Greater Binghamton Airshow Part 1
This year so far I have attended one airshow at the two day long Greater Binghamton Airshow at the Greater Binghamton Airport three weekends ago. Part 1 of this two part series is images of the Friday night performance that I walked away with. Some of the performances in the evening I was unable to capture well enough to share unfortunately because they were too blurry to identify. Manfred Radius gave an outstanding performance with his sailplane that I could not get any workable images of during his performance. I will add in some additional information about the performers and they're performances that I can dig up from the internet. Hope you enjoy the images and all, Michael.
The first three images are of Bill Gordon and his PT-17 Stearman during his evening performance.
Kevin Russo and his SNJ-6 Texan
North American Aviation's "T-6, SNJ, Harvard" Texan was one of the most important aircrafts developed during the 1930's. As an advanced trainer for the military, AT-6 for the Army, SNJ for the Navy and Harvard for Canada, it featured retractable landing gear, increased power (600 HP), and more sophisticated controls, as well as two .30 caliber machine guns, gun camera and bomb rack fittings. Through its career the AT-6 served as a trainer for instrument flight, aerobatics, bombing and gunnery, and, equipped with a tail hook, as an aircraft for carrier qualifications
Andrew McKenna and his P-51D Mustang
McKenna told Action News after setting his sights on the plane, he purchased it from a group called Allied Fighters in California.
He said he was fortunate enough to pick up the plane and make it his own.
"This is a North American P-51 Mustang," said McKenna. "It was best known as being an iconic fighter during World War II, and especially known for escorting long range bombers. It is a fantastic airplane."
Raiders Aerobatic Team performing with 2-ship
The team provides a unique and exciting 3 aircraft formation aerobatic demonstration. The Raider Pilots are Level II Qualified in both formation and solo aerobatics and display the capabilities of the Yahkovlev 52 and Nanchang CJ6 aircraft in precision formation and solo aerobatic flight always at show center.
Team AeroDynamix
Team AeroDynamix features graceful aerobatics and precision formation flying in an action-packed performance. With a combined total of more than 100,000 hours of flying time in military, commercial, and civilian aviation, the professional pilots of Team AeroDynamix bring a diverse background to flight operations. This experience equips the team with the discipline and safety required for close formation flying, as often less than three feet separates the planes during the show.
The RV-series custom-built aircraft flown by Team AeroDynamix are stressed for 6g (six times the force of gravity) and attain speeds of up to 200 mph during their performances. Most of the team's pilots built their own planes, and no two planes are exactly alike. Each paint scheme creates a colorful palette for spectators.
US Army Golden Knights
Over the last 53 years, the United States Army Parachute Team has created hundreds of millions of positive impressions for the Army by conducting over 16,000 shows in 50 states and 48 countries, reaching an average of 60,000 people per show, averaging over 30 million impressions annually. The Team conducts over 850 tandems each year and has jumped with distinguished centers of influence from Former President George H.W. Bush to Bill Murray and Chuck Norris. The Team domination of national and international competitions has already earned the U.S. Army an impressive 2,148 Gold; 1,117 Silver; and 693 Bronze Medals, as well as, having broken 348 world records. In order to support this, our Aviation Detachment flies over 1,870 hours and conducts over 2,900 sorties annually.
The United States Army Parachute Team consists of only 89 Soldiers and civilians divided into several sections: Black & Gold Demonstration Teams; Tandem Team; Competition Team (8-Way, 4-Way and Canopy Piloting); Aviation Detachment and Headquarters Detachment. Golden Knights take pride serving as the face of the Army to the American public while representing over 1.1 million Soldiers in the total Army. Thirty three Golden Knights have died in the line of duty while serving our country; eight of them in combat and one Golden Knight is still missing in action. In order to ensure we maintain relevance and credibility with both the American public and our fellow Warriors, Golden Knights are always Soldiers first; over 93% of this Team currently has combat experience.
– See more at: http://armygk.armylive.dodlive.mil/golden-knight-history/#sthash.uUluKjzr.dpuf
The last two images are just of the evening coming on.
• 6 p.m.: Gates open
• 7:30 p.m.: Opening ceremony
• 7:35 p.m.: Jerry Wells Bucker Jungmeister
• 7:45 p.m.: Warbird Flight
• 8 p.m.: Kevin Russo SNJ-6
• 8:15 p.m.: Bill Gordon PT-17 Stearman
• 8:30 p.m.: Andrew McKenna P-51D Mustang
• 8:40 p.m.: Raiders Aerobatic Team 2-ship
• 9:06 p.m.: Team AeroDynamix
• 9:26 p.m.: Manfred Radius Sailplane
• 9:45 p.m.: US Army Golden Knights Night Pyro Jump
• 10:08 p.m.: Fireworks
• 10:30 p.m.: Gates close, night event ends
Great Binghamton Airshow 2014
Kevin Russo
Raiders Aerobatic Team
kiwiskan said: July 29, 20142:39 am
Love that first shot…
talain45 said: July 29, 20147:47 pm
I'm glad that you enjoyed that one. My favorites in this post are #2 with the soft colors on the Stearman, #4 the T-6 and #6. I just love the P-51's and its sleek shape.
laurie27wsmith said: July 29, 20145:55 am
There are some great pics here Michael, love them. 🙂 Laurie.
Thank you Laurie. So glad that you enjoyed them, Michael 🙂
You're welcome Michael, they're great. 🙂
justmusing said: July 29, 201412:43 pm
Lovely Birds ; )
Kathy said: July 30, 20148:25 pm
Awesome pictures!!!
talain45 said: July 30, 201410:12 pm
Thank you Kathy 🙂