Republicans Recruiting at the Air Expo!

[dodger501]

Check it out:

"



Inside that tent, I bet they were fitting the College Republicans with their brown shirts.

You can see all the pictures I took at Air Expo 2005 at Flying Cloud Airport here:

http://dodger501.smugmug.com/Events

We got to see the Black Sheep Squadron, the Tuskegee Airmen, the navigator of the Enola Gay. Lots of fun.

[ewagner]

1. Nice Pictures

I'm impressed that there were so many historical figures like the Tuskegee Airmen, original members of the Black Sheep Squadron, the Navigator of the Enola Gay and (it looks like) a genuine Luftwaffe Pilot. I'm an aviation history buff myself and I would have dearly loved to see that.

Aside from that, I think you got some great shots of the L-38/39 and the privately owned Sabre (F-86). I would have sold my sister to fly either one of those.

Thanks for posting.

[dodger501]

2. There were two Luftwaffe pilots there

The one with the cap was on the Russian Front, the other was an ace.
There was a replica of Pappy Boyington's F4U Corsair.
My favorite was the B-17. They were charging 3 bills for a ride in that and the B-25. To rich for my blood.

[ewagner]

3. About the B-17

It was in Wausau Wisconsin last Thursday and I understood that it was like $325 for a ride...BUT you got a "bomber Jacket" with a logo on it....

I've NEVER owned a $325 jacket of any kind! LOL

I'd like to go to Oshkosh this year (two weeks from now?) and meet Chuck Yeager...I think he's there every year flying his Mustang, that would be great. I'd also like to meet Burt Rutan but he usually has a huge crowd around him.

[dflprincess]

4. Hey I was there!

I went out on Saturday for two reasons.

I wanted to meet Senator McGovern. - But I didn't time it right. Contrary to what the paper said he was not there all day Saturday (or at least not at his booth in his hangar.) I lurked around for a couple hours hoping to see him.

I also wanted to see the B25. My dad was a rear gunner on one of those and I had never seen the plane in person. I was really shocked when I saw the spot in the plane he would have had to sit and thought about how young he was when he did that. There was a booth in the hangar for his bomber group (Air Apaches) and I got to talk to a guy who had been in one of the four squadrons in the AA group.

I had some guy with a "Support the Troops" button on ask me why I was taking pictures of the tail end of the B25 (to show the nieces and nephews, none of whom would come with me). So I told him. And he said "Did your dad come with you today, I'd like to thank him." Well, my dad has been dead 40 years but I couldn't resist. I told him my dad was at a Veteran's for Peace meeting, planning their next demonstration. (Hey, Pop came back from the war a pacifist and, according to my mother, always claimed that people who never saw combat were the ones who always thought war was a good idea. There is no doubt in her mind he would have hated Bush and the other chickenhawks). The guy just walked away.

[dodger501]

5. Your Dad was my kind of veteran

Those of us who saw war and want to prevent it.
Other types of veterans are those who saw war and liked it too much, like Patton and Joe Repya. The glory hounds, as we called them.

Sen. McGovern was not there Sunday, either, and I did not see a booth.

[ewagner]

6. Hey!

Your B-25 and an AT-6 passed over my house heading SSe toward Oshkosh around 11:25 this morning....

Those old radial engines make the blood stir don't they?

[KitchenWitch]

7. Did you go Saturday or Sunday

I was one of the people selling admission on Sunday!

[KitchenWitch]

8. Great photos by the way!

There is a story about that F86 Sabre. Apparently it was in someone's farm field in Lakeville. The owner of the farm donated it (it is not flightworthy) to the city of Lakeville for their war memorial. Air Expo volunteers took the wings off so we could display it at the show this year to give it some visibility. I guess it was some undertaking!

[bvar22]

9. Missed it!!!!!!

I would have gone had I known about it. I've been an aviation enthusiast since before I can remember. I especially like the prop planes from WWII, and am a storehouse of useless knowlege from that era. I can tell you the name of the fuels that the Luftwaffe used in the Me163!

One of the biggest thrills of my life was a ride in an p-51D conversion in 1976.



"Inside that tent, I bet they were fitting the College Republicans with their brown shirts."
It took me a second. I didn't know if you were kidding!


Thanks for the pics (even though I am kicking myself)!

[Oreo]

10. I took my 3 year old on Sunday

We actually went for a flight in a plane... he loved it. It was so hot out I figured it'd be cooler at a couple thousand feet.

I've taken him 3 years in a row now. I would have missed it if I didn't mark my calendar a few months ago when I looked on their website to see when it was

I'll try to post some pics later