Warbird Information Exchange

I went to the initial 'flying Day' for the FHC here @ KPAE. The P-51 and P-47 flew. The area where the average 'great unwashed' are expected to 'view' the 'fly bys' is inside the 10 foot high chain link fenced parking lot about 400 ft from the runway. Your views are further impeded by the airport fire station, the Me 262 buildings and a long row of county airport mowing vehicles, that's to the West. To the North the MoF's B-52G and one of the 767 tankers (either Japans or Italys) block your views as do the hangers for central parking, to the South your sight lines are blocked by the Snohomish County Emergency Offices and the FHC hanger itself. to the East the ATS MRO hanger and associated engine run blast fence destroy that view,so that any views you get are nano second blurs followed by the engine sounds. If you like watching an airshow from a basement window, this is the place to come to.
I would recommend skipping trying to see this until enough complaints are registered for P.A. to flex his wallet and tries to correct the gross problems that prevent people from enjoying seeing the aircraft fly. As I walked back to my car I heard several others expressing their opinions of 'what a waste of time' and 'never again'.

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Don't make me go get my flying monkeys-

I remember a mustang get together in Fla some years ago.They had the owner/pilot are fenced off so I started pitching peanuts over the fence to the pilots.They didnt think it funny but I sure as hell did.Lack of a sense of humor or is it mustang owners?

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Hang The Expense

That's right......it was not funny. The peanuts weren't salted.
VL

If you had gone down 109th, they opened the fence at the fire station and you could watch the flying. I'm not sure where you were but if it was in the parking lot you were at the wrong place. We were told there was 1100 people at the fire station before noon waiting, for the gate to open.
Norm

I had no idea you were going you should have called me! I spent the hour B-Sing with Wolfgang and taking unobstructed pictures! You know I have the key!

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" excuse me stewardess I speak jive"

Thought about calling you but didn't see any cars there, I'll call you before the next one and see what you are doing, from the PAPL (Paul Allen Parking Lot,) it sucked and NO ONE bothered to come out and announce to the gqthered crowd that you could access @ 109th to watch,

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Don't make me go get my flying monkeys-

Too bad about the chain link fence, but I'd have to say that if you were only 400 feet from the runway, you were closer to the take-offs than you would be at an air show! FAA has a required min. of 500 feet from centerline to crowd. Looks like you were closer than most people! (but then again, I'm a glass-is-half-full kind of guy!)
Jerry

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"Always remember that, when you enter the ocean or the forest, you are no longer at the top of the food chain."

At that unnamed Mustang Gathering if you were real sneaky you could have sneaked across the Red Velvet ropes and sat at the White Table Cloth Tables and drank a cold one. Of course if you were caught it would be 30 lashes with a cane, deportation, and ripping off your Weblo Patch followed by the walk of shame. Not a pretty sight. Hey but the rewards of sitting on the other side of the rope would have been worth it.

Perhaps so, but the takeoffs happened BEHIND the airport fire station and the 262 hangers so you had a 2.714 second glimpse of the two BEFORE they went behind the hangers in central parking heading away at about 50 ft altitude as they went out North to climb to pattern, cross the FHC parking lot and disappear into the 5/10ths cloud cover/sun glare heading East........

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Don't make me go get my flying monkeys-

BITCH,BITCH,BITCH,BITCH, you guys are spoiled!!

With all do respect, I would be jacked if I went to a advertised observation area to watch warbirds fly, and had that happen to me.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

the FHC web site says " A viewing area is availble at the west end of 109th St SW a short walk from the collections hangar." If you take that to mean the hangars parking lot I guess you have a right to be pissed.
Norm

Does anyone know if:

1) The FHC would ever throw an airshow or mass flying day similar to an air display together in the future?

2) The FHC would ever take some of their planes to local airshows and fly them?

This gentleman didn't seem to have any problems getting a good view.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/roymcm/

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-Al Sauer
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spookythecat

The answer to the local airshow participation is a big fat no. At least right now. The hanger is pretty full, but if two or three of the planes were pulled to send to a local airshow, the folks showing up to the museum would be disappointed to find nothing there.

As more aircraft are restored and added to the collection, the chances are greater that they will participate in other venues.

This is the answer I got after pretty much begging to get a few to McChord for the July show.