Hopper's L-39's
Tim Brutche's team of L-39s provided a glimpse of jet formation flight. Including a formation take off.
USAF T-6 Texan II (East)
The USAF T-6 Texan II East Coast demo flew its last performance at the 2006 Battle Creek show. Due to budget constraints, the USAF has decided to terminate the demonstrations for the remainder 2006 airshow season, and likely will not return it to demo status anytime soon.
The final demonstration also included a heritage flight with the T-6 Texan of the World War II era, with the new T-6 Texan II.
A tip of the cap to all of the men and women of the T-6 demo teams. You have all done an excellent job. Thank you for the memories!
US Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet
The Navy brought its newest "toy", the fabulous F/A-18F Super Hornet. VFA-106 "Gladiators" is the East Coast fleet training unit, and the demonstration squadron. The Super Hornet is currently replacing the F-14 Tomcat on the decks of America's aircraft carriers as the premier air-to-air fighter aircraft. It is also capable of air-to-ground missions, air-to-air refueling, and is currently being developed into an electronic countermeasures platform, that will replace the EA-6B Prowler. It is an incredible aircraft, and extremely entertaining demonstration.
Lima Lima Flight team
The pilots of the Lima Lima Flight Team are arguably some of the best civilian formation flyers in the business. They fly surplus T-34 Mentors, which were the primary training aircraft for both the USAF and USN for many years. It is now one of the most numerous civilian owned "warbirds" on the market. Many of their maneuvers are similar to those performed by the military jet teams, and are also similar in that they fly a six-ship demonstration.
Gene Soucy and Teresa Stokes
Gene Soucy and his Grumman "Showcat" graced the skies of Battle Creek, as did his wingwalking partner, Teresa Stokes. Gene is considered one of the "living legends" of the airshow circuit and has performed for over two decades in various acts. Teresa is a renowed member of the airshow community as well as a famous artist. The "Showcat" is a Grumman Ag-Cat, most famously know as a crop dusting aircraft. The orange/yellow/red of the Showcat is one of the most beautiful schemes in the industry, which makes it very easy to spot in the sky.
Gene (solo)
Gene and Teresa
USAF F-15 Eagle (East Coast Demo) Heritage Flight F-15/P-51 Mustang
The USAF sent the powerful F-15C Eagle East Coast Demo team to Battle Creek. The F-15 is the master of the skies, although like the F-14 Tomcat, its days are numbered. Until the F-22 Raptor is produced in sufficient numbers, the F-15 will continue to be the USAF's marquee fighter aircraft. Although the design is over 3o years old, it is still one of the premier fighter aircraft in the world, and also an extremely powerful ground attack asset.
The "Heritage Flight" portion of the show included a demonstration of the P-51D Mustang, "Excalibur", flown by Dale Snodgrass. Excalibur is a beautifully maintained P-51, and Snodgrass is the master of the P-51 demonstration.
Iron Eagles
Billy Segalla and Bill Gordon make up the "Iron Eagle" aerobatic team. Know as some of the tightest formation flyers in the industry, they put on an excellent demonstration for the Battle Creek crowd. They fly Christian Super Eagles, and like Gene Soucy, have a very unique and colorful paint scheme, which is modeled from the "Eagles", a legendary formation team from years past (Gene Soucy was a member of the Eagles).
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