Boeing666 wrote:
Yeah there are a lot of other good planes up there where it doesn't bother me if one of the exotics cancel. I learned not to go based on one particular aircraft but yeah the first time the ME-262 canceled back in 2010 (I think) I was really bummed. The second time it canceled was when that museum it was with canceled their whole group of planes, which I think included the ME-262, FW190, Mosquito, a P-51D, B-17 (Fuddy Duddy I think) and I think a Skyraider. No fault of Thunder but I think that was when that museum that owned the planes had some IRS issue or something.
Tom and the others do their best so they can't be to blame. Many times I have gone to Thunder where there was great weather (because a front just went through on Thursday) but that meant east of us was getting storms and planes coming from Virginia canceled because of the storms. Of course everything is dependent on weather. Last year I think might have been one of the best turnouts in terms of what was advertised (at least everything I wanted to see showed) but there was good weather. We never know until Friday how weather and other issues will effect stuff.
It doesn't just happen at Thunder
Look at the people that went to Oshkosh to see Doc.
We were supposed to get an F-18 demo at 3 Florida shows this year - TICO, MacDill and Sun N Fun and they all canceled because the F-18 demo team wasn't done training. I went to Sun N Fun also thinking that the F-35 was doing a heritage flight, which was advertised up until the day of the show and rumored it would fly with the F-22, P-51 and an F-86 however all we got was the F-22/P-51 heritage flight there. It happens everywhere. I will also be doing Cleveland when I am up nort where it was showing the F-35 as heritage flight, but now it isn't but the F-35 is showing still under flying aircraft so keeping my fingers crossed on that one but not holding my breath.
Don't think too many people went to Oshkosh this year to see Doc. It was clear well before the show that Doc wouldn't make it this year. Equivalent would be if the Martin Mars hadn't made it to Oshkosh. But there always was the chance that some last minute issue would have prevented it from making it. That would have been a huge disappointment, but these things can happen as we know.
And there was the case of Rod Lewis's A-20 Havoc. Many were looking forward to seeing it and it didn't make it.