Apple Valley Airshow 2012
The Morning Line Up
The Apple Valley airshow calls KAPV in the high desert of Southern California home. A small airport near Victorville falls under the jurisdiction of the San Bernardino County Department of Airports, same as Chino airport. This allows the county to motivate sharing of aircraft resources between airports. Case and point, Planes of Fame air museum sent a handful of aircraft on the short hop from Chino to Apple Valley.
A P-38 Lightning Basking in the Morning Sunshine
While Apple Valley is seemingly in the middle of nowhere, compared to the rest of Southern California in the Los Angeles urban sprawl, many accomplished pilots call Apple Valley home. Perhaps it’s the permanent aerobatic box which draws pilots of a certain type to this airport.
Tim Just Slips Down the Runway on Takeoff Just Before an Aerobatic Performance
Being a small airport, some freedoms are afforded which are not present at many of the larger airshows. Up close access being a major one. Apple Valley is my home airport as well, meaning I know a lot of people out there and can get much closer access than almost any other show I go to.
Up Close with the N9M
Tim Just Taxis Out Prior to a Performance
The Chino airshow has an official sunrise walk of all the airplanes. Apple Valley’s sunrise walk is much less official, and requires a media pass or a gate code. In any case, getting uncluttered pictures of the aircraft at Apple Valley is much less difficult than other airshows.
Early Sunshine on a Christen Eagle Flown in as Part of the Show
The airshow is entertaining, having a nice mix of aerobatic performers and warbirds, as well as a nice compliment of static performers. The Planes of Fame air museum really made the warbird entrants possible as was greatly appreciated by all those in attendance.
A FW-190 and P-51 Form Up in Front of the Crowd
A three ship takeoff of a FW-190, P-51 Mustang, and P-40 Warhawk worked a clockwise traffic pattern allowing an almost uninterrupted show of warbirds to the crowd in attendance. While circling around, some airplanes formed up, the P-51 and FW-190, and the P-40 performed a couple low passes. This seemed to be enjoyed by all.
A P-47 during a Low Pass
Rob Harrison, the Tumbling Bear, is no stranger to Apple Valley during performances or recreational flying. Rob put on an amazing show, as usual. The mix of aerobatic performance with the fun-natured style of his routine is a nice break from the standard sterile performances of nearly every airshow.
The Tumbling Bear Keeping with the Namesake
Rob Harrison Letting a Little Smoke Loose Before Shutdown
Mike Mangold of Red Bull and Reno Air Racing fame put on a fantastic aerobatic demonstration in his L-29 Delfin. Many people don’t perform aerobatics in jet aircraft, Mike does. In addition to the L-29, Mike also has an Edge 540 for aerobatic use, the L-29 would be slightly out of place on the Red Bull Air Race pylons. You just might find yourself in Mike’s capable hands next time you fly American Airlines on Boeing 767 equipment.
Mike MangoldDuring an L-29 Aerobatic Routine
A handful of Van’s RVs came to the show to demonstrate formation flying. While circling in a counterclockwise traffic pattern, they changed from one formation to another. I’m sure many people don’t appreciate how many different formations there are, the RVs must have shown close to ten different formations.
Van’s RVs Performing Some Formation Flying
Many thanks are due to everyone that worked to make the Apple Valley airshow a success. We’ll see you out there next year.
The author may be contacted at [email protected]
