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Yeager Airport, Air Guard to celebrate 70th anniversary with air show

By RICK STEELHAMMER

Charleston Gazette-Mail

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Aerobatic shows by three stunt pilots, flight demonstrations of military aircraft dating from World War II to the present, precision parachute performances by the U.S. Army’s Golden Knights exhibition team and static displays of nearly 30 aircraft will be among attractions at a free air show Saturday and Sunday at Yeager Airport.

This World War II-era B-17 “Flying Fortress” from the Yankee Air Museum will be among aircraft giving demonstration flights and offering for-fee rides during the Yeager Airport-West Virginia Air Guard Air Show.
(Submitted photo)

The show will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Charleston airport and the West Virginia Air National Guard’s presence.

The air show will feature some of the aircraft associated with the airport during its early years, including a Curtiss C-46 Commando transport plane — the first aircraft assigned to the West Virginia Air Guard’s Yeager-based 130th Airlift Wing — and an American Airlines DC-3, the first commercial aircraft to carry passengers to and from the Charleston airport when it opened in 1947 as Kanawha Airport.

The show will pay tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen, an all-black squadron of World War II fighter pilots, many of whom received preliminary flight instruction at then-West Virginia State College. It will also feature support personnel, who proved their competence and bravery to military leaders after they were belatedly given the chance to serve as combat aviators.

A P-51 Mustang marked with the insignia of the Tuskegee Airmen’s Red Tail Squadron, courtesy of the Commemorative Air Force, will be featured on static display. The CAF will also bring its “Rise Above” exhibit, detailing the trailblazing success of the Tuskegee Airmen despite adversity, for visits by area students starting Wednesday.

The exhibit includes a mobile theater with a 160-degree panoramic screen to give viewers the feel of riding in the cockpit of a P-51 while watching the short movie “Rise Above.” At least 450 students are scheduled to view the exhibit.

The C-46 cargo plane on display and making flying demonstrations, owned by the City of Monroe, North Carolina, is one of five still flying — and the only one painted in U.S. military colors. The C-46 was the largest and heaviest twin-engine aircraft in the world when it rolled off the assembly lines during World War II.

Other military aircraft making demonstration flights include:

Commemorative Air Force’s P-51C Red Tail Mustang.

1945 vintage B-17 “Flying Fortress” bomber from the Yankee Air Museum. The aircraft was used for sea rescue by the Coast Guard after World War II and appeared in the movie “Tora! Tora! Tora!” It later battled forest fires.

T-6 “Texan” fighter pilot training plane.

TBM Avenger, used by the Navy as a torpedo bomber in World War II.

Maryland Air National Guard A-10 “Warthog,” designed for close air support of friendly ground troops and used in Iraq and Afghanistan

C-130 cargo aircraft used by the 130th Airlift Wing in missions around the world.

Aircraft on static display include UH-60 Black Hawk and UH-72 Lakota helicopters from the West Virginia Army National Guard; Navy P-3 and P-8 aircraft; a DC-3 from the Flagship Detroit Foundation; and a Stearman biplane owned by Paul Arbogast.

Aerobatics will be performed in a Pitts biplane by stunt pilot Billy Werth of Indianapolis, in a German-built extra-high performance plane by Jack Knutson, and in a Tucano turboprop trainer used by the Royal Air Force by Lee Leets.

Rides will be available for fees on several of the aircraft at the show, including the Yankee Air Museum’s B-17 and B-25 bombers, the latter of which saw action in North Africa, Corsica and Sicily during World War II. Rides may also be arranged for fees on the CAF’s L-5 “Flying Jeep” observation and courier plane and the Flagship Detroit Foundation’s DC-3.

Online reservations for the B-17 or B-25 are available at www.yankeeairmuseum.org. For L-5 reservations, go to www.commemorativeairforce.org, and for DC-3 reservations, visit www.flagshipdetroit.org.

Limited parking is available at the airport for those with mobility limitations, accompanying children under 5 or requiring handicap parking. Free parking and shuttle service will be available at the state Capitol Complex and Capital High School.

Since the event occurs in a secure area, those attending and their belongings are subject to search. No weapons, large bags, outside food or beverages, or pets are allowed, and smoking is prohibited. At least 12 food and refreshment vendors will be on hand for the event. Commercial air traffic will not be interrupted by the air show.

Air show events will be the same each day. Gates open at 9:30 a.m., followed at 11 a.m. by remarks by airport and elected officials, the National Anthem and the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachuting to the podium area with an American flag, followed by the show.

On Friday, many of the aircraft featured at the air show will take off from Yeager Airport at 4:30 p.m., assemble in formation and fly over the Kanawha Valley to boost interest in the weekend event.

For additional information, visit Yeager Airport’s website at www2.yeagerairport.com or call 304-344-8033.

Reach Rick Steelhammer at [email protected], 304-348-5169, or follow @rsteelhammer on Twitter.

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