Goodbye Yankee Lady

The Yankee Lady has taken to the skies from the Yankee Air Museum Michigan Flight Museum for the last time.

 

Bought by the museum in 1986 for $250,000 she was allegedly sold for somewhere in the range of $15 million.

She's heading off for an overhaul and then to the new owner apparently in California.
 

Sold, likely due to the costs involved in keeping her airworthy, and for the announced reason that it was due to the museum's over-reliance on the revenue from rides on the aircraft, which was affected whenever B-17s were grounded by the FAA, the museum decided to sell its centerpiece.  The museum, in a separate decision, also rebranded itself as the Michigan Flight Museum, bringing an end to the years of goodwill and recognition as the Yankee Air Museum.

The Yankee Lady has departed its home base Ypsilanti for the last time, and is off for an overhaul and then on to its new but currently undisclosed owner who is apparently in California.

Classic WWII Bombers

Two Classic US Army Air Corps bombers graced the skies and flew at Thunder Over Michigan, both owned by the Yankee Air Museum.

The B-25:

The B-17:

Both were giving rides to the attendees for a reasonable (considering the operating and maintenance costs of these beautiful birds) fee. Maybe one day I'll fly in one, but if I'm paying that kind of coin, I want the co-pilots seat!

The CF-18 Hornet

Last to perform and making the most noise of all the performers was the CF-18 Hornet.

The Canadian Forces CF-18 Hornet demonstration team had the plane in livery honoring the BCATP, the British Commonwealth Air Training Program that trained thousands of pilots and air crews during World War 2 in Canada.

To put the power of the CF-18 in perspective, it has more thrust than all of the CT-114 Tutors on the Snowbirds demonstration team combined.

He decided to demonstrate that power with an overhead pass with the afterburners lit:

Talk about there and gone, and loud while doing it. It rocked.

You can get a good look at the false canopy painted on the belly of the aircraft in this shot. A Canadian Forces Hornet trademark, the false canopy is supposed to confuse enemy fighters in a furball.

He did some impressive maneuvers and the tricky light made photography darn difficult to capture the fast moving aircraft.

Coming in quick, this series of shots is less than 5 seconds total time:

He did some very need meaneuvers and then ended with an overhead pass for a grand finale.

Then it was time to come in for a landing.

The plane was then admired on the ramp.

It was a great show.

Snowbirds: Smoke On, Go!

Number 431 Squadron, The Canadian Forces Snowbirds Demonstration team, is one of the best aerobatics teams in the world. Flying the CT-114 Jet, the demonstration squadron travels across Canada and the US to show their flying prowess.

Putting up 9 planes in the air at once, its also one of the largest and most precise.

First the team taxied out in formation.

Then took-off in vics of three

Then after testing their smoke canisters and shaking their planes out, they got into formation.

Oh, the formation pictured? That's after they came out of a complete loop, done in formation.

Here's a shot of the inside of the loop descending.

Then the solos did some outstanding cross-overs:

They then decided to show how close two jets can get, cockpit to cockpit, and then roll.

Not to be outdone, 5 aircraft decided to do a big break

The full team then reassembled and did a Battle of Britain furball demonstration

Then they rejoined in formation and after a few more thrilling passes and cross-overs,that ended the demonstration.

Then it was time to land, again in vics of three.

To say it was an incredible display of aerobatic prowess and precision would be an understatement.

Yankee Air Force Museum To Change Its Name

Hard on the heels of the Confederate Air Force changing its name to the Commemorative Air Force to appease the forces of political correctness, we now hear the fabled Yankee Air Force Museum is about to change it's storied name as well.

The Detroit News: Air museum to drop ‘Yankee’ as it flies toward new era

The Yankee Air Museum will be soaring shortly into welcoming skies and a bright future, complete with an inspiring and appropriate new name.

Either that, or the new name will be a sniveling kowtow to the gods of political correctness.

That depends on your perspective, and how strongly you feel about the word “Yankee.” But the part about soaring is hard to argue with.

As for the new name, the museum at Willow Run Airport expects to reveal it within two to six weeks, at the same time it officially acquires a chunk of the historic Willow Run bomber plant that churned out B24s during World War II.

So take a museum and show with world-wide name recognition linked to air shows and historic aircraft with no real (or even imagined) negative connotations, and change it for no good reason.

Perhaps it should be renamed the Troll Air Force because after all, it is under the bridge, and then it could sell these adorable critters in the gift shop.