2012 Airshows
Titusville (Tico), FL   Urbana, OH B-25 Gathering   B-25 Fly-Over at Doolittle Reunion, Dayton, OH   MCAS Cherry Point, NC   Shaw AFB, Sumter, SC   Whiteman AFB, Knob Noster, MO   Boeing Field, Seattle, WA   Kokomo Air Show, Kokomo, IN   CWH Airshow, Hamilton ON   Indianapolis Air Show, Greenfield, IN   Indianapolis Executive B-17 Texas Raiders   Thunder over Michigan, Belleville, MI   Gratiot Community Airshow, Alma, MI   Marion Fly-In/Drive-In, Marion, IN   Fort Wayne Air Show, Fort Wayne, IN   Waukegan, IL   Glendale Airport, Kokomo, IN   Indianapolis Regional Airport, IN   Indianapolis Metropolitan Airport, IN

Shaw Air Expo 2012 Warbird Photo Review
Warbirds at Shaw AFB, Sumter, SC - May 5-6, 2012 (Photos taken Sunday, May 6, 2012)

  This was the second airshow of a "double header" for the weekend as I took in MCAS Cherry Point the day before.  Weather started out great at the show as can be seen from the first couple of photos below.  Then a weather pattern backed into the area that had passed through the evening before and actually knocked down many of the tents.  Using "volunteers" (We all know how this volunteer thing works in the military) came out after midnight and put the show back together.  Up then until the Thunderbirds flew it was overcast and crappy, which a few sprinkles. 

The C-54 was a surprise static for me. Note the blue skies as it takes on fuel.

Another welcome sight was the C-46 "Tinker Belle" from Monroe, NC.  Last year was its first year out since being purchased from the CAF and I was only able to see it at the WWII Weekend at Reading, PA.  Again note the blue skies.

There were several warbirds on display inside the main hangar, including this BAC Provost from Leesville, SC.  When I went back outside the weather had turned overcast.

This AH-1is owned by the Celebrate Freedom Foundation in Columbia, SC and opened the show with a demo.  Actually it was scheduled to perform later but due to the low ceilings the air boss had it go first to open the show.

Next up was the attack scenario which launched four F-16s from Shaw, two F-15s and two A-10s.  The silver lining with the dark sky was the ability to see and photograph the afterburner takeoffs.

The F-15s used a lot less runway to rotate that the F-16s.

Again the gray sky does not do too much for getting a good photo of the F-15 but the flares show up real well.  I think this is the first time I have seen flares used during a demo.

This is the best new warbird act I have seen in a long time.  Named "Valiant Echoes" and flown by veteran pilot Michael Kennedy in the only BT-13 aerobatic routine in the country.  At first I did not think it was going to be that big a deal but it turned out a lot better than I expected.  First, the BT-13 does not need either a lot of vertical or horizontal space to work in so Michael can stay low and close to show center with it.  What really makes the difference is live narration from the cockpit where he pretends to be a WWII flight instructor with a "student" in the aircraft.  During the routine he shows the "student", while narrating from the aircraft, how to do a maneuver.  Then he lets the "student" try who invariably gets it wrong with the instructor taking the airplane back. On the second attempt the "student" gets it correct.  This was very entertaining and different.

This was a local T-33 that did some fly-bys.  I believe it was from Columbia, SC.

The Skytypers put on a formation show.

Scott Yoak did his normal superb job with his P-51Quick Silver aerobatic routine.

Jim Tobul from Bamberg, SC was up next in the F4U-4 Corsair as he went through his aerobatic routine.

John Mohr in the stock Stearman again put on his extraordinary act with this aircraft.


Note the helmet on the pilot is red, not black as in the other photo.  A USAF Heritage Flight authorized pilot has been brought in to fly with the F-16.  Scott does not hold that qualification.

Heritage flight.

George Lancaster takes off in his A-26, which served in Korea.  George carries two spotters with him when he flies to keep an eye the back of the engines and also to look for other traffic, especially when flying with other warbirds at air shows.  This photo gives a good view of starboard spotter looking right at me.

George was getting down low on a lot of his passes.

This was the second of the two T-33s and is the Ace Maker from California.

Titusville (Tico), FL   Urbana, OH B-25 Gathering   B-25 Fly-Over at Doolittle Reunion, Dayton, OH   MCAS Cherry Point, NC   Shaw AFB, Sumter, SC   Whiteman AFB, Knob Noster, MO   Boeing Field, Seattle, WA   Kokomo Air Show, Kokomo, IN   CWH Airshow, Hamilton ON   Indianapolis Air Show, Greenfield, IN   Indianapolis Executive B-17 Texas Raiders   Thunder over Michigan, Belleville, MI   Gratiot Community Airshow, Alma, MI   Marion Fly-In/Drive-In, Marion, IN   Fort Wayne Air Show, Fort Wayne, IN   Waukegan, IL   Glendale Airport, Kokomo, IN   Indianapolis Regional Airport, IN   Indianapolis Metropolitan Airport, IN