocketing insurance and maintenance costs. As a volunteer, I was able to hitch a ride on the Ford Trimotor on 10/31/00, and see Barry Smith pilot the Hellcat on its final flight. Unfortunately, I left my telephoto lens on the ground, so I didn't get very good pics (Barry kept his distance..if he hadn't turned the smoke on we would never have known he was there.)

SN

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Kalamazoo Air Zoo Oct 08

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