Sun n Fun this year had some unusually bad weather.  It was rare event, but people had some problems getting past weather to get to the show.  Thus we were short some acts for the airshow on Opening Day on Tuesday.   The air show on Wednesday was cancelled because of a storm that was moving into the area and would arrive about the middle of the show.  Officials at ... Read More

The Valiant Air Command hosts an annual airshow in Titusville Florida each spring.  In the past (20 years ago) it was one of the 3 or 4 top airshows in the country.   It’s still a great show and has a long standing name “TICO” and is a contraction of the name Titusville Cocca Airport Authority. It’s a warbird based show in support of the VAC’s Museum and fund raising efforts.  ... Read More

We did attend the Friday media day but left with hardly a photo. Most of my shots were from Saturday before the crowds were let in. Below is a table of the planned heritage schemes. Aircraft Type BuNo Assignment Scheme EA-6B 160609 VAQ-129 USS Coral Sea Air group markings E/A-18G 166899 VAQ-129 F-U Corsair of Air Group 85 "Sky Pirates"  aboard the USS Shangri-La (CV 34) circa 1944 (three tone blue/blue/white) F/A-18A TBD VX-31 Heritage China Lake Test Scheme F/A-18A+ 162866 VFA-204 Navy Reserve aircraft circa 1950 F/A-18C 163745 VFA-106 F6F-5 Bomber-Fighter ... Read More

Whether you call it vapor, a contrail, condensation, or one of a number of other descriptions, the whitish mist that trails an aircraft is definitely an attention grabber.  What causes it?  Depending what you see, there are a few different explanations.  One is caused by temperature, others by air pressure. A condensation trail, better known as a contrail, is the first example we'll discuss.  This is water vapor that is ... Read More

On March 18, 2011, a ceremonial event was held at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton to celebrate the final flight of the Marine Corps’ workhorse for the last 40 years – The UH-1N Huey. The UH-1N entered service with the USMC in 1971 as a replacement for the UH-1E, which the Marine Corps had been flying since in 1964. Among the improvements of the UH-1N was a twin ... Read More

At the Valiant Air Command’s TICO Airshow this spring a new Corsair debuted.  The F4U-4 N713JT Bureau No. 97143 is owned by Jim Tobul of South Carolina and has been in the family for about 30 years. This is an airframe that has a lot of interesting history behind it.  This airframe has been christened the “Korean War Hero” by the Tobul Family with good reason.  It was built in ... Read More

For three days in March the sky was filled with Military and Civilian aircraft. Also on the list of performers were the United States Army Golden Knights and the Red Bull Skydiving Team.  There were spectators from across Arizona and many from across the country that were here to see the show. The event kicked off on Friday for base personnel ... Read More

The real airshow season in America starts at TICO (which comes from Titusville Cocca Airport Authority) every spring in Florida.  This event is the annual fund raiser for the Valiant Air Command.  This year something new happened which has never happened anywhere before and we were there to see it. There is a new jet team on the airshow circuit known as “Heavy Metal”.  It was started by Jarred Isaacman ... Read More

On March 3-6, 2011, vintage warbirds and United States Air Force aircraft from across the country came to Davis Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona for the annual Heritage Flight Training Conference. During a large number of airshows around the country, part of the flying schedule includes a “USAF Heritage Flight". This Heritage Flight will usually consist of one or two warbirds of USAF heritage and a current ... Read More

The 2011 United States Air Show season kicked off this last Saturday down at Naval Air Station El Centro. Performers included The Blue Angels, Viper West F-16 team, Navy VAF-122 F-18 team, and other civilian performers. There were many classic war birds on static display. Thousands came out to kick off the new season. Following all of the civilian performers to kick off the military’s part of the show was ... Read More