How was Airsho '08?

Mon Sep 22, 2008 3:56 pm

No pics, posts or complaints about the logos on the planes yet? :shock:

Last edited by Django on Mon Sep 22, 2008 4:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Mon Sep 22, 2008 4:02 pm

Airsho 09 ??

I have been wondering about 08 myself....anyone other than Gary, Pat and CAPFlyer go?

Mon Sep 22, 2008 4:17 pm

Oops, got a little ahead of myself there...

Mon Sep 22, 2008 5:41 pm

I was flying from Colorado to Austin for the footbal game, and I stopped overnight Fri at CAF Midland. I didn't see many people about,, but a fair number of airplanes. I was wandering around and was asked to join the B-24 guys in a great Bar-B-Q buffet which I really appreciate. I spent a couple of hours in the new officers club and it is really nice. I thought there was to be a night airshow, but it wasn't a warbird thing so I didn't stay. I know the weathe was very nice, mild temps in the low 80's and none of the mini cycloe winds like last year. I left Sat am before the field closed.

Mon Sep 22, 2008 5:45 pm

The Airsho was great... It was my first trip out to Midland so I cannot tell you if the numbers were up, down or the same.

I can compare it to Wings Over Houston and it seemed like the planes were a little closer on the fly-bys.
I don't KNOW this for certain, it just seemed that way.
The briefing talked about the 500 foot line, 1000 foot line and 1500 foot line, so the distances were probably the same.

The engine sounds were a treat. Cavanaugh's P-40 had that eerie whistling and throaty at the same time Allison sound.

Lady02 Pilot's plane looked wicked!

The Mustang's were flown great and they took turns on different days doing acro.

There were only six TORA birds because of the impact of the storm on three of the pilot's families and businesses.

The narrative was most effective during the Doolittle Raid section and the Miss Mitchell B25 made the nicest snarl. We won't fault it for not being ( historically accurate to the mission) green. What a gorgeous B25!

They kept flying the Sea Fury with the WWII show, while it should have been in Korea, but the acro it did on Sunday was cool.

The Logos... I am not a big fan of them, BUT they were not really visible as the planes went by at speed. Ramp photos are going to tell the story more than descriptions.

I am still shooting film, so I will have to wait and get 'em back from the chemist's.

SPANNER

Mon Sep 22, 2008 6:24 pm

The flying warbird count was down a little this year, but having some evacuees from Lonestar filled out the picture on the ground. The weather was great, and rains earlier in the month kept the dust down.

The guys from Cavanaugh made the Korea/Vietnam segment stand out with the Mohawk and Skyraider. I think this segment will continue to grow and improve.

It's still one of the best warbird shows around and I never get sick of it.

Tue Sep 23, 2008 9:56 am

I posted one pic in the "WIX Gatherings/Aviation Events" section; here are a couple more:

Hey! This photobucket thing isn't so hard, after all!

-Pat

Tue Sep 23, 2008 12:30 pm

Didn't Mudge go this year? Interested in hearing his thoughts....

Tue Sep 23, 2008 12:49 pm

No...we didn't get there. We were involved in a traffic accident Thursday evening and my knee was damaged to the point where I've been on crutches for the last 4 days. Luckily, nothing broken. Mrs. Mudge wasn't damaged but had the sh_t scared out of her by the airbags going off. :shock:

I'm afraid to see what the MRI is gonna' show. That's scheduled for Thursday as the swelling will, hopefully, be well down by then.
I gotta' tell ya', I was as pi$$ed as I've been in a lot of years.
Next year for sure.

Mudge the crip

ps. Canceling the flights was a bit costly, too ($955). I had non-refundable tickets.

Tue Sep 23, 2008 1:16 pm

Dang Mudge, that sucks! I was wondering why you didn't look me up this weekend. Oh, and I received your letter in the mail......consider it torn up! :wink:

Gary

Tue Sep 23, 2008 1:38 pm

Mudge,

Get well soon, and we know the feeling on tickets. We ate four Cup and four Busch tickets to Bristol and then didn't go to Reno either.

Scott

Tue Sep 23, 2008 5:01 pm

GET WELL Mudge!

Also I figured out why the warbirds seemed closer at Midland.

I finally got new spectacles last month AND the air was so much drier than Houston. :shock:

Tue Sep 23, 2008 5:26 pm

Pics are coming over the next couple of days.... Including the fearless 'Spanner' who WAS caught taking a ride in the "competition", Ol' 927 herself! You know she was sandwiched between two B-17's on the ramp..... Thanks Don, and hope that we (B-29/B-24 Sqdn) treated ya' well on the flight.... Alan
Also lots of updates on several CAF "Big Iron" birds.....

Tue Sep 23, 2008 7:00 pm

Yes ... PLEASE ... Post more pics of the Midland Hoedown! Specifically I request any and/or all pictures of LSFM evacuee birds, sure would love to see 'em right now!! I live very close to LSFM but can't triage a museum workday into my schedule priority due to too many friends with horribly damaged homes. I'll get my ass down there as soon as I can, but right now I'm working day and night to assuage my "survivor's guilt" in style. I hope what I said makes sense, I'm simply too tired to try to write stuff better.

By God, I've never been busier since I retired, and ol' IKE has done nothing but throw gas on the fire. I think I need to take a JOB somewhere to get some blessed REST.

Tue Sep 23, 2008 7:13 pm

Got back yesterday.....sure had a good time....have no pictures...LOL....but it was fun meeting a couple of WIXers for the first time and seeing a few I don't see very often. Thought the show went very well....pilot brief was interesting as usual...

The new O-Club building and associated hangar are fabulous.....but I did kinda miss sitting in the O-Club tent with the wind, sand storms and porta-potties :lol:

Thanks to all the MAF based people and other CAF volunteers who put so much effort into making it a nice experience for us pesky pilots.