2014 Airshows
Titusville (Tico), FL   Spirit of St. Louis, MO   Youngstown Air Reserve Station, OH   Central Indiana Warbird Event Trilogy   Evansville Normandy Re-Enactment, IN   Dayton Airshow, OH  Warsaw, IN   Richmond, IN   WWI Dawn Patrol Rendezvous, Dayton, OH


Warsaw, IN Warbird Photo Review
Warbirds at Warsaw, IN - August 15-16, 2014 (Photos taken Saturday, August 16.)

 The Best Little Airshow in the Middle of Nowhere for 2014!!

This was the second year for the Warsaw, IN airshow and my first visit to the event.  It won't be my last as this small one day event has an excellent pattern set up for great warbird passes.  The purpose of this event is to let the persons living in the area to come out to the airport, see an airshow and watch different aircraft fly, get acquainted with aviation, and have a good time.  Being small and new, the event focused on these items and was successful.  Free admission and $5 per car fee to park along with some good solid flying made sure the goals of the show were accomplished.  Included in the parking fee was free shuttle service to flight line from the parking lot.  Once at the show site there are no large sponsor tents or high priced chalets taking up the best part of show line, relegating the masses to less desirable seating at the end of the show lines.  The food was provided by the local vendors, the same type you will find at the fair.  Not the same boring and homogeneous food one sees weekend after weekend at the big shows that bring in the national concession firms.

With the exception the C-54 and F4U, the acts and warbirds were for the most part from the state of Indiana.  The aerobatic acts included a New Standard, Stearman, Pitts, and Chipmunk.   There was even a Cessna Citation that did some fly-bys. A truly local and focused aviation event.

To sum it all up, this was not the "same old same old" one gets at the other shows.  Interestingly enough, after visiting the Warsaw show I did not attend another airshow for the rest of the 2014 season.  I did a couple of other aviation events but not an airshow.  I guess it spoiled me.

I got to the event a little later than expected but just in time to watch, hear and smell the Corsair crank up.

It is hard to see here but there is a puff of smoke as Tim Chopp is starting number three engine on the C-54.  Normally the C-54 is on static display at the big shows.  At the Warsaw show it was an important part of the flying, as it should be.

The first warbird sequence consisted of three T-6/SNJs and one Yak-52TW along with the F4U running a racetrack pattern in trail behind the crowd.  A very nice touch by the Warsaw Airshow because with this type pattern behind the crowd one gets a nice photo pass each time around.  The pattern brought the aircraft down runway 18 which was at a right angle to the crowd line.  Here Laura Stands turns into runway 18 after trading some altitude for airspeed.

Laura starts her bank to turn in front of the crowd as she comes by the announcer's stand.

Turning to fly parallel to the crowd line.

A nice banked photo pass.  Imagine the sounds of round as the two other T-6s, the Yak and the Corsair each did this multiple times.  What a great way to spend an afternoon!

During the fly-bys the C-54 taxied out.  In all of my years going to airshows this is the first time I have seen "The Spirit of Freedom" taxi out to fly the show. 

Here the Corsair comes down runway 18 before turning in front of the crowd line.

And then the banked turn.


As the Corsair taxies in the C-54 takes off for its portion of the show.

The C-54 "Spirit of Freedom" starts the candy bomber run to re-enact the C-54s dropping candy to the children of Berlin during the Berlin Airlift.

Candy Drop!!

Needless to say, this was a big hit with the kids at the event.  And the adults also.

A high speed pass by the C-54 "Spirit of Freedom".  A very rare event, indeed.

What's this?  The trainers and the Corsair went back up and flew a second time.  The trainers flew in formation and the Corsair gave us an aerobatic demonstration.  Obviously the Warsaw Airshow doesn't understand like the big shows that it isn't normal to fly the warbirds more than once a day.  But then the Warsaw show is more about satisfying the crowd by flying the aircraft rather than cutting costs and making a profit.

A premium fighter flying twice in one day is pretty much unheard of at the big shows.  Maybe they have lost their way.

A nice pass by an L-29.


OK.  So the photo is a little blurred.  But F-100s are fast and I was not sure where it was coming from.  And then it was above me.

There are only two F-100s still flying in the USA and this one is located at Ft. Wayne and own and operated by Dean Cutshall.  Dean does not take it to very many shows during the year, but the Warsaw Airshow organizers were able to get him to fly over and do some nice passes for the crowd.

As can be seen in the previous photos it was gray and overcast during most of the day, with thunderstorms in the area.  By the time the F-100 arrived at the show some blue skies started to appear.

Titusville (Tico), FL   Spirit of St. Louis, MO   Youngstown Air Reserve Station, OH   Central Indiana Warbird Event Trilogy   Evansville Normandy Re-Enactment, IN   Dayton Airshow, OH  Warsaw, IN   Richmond, IN   WWI Dawn Patrol Rendezvous, Dayton, OH