Every first weekend of June, Philadelphia history buffs retreat to one event that has provided them with a true World War II experience for the whole weekend. That event is the World War II Weekend held annually by the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum at Reading Regional Airport in the town of Reading, PA. It fills the day with reenactments of famous WWII battles, displays of WWII weapons, and of course the airshow. Before the airshow started, I entered a French Village that was venerable to an imminent strike by Axis forces. I made a stop at the flea market to buy some artifacts and other collectibles. After that, it was onto the aircraft ground displays. I walked among numerous liaison aircraft to find the fighters performing in the show. Greg Shelton's FM2 Wildcat (N551TC), the American Airpower Museum's P-47 Thunderbolt (known as Jacky's Revenge), and the Commemorative Air Force's FG-1 Corsair. After a good few minutes of admiration for the World War II fighters, it was time to head for the flight line to watch them in flight.
AIRSHOW
The airshow attendees were called to the flight line by announcer Larry Rutt for a special speech from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. After a speech given from the airstairs of the Douglas C-54 Skymaster, it was time to fly. Liaison aircraft such as the L-4 Grasshopper, L-16 Champ, among others flew racetrack patterns over the skies of Reading, PA. Below are photos and types of each L-Bird that flew.
Warbird rides were offered throughout the airshow. This included the Yankee Air Museum flying their B-17, the Commemorative Air Force with two P-51s, a B-29, a B-24, a Dauntless, a Helldiver, and a C-45. Airshows had short breaks for those aircraft to take off and land in between acts.
Primary Trainers such as the Stearman, Cornell, and the Vultee Valiant flew a short performance similar to that flown by the L-Birds. This was followed by a performance by Michael Kennedy in his BT-13 Valiant. That performance was really interesting to say the least. I will detail this demo profile below. Afterwards, numerous T-6/SNJ Texans took off to fly a formation demo, with passes in the Diamond, Fingertip, and Echelon formations. Kevin Russo then broke off from the performance in Tom Duffy's SNJ Texan to fly a short, beautiful performance.
It was time to launch for the Pacific Theater Re-enactment. Stan Musick took off in the Commemorative Air Force: Dixie Wing's FG-1 (F4U) Corsair to fly an exciting Corsair Demo. Stan's profile is really nice and provides a nice balance of aggressive and graceful. Although I do see a parallel with his Mustang profile.
A demo that has become a WWII Weekend staple for the past couple of years is the WWII Reenactment. The axis forces start attacking an airfield at show center, but soon get interrupted by the Tinker Belle C-46, while dropping parachuters to join the battle. The distraction allows ground forces to come in and start leveling the Axis forces. A Fiesler Storch is soon found with a Piper L-Bird of some sorts countering it on the Allied side.
Dan Dameo and the American Airpower Museum's P-40M Warhawk took show center next. Dan Dameo always flies a nice, agreessive routine regardless of whether he is flying the FG-1D Corsair known as Skyboss, or this particular P-40M Warhawk known as The Jacky C. The Jacky C, itself is the only flying P-40M variant, and is based in Farmingdale, New York. It is a bridge between the ever popular P-40E and P-40N models that are popular in today's airshow industry.
After the P-40 landed, the Heavies began taking off in a single file manner. The Commemorative Air Force was well represented in this flight, with a C-45, B-24, and a B-29 all flying in the parade. The B-24 is actually one of only two flying, and the B-29 is the only flying model as of 2015. The Yankee Air Museum brought out their B-25 Yankee Warrior, B-17 Yankee Lady, and the C-47 Yankee Doodle Dandy. The other two B-25s are Take Off Time owned and flown by Tom Duffy, and Panchito owned by the Deleware Aviation Museum and flown by Larry Kelley.
The show concluded with the flight of the fighters. The flight consisted of three P-51 Mustangs, including a rare C model, as well as a P-47 Thunderbolt. Red Tail (P-51C) and Red Nose (P-51D) are both owned by the Commemorative Air Force, and are used to commemorate the Tuskeegee Airmen. Red Tail was being flown by Doug Rozendaal, and Red Nose was being flown by Stan Musick. The other P-51 is owned and flown by Andrew McKenna. Andrew's P-51 as well as Red Tail both flew respective demos. The P-47 is owned by the American Airpower Museum and is flown by Paul Stojkov. The fighters flew individual passes, with a missing man pass to conclude the airshow portion of WWII Weekend.
I threw in three Quest Diagnostic planes in here, because they had permission to take off and land during the show. I witnessed their Beech 58 Baron take off between the bomber and fighter flights. There was also a TBM-700 and a Beech 18 on their ramp.
I threw in three Quest Diagnostic planes in here, because they had permission to take off and land during the show. I witnessed their Beech 58 Baron take off between the bomber and fighter flights. There was also a TBM-700 and a Beech 18 on their ramp.