WOTN Air Expo Saturday

[dj51d]

I had a great time yesterday at the Wings Of The North airshow. I met a number of fellow WIXers and it's great to finally be able to put faces to names. The warbird turn out was a bit less than hoped for, but you have to expect problems operating 60 year old aircraft.


P-63F 43-11719/N6763


B-25J 44-29869/N27493 Miss Mitchell


P-51D 44-74466/N10607 Barbara Jean


B-17G 44-85829/N3193G Yankee Lady


B-25J 45-8884/N5833B Lady Luck


Howard 500 500-105/N500HP


SB2C-5 83589/N92879


SB2C-5 83589/N92879


SB2C-5 83589/N92879


P-40E AK753/N4420K now with Ron Fagen.


P-51D and P-63F


L-29 N11CD


L-29 N11CD


Gary Applebaum's Widgeon


Beech D17S N4512N


The mystery Gooney turned out to be the CAFs N47HL

Scott, as usual feel free to take any you need for the registry.

[Ollie]

Great shots Dan!

You had more Merlin music than I did this year!

[Dave D]

I went to WOTN on Saturday and had a fantastic time. It was a perfect day to see some heavy metal fly around. I really enjoyed seeing Yankee Lady and Miss Mitchel. Also, seeing the beast fly in as I was driving away . The P-63 King Cobra was a beautiful aircraft. Steve and I drooled a little bit and I was seeing hearts fluttering. But over all it was a great show and I just wanted to thank everyone who helped put on the show. Great job and can't wait until next time.

P.S. Dan Great Shots!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dj51d]

Thanks guys. The P-63 was the highlight of the show, untill the beast showed up:) The specifications just don't do it justice, the Helldiver is massive for a single engine.

Dave, sorry I missed you and Steve, Bryan said you guys were around but I never did find you. We ended up taking a group shot for the gatherings gallery in front of Gary Applebaum's Widgeon late in the afternoon.

Ollie, we've had far less Merlin music than usual this year, Harry Barr's Mustang is only the third one I've seen this year, and sadly no Spitfires, Bill Greenwood was scheduled to be at the WOTN show, I never did hear why he didn't show up. Kermit Week's TP-40N, and Lone Star's Hellcat and Dauntless all had mechanical issues and were no shows as well.

[mjanovec]

Nice photos...when did the P-63 fly? I was there from 9:30am to 3:00pm on Saturday (I also saw the Helldiver arrive after I had walked out of the gates) and from 9:00am to 6:00pm on Sunday and didn't see it leave the ground. Was that shot taken on it's arrival early in the morning...or did they take the P-63 up late on Saturday?

I think the Sunday show was a little better...not quite as crowded (especially in the morning and late afternoon) and a little easier to photograph the planes. There's gotta be a term for photographers who wait patiently for people to clear away from a plane (if only for a brief second) to get their shot.

Anyway, by the time I went to bed on Sunday night, I thought I could still hear the sound of radial engines in my head and smell the odor of aviation fuel mixed with the scent of mini donuts.

Mark

[mrhenniger]

There's gotta be a term for photographers who wait patiently for people to clear away from a plane (if only for a brief second) to get their shot.

Insanely patient?

Mike (who has "been there")

[dj51d]

The P-63 flew late in the afternoon on Saturday. The shot of the Kingcobra on takeoff was taken at 4:43 according to my camera.

Did any additional aircraft arrive on Sunday? One more question for those who went Sunday, did the Helldiver fly or was it static only?

[Steven M. Dennis]

Hey Dan,

GREAT shots!!!!!

Sorry we missed hooking up with you, would've been great to meet you in person. It was kind of a fluke that I was able to go to the show on Saturday at all, as I was supposed to work that weekend, but that changed (thankfully). But due to the short notice, I wasn't in the loop about where to meet, etc. We did get to say a quick "Howdy" to Bryan and John. Maybe we'll catch up with you at one of the next shows.....Oshkosh?.....Detroit?

Take care my friend!

Steve

[John Beyl]

Hi Dan,

The Helldiver was static for the show and left for Osh early this morning. As noted early in this thread the warbird turn out was not as anticipated but not bad considering the Mom and Pop nature of the show. The Hellcat had mag problems, the SBD had gear problems, not sure what happend to the TBM, Bill Greenwood had ignition problems with his Spit and the Corsair had to stay home due to pilot family issues. The T-6 formation work this weekend was nothing short of extremely impressive. There is a group of around 7or 8 of these guys from the Twin Cities area that fly together several times a week and it really shows! Nothing real fancy but they are tight and rock solid.

Thanks to all of the folks that visited the Red Tail tent at the show. It was real nice to see lots of Red Tail shirts and caps in the crowd. Thanks for the support!

John B.
CC "Red Tail"

[mjanovec]

Did anyone who attended the Saturday WOTN show (in the morning)notice a second B-25 come in and land, then leave after a few minutes? I swear a saw a second Mitchell land, but was at the opposite end of the field, figuring I'd look at it when I got closer, but then noticed it was gone.

Or was I just experiencing double vision with Miss Mitchell?

Mark

[dj51d]

No, you weren't experiencing double vision, C&P's Lucky Lady 45-8884/N5833B flew several times on Saturday and departed the pattern. The fifth picture in my initial post in this thread is a shot of an afternoon pass Luky Lady made over the field.

[dj51d]

the warbird turn out was not as anticipated but not bad considering the Mom and Pop nature of the show.

I couldn't agree more. WOTN has always done an excellent job with aircraft and guests for AirExpo. I don't know about the Mustang Roundups, though I found out about them after they were over with.