The 2024 Green Mountain Aviation Field Days
Story and photos by Ken Kula, Scott Zeno and Alice Leong
Editor’s note: Photos of each of the 51 aircraft on the grounds are contained in the Galleries.
With today’s security concerns, the opportunity to leisurely stroll among more than fifty airplanes parked on an airport ramp next to a busy airline terminal and fixed base operator is pretty rare. Thanks to the Green Mountain Aviation Field Days at the Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport in Vermont, many hundreds of people explored the airplanes up close and talked about aviation topics with a large group of pilots, maintainers, engineers and more aviation-minded individuals.
The weekend event took place during mid-September 2024, and was the first large aviation event at the Burlington airport in more than a decade. There was no flying program, but plenty of aviation activity to immerse oneself in. The weather cooperated nicely too. Sponsored by the Vermont Aviators Association, the Field Days helped to celebrate the “Past Present and Future of Aviation” according to the sponsor. The Association “…is an educational non-profit 501(c)(3) organization made up of local Vermont pilots and flight instructors. The goal of our organization is to provide a comprehensive online resource to the residents of Vermont for aviation information, education, training and events. We share a love of everything aviation and we hope to inspire our fellow Vermonters of all ages to get involved in aviation at their local airports, flight schools and training centers to experience the never-ending thrill, challenge, reward and pure joy of flight.”
Actually, there were a total of fifty-one aircraft parked on the ramps on Saturday, cordoned off far away from active flight operations. However, it was close enough for someone to smell the jet exhaust and see the airline and corporate jets leap into the air from a runway close by. BETA Technologies’ new hangar and ramp facility at the far southwestern end of the airport was the focal point for the day’s activities. Built alongside a quartet of 1950’s interceptor alert hangars left over from the Cold War, the new factory is the location where BETA Technologies is producing their first aircraft – the electrically-powered Alia-250 and CX300. Many of the company’s employees were in and around the displayed aircraft, sharing their expertise on the various types of planes as well as BETA’s expertise in the newest technology in flight.
Gaining entrance to the paid event was pretty easy. After going through a quick security search, one saw four squat-looking brown hangars, one of which was home to an aircraft repair company which displayed a pair of single engine Commanders in front of their shop. Next came part of the Burlington Technical Center’s (BTC) collection of retired military and civilian aircraft. More BTC (retired) aircraft were parked behind the hangar… including a former FAA flight check Sabreliner jet and a Bell UH-1 Huey. Some aircraft systems are still operational for students to learn about powerplants, avionics and structures.
Walking around the end of the four old hangars, flight schools had an array of their aircraft on display. Iincluded was a pair of Tecnam trainers – a new P-Mentor and a P2006T twin trainer. Then, the ramp opened up and the rest of the display aircraft came into view. The privately owned DeHavilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver on floats was quite clean. The gathering of planes comprised eight warbirds; a British Spitfire, a Canadian Harvard and a CT-133 Silver Star were joined by a pair of Douglas World War II transports… a C-47 and a C-53. An AT-6F Mosquito from the Collings Foundation was joined by Boeing N2S and Beech T-45 trainers. Halfway through Saturday morning, another warbird arrived. The Collings Foundation’s Hawker Hurricane Mk.XII is one of the newest additions to the collection of warbirds in the Collings “camp”.
A lot of general aviation aircraft, both old and new were displayed. During Saturday (the day we attended the event) there was a diminutive Guimbal Cabri 2-place helicopter and a mid-sized Embraer business jet. There were two amphibious aircraft on floats, an Extra EA-300 aerobatic aircraft, and the first-built (Serial #001) Helio Courier. For a short time, a Dartmouth Hitchcock EC-135 med flight helicopter alighted a short walk away from an all-electric Pipistrel Virus SW 100S. Other Cessna, Piper, Diamond, DeHavilland Canada, Extra, Bellanca, Aviat, Pitts and Rolladen-Schneider aircraft were all part of the array of general aviation aircraft on display.
BETA’s ALIA-250 VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and Landing) prototype was parked in front of the company’s hangar, and anyone could talk with flight test personnel who were quite happy to discuss what their company manufacturers, including aircraft, engines and the electric chargers for them. Flight Test Engineer Emma Davis gave us a rundown of her duties and the use of an odd piece of equipment Velcro-ed to the cockpit floor… a ball-peen hammer. The prototype aircraft wasn’t fitted with a jettisonable or removable wind screen, so the hammer would be used to beak the glass for crew escape, if needed!
The other BETA aircraft prototype, the CX300 CTOL (Conventional Takeoff and Landing) prototype flew past during a test flight on Saturday. Both aircraft are electrically powered, a charging station was near the ALIA-250. A Cessna C-208 Caravan was also displayed, this is a chase and support plane for the pair of electric test aircraft.
Inside another, older company hangar more BETA equipment such as electric motors were displayed. In fact, the hangar was filled with STEM displays and activities for all ages. Inside the STEM hangar the Air Force Auxiliary’s Civil Air Patrol had a Cessna Skylane open for all to see the aircraft’s interior equipment.
In front of this hangar was another ramp, with active military aircraft parked on it. An Army National Guard HH-60M Blackhawk helicopter was next to a large KC-46A Pegasus operated by the New Hampshire Air National Guard; both aircraft were open for touring by the public. A Vermont Air National Guard F-35A Lightning was a bonus jet on display, as a number of the Guard’s personnel and aircraft had just returned a day earlier from a European deployment, stretching the availability of staffing and airframes.
A New York Air National Guard C-17A departed and gave a wing-wave as it flew past the display… the aircraft had supported the re-deployment of the Vermont’s ANG fighters and ground crews in Europe the day prior.
It was mid-morning when Scott Zeno and I were waiting in line to get a t-shirt from the event, and he told me about a college student named Matt on the (shuttle) bus ride to the show that he and Alice Leong talked with. The young man was attending Champlain College and this was his first airshow ever (it didn’t matter if this was a static-only event). He wondered if a U-2 (his favorite plane) would be there since he had never seen one in person, and to prove it, his baseball cap had a black U-2 silhouette on it. Unfortunately for him, there wasn’t a U-2 on display over the weekend. When we were next to get our shirts, Scott said hey, look at that… another attendee standing next to us was wearing a U-2 golf shirt. A coincidence? Then, I looked at his hat… a Lockheed Skunk Works emblem was on it. It had a number 966 on it too, I figured it was the hat’s manufacturer’s name. But, I had to ask, and the answer wasn’t what I expected… that was his “pilot’s number” – he was the 966th pilot to be checked out to fly the Lockheed U-2! We began talking about our U-2 experiences, and found out he is the USAF’s only U-2 Flight Demonstration pilot, and based at Beale AFB, California, and is a current pilot in the “Dragon Lady”. Moments later Scott saw Matt off in the distance walking across the ramp, and OF COURSE we introduced the two of them. They hit it off well with much to discuss, leaving Matt speechless and on “cloud 9”!!
There’s way more to this U-2 story to tell, but not here. This was just one of the many highlights we experienced at the 2024 Green Mountain Aviation Field Days. Seeing and hearing about the new electric aircraft revolution from the BETA personnel around the field, learning history from the great warbird community gathered there, and being able to inspect some rare and interesting aircraft up close made the event very satisfying. When asked if this was to become a yearly event, there wasn’t a definitive answer heard from anyone, so hopefully next September will see another Field Days event. We’ll be going if there is another one!
