Rain Day at the Westfield Airshow
The 2005 Westfield airshow came and went amidst a mix of weather.
Day 1 saw perfect skies with essentially unlimited ceiling and visibility. Unfortunately, I wasn't there, as I was in Pennsylvania for a
Cardinal Flyers flyin (to be blogged at a later date). I did make it to the airshow on Day 2, for which we had marginal VFR conditions for most of the day. A few of the aerial performers took to the sky, but they were limited to low-altitude routines. I left after an hour, which was spent mostly taking in the static displays and dodging occasional rain showers. Here's what I found interesting:
This T-6 was one of the few acts to get off the ground. The generally low ceiling prevented any aggressively vertical maneuvers, but he added his smoke to the overcast for a few minutes.
Here he lands under the watchful eye of one of the Barnes ANGB security police.
The warbird ramp was not accessible to the public, but you could get close enough for a few zoomed photos. This C-47 in Normandy invasion markings has been a regular visitor at recent airshows.
The Stearman did a few flybys in company with
one of the locals. The two rumbly round engines rolling around the pattern sounded very nice.
An F4U Corsair. I wish I had been around to see him fly. There's something unique about the sound of a Corsair on the wing.
I missed the B-25 also - another nicely noisy round-engined machine.
Other visitors included a P-47, a TBM, and a P-51, which was in the pattern when I departed for Lancaster the previous day.
The contemporary static displays were more accessible, many even having ladders up to cockpit level. This T-37 needed no such accommodation. This is actually one of Yellowbird's siblings from the Cessna stable, although you'd be hard pressed to find any family resemblance.
As the afternoon progressed, the rain came down, and out came the umbrellas, at least for those with the foresight to bring them. The rest of us had to take shelter under the shadow of whatever wings offered sufficient headroom. This is the view from beneath an O-2.
It was getting mighty damp, so I left for dryer regions. From the comfort of my living room, I could hear and see a few aerial routines later in the day, but the Thunderbirds never left the ground. I was tempted to go back a few times, but I stayed in for the rest of the day. It was a good reminder of how we are at the weather's mercy whenever we plan to visit the sky.
This T-6 was one of the few acts to get off the ground. The generally low ceiling prevented any aggressively vertical maneuvers, but he added his smoke to the overcast for a few minutes.
Here he lands under the watchful eye of one of the Barnes ANGB security police.
The warbird ramp was not accessible to the public, but you could get close enough for a few zoomed photos. This C-47 in Normandy invasion markings has been a regular visitor at recent airshows.
The Stearman did a few flybys in company with one of the locals. The two rumbly round engines rolling around the pattern sounded very nice.
An F4U Corsair. I wish I had been around to see him fly. There's something unique about the sound of a Corsair on the wing.
I missed the B-25 also - another nicely noisy round-engined machine.
Other visitors included a P-47, a TBM, and a P-51, which was in the pattern when I departed for Lancaster the previous day.
The contemporary static displays were more accessible, many even having ladders up to cockpit level. This T-37 needed no such accommodation. This is actually one of Yellowbird's siblings from the Cessna stable, although you'd be hard pressed to find any family resemblance.
As the afternoon progressed, the rain came down, and out came the umbrellas, at least for those with the foresight to bring them. The rest of us had to take shelter under the shadow of whatever wings offered sufficient headroom. This is the view from beneath an O-2.
It was getting mighty damp, so I left for dryer regions. From the comfort of my living room, I could hear and see a few aerial routines later in the day, but the Thunderbirds never left the ground. I was tempted to go back a few times, but I stayed in for the rest of the day. It was a good reminder of how we are at the weather's mercy whenever we plan to visit the sky.
Great coverage of this airshow. I love your liberal use of photographs on your blog!