One Stop Line for News & Pics from Thunder over Michigan

[Lynn Allen]

Please post notes & pictures from TOM here since we/I can be there..

TIA,

Lynn

[kalamazookid]

Just got back to Kalamazoo from Thunder. It was great! Some people might be disappointed with the Spitfire and Skyraider turnout, but IMO, it was still the best Thunder yet. The final count was only 2 Spits, Russell and the Fighter Factory, but 3 Hurricanes made it including a surprise from the Vintage Wings of Canada MK IV trop. The only Skyraider that made it was Eric Downing's dark blue AD-5. There was still plenty of other cool stuff to see though.

The Heritage Flight was great, it was nice to see the P-38 and Mustang fly with the F-16. The "Heritage break" was sweet, the -51 and -38 did opposing slow rolls going away from each other. The Fighter Factory Spitfire and Hurricane arrived in the early afternoon and each did a nice fly-by before landing. The flight of the 2 P-47s was top notch as always. They flew such a tight formation that from some angles it looked like there was only one Thunderbolt! Best flying of the day though goes to the Bf109 and the Hurricanes. Seeing 2 Hurricanes chase a 109 around the circuit was amazing to watch! The Russell Collection Spitfire also put on a nice display and there was some good Mustang flying as well. For the Navy guys, the FG-1D "Marines Dream" flew with the TA-4J, which was pretty neat. Other attendees included a P-40, 6 P-51s, 2 B-17s, Sea Fury, Lancaster, 3 B-25s, C-54, Mig-17, C-47, Caribou, Ju52 a Grumman Goose and 2 TBMs. Hope I'm not forgetting anything here.

The Windsor Mosquito Group also had their Mossie fuselage and a few parts on display. It was great to get the unique chance to see a Mosquito under restoration. They have very ambitious plans, and with the enthusiasm of the members I talked to, I think they will meet their goal of having a static Mosquito. The workmanship is also incredible.

I was also told by a Yankee Air Force volunteer that they expect to begin construction on one of the new buildings this fall.

If I have one complaint about the show it was the lack of parking directions. There were no signs on where to park, and we joined a line of a bunch of cras that turned out to be going in the wrong direction. Then, once we got in the lot, a kid told us to go the wrong way and we ended up in a lot that was already full. But overall, it was a great show! I know some people will have complaints about the smaller than expected Spitfire and Skyraider turnout, but that is being way too picky when you consider what was there. Can't wait to see what's in store for next year!

[Lynn Allen]

Matt, thanks for the report. Anybody has any pic's??

Lynn

[RickH]

There are a few on fencecheck.com

[Aircraft Mech Paul]

Sigh......

this was the one airshow I wanted to attend all year long. But personal family issues and medical issues of my own kept those plans from happeneing. I do hope someone posts some shots or even better...some video...hint hint hint....for those of us who wanted to, but just couldn't be there for the festivities.

Respectfully,

Paul

[AIRIC]

It was another stellar year for Thunder and the highlight for me was seeing three Hurricanes chasing a 109 around the circuit. This was followed by a two ship Spitfire flight. The Lancaster closed the show with a few good passes. Scott said we had over 33 Wixers over the weekend which was awesome. I can’t wait to start working on the images. I will get one ready for a sneak preview from my weekend but full work will not start for a few days but I will keep everyone posted when new images are added to my site. A special thanks to all the Wixers who made this event very special.

Eric & Berni

[AIRIC]

Vintage Wings of Canada's Hurricane and P-51 during transit to the show Friday.



Eric

[Sabremech]

Scott, Mike, TimAPny, Paul, and all the other WIX'ers I met today and the others my T2 Buckeye backseat G-induced memory loss may have caused me to forget the exact name, it was a pleasure to meet all of you and converse warbirds. I sure hope to see some good pictures as I did not get my camera out to take any. I just enjoyed the sights and sounds. I have to say it is the flying that sets this show apart from others I have been to. Hope to see more WIX'ers at upcoming shows.
Thanks Scott for the insight in all the features of this site. Keep up the good work and let us know if we can help you in any way!!!
David
WHF Maint

[Tim Savage]

Vintage Wings of Canada's Hurricane and P-51 during transit to the show Friday.



Eric

Beautiful shot, Eric!

[Skky Diamond]

Here's a picture of the WIX "guys" that didn't make it to the group photo on the other side of the field on Saturday........we were watching airplanes!

James Church, AIRIC, Steve T., Steve T's Dad, Voodoo, and AirJimL2

Photo by

Skky Diamond

[Ontario-Warbird]

Well I must say it was a long day for myself. In my opinion I think the Thunder group should re-think the way the show is setup. I see they put the photo pit in the only good spot for pictures and video ( which I don't blame them, good idea ) BUT move all the venders crap and sponsor stuff ( Saab etc. ) to the back away from the show line. I parked my butt over by the front of the B52 along the fence line for photo's and video and almost came to blows with other people over the spot. Lots of people in that small area were at each other and with my kids with me I just packed up and left to the Vintage Wings planes and hung out with Eric Billing and Bob Swaddling. I think if my kids were not their I would have layed a few clowns out, but jail time is not fun in the US

Was a little disappointed in the Spit turnout, but the Heritage flights were excellent. Rob Gillman did another superb job in the Hurri and I think made some of the best passes of the show, I look forward to seeing him in the Russell Spit in the future.

The 109 is just sick, I love the sound of that DB.

Did have photo/pit passes for sunday but after dealing with the people on saturday i just decided to forget about it and headed home ( was looking for fellow WIXers to see if anyone wanted them but didn't see anyone )

Going through what video i have and will post some pics in the future.

Cheers dave c

[AIRIC]

Beautiful shot, Eric!

Thanks Tim, it was one of those shoots where everything went as planned. Heavy clouds were moving in but we lucked out with great lighting where we chose to orbit. It was a great start to the weekend.

Eric

[Ontario-Warbird]

Pics gone

Last edited by Ontario-Warbird on Sat Aug 12, 2006 7:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Don Parsons]

Hey guys/ladies,

Wonderful time amongst the Spits and Hurri's!

Wonder why a Spit, Hurri and the 109 didn't fly together thought?


a link to the one photo I have online now...

http://not.contaxg.com/document.php?id=14567

don
www.fairchild24.com

[mlenoch]

The Vintage Wings of Canada Mustang's left wing fuel cap looks like it is venting fuel. (This scrutiny is provided by great photography.)
VL