| Dayton
airshow 2003 highlights |
| This
is a 1910 Bleriot monoplane of the same design as Bleriot himself used
when he became the first man to fly across the English channel.
They said that rather than being a replica, this one was 95% authentic;
I find that hard to believe, since I imagine all of the fabric and much
of the woodwork would need replacement after such a length of time, to
say nothing of the engine. |
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| A
Swedish Tummelisa chases a German world war one era Fokker DR I triplane.
The Tummelisa was built in 1919, so this dogfight is pure fantasy, but
it certainly makes a nice scene. |
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| Diamond
Lil is one of only two B-24 Liberators flying in the world.
This is one of many aircraft flying at the Dayton airshow which I hadn't
seen before, which is why I made the effort of a 6 hour drive from Chicago.
Others included a U-2 spy plane, P-38 Lightning and a Helldiver. |
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| A
pair of aircraft carrier borne S-3 Viking submarine hunters, a plane which
isn't often seen at airshows. |
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| An F-18F Super Hornet,
which is considerably larger than the F-18 Hornet it's based on.
Climbing straight
up, it pulled some nice vapor trails across Saturday's picture perfect
blue sky. |
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| The F-18F does a
high speed pass, and pulls a conical vapor cone as it does so.
This doesn't mean that it's going supersonic, that's illegal at an airshow,
but it is the sort of effect that occurs as one approaches the speed of
sound. It's the first time I've witnessed it, although I've seen
it before in photographs. |
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Fat Albert, the
Blue Angels support aircraft, does its party trick, a rocket-assisted takeoff. |
| The
Blue Angels diamond Echelon Pass. |
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| The
Canadian Air Force Snowbirds demonstration team. This is the
first time ever that all three North American military jet demonstration
teams have flown at the same event, another indication of the quality of
the Dayton airshow. |
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| Whoa - play nicely
boys! The Snowbirds wow a highly appreciative crowd with their knife
edge passes. |
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| The
United States Air Force "Heritage Flight" displays put old and new aircraft
together in fly past formations. In this case it's an F-15
Eagle, the current top of the line fighter with a world war two P-38 Lightning,
a very rare aircraft which I hadn't seen flying before this show. |
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