Air Show Weekend

It was a good Thunder Over Michigan and we plan to work the air show again next year. (I don't know how long this link will work now that the show is over.) This year's show was dedicated to the P-47 Thunderbolt.

Because the Yankee Air Museum is at Willow Run airport in Yipisilanti, a two hour drive from home, we decided to spend the weekend in the KOA that is just a five minute drive from the airport. We were pleasantly surprised at the KOA. Yes the sites were crammed in tight as all private campgrounds are. But we had a nice shady drive-through, it was acceptably clean and it was quiet. Next year I think I will however choose a site with full hoop up instead of just water and electric. This year was unusually cool so we probably used less water than otherwise and we filled up our gray tank by Sunday night . . . . . . . soooo I think I will spend the extra for a full hookup next time.

I worked the A-Team which stationed me at an admission gate. The A-Team crew takes money and tickets as people come in. The boss of the group has worked out a system that gets cars through fast so the wait was never very long for anyone.

My Dear Husband was a Garbage Grunt. That job is a tough one as most of them took two or three shifts and worked all day. The final clean up on Sunday takes several hours after everyone else has left. But their job has them on the show grounds all day, picking up FOD and being sure the garbage containers are not overflowing.

One of the best perks of being on air show staff is access to the "VIP chalet" tent which is reserved for VIPs, air-crews, and volunteers. We were fed an awesome catered meal at noon each day and when our shift was over we could sit in the shade of the tent or in chairs right on the flight line and watch the show.

The Ramp Crew would also be a really awesome job but that requires a lot of experience and training. That group has immense responsibility handling and directing the aircraft traffic on the ramp.

We had cool weather both days with rather high wind and the threat of rain which held off until after the show was over, then we got heavy rain both afternoons. The wind and threat of storms had some effect on the show but in the end all went well.

The highlights of the show for me were the flight of the bombers, the heritage flight, (This picture of the F-16 and P-51 is not my picture since my point and shoot digital camera just will not do the job, as you can see from the picture above of the B-24s and the B-25, but it gives you a good representation.) And as always the row of B-17s. The bombers included the only two flying B-24 Liberators left in the world, a B-25 Mitchell and four B-17 Flying Fortresses which is about half of those left flying in the US . The B-25 Mitchel is owned by the YAM and is very rare as it actually flew combat missions in WWII in the African theater. Most War Birds that are still flying have survived because they were built late in the war or just after the war was over and found other civilian uses. The B-17 Yankee Lady that is owned by the YAM was built after the war ended and was used for fire fighting.

The heritage flight was an F-16 and P-51 flying in formation with the F-16 tucked in behind and to the left of the P-51. It was an awesome sight. Their final pass over the crowd came from behind, and as they passed over head they did a roll toward each other and then out. It was breath taking.


The Rain held off until the crowds had left. But we got a heavy downpour during the policing of the grounds both Saturday and Sunday. On the drive back to the KOA Sunday evening we were treated to the most intensely colored double rainbow I can remember.