September 22, 2012 - Military Aviation Museum: Biplanes & Triplanes Airshow, Virginia Beach

This Saturday morning, Chef and I met at Cambridge Airport (CGE), had breakfast, then headed south to Virginia Beach for the Military Aviation Museum Biplanes & Triplanes Airshow.   The weather wasn't bad, but was kind of hazy, with a high layer.  We did enjoy a southerly tailwind.   
 
We stopped at Crisfield so Chef could get some fuel.  We were challenged by a pretty good crosswind landing on 32; it didn't occur to either of us to land into the wind on the perfectly good grass runway!  Oh well, it's good to practice crosswind landings occasionally. 
 
We did an overhead break at Virginia Beach.  Here we are on final.  You can see Chef just to the right of that water tower.   Virginia Beach has a 5000 foot grass strip which is very wide. 
 
This is what I came to see.  Not one, not two, but three, count them, three Triplanes!  And they would all fly.   (Incredibly, they had four Triplanes; the fourth was in a hangar.) 
 
They also had three D-VIIs.   Seeing just one would have been a treat, but three!
 
A Sopwith Camel.
 
The Military Aviation Museum now owns the 1911 Curtiss Pusher; it's great to have it here because that means it will continue to fly.
 
A close-up of one of the Triplanes.  All had Warner Radial engines and tailwheels. 
 
This one had the paint scheme of the famous German Ace Werner Voss.
 
 
 
Those guns look like the real Spandaus, complete with padded ends and spent shell rails.
 
 
I'm imagining the effort required to accomplish this paint scheme.  Wow.   
 
How many rolls of masking tape were required?
 
Now this paint scheme: no problem!
 
A beautiful de Haviland DH 89 "Dragon Rapide".   The Dragon Rapide was a 1930's British short-haul biplane passenger airline.  Because of the tapered nose, the cockpit only had room for a single pilot's seat.   It could carry eight passengers.  The Royal Family used this plane as the Gulfstream luxury business jet of the day. 
 
A Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter.  It was the first British fighter with a synchronized machine gun. 
 
The Manhatten Dolls entertain the folks in one of the hangars with a nice  Navy N2S-3 in the background. 
 
 
And in another corner of the same hangar, the fourth Triplane sits in solitary splendor.  I don't have to tell you who flew the Triplane with this paint scheme. 
 
World War One re-enactors were out in force.  It was pretty hot today -- I ended up getting a little sunburnt -- and I'm sure the re-enactors were suffering in their woolen uniforms. 
 
There were also a number of 3/4 scale WWI replicas like this Spad. 
 
The Radio-Controlled folks were represented as well. 
 
Normally, you can't land at this a private airfield without prior permission, but they do allow you to fly-in during their two annual airshows.   They park the fly-in traffic on the other side of the field.  Not a lot of planes flew in; maybe 20?
 
This was their World War I airshow so none of the WW II flew.  But they did pull their extensive WWII collection out of the hangars onto the grass where you could really get up close and personal with the airplanes.   This big B-17 looked great in the bright sunlight.  
 
Auntie Ju: the German WWII workhorse. 
 
A very rare Hawker Hurricane. 
 
One of my favorite planes: the PBY Catalina Flying Boat.
 
The ultimate short takeoff and landing (STOL) plane: the Fiesler Storch.
 
A rare flying FW-190. 
 
This is the coolest hangar I've ever seen.  Spacious.  A shiny floor so clean you could eat off it.  Beautiful varnished wood ceiling. 
 
A Bleriott XI ready to across the English Channel.  Well, maybe the Chesapeake Bay.   
 
I always like the paint schemes on the pre-WWII planes like this Boeing P-26 Peashooter. 
 
Ryan PT-22
 
British de Havilland DH-82 Tiger Moth
 
The Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter taxiis out to go flying.
 
One of the Triplanes taking off.
 
It was amazing to see three Triplanes in the air simultaneously.
 
I watched the Triplanes land closely.  They all made wheel landings; did not appear to be ususually difficult. 
 
 
The second Triplane rolls it on.   They kept the tail up as long as possible.
 
The DR-7 takes off.  It was obvioys the DR-7 was a much more powerful plane than the DR-I Triplane. 
 
Three DR-7s in flight, along with the Strutter, which has a much larger wingspan.
 
Head on view of the Triplanes after their flight.
 
Chef and I left after the airshow stopped around 3PM.  Here we are taxiing out after a Stearman. 
 
Passing the three Triplanes and big hangar.
 
 
Heading north.  The haze had burned off and the flying conditions were better.
 
Passing over Norfolk Airport. 
 
Two big aircraft carriers may be seen at Norfolk Naval Base. 
 
Chef and I split up around St. Mary's near Patuxent River.  I crossed the bay and flew up the eastern shore.  Here is a privately owned island with it's own paved runway.
 
Aerial shot of Kentmorr Marina. 
 
Essex Skypark was busy when I got back. Claudius was flying his brand new gyro-copter. 
 
 

A very futuristic design. 

In the background, another Essex pilot, Brian, taxiis by in his newly-acquired RV-8! 

 
The workmanship on the RV-8 was outstanding.   Always a happy occasion to have a new plane at the Skypark.  RV Nation is taking over!
 
 
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