Warbird Information Exchange

I didn't see the Mosquito or any of the Luft aircraft, dang. Must have got there before me and stayed wherever they taxied, I'm guessing somewhere around the KC-135

X-rayThey all came in during the morning. Mosquito came in shortly after 11am when we were scrambling for a spot when the cops kicked us off of Ecorse early so I missed it's arrival but I could see it from Michigan. The JU-52 shortly after that I was able to shoot from Beck Road. Maybe 5-10 min later the FW190 and a Spitfire came in together. The Transall C-160 came in around 1pm

The Ju-52 is there?! Fantastic! As of 10:30 a.m. it's raining steadily about 75 mi. Westhwre in Battle Creek. Don't know what the weather's like in Ypsi, but for the sake of the folks attending today I hope it's not a complete washout. I'm planning to head over tomorrow. I've been to Thunder a few times when it was ovwrcast, but I don't think they've ever been completely rained out.

SN

I wanted to go today but the rain is currently over Jackson and I don't feel like paying $60 for overcast skies and having the show rained out. Not sure if I can make it to tomorrow's show or not - would be the first time I missed Thunder Over Michigan when I actually was up in Michigan.

It's been a bit dark to the west all morning but it looks way better now than it did a couple hours ago. I'm optimistic it will stay north and west as it dissipates over the afternoon.

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for photography on an overcast day, the dark clouds help being behind the planes if the light is behind you.

back in the early 90s I got a great pic of a B-1B making a full-afterburner pass with dark storm clouds in the background. It really made the exhaust plumes stand out!

Unfortunately the last time I was at Thunder was 2011, when it was overcast all day and most of the warbirds were dark blue Naval aircraft. Most of my shots tended to be more silhouettes than anything.

SN

Rain was very little of a factor, Ypsi just got brushed.
A pretty good sprinkle when the F-16 & Mustang were doing the heritage flight, other than that pretty nice.

Just got back and have mixed feelings. I won the grand prize to sit in with a guest to attend the Pilots Briefing, which was really cool. Safety, Safety, Safety, was the mantra. These Aviators are professional all the way. The show was good with Silver Dragon, Tim Savage is a class act, and the Privateer getting my attention. Yagens new FW190 was all I hoped for. I thought too much time with nothing flying and the blaring "music".
No sooner set up our chairs when the entire crowd to the right on the viewing behind the snow fence were forced to vacate, safety reasons? Should have been roped off in advance. Had to pony up a couple more bucks to view from the Budweiser tent, "Pay Per View". A couple AC didn't go because they fly when they are safe, pilots call, no bitch from me as there was plenty to see. The area to the right near the fence , which was open last time I attended, maybe5 years ago when they had 7 Corsairs was now a wrist band area. Would I go again, maybe. I started for the Gate when the Blue Angles started their show, see them before and didn't want to get in the traffic jam that would ensue. Some sprinkles during the show but really nothing, had rain going West back to Indiana and I hope it stays away tomorrow for them. Still worth the 6 hrs. driving to be around piston engines and history.

Even after the bit of rain that started at 1:30, to the south it looked bad enough that I again thought we were going to get hit good, but it turned out ok. I stood under the C-47 for a bit just because I didn't want to get my camera wet but I think we really lucked out today. The radar looked really bad this morning when I left the hotel Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

I thought the lineup was awesome and the fighters and bombers all did a ton of passes. I would have liked to see the Ju-52 go up. I don't think Yankee Lady flew today besides ride flights.

Super Rabbit flew today but most likely will not tomorrow and probably won't be on the ramp. There was a tug mishap of some sort with the nose gear when they were putting it back on the ramp this afternoon, they were dragging it to a hanger as I left tonight.


Hotel internet sucks so just a couple pictures for now. (sorry about the lens poo)

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I agree and what a joke the crowd setup was on Saturday. My dad and I had to move our chairs. We've been attending for years and always tried to camp out towards the north end and never had a problem getting flight line views. It seems to me that the show has gotten very commercial as about 75% of the flightline is now taken up by tents and upgraded sections. No longer can the general ticket holder really get up to the flightline. I think there was a space of a few hundred feet between teh tents and the kids play zone. While I'm glad the YAF have such a successful show to help them out as an organization, it seems like they've gotten very good at squeezing every penny out of attendees to the show.

There were some great and unique aircraft in attendance but I was rather disappointed by the setup and general organization of the show this year.

Took a ton of pictures and video yesterday - will try and share some when I get them all uploaded. Looked like maybe the Ju-52 had some engine problems....was glad to see that they put a lot up and was glad to finally see the PB4Y fly. The tents and the cost are their choice, while I disagree and feel they are catering to the rich that is their choice and obviously they do quite well with the money. At nearly $100 at the gate for two people just to get into the event it is quite costly but at the same time where else do you see a B-29/B-17/PB4Y/Lanc all up together in one place at one time?

Here is my favorite picture:

Saturday 29th:

Mosquito + Spitfire (Morning Battle Flyover): https://youtu.be/ePlOg8mJyiI

Morning Battle: https://youtu.be/uf-Jq0DPDsg

Morning Battle: https://youtu.be/R3_Kl9f2GOk

Famous Fighter Flight (P-51B, Spitfire, FG-1C, 2 x P-51D): https://youtu.be/2iVW0wlnfok

Famous Fighter Flight (P-51B, Spitfire, FG-1C, 2 x P-51D): https://youtu.be/rRBcGSKg0bk

Bombertown USA (Mosquito, B-25 (4), A-26, PV-2) : https://youtu.be/V7RkjP6mdzk

Bombertown USA (B-29, Lancaster, B-17, PB4Y-2, Mosquito, B-25 (4), A-26, PV-2): https://youtu.be/QQbXoPLahAQ

FW-190 Flyover (Afternoon Battle): https://youtu.be/ZIurAhTATNs

Afternoon Battle: https://youtu.be/UqBArxfTD-s

Pretty solid show today. First two hours of flying was great, then napped through most of the battle and Mike Goulian, watched Vlado fly the P-51 demo and left before the Blues. Seeing a Mossie fly by on the circuit closer to the crowd while the B-29 flew by on the further circuit was pretty surreal. File that one under the "things I never thought I'd see" category. The Lancaster, B-17 and B-29 formation was phenomenal. Never thought they'd be able to get the aircraft in that tight of a formation. Too cool.

If there was a disappointment, it was the FlugWerk. Didn't even look remotely like a real FW-190. Still very appreciative that MAM sent it to the show and it was neat to see in the air though. I will always take advantage of any chance I get to see aircraft from their collection.

Thunder is still a fun show. I think it's gotten very overpriced (particularly for the non-airshow fanatic crowd), but we have a great time every year. The flights with aircraft flying by on two different racetrack patterns is the biggest thing I look forward to every year and something I've yet to see done anywhere else.

Last thought I want to give is a special shout out to the CWH crew flying the B-25 for some of the best passes of the day. SWEET flying!

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Matt