Warbird Information Exchange

For anyone interested, final Warbird registration numbers were:

Total registered: 341 down from 367 in 2011

Major Types

T-6/SNJ: 71 (including a couple of the Tora Zero replicas)
T-34: 40
T-28: 27
P-51: 23 (Including the A-36)
L-39: 15
Yak-52: 13
CJ-6A: 11
L-17: 10
L-19: 10
Stearman: 8
P-40: 5(!)

Noticeably absent: Spitfires and Sea Furies

Just in case you were wondering...

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Chris

L-39's? Are you kidding? What about real jet warbirds like F-86, T-33, FJ-4B, A-4, etc.? Of course you said "major" types and none of the real classic jet warbirds have individual numbers approaching those above. What was the count on those? From what I saw on WIX, Fence Check and other Internet sources (not counting L-39's!), jet warbird numbers were down from what was there when I attended in 2010 (3 Sabres, 2 A-4's, F-4, 2 MiG-21's, 6 T-33's, FJ-4B, Alpha Jet), and maybe down from what was there last year also. Hope 2013 will be better.

How many of the L-17s were real L-17s and not Navions in military paint?

(And I'll also politely ask how many were in accurate military schemes? I've seen too many in"NAVY" paint over the years)

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.
Note political free signature.
I figure if you wanted my opinion on items unrelated to this forum, you'd ask for it.

There were 2 A-4s, F-86, 3 T-33s, FJ-4B, T-2, L-29 present, although yes, numbers were down on recent years, and those that were there seemed to be flying much less than in the last couple of years, especially during the airshow.

and Skyraiders

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"Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves."

The jet warbirds were noticeably absent this year. They were only slated to fly on Thursday. They were added to the show on Friday, but then cancelled. The feeling I get from listening to some of the jet owners is why bring them if just flying for one day? It will be interesting to see what or if any will come next year.
David

The "jet show" Thursday was....how shall we say....less than what I had hoped it would be.

As much as I enjoyed Puck's acro routine in the Sabre, I was hoping for more, especially since the Fury, the T-2, two A-4s, a couple T-33s, and some other stuff were sitting right there on the ramp during the "show".

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The funny thing is, the one airplane with the actually pretty accurate L-17 scheme was a plain ol' Navion under it!

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Comments on the comments thus far:



For those who wonder, I jotted down the ones I saw:
(1) A-36
(2) Red tail P-51B
(3) Old Crow P-51B
(4) Old Crow P-51D
(5) Gentleman Jim
(6) Glamorous Glen III
(7) The Rebel
(8) Aint Misbehavin
(9) Baby Duck
(10) Brat III
(11) Little Rebel
(12) Sweet & Lovely
(13) Barbara Jean (NEBR ANG)
(14) the camo COIN one
(15) Charlotte's Chariot
(16) Gunfighter
(17) Petie 2nd
(18) Big Beautiful Doll
(19) Twilight Tear
(20) Boomer
(21) Geraldine
(22) Baby Alice
(23) CAF Red Nose (though I only saw it buzz the field, not land)

There was a notable lack of variety in P-51 paint schemes as shown by the following stats:

P-51s in non-US markings: 0
P-51s in Pacific theatre US markings: 0
P-51s in postwar US markings: 2
P-51s in ETO/MTO US markings: 21
P-51s in 8th AF markings: 17
357th FG: 7
352nd FG: 3
4th FG: 3
78th FG: 2
361st FG: 2

The paint scheme monotony made it seem like there were fewer P-51s than there actually were.



Very noticeable lack of British/Canadian or foreign content (other than modern east bloc). No British jets either. Even at the light end, I saw only three Chipmunks and two Tiger Moths on the whole airport.

Not mentioned thus far, however, are the fairly respectable bomber/transport numbers:
C-47/DC-3: at least 6
B-25: 4
B-17: 2
TBM: 2
A-26, SBD, PV-2, B-29, C-46, hideous Lockheed 18: 1 each
Good spread of Grumman amphibs with Albatross and multiple Mallards, Wigeons, and Geese.

And of course there was Wildcat x2, F4U-5, F2G, P-38, F8F, Yak to round out the fighters.



I'd like to know how to tell the difference, if anyone can enlighten.



+1

OTOH I thought that Friday's warbird show was very good, verging on awesome. About half the WWII types flew and those who were there for the showcase got a great look at Fifi. The choreography at times was poor, putting a lot of airplanes in the sky but most of them either overhead, behind you, or too far out in front. The trainer guys had to be disappointed to do all that practice for one formation pass each. And where were the B-17s -- hey EAA, how about giving up a couple hours of ride revenue to support your own show, eh? -- but overall it might have been the best warbird show in the US this year outside of Chino. But then Saturday's show was pretty poor with many of Friday's participants having departed.

August

So just 28 real warbirds of 2 types.

Far cry from days of yore.

No, the original list seems to have just been limited to types present in numbers of 5+. If by real warbirds you mean combat types from WWII, the total was 47: 23 P-51s, 12 other fighters, 12 bombers.

But I agree, down from the days when there were major regional collectors contributing several fighters each.

Just be thankful for CAF which contributed no less than 8 of the 47.

Honorable mentions also to Mr Lewis and Mr Fagen for chipping in multiple cool aircraft.

OSH could be just as good as the old days, when Pond and the Parishes brought so many planes, if it could coax back the nearby collections that have participated in the past: Yagen, Clyman, CWH, Potter. And more of the Texas crowd. Maybe when the economy gets better.

August

Ah, I misconstrued. Not quite as disappointing then.

When was Geraldine there? I didn't see that one. You left of Vlado's Moonbeam McSwine.

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Offer me solutions, offer me alternatives, and I decline......

There were only around 300 L-17's produced for the Army and Air Force. The standard aircraft were equipped with a Continental 185 motor with the wide-mouth 'smile' engine cowl. All L-17's had split-windows on the canopy, and no propeller spinner, with a militarized interior. Oh, and a nice data plate.

Unfortunately, most of the "L-17's" flying around today are just Navions with some psycho-pseudo military scheme painted on it...with engine modifications from a 205 up to a 285 with three blades, tip tanks, one-piece windscreens and canopies. And coming from a family that owned a data-plate, pedigreed L-17 that served in the Army during the Korean conflict, I can only raise my eyebrows at the owners calling them L-17's just because of a crappy paint job with oversized nose art.

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Offer me solutions, offer me alternatives, and I decline......

You're not mistaking that for the absolutely gorgeous Howard 500, are you?

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Offer me solutions, offer me alternatives, and I decline......