Warbird Information Exchange

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed on this site are the responsibility of the poster and do not reflect the views of the management.
It is currently Wed Jul 09, 2025 3:34 pm

All times are UTC - 5 hours


Classic Wings Magazine WWII Naval Aviation Research Pacific Luftwaffe Resource Center
When Hollywood Ruled The Skies - Volumes 1 through 4 by Bruce Oriss


Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 27 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next
Author Message
PostPosted: Mon Mar 23, 2015 2:45 pm 
Offline
3000+ Post Club
3000+ Post Club

Joined: Fri Jun 24, 2005 7:26 pm
Posts: 4969
Location: PA
Hi all,

Granted, there are plenty of airshows still going out there. But in my area, 6 or 7 good ones have all gone bye-bye. It just really sucks. I feel like saying, "I guess the good ol' days of airshows are gone". I have to add, keeping track of other airshows that are still going, they are becoming somewhat bland. I know of a few that tend to have the same aircraft every year. Nothing is in the "wow" factor anymore. :( Too bad communities don't strive to support such events more. Airshows=economic growth. IMHO. People are just too scared of flying anymore, and sometimes people look at shows as a risk. Lack of interest, economy, budgets, etc all play a part, I know. Still it all really sucks.


Thank you for reading my useless thoughts of the day. Just felt like letting out what was in my mind.
-Nate

_________________
Shop the Airplane Bunker At
www.warbirdbunker.com


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Mar 23, 2015 4:43 pm 
Offline
2000+ Post Club
2000+ Post Club
User avatar

Joined: Thu Sep 23, 2004 3:00 pm
Posts: 2148
Location: Utah
As a huge fan and show organizer (although we are not doing one in 2015) I agree. A lot of small shows have closed up shop and probably will not come back. There are a boat load of reasons for this but there are also a boat load of reasons why they should work and come back! A big one is that a lot of small shows (me included) came to count on the USAF and NAvy single ship demos to help pull in the crowds. When that dried up a lot of shows folded. The F-22 demo is cool but it just goes to so few shows and really ONLY the big shows where the A-10, F-16 demos went to a lot of smaller regional shows. Heck I even remember at one time there was a T-6II demo team! Alas, days gone by.

Tom P.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Mar 23, 2015 5:12 pm 
Offline
2000+ Post Club
2000+ Post Club
User avatar

Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2004 7:49 pm
Posts: 2171
Location: West Lafayette, Ind.
There have been quite a few airshows that have gone by the wayside in my area, but the good thing here is that there have been other, smaller events that have sprung up to take their place. Some of these have turned out to become yearly fixtures, others as one-off events or shows held every several years.

Yeah, it does kind of stink that the Kalamazoo shows, Muskegon Air Fair, Skyfest Michiana, Goshen Freedom Fest, the Elkhart Airshow and others are gone, but there have been plenty of other events in this area that have sprung up. A group of warbird owners in the area is very active in getting to local fly-in's and have done several one-off airshows in various locations in the past couple years. There's going to be an awesome one-off event at Goshen this year held in conjunction with the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Festival, which will feature vintage aircraft, warbirds and drag racing on the runway. There have been warbird fly-ins at various locations the past several years too, including what is becoming a fun, yearly event at Elkhart that's basically a formation flying and aerobatic contest. A show just started at Warsaw, IN recently that offered the chance to see Dean Cutshall's F-100 in the air- and that's coming from a show in just its second year of existence! Maybe I'm just lucky with the area I live in, but there's something worth attending and within a reasonable driving distance every weekend from early May through early October.

I would urge everyone to support their grassroots airshows. A lot of shows start out small, and the only way they're going to get bigger and give you something resembling your "golden age" warbird shows is with your support. I've been going to airshows for over 20 years, and I've seen a lot shows start out, grow and ultimately fall by the wayside. The best you can do is attend, support and hope for the best. You might get lucky and have something like the early Yankee Air Displays become Thunder Over Michigan right in your backyard.

A lot of times, the smaller shows provide better flying than the big shows anyway. You might get to see more interesting formations, or warbirds in the air multiple times, or maybe an aircraft that is usually a static display flying as a featured performer. At the big shows, the P-51 might fly once. At the small shows, you might see a formation flight with something else, an aerobatic display, and the aircraft flying a circuit with other warbirds. Just a better bang for your buck. I've seen a Sea Fury, P-51 and Corsair in formation at barely-advertised airshow. One of the highlights of my year last year was getting to see LOW fly-by's from the BAHF C-54 with a candy-drop at the Warsaw, IN airshow. Also saw P-51, FM-2 and Corsair in formation, then solo aerobatic displays from each at a fly-in that wasn't billed as anything more than a formation flying and aerobatic contest. Thunder Over Michigan and those types of shows are fun, but being surprised by what a little show throws at you is just as fun.

I miss the Grumman Cat Flight, the Air Zoo warbirds, F-14s, big military presence at shows, etc. but my experiences now are every bit as good (if not better) than they were 10 years ago. Yeah, things change, and sometimes that sucks, but my experience has been to roll with it and continue enjoying the opportunities that present themselves. I've got about a dozen events planned this year, ranging from local EAA fly-in's to airshows and everything in-between- and over half of those are events I've never attended before and am not going out of my way to go to.

Sorry for rambling. I just love airshows. Best way to experience my love for history and warbirds.

_________________
Matt


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Mar 23, 2015 5:21 pm 
Offline
S/N Geek
User avatar

Joined: Thu Apr 29, 2004 8:31 pm
Posts: 3790
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
I have come to notice that it is becoming more difficult for me to become excited about going to shows. I think it is just that I have been to so many there is very little I have not seen. But, I just went to my first show of the season this past weekend. I must say... it was nice to smell AV gas exhaust again.

Mike

_________________
Mike R. Henniger
Aviation Enthusiast & Photographer
http://www.AerialVisuals.ca
http://www.facebook.com/AerialVisuals

Do you want to find locations of displayed, stored or active aircraft? Then start with the The Locator.
Do you want to find or contribute to the documented history of an aircraft? If so then start with the Airframes Database.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Mar 23, 2015 5:38 pm 
Offline
1000+ Posts!
1000+ Posts!

Joined: Fri Feb 11, 2011 5:37 pm
Posts: 1380
The one in my local town in Traverse City, MI is tied to the National Cherry Festival. They will get the Thunderbirds or BA's each year and some other aircraft. I spoke to Cherry Festival office last year after the last show and offered some suggestions to maybe make the airshow more interesting to a broader crowd (Like a B-17). I sensed the feeling was they have the "airshow" just to check the block for the Cherry Festival advertising campaign.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Mar 23, 2015 7:18 pm 
Offline

Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2015 7:18 pm
Posts: 73
Used to be two good shows in my area. The Minter Field Airshow, and Legends over Madera. Ex-WWII training bases that became small municipal airports, each had a large warbird turnout with some military jet performances. Minter Field is only 20 minutes from my house, and was my first introduction to warbirds as a kid. Been hooked since. Not that I'm complaining, but now I have to travel 3hrs to Chino to get my warbird fix.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Mar 23, 2015 7:50 pm 
Offline
1000+ Posts!
1000+ Posts!
User avatar

Joined: Thu Jul 01, 2004 6:11 pm
Posts: 1917
Location: Pacific Northwest USA, via North Florida
mrhenniger wrote:
I have come to notice that it is becoming more difficult for me to become excited about going to shows. I think it is just that I have been to so many there is very little I have not seen.

I think this says it with a refreshing degree of self-awareness.
I don't think airshows are any more or less than they used to be, it's just that people generally don't impress as easy as they used to and especially any of us will find shows less and less amazing, the more of them you see over the years.
I always attend the Olympia WA one each year, it's a small show but with a great feel. My WW2 living history group loves to support it every year as we've always been treated well by the organizers (not so much from some plane owners every now and then, but who cares about what they think).

_________________
Life member, 91st BG Memorial Association
Owner, 1944 Willys MB #366014
Former REMF (US Army, O3)


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Mar 23, 2015 8:16 pm 
Offline
1000+ Posts!
1000+ Posts!

Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 12:28 pm
Posts: 1201
I also chime in that variety is important to me in making the "do I go this year?" decision. I found myself skipping a few of the big airbase shows I used to go to every year when I saw nothing new to me on the flight schedule.

I will go to see even one aircraft I have not seen before.

Agree the cuts to the military demo teams hurt everyone.

I really got excited about the smallish Military Aviation Museum show in Virginia Beach the past few years, especially due to the me-262, Lancaster and Mosquito debut as I had never seen any of these fly before. I keep going back to their annual Warbirds over the Beach show due to special charm of the place and the ability to get so close to the aircraft.

I really like the idea of museums/collections supporting each other- you bring yours to our show- we'll come to yours.

Warbirds, modern military and helos, are my draw- I could care less about Pitts/extras etc. doing aerobatics, & homebuilts- I realize not all share my views.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Mar 23, 2015 8:57 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Sat Jul 12, 2008 2:02 pm
Posts: 411
Location: Minden, NV
Other than the Reno races and show there isn't much action around Minden. They have decent open houses or displays at Carson City, Lake Tahoe and Minden. You used to be able to count on Ted C. (before he passed away) to show up with one of his Mustangs and see him do flyovers of the parades in the area. We did have the Collings gang here for the first time last year, and they are coming again in June.

That all changed yesterday when I watched the Thunderbirds advance man in his F-16 laying down smoke as he checked out the valley. The Thunderbirds will be here for the first time in August and we are having a full blown airshow. KMEV will be rock'n. Kyle Franklin, Matt Younkin, Team Rocket, Dan Buchanan, Manfred Radius and Bill Stein so far.

http://aviationroundup.com/

Other than Reno, this will be my first show in some time. Growing up and living in Southern California meant many airshows just about year-round. I never grew tired about going.

Les


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Mar 23, 2015 10:51 pm 
Offline
3000+ Post Club
3000+ Post Club
User avatar

Joined: Fri Apr 30, 2004 2:29 pm
Posts: 4527
Location: Dallas, TX
Count me in what I guess is the "bored" category... same thing, repeated over and over, and some people just aren't going to keep coming. Things need to mixed up, something different, different theme, etc. Also, a LOT of the airshows I've been to aren't "good" in my book. The little airshow in Burnet had / has a lot of potential, for example, but the announcer sucked last time I went. He kept throwing the pilot of an acrobatic demo under the bus for not knowing what sequence was next, etc... not very inspiring. Instead he could have kept his mouth shut and described what he was seeing. And announcers that don't know their facts, tell tired stories, and get things wrong are unacceptable. So much mediocrity. A better-run show and good announcers and acts that have variety would invigorate some shows.

_________________
Aerial Photographer with Red Wing Aerial Photography currently based at KRBD and tailwheel CFI.
Websites: Texas Tailwheel Flight Training, DoolittleRaid.com and Lbirds.com.

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. - Prov. 21:31 - Train, Practice, Trust.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 12:00 am 
Offline

Joined: Sun Dec 17, 2006 6:10 pm
Posts: 531
Location: Portersville, PA
If the goal is to entertain & educate the general public, a fly-in without the fences allowing folks the chance to talk to pilots, rebuilders and homebuilders might be a remedy. The extensive logistics in a full-blown airshow could be better utilized in a more down home country fly-in with a variety of aircraft with non-aviation activities, car cruise, etc,.
A summer EAA fly-n at the New Castle, PA airport started as a chapter flyout picnic with maybe 30+ a/c the first year. Going into it's sixth year, nearly 100 appeared with a car cruise, r/c demos, helio rides, Young Eagles and a picnic lunch. In conversations with general public attendees (free admission), time and again they truly appreciated the effort to allow the up close view of aircraft and activities. It makes that barrier between us and those folks disappear when they are able to to appreciate the time spent to restore and replicate historic aircraft to teach young and old alike.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 9:03 am 
Offline
1000+ Posts!
1000+ Posts!

Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 12:28 pm
Posts: 1201
RyanShort1 wrote:
but the announcer sucked last time I went...... he could have kept his mouth shut...... .


Can I get an amen! I'm fine with bit of history and introduction to the aircraft, but I would much prefer the sound of the engine to a droning announcer. Talking during a merlin/griffon pass telling me this is the "plane that won the war" - sacrilidge!

And while I'm at at, please stop the music blaring over the loudspeakers. PA systems are designed for announcements, not playing some patriotic, county feel good song... They terribly distort music and drown out the engine notes.

I find myself trying not to stand next to PA towers- yes I may be an old fart...but not that old.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 10:21 am 
Offline

Joined: Thu Dec 25, 2008 9:39 am
Posts: 41
Location: Pensacola, FL
sandiego89

You get a big AMEN from here on the PA system use. That's part of the reason I quit going to the annual Blue Angels Homecoming air show here at Pensacola Naval Air Station. In addition to them selling off the whole flight line to businesses and organizations so they can put up their tents and rope off large areas. This leaves only a small stretch for the other 20,000 or so souls. Only they aren't playing patriotic music but lousy (IMHO) rock mus...er, noise.

Bill


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 10:40 am 
Offline
3000+ Post Club
3000+ Post Club

Joined: Fri Jun 24, 2005 7:26 pm
Posts: 4969
Location: PA
I'm not saying any shows are boring. But there is a big lack in military jet demos, warbirds, and themed shows in my area. :) Everything has thinned out. :( There is also just not that many variety of aircraft in the military anymore. It's f-15's, -16, -18's, C-130's(even these I don't see too much). It would be nice to see more B-52 and B-1 demos. Or even the oddball E-3 or something.

_________________
Shop the Airplane Bunker At
www.warbirdbunker.com


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 12:33 pm 
Offline
1000+ Posts!
1000+ Posts!
User avatar

Joined: Thu Jul 01, 2004 6:11 pm
Posts: 1917
Location: Pacific Northwest USA, via North Florida
I always thought the PAs were a waste of time anyway. Unless you were near a speaker and it wasn't so muddled that you could make out what was being said, it sounded like Charlie Brown's teacher in the TV cartoons.
Heck, I've been to WW2 re-enactments, not even airshows, where they did that. Nothing is more annoying when someone drones on and on while you're watching re-enactors try to cap one another in a public event.

_________________
Life member, 91st BG Memorial Association
Owner, 1944 Willys MB #366014
Former REMF (US Army, O3)


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 27 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next

All times are UTC - 5 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot], Steve Nelson and 41 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group