The Yankee Air Museum hosted the 2006 show at Willow Run Airport in Belleville, Michigan, and was another gathering of incredible warbird and current aircraft. Severe weather across the country prevented many of the billed feature aircraft (A-1 Skyraiders and Spitfires) from attending, but it did not prevent the organizers from providing a spectaular display of warbird aircraft.
This event has to be one of the premier warbird events in all of the country. It certainly has to be the largest gathering of FLYING warbirds in the midwest. (Oshkosh garners more warbirds, but many are static display only). Regardless of how the show may officially "rank", it is an impressive airshow that is worth attending without question. It is well organized, fair priced, and family friendly.
Due to the number of photos I have decided to display, I elected to present them in thumbnail format. Click on the image you would like to view larger, and it will display in a larger window!
I am working on additional text, so check back soon!
Canadian Skyhawks
The Canadian Skyhawks parachute team performed opening ceremonies. Their jump aircraft is a CC-115 Buffalo.
Will Ward and the MiG-17
Will Ward provided a high energy performance in his gloss black MiG-17. Ward showed off the extreme manueverability and quick acceleration during a tight performance in front of the crowd.
USAF F-16 Fighting Falcon and Heritage Flight
Major Jason "Buzzer" Koltes of the USAF provided the crowd a glimpse of the F-16 Viper East Coast demo team. The Viper also participated in the Heritage Flight led by the P-38 Lightening and joined by the P-51 Mustang. A very impressive sight!
B-25 Mitchells
WW II Heavy Bombers
WW II heavy bombers were represented by Yankee Air Museum's own B-17G Flying Fortress, "Yankee Lady" and the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum's ultra rare Lancaster. The Lancaster arrived for static display Saturday and a brief flight display Sunday.
USN T-45 Goshawk
Little Friends
Another impressive display was the showing of WW II fighters. The P-51 Mustang was well represented, including a very historic racing aircraft named, "Miss America". The rare P-38 Lightning made an appearance during the USAF Heritage Flight, which it led the way. Piloted by Steve Hinton, the P-38 came to Michigan from the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, California during its tour of the midwest. P-47 Thunderbolts "Hun Hunter IV" and "Wicked Wabbit" attended from the Tennessee Air Museum and provided many low and impressive passes during the WW II ground force re-enactment. The P-40 Warhawk also appeared, painted in A.V.G. colors for Lt. Col. Scott (author of the famous book, God Is My Co-Pilot).
Cereal Killers
The A-10 Warthogs from the 110th Fighter Group, based in Battle Creek, Michigan, provided a few fly-bys on Sunday. Both jets made several solo passes, then they made a formation pass prior to departing. One of the benefits of attending on Sunday...departure passes by static display aircraft!
The Hogs from Battle Creek are nicknamed the "Ceral Killers" because Battle Creek is home to the ceral company Kelloggs.
The Battle of Britian
The highlight of the weekend for me had to be the Battle of Britian re-enactment. Russell Group provided their ME-109, Spitfire and Hurricane along with several other Hurricanes and Fighter Factory's Spit. This was my first exposure to a flying Hurricane, and it was an impressive aircraft. I believe it would be a fair comparison to call it the British B-24 Liberator. The B-17 Flying Fortress received the bulk of the "glory" during World War II bomber campaign, however the B-24 was equally as important. Today, many speak highly of the Spit, but few bring up the Hurricane's contributions to the defense of England.
