Your 2021 season highlights

Discussion relating to 2021 airshows/fly-ins/exercises/other events. Post news before the event and post your photos afterwards! Please create only one thread per event.
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Adam
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Your 2021 season highlights

Post by Adam » Mon Oct 18, 2021 7:24 am

As is traditional as the end of the airshow season approaches, it's time to look back on the year we've had and trade our highlights and lowlights of the last few months. I'm really looking forward to seeing what you've been getting up to!

The year for me started in March at the Dubai World Cup, which featured a 700-strong drone swarm creating massive 3D shapes in the night sky. Also amazing to go flying in formation around the 2,700-foot-tall Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building!
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Back in the UK, I started the airshow season proper with SkySrawm in April, Duxford's May Flying Day, and then the Midlands Air Festival in June, a delightful show at Ragley Hall, with the lighter aircraft taking off from a makeshift runway in the gardens of the house. It was the first opportunity of the year to see the Red Arrows, Peter Teichman's newly-restored Russian Spitfire and the 2021 RAF Typhoon solo display, which is the best it's been for several years. There were also over 100 hot air balloons and several night time aerial performances.
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This was followed a couple of days later by a mini-tour of Poland. I started at the rather odd Airshow Margonin, and then Antidotum Airshow Leszno the following weekend. Leszno is one of my favourite airshows anywhere: every display was entertaining, imaginative, low and close. The most memorable performances were at sunset: the Polish Air Force's F-16, Swiss Air Force Super Puma and the Flying Bulls (P-38, B-25, P-51, T-28, Edge 540), who filled the sky with breathtaking, non-stop formation and solo aerobatics for half an hour straight. But the highlight had to be the Polish AF's C-130E demonstration, culminating with a spectacular flare drop! The day after the show, I was able to film some low flybys from the runway threshold, which was pretty special.
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July started for me with another Duxford Flying Day, followed by the Duxford Summer Airshow. Some nice warbird performances were outshone by the Red Arrows' remarkable show on Sunday, managing to sqeeze in a display under the stormiest, blackest sky I've ever seen at an airshow. Next was Old Buckenham, another Duxford Flying Day, an Aerosparx show for Firework Champions at Belvoir Castle, and then the Red Arrows' performance in Folkestone, totalling four individual air displays in the space of 9 days. I took a break of a few weeks after all that, resuming my season at the Little Gransden Air & Car at the end of August. The highlights for me were the Miles Gemini and locally-based Global Stars aerobatic team - plus some of the warbird departures, as the crowd area is unusually close to the runway.
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Things got really busy in mid-September. In 10 days I did three major airshows in three different territories, travelling by ferry, airline, train, bus and car. First up was the cancellation-ridden Jersey Air Display, a 9-hour ferry ride from the UK. Although the loss of the Swedish classic jets, Alize, V-22, A400M and many others were a big blow, there were some quirky highlights, including the Electric Cri-Cri launching mid-flight from a Broussard. The Red Arrows looked great over Elizabeth Castle, the Bronco solo display was tremendously good and it was the public airshow debut of the RAF's new Poseidon MRA.1.
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After Jersey, I travelled through the night to the UK and on to France the following morning. Air Legend was perhaps the best warbird airshow held anywhere in the world this year, and there were too many highlights to mention. The flying display included two Spitfires, three Corsairs, a Skyraider, Pearl Harbor reenactment (eight Harvards, Catalina and P-40), a Morane 406, two Yak-3s, three T-28s, Boomerang, Yak-11, F-86 Sabre and much more besides. Most aircraft performed solo aerobatic displays, plus flybys, tailchases or formation aerobatics in larger groups. My warbird highlights were the three formation teams: Classic Formation (x3 C-45 and a DC-3), and the incredible Ultimate Fighters, doing flawless formation aerobatics with a Thunderbolt, Buchon, Mustang and Spitfire.
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There was plenty of military action, too. The French Navy provided a Breguet Atlantique and a two-ship Rafale M tactical display. The French Air Force provided the Patrouille de France, Rafale C solo, A400M solo and one of their new tactical demonstration teams, Patrouille Gusto Delta, with two Mirage 2000s. All were of the highest quality and all other air forces should rightly look to the French to see how solo displays and tacdemos should be done.
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After a couple of days at home, it was then on to Duxford for the Battle of Britain Airshow. It was virtually an all-warbird show, with the likes of the B-17, P-40, P-47, P-75, Corsair, Bearcat, three Buchons, two Mustangs, and the Great War Display Team. It was also great to see a three-ship display by Historic Helicopters with the Whirlwind HAR.10, Wessex HU.5 and Sea King HC.4. The highlight, however, was the "big wing", a half-hour set piece display involving some 12 Spitfires and 4 Hurricanes, the big formation passes interspersed by solo displays from John Romain in a Mk.V and Paul Bonhomme in a PR.XI.
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The final event of the year for me was the Air Race Academy at Sywell, a secret training camp ahead of the start of the World Championship Air Race (Red Bull Air Race successor) next spring. It was great fun to meet the eight pilots hoping to qualify for the Aero SR/2 series and see Elite XR/1 pilot Ben Murphy hammering round the track for a couple of days.
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All in all, a very enjoyable year comprising 17 air displays in five territories. Some gifs pinched unashamedly from PlanesTV's livestreams, but only on occasions when I was one of their camera operators. You can watch the livestreams for Duxford, Jersey and Old Buckenham at PlanesTV.com, and my mini-documentaries from Midlands, Leszno, Gransden and Air Legend are on WingsTV's streaming service. Looking forward to an even busier and more international season in 2022!
Last edited by Adam on Mon Oct 18, 2021 8:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by n33d4sp33d_85 » Mon Oct 18, 2021 5:06 pm

Here are some of my favorite moments from the 2021 airshow season.

1. Blue Angels' First Season Flying The F/A-18 Super Hornet [Westmoreland County Airshow at Latrobe, Pennsylvania]



2. USAF A-10 Thunderbolt II Demo Team's Vietnam-Era Paint Scheme [Greater Binghamton Airshow at Binghamton, New York]



3. One Of Final Airshow Performances By Jacquie Warda [Jacquie B. Airshows] [Leesburg Airshow at Leesburg, Virginia]



4. RCAF CF-18 Hornet Demo Team [Thunder On The Buffalo Waterfront at Buffalo, New York]



5. USAF F-16 Viper Demo Team's Venom Paint Scheme [Thunder On The Buffalo Waterfront at Buffalo, New York]



6. Rare Occasion To See Marine Corps MV-22 Ospreys Flying [Thunder On The Buffalo Waterfront at Buffalo, New York]



7. USAF C-5M Super Galaxy Flyby [Thunder On The Buffalo Waterfront at Buffalo, New York]



8. Seeing Michael Wiskus Fly In What'll Likely Be His Final Year Of Airshow Flying [New York International Air Show at Montgomery, New York]



9. Kevin Russo and the Jersey Jerks [Leesburg Airshow at Leesburg, Virginia]



10. Jerry Conley and his De Havilland Vampire [Greater Binghamton Airshow at Binghamton, New York]



11. USAF F-22 Raptor Demo Team [New York International Air Show at Montgomery, New York]



12. US Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet Demo Team [New York International Air Show at Montgomery, New York]



13. F/A-18F Super Hornet In Formation With F4U Corsair [New York International Air Show at Montgomery, New York]



14. USAF Thunderbirds [New York International Air Show at Montgomery, New York]



15. Two-Ship Close Air Support Demo from USAF A-10 Warthogs [Thunder On The Buffalo Waterfront at Buffalo, New York]



Looking forward to 2022.
Last edited by n33d4sp33d_85 on Mon Oct 18, 2021 5:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by kalamazookid » Tue Nov 09, 2021 1:58 am

I always look forward to this thread. It's always fun to see everyone's favorites and look back on the season.

This was actually pretty close to a normal year for me. I attended 10 total events, including local fly-ins, museum events, warbird events, small airshows, a drive-in airshow and Oshkosh. It was a good mix. Rather than recap the entire season, I'll focus on the few highlights that stuck out the most to me. I prefer just to watch when aircraft are performing and limit my photos to taxying and take-offs, so these photos won't necessarily capture the highlights.

Final Segment at Tri-State Warbird Museum Flying Warbirds Showcase
This was easily the best warbird flying I saw in 2021 and nothing else comes particularly close. This is a small event where Tri-State Warbird Museum flies its aircraft with a few guest aircraft for a small audience. It isn't really a formal airshow. The event is broken down into three segments, each about 40 minutes to an hour in length. The final segment began with low and fast passes by John Maloney in the museum's FlugWerk FW190F-8 replica which showcased the aircraft's speed and power perfectly. The museum's P-51 then launched for a series of formation, trail and solo passes. These two aircraft were then joined by the museum's B-25 for a similar mix of passes. The FW-190 then landed, while the B-25 and P-51 continued to beat up the field. John then immediately hopped in the P-40M and took off to join the P-51 and B-25 for more passes. All told, it was close to an hour of nonstop action. This was the first time the P-40 had been flown publicly since 2017 and I really appreciated getting to see it in the air. A tough layout for photos, but a sampling of the participating aircraft is below.

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Warbirds Over Monroe Finale
This show was an unexpected bonus I got to incorporate into a late fall trip in the last few days. The grand finale of the show featured a mix of solo passes from three P-51s, a P-40 and Skyraider, followed by a five-ship formation pass with a wall of fire. Low, fast warbird passes are always favorites of mine.

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U-2 Fly-by at Oshkosh
While there were a lot of uniquely memorable aircraft at Oshkosh this year, I unfortunately didn't see most of them in the air during my three days there. The Monday-Wednesday shows were actually quite lacking in interesting aircraft, but the few highlights really stood out - the U-2 being the headliner. I never thought it would even be possible to see a U-2 at an airshow anymore. The two low passes offered the perfect opportunity to appreciate its appearance.

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A Rainy Day at the TBM Reunion and a "Battle of Wills"
This day could have easily been a total wash and it wasn't. I left early to make the drive to Peru and didn't hear the show had been canceled until I arrived. A typical airshow would have turned people away and closed up shop for the day, but the TBM Reunion isn't a typical airshow. People were still allowed in and it turned out to be a fun day, in spite of the rain. Given the weather, I expected to maybe be there an hour without seeing anything in the air. There was more than enough action to feel satisfied with the day. In many ways, wandering the ramp and watching aircraft arriving and departing is as satisfying as an airshow because you can be much closer the aircraft. The end of the day turned into a "battle of wills" of sorts. I was tired and getting ready to call it a day, but heard the B-25 was going to be leaving at a particular time. That time came and went with no action. I was getting increasingly cold, but at that point I was absolutely not going to be outlasted by the B-25 and I was going to wait until I got to see it leave. My stubbornness was finally rewarded, and it even performed a few passes before leaving. Rain might not make for the ideal day, but I think I made the most of it and had fun.

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A-10 Demo at Wings by the Wabash
I went to this show specifically to see the A-10 in SEA camo. A small airport is the ideal place to see an A-10 demo as the aircraft's maneuverability is highlighted by a shorter showline.

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"Firsts" at Thunder Over Michigan
While the drive-in format wasn't something I particularly enjoyed, TOM offered my first look at the Blue Angels in Super Hornets, my first full F-35 demo, first look at an Atlas in the air and first time seeing the Growler Legacy Flight. Even with all the B-25s, these performances stood out the most.

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Looking forward to seeing what 2022 has in store. I'm planning to check out the Spirit of St. Louis show again and return to some of my annual favorites.
Last edited by kalamazookid on Tue Nov 09, 2021 2:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Airplanefreak2000 » Mon Nov 22, 2021 10:54 pm

Prepare for a couple long posts and no context to most of the information provided. Numbers will tell the picture provided lol!

1. NATA Gainesville- My first aviation event of the year was at a NATA clinic being held right before Sun’N’Fun. More than 20 T-6 Texans showed up along with three Navions, three T-28 Trojans, and a beautiful Cavalier Mustang. Non-NATA aircraft included an Epsilon and a C-47. I was able to go up on six T-6 flights flying with some fun and talented pilots! The highlight for me was the sunrise flight I went on. It was an absolutely perfect flying morning and produced some of my favorite air-2-air photos yet! Thank you so much to Ann Marie, Sandy, and others for their hospitality! Huge thank you to Dave Steele, Tunes, Smooch, John O’connor, and Weeds for taking me up with them in the back seat!
2. Sun’n’fun- The year started off with fear that Covid would take hold and hinder the types of events that could be held. Both of my first airshows were cancelled (Yuma and Jacksonville), which ended up making Sun’N’Fun my first airshow of the year! Much anticipation was being held for this as it was going to be the USN Blue Angels first official public performance (since Jacksonville cancelled) in their new F/A-18 Super Hornets. We were very lucky to see a 6-ship performance on Friday as due to a health issue with number 6 (a replacement number 6 had been practicing with them) at the time, they only flew a 5-ship Saturday and Sunday as the fill-in number 6 was not signed off yet. The display was very similar to their previous display with the legacy hornets. It was much easier to photograph as the Super bug is quite a bit larger than its predecessor. It was still the highlight to see this new performance with the new jets! Some of my favorite memories include a beautiful week of camping, epic C-17 sunset performances, a tremendously scary drone shaped hot air balloon, probably the most entertaining fireworks display I’ve seen (at points we were laughing so hard it hurt), buddy squad at the back of my car playing warthunder on my ps4 and tv on the crappy camping wifi, some of the most epic potato throwing shenanigans you’ll ever have seen, seeing the blue angels Friday performance from inside the box because security didn’t understand what the “box” was and kept ushering us closer and closer until well, we were squarely at show center from the other side, I was like “I’m sure as shit not fighting this hahaha”, a great cookout at my tent with friends, hanging out at the Coconut flyers, seeing jive fly the Draken T-28, a fun invite to hang out with Tony and Jose with great food and camaraderie and getting to sit in an actively flying Mig-17 was awesome and was more spacious than I anticipated, getting to see Dewey and his new F/A-18 cockpit resembling the hornet in the hopefully soon to be seen Top Gun: Maverick movie, a lost scanner antenna that never turned up, seeing the camo A-10 for the only time this year albeit for one day in the heritage flight, and just all the times hanging out at the pond and my campsite after hours.
3. Black Flag Part 3- One of my most favorite events to get to attend is the practice airshows that have been being held. Along with a lot of great flying and training, the camaraderie and access are second to none. Also, #neverforget the #goldenhour shrimp boil. The highlight for me was getting to see RJ Gritter’s performance for the first time!
4. Barksdale AFB airshow- honestly, I’m surprised I made it to this show as my life changed drastically the days before. My Tora family did everything they could to keep my head and chin up and provided me with a weekend to remember for sure. Barksdale was a drive-in show and I was working full Tora that weekend. It was my first time seeing the USAF Thunderbirds and their new performance in which their diamond sneak pass absolutely got me. While that should have been the highlight, it was overtaken by the incredible diamond formation put on by the Commemorative Air Force. Seeing the B-29/B-17/B-25/A-26 in a diamond formation was something I’ve never seen. It was an absolute show of force WWII style which was followed by a three-ship formation of two B-52s and a B-2. Other memories include an absolutely not working hot-tub, rolling into multiple liquor stores with our rental Cadillac, a flash for the ages, randy ball head on, at over 600mph in full burner, a perfectly upbeat and in tune pyro display on Sunday when the show was mostly cancelled, a pretty damn good airshow party with southern crawfish boil expertise with included shooting range, walks to the Mexican restaurant, tori providing me with my very own sippy cup WHICH I STILL HAVE, a long ride around the base with Jive, Lunar, and Greg Shelton that turned into a ride to the hotel with the CAF Devil Dog crew. Thanks goes out to all my Tora family for lifting my spirits this show!
5. MAM Re-currency days- Not much of a better way to spend my birthday than with a bunch of airplanes and friends! Luckily, I share a birthday with one of those friends WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED. Said person works on these airplanes. It was great to see most of the MAM arsenal take to the air. A great breakfast and cookout on both ends of the flying made for a fun day. Getting to fish at a private pond on the airfield while super hornets were flying over low was definitely a highlight on a couple days filled with highlights. The ultimate highlight was getting to see an insanely rare formation of a P-39 Airacobra and a FW-190. What a treat that was! Other highlights were getting to sit inside the cockpit of a flying De Havilland Mosquito, seeing a 109 fly again, and hanging out with some fantastic people who love warbirds as much as I do!
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Post by Airplanefreak2000 » Mon Nov 22, 2021 10:55 pm

6. Flying Horseman Fly In- Dan invited me up to this now added to my calendar flying event at their airpark in Virginia. I didn’t know what to expect to see but saw the beauty when I arrived. I was only able to attend Friday afternoon but was treated to great flying a hospitality. Dan and his Dad and family were great hosts. Dan not only has skills at flying but also at RC flying as he showcased his replica Classic Chipmunk that looks identical to Mark Meredith’s. Several other aircraft arrived that evening and the highlight for me was Dan taking me up in his dads 185 to shoot three De Havilland Chipmunks over the beautiful Virginia countryside! I can’t wait to attend this even next year! Another highlight was Dan taking us on a low fast pass down the grass strip in between the hills, Ron bringing down his L-39 on a couple low passes before heading to a larger airport, and the delicious food made by the family!
7. IL-76 visits CLT- Not much to say about this other than I made the effort to get out and see this aircraft I’ve never seen before depart from CLT!
8. Topeka- I want to honestly say this was probably my most favorite airshow of the year. The show pulled out all stops, as did the weather, to make this one absolutely one for the memory books. It all started on a Thursday night when I flew into Kansas City. I was treated to an absolutely incredible light show while still on my flight. We had to orbit for about 30 extra minutes until the squall pushed through which allowed me to observe the incredible nature of seeing a powerful storm form the air. Ryan got in about an hour before and picked up once I got down. Friday started off interesting as we arrived and picked up credentials and was told we could go to the tower. Alright that sounds great! We get there and the porta was blown on its side, the good Samaritans we are, we flipped it back upright just for them to come later and take it away lol! We were treated like royalty throughout this whole weekend. Never have I been to an airshow where a golf cart pulls up and they yell “HEY YOU GUYS WANT A BEER?”. Friday was scorching hot so I was like hell yea! They took care of us visiting with water and drinks throughout the day. Most of the show was able happen but a late afternoon “shelter in place” storm developed and knocked off the rest of the show. But, one of those once in a lifetime opportunity showed itself to us. First off, the show was being catered by Freddy’s Ice cream, and if you know about some of our airshow gang and freddy’s, I don’t have to explain. Back to the opportunity. The storm passed, on the back side the sun appeared setting low in the sky, on the front side still raining and dark clouds. All the while two aggressor F-16s from Nellis AFB had just arrived and taxied in during this. Then, mother nature unleashed one of the brightest rainbows I’ve ever seen along with a second fainter rainbow. There were at least 5 or 6 of us who didn’t care it was raining and ran out onto the ramp like the giddiest school kids in the world. We were kids for that what almost felt like an eternity of fun in the rain. The photos, the laughter, getting soaked by the rain. A moment like that where all the cares of the world are gone, just you and your friends enjoying what mother nature just gave us. It’s absolutely on my Mount Rushmore of airshow memories. We stayed out there until the sun set. It was talked about all weekend. Saturday and Sunday were great airshow days on themselves, the nightly parties second to none with my friends and tora family all around. We set up pyro on Saturday and was invited out Sunday before the show with some extra special elevated access that was incredible. Some more memories that need to be mentioned was looking down on a mach .95 pass from less than 100ft away, Doc pulling wingtip vortices, seeing the E-3 and RC-135 flyby, being shot down for a dance hahaha, the first UNOFFICAL Gunship flight, getting a picture with the chiefs mascot pointing to my panthers hat, somehow the keys getting locked in our car in the middle of the airport and having AAA come unlock it for us hahaha, best airshow party burgers EVER, the S-2 tracker water drops, a very awkward singer who made the worst jokes ever, and a west family reunion. Special thanks to Luke and the entire Topeka team for an airshow/weekend for the books!
9. Wings of the North AirExpo- Well, let’s start this off with our travel day. I woke up Friday morning feeling like absolute hell. The bathroom and I quickly became friends. A short trip from the dells to Minneapolis turned into an ordeal as I thought I was dying. I believe I had food poisoning as no one else got sick. Anyways, the drive to Minneapolis started with Ryan providing water pyrotechnics in my car by somehow exploding his water bottle drenching the front seats, ceiling, windshield, and dash in water. It was like a kid ran by and chucked a bucket of water into a sunroof. This hilarity was just the start we needed on the first day of 10 straight days of aviation fun. We also stopped and took a hike along the way. When we arrived to Minneapolis, it was hot. I still felt awful and missed most of arrival day although there wasn’t much going on by trying to sleep it off in my car with the air on. I finally started feeling better later that night. Saturday was a fun day or warbirds and jets. Maryland ANG sent two A-10s as static and the Indiana ANG sent two to flyover with them for a four ship but they went back to Minneapolis and landed. Minnesota ANG sent two F-16s to flyby but only one did the passes. The warbirds were the star and the highlight for me was seeing beautiful formation passes by the newly restored Hawker Hurricane by the Dakota Territory and their Spitfire. Other highlights were finally getting good shots of Sierra Sue II, the mall of America, buying a bunch of toy airplanes, and getting kicked out of the lego store because I can’t read. Thank you also to the Wings of the North for their hospitality!
10. EAA Airventure- The Big Show! A week long smorgasbord of chaos and aviation fun! Spent Sunday-Sunday there this year. Ryan and I drove in from Minneapolis Sunday morning from Wings of the North to start shooting arrival day. It felt so good to be back at Oshkosh after 2020 had to be cancelled. A group of us rent a house on Waupun Rd right next to the red barn so it’s easy for us to get in and out. I did pyrotechnics with my tora family Wednesday-Sunday and we put down and set off more than I’ve ever seen done. Our World War II show was a thing of beauty and during a time of silence, I heard our names called over the PA for the pyro crew. It was so cool to have our names announced to the biggest aviation spectacle on earth! My major highlight of Oshkosh being able to be part of the team contributing to the 75th +1 anniversary of the ending of WWII since we couldn’t do it last year. Running a myriad from start to finish, beginning and end starting with the battle of Britain, all the way to the big bombs, is an experience I’ll never forget. Our team busted it all week to make sure we gave as good a display as we could for the fans! Aside from the general camaraderie and dinners, here are some of the more memorable highlights: a supersonic experience that was scarier for our team than maybe others elsewhere, the end of the world thunderstorm scare that created some of the craziest mass departures scenes I’ve ever seen at Oshkosh in which the serious storm never happened at least at Oshkosh(thank goodness) but the light show was impeccable!, shooting evening pyro for an AC-130, all our tora strafes during the Friday show, and napalm drop for a Sea Fury, getting to share my pyro experience with Adam and having our heads about taken off by the yak-110, a cookout that involved some of the worst football I’ve ever seen but also seeing my steak surrounded by a mountain of hot dogs on the grill, a Walmart run for the ages, nights at the round table, getting the honor to end pats pepper, learning that Dots pretzels are really f-ing good, having a good lunch with Lunar that I think we both needed, lightning bolts flying past the jumpers and super hornet on Saturday night, the twilight AFSOC demo with angel wing flares, my new pyro hero shot, killing my car battery by leaving my blinky on (which is becoming an annual thing that somehow I kill my battery at Oshkosh), and adam’s soundboard button. Can’t wait for Oshkosh 2022!
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Post by Airplanefreak2000 » Mon Nov 22, 2021 10:56 pm

11. Thunder Over Michigan-decided late in the game to head to this one, left after work on a Friday, and drove the 9+ to Detroit to see a pretty amazing two days of airshows. TOM managed to snag the Blue Angels even though they already had the Thunderbirds. Add in the A-10 demo, F-35 demo with heritage, EA-18 Growler mini demo/legacy flight, A400 from the German Air Force plus 14 B-25s and a few other warbirds and you’re going to have a good time. Lucky for me, I was able to hop on the B-25 Show Me for a fun formation photo flight over Lake Erie with Ryan. The night shoot was a whole lot of fun and getting to spend time with my buddy Jon as well!
12. Reno Air Races- I really wanted to attend the races just to say that I have so I decided to go this year. I also went to support my good friends Lunar and Jive and their team of Race 11! Reno definitely was different than any other of the aviation events I attended. I didn’t get to the pylons which is where a lot of people say to go but I still believe I got some decent shots none the less. It’s a huge show line with a scenic back drop that makes for some decent photo opportunities. It was windy and blustery and couple days and hot the other. A fun uber ride to the races started my arrival at reno. Watched some races then went to dinner with lunar and jive and most of the other jet class racers which was a great time! A car ride with Jive really helped put some perspective on my life and really started my upward trend in my mental health. I’m so appreciative of him and Lunar and how much they have helped me. Ryan and Dave joined me later that night and we rampaged around the air races the next few days enjoying what Reno had to offer. I took my first redeye ever leaving reno in the evening then overnighting from vegas to clt just to go to work a few hours later! We had fun walking around downtown reno and exploring the streets. We checked in on the baseball stadium across from our hotel. Some memorable highlights: the final unlimited race and how hard Miss America pushed Dreadnaught, that was exciting! The Friday evening military arrivals were impressive with the Idaho A-10s and the Jazz Eagles, homewrecker hot dogs that I wished I saw Ryan choke down, an uninspiring breakfast burrito, getting my very first shirt with a photo of mine on it (thanks Race 43 T-6 and Joel!), walking, walking, walking, walking, and more walking, arriving at the crack of dawn because we had to, the speed of the jet races were fun to watch, seeing the P-63 Kingcobra race, seeing several friends fly in the races and meeting and making new ones, and the crazy winds that was blowing everything around!
13. Warbirds over the Beach- really enjoy hanging out in Virginia Beach and the Military Aviation Museum. Made several new friends there thanks to Jon and always feel welcomed. Me being as passionate about warbirds as I absolutely love this show. You get to see some of the rarest warbirds in the world flying, and up close on takeoffs and landings. My buddy Sam dropped in and it was a good time talking with him as I haven’t seen him since 2017. The flamethrowers were a cool addition but the highlight for me was catching all five navy birds together in one photo! I can’t wait to head back here next year!
14. Warbirds Over Monroe-My final airshow of the year and always one of my favorites! Small shows just always seem to be more fun. Less hassles, more screw around time, and are usually just as jam packed as a large show. Monroe always focuses more on the warbird side so there is always an abundance of them. Some highlights include: getting to set off my first ever wall of fire to end the Saturday show, shooting a strafing run for a skyraider, “We want Mosley!”, finding Tammi’s lost dynamite punch from two years ago, and being by chef pitts as he cut his ribbons and getting said ribbons as a souvenir. While the flying is always great, this year will hold a memory more important than the flying. We celebrated the life of one of our own, an important person to me as he helped get me involved with the CAF Tora Bomb Squad. Bill “Buddha” Mount was an absolute favorite of everyone on our pyro team. I’ll always remember him for helping me get involved and for wearing Greg Koontz’s tire as a hat after he dropped it in our field. It was great to be there to celebrate it with his closest of friends! Picture is of his best buddy Dave setting off the Buddha Bomb!


That’s probably a rap for 2021! Who knows though? Still have a month left of the year!
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lukas97
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Post by lukas97 » Thu Dec 30, 2021 6:29 pm

I compiled my top 10 favorite moments/passes into one video here:

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and I'm looking forward to what 2022 has in store!
Last edited by lukas97 on Thu Dec 30, 2021 6:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Erickson Aviation Media

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