Thunder Over Michigan - Navy Version

This years theme for TOM is the The Centennial of Naval Aviation, featuring a multitude of naval aircraft spanning the 100 years.
After last years B-17 theme, I figured I had to check out the airshow outside of Detroit again this year.
Driving down friday to stay over night allowed for an early start to the airshow day. But again, as was traditional, Friday saw a military parade down the main st of Belleville.

As the parade approached, Havards from the Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association
flew down the length of the street.



The parade was led by an honour guard from the Police,



with the re-enacters from WW2



along with vehicles, like this Stuart tank following behind.



As they reached the end of the route, a Mig 21 began to make passes over town.



Then everyone looked out to the lake, to watch 4 LVT's demonstrating there ship like abilities. These were used through out the pacific campaign during WW2.





During the airshow, all 4 were involved in a reenactment of a pacific battle.



The next day, bright and early, it was time to head to the show at the airport. The first thing that greets you is the same reenactors in there camp. Lots of soldiers, from allied and axis armies, were on hand,





along with some representing the women of the time, like these ladies!



Then it was onto the aircraft. They ranged from the origins of the navy, a replica of the Curtis Pusher, the first aircraft the navy used on a ship,



to the most modern of aircraft, like the B1 Bone;





the B2 Spirit of Michigan;



and the MV-22B Osprey.



Another 70's generation aircraft, the f-16, showed that it still has the right stuff to battle in the sky.





I also thought it was unusual to see an fF16 with a hornet tail marking, as thats the standard image for a F18 Hornet!



Other periods including the Vietnam era, where an A-4 Skyhawk



battled a Mig 17 over the airport;





while a WW2 battle involving Japanese Zero's





and US Corsairs also took place.





It was amazing to see two real Japanese Zero's, a first for me. They were very capable, and you could understand how the dominated the battle, until one was discovered by the US and flight tested to learn its weakness, which was negative g's and rolling to the right!

Also on hand for a Legacy flight including aircraft like the PBY-5A Catalina



SB2C-5 Helldiver



TBM-3E Avenger



This one is done up like that used by George Bush in WW2
SBD-5 Dauntless



grumman c-1a trader



The show had two battles, which included a american attack on a german strong point, as well as a pacific island battle with Marines and Japanese soldiers.



Strafing runs by the aircraft represented attacks on ground targets. This is where the skill of the pilots was really on display! Simulating ground attacks, the pilots put the planes down as low as your going to see at any airshow!









And the stars of that battle were the Mustangs, a beautiful aircraft that ended up dominating the sky's above Europe.

T.O.M.

After seeing a few years of the warbird action at Geneseo, I decided that the opportunity to see 8 flying B-17's was just too much to give up. So, I headed down to the outskirts of Detroit, to see the Thunder Over Michigan airshow, hosted by the Yankee Air Museum.
The theme was the heavy bomber, and with 8 B-17, a B52 flyby, a B-25 and a huge (And I've got to say, strange looking!)B-24,



along with some more modern fighter jets, it lived up to its billing.

Arriving in time for the Friday re-enactors parade, a trip into the downtown of Bellevill led to the start up of the parade. Lots of American, British and German troops, and even a few civilians were on hand. It was lead by a honour guard from the police, and headed down the road.











Saturday we arrived just before the gates opened, and were quickly in a parking spot and checking out the soldiers. Great effort by these guys, with weapons, uniforms and vehicles.









Next was into the airport itself, with what is probably a typical event requirement for the Americans:




Once we were in, it was of to see the bombers up close. Nearly all were completely accessible, with no barriers. Some offered tours for a few dollars.



During the airshow, the did a continous loop across show center.













At the end, the 2 flights of four flew directly at the audience, and most landed afterwards, but three stayed up with a mustang to do a missing man pass



A ground battle, with air support opened the show,



and then the 3 Mustangs of The Horsemen thrilled the audience with the close formation flying.



The F-18 and F-18 were also on hand.





The Canadian Harvards joined up with there brothers, the US T-6 Texan, part of the SCREAM 'N REBEL team.



The best deal of the day for me came at the end of the show. A guy had a scissor jack, and for 10 bucks, you could go up and get a great view of ramp. Unfortunately at the start of the show, he drove away on us! So we waited til the end of the airshow, took a break, then tracked him down again. We ended up between the two groups of B-17's, and then drove down to one end to get some more shots. He felt bad about what happened (turns out someone was supposed to use the jack for the re-enactor battle, but the guy never showed!!), so he gave us an extra long view, and moved us around the ramp! Most of the crowd had left by then, and the light was from behind, so it was a great opportunity to get some neat shots.







I'm uploading a bunch more pictures at my picture web site.

Also, here is a youtube video of the B17's on the ramp, along with a P51, B24, and B17 on the taxiway.