MiG-17 Vapor Trail After the weather improved at the 2nd Annual TBM Avenger Gathering held last Saturday at the Illinois Valley Regional Airport, the MiG-17 gave an exciting performance. Due to the low visibility and ceiling, the jet’s airspeeds were limited to 200 knots. So, vapor trails were not expected. Perhaps, the high humidity helped.
The MiG-17 Fresco has an afterburner which, of course, can make some really cool images on takeoff. After the weather improved at the 2nd Annual TBM Avenger Gathering held last Saturday at the Illinois Valley Regional Airport, the MiG-17 took off with a real dramatic burn.
F-86 Sabre Taxiing After the weather improved at the 2nd Annual TBM Avenger Gathering held last Saturday at the Illinois Valley Regional Airport in Peru, IL, the F-86 Sabre got a chance to fly. What a beautiful airplane; both in flight and on the ground. A few years ago, I briefly shared the pattern with an F-86. Of course, it was moving much faster than I was. Still, I felt honored to share a piece of sky with such an iconic airplane. Hope it comes back next year!
TBM Avenger at the 2017 Gathering The rainy weather finally started to subside mid afternoon for the 2nd Annual TBM Avenger Gathering held today at the Illinois Valley Regional Airport in Peru, IL. Seven Grumman TBM Avengers beat the weather to get to this year’s event. Five T-6 Texans and a Stearman as well as a F-86 Sabre and a MiG-17 Fresco also made it to the gathering. The crowds were quite a bit lighter this year, but everyone who stuck around into the late afternoon still had great time. This TBM Avenger, owned by the Heritage Flight Foundation, came all the way from Rhode Island to participate. Hopefully, next year’s event will see better weather and more TBM Avengers. Looking forward to it already!
TBM Avenger Gathering 2017 The 2nd Annual TBM Avenger Gathering will be held tomorrow at the Illinois Valley Regional Airport in Peru, IL. At least 14 Grumman TBM Avengers are expected to gather at this year’s event. Other warbird’s may also fly-in including B-25 Mitchells, A-1 Skyraiders, and P-51 Mustangs, F4U Corsair, F8F Bearcat, F4F Wildcat, F-86 Sabre, MiG-17 Fresco, and T-33 Shooting Star. The only dampener this is, of course, the weather. Today has been rainy all day and tomorrow will likely be the same. The crowds may be a bit lighter this year, but it will still be a great event, if the warbirds can get through the weather.
Common Snapping Turtle Eyeball to Eyeball In this time of year the female Common Snapping Turtles are looking for a place to lay eggs. This one was moving through the cut grass along my walkabout route. Of course, I was not really close enough to be eyeball to eyeball. Remember the 300mm lens times 2.7 crop factor yields 810mm. So, I was not disturbing the critter.
ORD Weather Sometimes, even the world’s busiest airport can experience some dramatic weather. On this day, a few weeks ago, we landed between storms. The bright color planes against the cloudy sky and international terminal made a simple click possible.
Iris in the Wind Summer is almost here; the Iris are blooming.
