A Sad Weekend

A clear, blue sky, white smoke trails, and the roar of engines - air shows are fun and exciting, watching skilled aviators demonstrate the capabilities of their aircraft as well as their own abilities. Unfortunately, behind those thrilling maneuvers, danger can be lurking. That simple fact was driven home this past weekend, when three separate accidents each claimed the life of an airshow performer.

At the Kansas City Air Show, pilot Bryan Jensen was lost in the crash of his biplane while performing before a large crowd of visitors during Saturday's performance. On Sunday, wingwalker Todd Green was performing his signature stunt - climbing from the wing of a Stearman biplane to the skid of a helicopter - when he fell about 200 feet to his death at the Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan.

On Saturday, after completing a demonstration at the Bournemouth Air Festival, Flight Lieutenant Jon Egging, of the Royal Air Force Demonstration Team Red Arrows, died in the crash of his BAE Systems Hawk T1 jet. Egging, an 11 year veteran of the RAF, saw combat in Afghanistan flying the Harrier jump jet before joining the Red Arrows for the 2011 season.

Condolences to the families and friends of these three fine aviators.

Slipping the Surly Bonds with Dazzlin' Deb

I was at the American Airpower Museum on Sunday, when Paul Farber says "I'm going flying, want to come along?" Well, you don't have to ask me twice. Paul owns a beautiful T-6 Texan, which he keeps at the museum.





We departed Republic Airport and headed down to the south shore of the Island.







A trip east along Great South Bay, and we were soon arriving at Bayport Aerodrome, a small grass field, and home to a number of historic aircraft.





After a short visit at Bayport, we were back in the air, heading home.







What a fun way to spend an afternoon! Paul let me do much of the flying - while I was busy looking for traffic, watching for landmarks so I could figure out where we were, and trying to keep an eye on the instruments, I made sure to take a few moments and soak in the experience - the sound of the radial engine, the feel of the controls, and the amazing sight of looking out the canopy, seeing blue sky, puffy clouds, and a brilliant sun overhead.

It's a beautiful airplane, flies well, and sounds spectacular! Thanks Paul!

An American Hero

William Wheeler, a member of the famed WWII Tuskegee Airmen, passed away today.

A Detroit native, Col. Wheeler was a student at Howard University when he was selected for training at Tuskegee Air Field. After completing training, he flew the P-51 on bomber escort and ground attack missions before being grounded by a medical condition. Following the war, he moved to New York City, and was a resident of Hempstead for the past 47 years.

I've had the honor to meet and speak with Col. Wheeler many times over the past few years. He was a regular visitor to the American Airpower Museum, and was eager to tell the story of his fellow African-American airmen. He was a gentleman, and a gentle man - soft spoken, always with a big smile on his face, he really enjoyed speaking with people. One story he related to me really told of the challenges they faced. His brother-in-law was also a member of the group, and was shot down and captured by the Germans. Fearing for what the Germans might do to him, he was surprised to discover that they treated him in accordance to the Geneva Convention rules for a captured officer. As Col. Wheeler put it "The Germans treated him better than his own superior officers had..."

We lost another American Hero today.

Col. Wheeler (left) with Dr. Roscoe Brown.



Showing off his copy of the Congressional Gold Medal awarded to the Tuskegee Airmen in 2008.



The last time I spoke with him, Memorial Day weekend at the Airpower Museum.



Tuskegee Airmen Victor Terrelonge, Spann Watson, and William Wheeler. We've lost all three in the past year.

Airplanes are a big part of any air show...some may say that without them, there isn't an air show. But as important, if not more so, are the people that make up an air show. Whether it is the pilots, ground crew, announcers, volunteers, or spectators, there wouldn't be a show without them. With that in mind, let's take a look at some of the folks who made up the Jones Beach Air Show.

Waiting for the fog to lift...



Chris Baranaskas, who usually flies the P-51 Glamorous Gal, checks out something just a bit larger.



"What do you mean, you look cooler in a flight suit???"



Angelo keeps everyone safe.













Tuskegee Airman William Wheeler with a young visitor.





And finally, here's Fred - we always have the best adventures!

NASCAR in The Poconos

We'll take a break from the air show for a little "roundy-round" action. This past weekend, NASCAR made the first of its two annual visits to Pocono Raceway. I've been going to Pocono for more than twenty years, in hot weather, cold weather, rain, fog, even a few snow flurries! We had typical Pocono June "race weekend weather" - overnight rain, low clouds and fog in the morning...Saturday's ARCA race was stopped twice, and ultimately ended early, because heavy fog made it impossible to see the track.

Kurt Busch led the field to the green flag, driving a backup car after wrecking his primary ride in Friday practice.



Dale Earnhardt, Jr. comes to the attention of his pit crew. Although he remains winless thus far in 2011, he has seen a resurgence in performance, and Pocono resulted in another top 10 finish.



The only on-track incident of the day, Greg Biffle spins coming off Turn 3 into the entrance of Pit Road. He didn't hit anything, and the spin didn't result in a caution.



Stock car racing is sometimes referred to as "Taxi Cab Racing" and at Pocono, we had a car that actually looked like a taxi cab. It's AJ Allmendinger's ride - Andrew Murstein, one of the owners of Richard Petty Motorsports, is president of Medallion Financial. The company is an investment company which specializes in loans to taxi owners. The car was painted to resemble the markings on current New York City taxis.



Pit stops are always crucial in a NASCAR race, but take on extra importance at Pocono. With its 2.5 mile length, and three different corners, Pocono sees teams employ a variety of different pit strategies to gain an advantage.





Time to make the donuts...Jeff Gordon celebrates after taking the checkered flag.



Sunday marked Gordon's 84th career win in NASCAR's premier division, tying him with Darrell Waltrip in career wins. Despite what NASCAR says, he still needs one more win to equal Bobby Allison's career total.

Naval Aviation at the Air Show

2011 marks the Centennial of Naval Aviation, with a variety of activities scheduled to celebrate the anniversary. As part of the festivities, the US Navy sent a gaggle of aircraft, including two in special anniversary markings.

Here is an F/A-18C that spent the weekend.



And a pair of E/A-18G Growlers were in attendance, including one in special colors.





And for the Grumman fans, this old Prowler was in the house.



And finally, the Super Hornet demo team performed. These Bugs are loud when the depart!

Jones Beach Air Show

Another year of the Jones Beach Air Show is in the books. While the show missed the USAF Thunderbirds (heading to their European tour) and the F-22 Raptor (grounded for safety-related issues) it turned out to be another outstanding performance.

The star of the show was Fifi, the only B-29 Super Fortress flying in the world. Fifi beat the setting sun to Republic Airport on the Wednesday prior to the show.





The American Airpower Museum once again hosted the air show participants, which included the B-17 Yankee Lady, the A-10 East Demo team, the F/A-18F Super Hornet Demo team, as well as several civilian performers and War Birds.



Here, the A-10 returns to Republic...in more ways than one. The airport had been home to the Fairchild Republic Corporation, which had a long, rich history of building aircraft for the US Air Force, and the Army Air Corps before that. The A-10 was the last aircraft produced by FRC at Republic.



Stay tuned - there's lots more air show to come in the days ahead!