Planes of Fame Airshow 2007 - May 19-20

What will be performing at the airshow this year?
From Aerobatic Wing walking to modern Fighter Jets, a complete stroll through
aviation history will be at the Planes of Fame Airshow 2007!
Here's a few of the many performers you'll see at the show this year!

SILVER WINGS WINGWALKERS

Against a backdrop of sky, the silhouette emerges - graceful, stunning, artistic. Wingwalker Margaret Stivers and pilot Hartley Folstad entertain and amaze audiences at air shows with a combination of balance, finesse, precision and sport. Together they are the Silver Wings Wingwalking Team. The Silver Wings Wingwalking Team preserves the 20th century traditions of the flying circuses as they honor the 21st century explorers.

ROB HARRISON'S TUMBLING BEAR

Rob Harrison has a long history in aviation flying. He earned a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering in 1963 from Oregon State University and a J.D. from the University of La Verne in 1978. He did graduate work at UCLA and holds a Certificate in Flight Test Engineering from the University of Tennessee Space Institute. Active in professional society work, he consults for aerospace engineering firms, and has his own consulting practice. He is a commercial pilot, A & P mechanic and authorized inspector. Harrison operates the Zlin, a bright yellow aircraft that is of all-metal construction, and utilizes much different thickness of aluminum sheet, as well as titanium landing gear, to achieve light weight along with incredible strength.

NORTH AMERICAN P-51D MUSTANG

A veteran of two wars - World War II and the Korean War - North American Aviation's P-51 Mustang was the first U.S. fighter airplane to push its nose over Europe after the fall of France. Then called the P-51, it scurried back and forth across the channel, taking on the best the Axis could put in the air. Mustangs met and conquered every German plane from the early Junkers to the sleek, twin-jet Messerschmitt 262s.

LOCKHEED P-38J LIGHTNING

At the time of its initial delivery to the USAAF in the fall of 1941, the Lightning was the fastest fighter in the American inventory. 143 P-38Ds were also delivered to the Royal Air Force just after Pearl Harbor, but due to an American ban on the export of turbochargers, the contract was cancelled and the aircraft were returned. During its production run, over a dozen model variants of the P-38 were built. Most changes from the early D-model involved improved armament or increased load-carrying capability. The most-built version was the P-38L, of which 3923 were built.

REPUBLIC P-47D THUNDERBOLT

The Thunderbolt was the most famous of all the Republic aircraft in WWII. First flown on 6 May 1941, the P-47 was designed as a (then) large, high-performance fighter/bomber, utilizing the large Pratt and Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engine to give it excellent performance and a large load-carrying capability. The first deliveries of the P-47 took place in June 1942, when the US Army Air Corps began flying it in the European Theater.

VOUGHT F4U-1A CORSAIR

The Corsair served with the US Navy, US Marines, the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, and the Royal New Zealand Air Force, and quickly became the most capable carrier-based fighter/bomber of World War 2. Demand for the aircraft soon overwhelmed Vought's manufacturing capability, resulting in additional aircraft being produced by the Goodyear Company (as the FG-1) and the Brewster Company (as the F3A-1). Production ceased in 1952. Over two dozen Corsairs are believed to be still airworthy, most in the United States.

	DOUGLAS SBD-5 DAUNTLESS
	The Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber became a mainstay of the Navy's World War II air fleet in the Pacific, with the lowest loss ratio of any U.S. carrier-based aircraft. Douglas delivered a total of 5,936 SBDs and Army Air Forces A-24s between 1940 and the end of production in July 1944. Dauntless went on to destroy 18 enemy warships, including a battleship and six carriers.

MITSUBISHI A6M5 ZERO

Fast, maneuverable and flown by highly-skilled pilots, the Mitsubishi Zero-Sen was the most famous Japanese plane of World War Two and a big surprise to American forces. Ignored by British and American intelligence services the "Zero" (it was the Navy’ Type O carrier-based fighter) was armed with two 20-mm cannon, two 7.7mm machine guns, and possessed the incredible range of 1930 miles using a centerline drop tank. Though outclassed by more powerful US fighters after late 1943, the Zero remained a tough opponent throughout the war.

SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE MK IX

Undoubtedly the most famous British combat aircraft of World War II, the Spitfire is as deeply ingrained in the collective psyche of most Britons as the P-51 Mustang is in most Americans'. First flown on 5 March 1936, the Spitfire sprang from the design desk of R.J. Mitchell, who had previously submitted an unsuccessful design for a similar fighter, the Type 224. Once given the freedom to design an aircraft outside of the strict Air Ministry specifications, his Type 300 emerged as a clear winner; so much so that a new Air Ministry specification was written to match the new design.

	HAWKER HURRICANE MK X
	August 1940 brought what has become the Hurricane's shining moment in history: The Battle of Britain. RAF Hurricanes accounted for more enemy aircraft kills than all other defenses combined, including all aircraft and ground defenses. Later in the war, the Hurricane served admirably in North Africa, Burma, Malta, and nearly every other theater in which the RAF participated.

GRUMMAN F6F HELLCAT

After early US Navy experience in the Pacific in the early months of WWII, and after consultation with Allied air forces in the European theater, Grumman began to develop a successor to their Wildcat fighter, to be called the Hellcat. Major design changes from the Wildcat included a low-mounted wing, wider landing gear which retracted into the wings, more powerful engine, improved cockpit armor plating, and increased ammunition capacity.

	CURTISS P-40N WARHAWK
	The P-40, developed from the P-36, was America's foremost fighter in service when WWII began. P-40s engaged Japanese aircraft during the attack on Pearl Harbor and the invasion of the Philippines in December 1941. They also were flown in China early in 1942 by the famed Flying Tigers and in North Africa in 1943 by the first AAF all-black unit, the 99th Fighter Squadron.

NORTH AMERICAN F-86F SABRE

In 1944, North American Aviation submitted a design for a swept-wing day fighter which could also be used as a dive-bomber or escort fighter. Two prototype XP-86s were contracted in late 1944, but were not built until after WWII due to the incorporation of several design modifications which were prompted by German research data. The first XP-86 prototype flew on 1 October 1947, powered by a 3,750-pound thrust G.E. J35 engine. After it was re-engined with a more powerful G.E. J47 turbojet the following spring, it was re-designated the YP-86A, and exceeded the speed of sound in a shallow dive. The first production model was initially designated the P-86A, but became the F-86A in June 1948. By the time the new fighter entered US Air Force service in 1949, it had gained the name Sabre.

MIKOYAN MiG-15

1948, the Soviet MiG design bureau developed a high-performance jet fighter design called the I-310. It incorporated some advanced features, such as a 35-degree wing sweep, and it promised to be a sprightly performer. However, the design lacked one essential component: A suitable engine. This problem was resolved when the British government authorized the Rolls-Royce company to export their Nene turbojet engine to Russia. As soon as the Russian Klimov design bureau received the engines, they immediately developed their own copy of the Nene, called the Klimov RD-45. Within months, the first prototype of the I-310 had flown with the new engine. The aircraft was re-designated MiG-15 and entered service early in 1949.

DOUGLAS A1-H SKYRAIDER

The Douglas A-1 Skyraider was a U.S. single-seat attack bomber of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s. A propeller-driven anachronism in the jet age, the Skyraider had a remarkably long and successful career well into the space age, and inspired a straight-winged, slow flying jet powered successor which is still in frontline service today. The A-1 was originally designed to meet World War II requirements for a carrier-based, single-place, long-range, high performance dive-/torpedo bomber.

GRUMMAN F8F BEARCAT

The Grumman F8F Bearcat fighter was a single-engine Naval fighter aircraft of the 1940s. It went on to serve into the mid-20th century in the USN and other air forces, and would be the company's final piston engined fighter aircraft. Designed for the interceptor fighter role, the design team's aim was to create the smallest, lightest fighter that could fit around the Pratt & Whitney R2800 engine. Compared to its predecessor, the Bearcat was 20% lighter, had a 30% better rate of climb and was 50 mph (80 km/h) faster. In comparison with the Vought F4U Corsair, the initial Bearcat (F8F-1) was marginally slower but was more maneuverable and climbed faster. Its huge 12' 4" Aero Products four-bladed prop required a long landing gear, giving the Bearcat an easily-recognized, "nose-up" profile. For the first time in a production Navy fighter, an all-bubble canopy offered 360-degree visibility.

DOUGLAS A-26 INVADER

First flown in 1942, the American Douglas A-26 Invader (after 1948, the B-26, and after 1966, the A-26A) was a twin-engined light attack bomber aircraft built during World War II and seeing service in both the Korean and Vietnam wars. A limited number of highly modified aircraft served in combat until 1969. The last A-26 was retired from service in 1972 by the National Guard Bureau and donated to the National Air and Space Museum. The A-26 was an unusual design for an attack bomber of that period, as it was designed as a single pilot airplane. The traditional co-pilot's seat did not have flight controls, instead, a crew member who served as a navigator and bombardier sat in that position. A gunner operated the defensive armament of remotely-controlled dorsal and ventral turrets.

OV-1 MOHAWK

The OV-1 was first purchased as the AO-1 in September 1960. The “A” utilized two 960 hp Lycoming T-53-L3 turboprop engines; a 1,100 hp T-53-L7 was installed in the “B” model in 1963. Designed to operate from small unimproved fields in the forward battle area, the “0” is deceptively similar to earlier versions but rapid configuration procedures enable a single OV-1D to perform the surveillance functions of any previous Mohawk. Capable of daylight, darkness, and inclement weather operations, the ‘D’ has a more accurate inertial navigation system, improved infrared and radar performance with automatic data annotation of imagery, three photographic systems that include a vertical and oblique firing camera and two panoramic cameras that provide vertical and horizontal terrain coverage horizon to horizon, a radiological monitoring system, and ECM equipment to assure mission success.

NORTH AMERICAN B-25J MITCHELL

The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used with devastating effect against German and Japanese targets in every combat theater of World War II. The aircraft was named the "Mitchell" in honor of General Billy Mitchell, an early air power pioneer and advocate of an independent United States Air Force. The B-25 Mitchell is the only American military aircraft named after a specific person. By the end of its production, nearly 10,000 B-25s in numerous models had been built. These included a few limited variations, such as the US Navy's PBJ-1 patrol bomber and the Army Air Forces' F-10 photo reconnaissance aircraft.

BOEING B-17G FLYING FORTRESS

The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engine heavy bomber aircraft developed for the US Army Air Corps. Competing against Douglas and Martin for a contract to build 200 planes, the Boeing entry outperformed both the other competitors and more than met the Air Corps' expectations. The B-17 Flying Fortress went on to enter full-scale production and was considered the first truly mass-produced large aircraft, eventually evolving through numerous design advancements, from B-17A to G. The B-17 was primarily employed in the daylight precision strategic bombing campaign of World War II against German industrial and civilian targets. The United States Eighth Air Force based in England and the Fifteenth Air Force based in Italy complemented the RAF Bomber Command's nighttime area bombing in Operation Pointblank, to help secure air superiority over the cities, factories and battlefields of Western Europe in preparation for Operation Overlord. The B-17 also participated, to a lesser extent, in the War in the Pacific.

HAWKER SEA FURY MK 11

The Sea Fury was a British fighter aircraft developed for the Fleet Air Arm by Hawker during the Second World War. The last propeller-driven fighter to serve the Royal Navy, it was also one of the fastest production single piston-engined aircraft ever built. The Hawker Fury was an evolutionary successor to the successful Hawker Typhoon and Tempest fighters and fighter-bombers of the Second World War. The Fury was designed in 1942 by Sidney Camm, the famous Hawker designer, to meet the RAF’s requirement for a lightweight Tempest II replacement. Developed as the "Tempest Light Fighter", it used modified Tempest semi-elliptical outer wing panels, bolted and riveted together on the fuselage centerline.

BOEING F/A-18E/F SUPER HORNET

The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is a combat-proven strike fighter with built-in versatility. The Super Hornet's suite of integrated and networked systems provides enhanced interoperability, total force support for the combatant commander and for the troops on the ground. The Super Hornet is a growth variant on the F/A-18C/D Hornet. The Super Hornet was ordered from McDonnell Douglas by the U.S. Navy in 1992, first flew in November 1995, made its first carrier landing in 1997 and entered service in 1999. Current versions include the F/A-18E single-seater and F/A-18F two-seater. The F/A-18 Super Hornet will be performing a full Tactical Demonstration and Legacy Flight at the Airshow.

BOEING F-15E STRIKE EAGLE

The F-15E Strike Eagle is a dual-role fighter designed to perform air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. An array of avionics and electronics systems gives the F-15E the capability to fight at low altitude, day or night, and in all weather. The aircraft uses two crew members, a pilot and a weapon systems officer. Previous models of the F-15 are assigned air-to-air roles; the "E" model is a dual-role fighter. It has the capability to fight its way to a target over long ranges, destroy enemy ground positions and fight its way out. The F-15E Strike Eagle will be performing a full Tactical Demonstration and Heritage Flight at the airshow.