2014 Geneseo NY Airshow

[Navy Bird]

Hi mates,

 

This year's "Greatest Show on Turf" didn't feature as many aircraft as some previous years (quite a few that were scheduled were scratched in the days preceding due to mechanical and logistic issues), but we were treated to the return of the P-38 and Lysander (which hadn't visited in many years) and most exciting - the de Havilland Mosquito, one of only two (I believe) flying examples of the Wooden Wonder.

 

One thing that never changes year over year is my inability to pose as a good photographer. So apologies in advance for the poor in-air shots - I don't know if it's me, my camera (which is nothing fancy), the hot and humid western NY weather (about 90 degrees F), or some combination of the above, but I can guarantee that Life magazine won't be calling me anytime soon!

The show is put on by the 1941 Historical Aircraft Group from Geneseo, NY, which is just south of Rochester, NY. The show is dedicated to warbirds, and almost always with propellers! The landing strip is natural turf, and the setting is bucolic, nestled in the rolling farmlands of the upper Finger Lakes region. So on with the pictures!

 

First, the Lysander:

 

 

 

 

The Stinson Reliant (check out the cockpit photos later on!):

 

 

Rob Holland MX2 Aerobatics (I have no clue how an airplane can be made to do the things he did, or how his brains stayed inside his head during these maneuvers - amazing pilot!):

 

 

 

 

Lockheed P-38J Lightning:

 

 

 

 

Two P-51 Mustangs and an F4U Corsair that are annual visitors to the show:

 

 

 

 

The Lightning, Corsair, and Mustangs formed up for the traditional "Missing Man" flyby, in honour of our veterans:

 

 

 

Back on the ground, "Whiskey 7" (the C-47 owned by the 1941 Historical Aircraft Group) is back from her visit to Normandy for the D-Day activities:

 

 

And she was joined by another example from Canucks Unlimited in Canada:

 

 

Next on the flightline was the Mosquito!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flight crew preparing for her demonstration:

 

 

But first, the parade of antique cars!

 

 

Away she goes, with me just about to get hit with the prop wash as she makes her turn onto the "taxi-way" - hang on to your hat:

 

 

Also starting up was the B-25:

 

 

 

 

The Mossie in the air:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The B-25 making a watermelon "bombing run"

 

 

Another annual visitor is this replica Val, which was used in the film "Tora, Tora, Tora:"

 

 

On display was this An-2:

 

 

B-25 taxiing back from her bombing run:

 

 

And the Corsair as well:

 

 

Some shots of the P-38:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I thought it was odd that the exhaust staining was a different colour on port and starboard engines:

 

 

 

I wonder if this was what is meant by the lyric "o'er amber waves of grain"

 

 

Gotta love those high-speed, low altitude passes:

 

 

The Grumman Avenger was back this year, sporting some new nose art:

 

 

 

Several Stearman biplanes flying and on display:

 

 

 

Some more shots of the Lysander:

 

 

 

 

 

Someone will have to tell me what this is (the nice young lady was doing her make-up, and I didn't want to interrupt her to ask):

 

 

 

The Stinson Reliant, 1930s-style luxury flying (I love the red leather upholstery and the mahogany instrument panel):

 

 

 

Chrome boarding ladder!

 

 

Lots of chrome upfront, too:

 

 

I'm also not sure what this is:

 

 

Or this one:

 

 

Another plane that is new to me - but the nose art is catchy!

 

 

As always, many T-6 Texans and Harvards visited the show, and here are just a few:

 

 

 

 

Whiskey 7 and the Liberty Jump Team provided a paratrooper drop, just like the ones they did over in Normandy:

 

 

 

 

And, of course, an airshow would not be complete without vendors to sell us all this cool stuff!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And lastly, I need Harry Lime to translate this shirt for me!

 

 

I only captured a small part of the overall show, but I think this gives you an idea of the calibre of this show. If you ever find yourself in western New York in July, this is one airshow that's really worth looking for!

 

Cheers,

Bill

[sharkmouth]

White 154 is a YaK-52 while White 64 is a CJ-5.

Did you get to take any photographs of the A-20 Boston/Havoc undergoing restoration in Geneseo?

Regards,

[F-32]

Looks like a great show, the Lightning and Mossie shots are really nice

[Navy Bird]

On 7/13/2014 at 23:20, sharkmouth said:

White 154 is a YaK-52 while White 64 is a CJ-5.

Did you get to take any photographs of the A-20 Boston/Havoc undergoing restoration in Geneseo?

Regards,

Yes I did get a couple of shots. I'll post them when I get home from work. Photobucket is blocked here!

 

(Edit - Nope, my mistake. I got several shots of the B-26 Invader that is being restored. I didn't go into the museum facilities proper when I was at the air show. The B-26 was parked out on the flightline.)

 

Thanks for the aircraft identifications. For some reason, I didn't see either of those fly. Would have been nice to see them together, I think.

 

Cheers,

Bill

[tonyot]

Looks like a fantastic show and cheers for sharing your pics with us. The Lysander was a nice surprise as I had thought that the owners had got rid of the target tug striped scheme,.....I`m glad that they have kept them,...it looks fantastic!

Cheers

Tony

[pacificmustang]

looks like an excellent show

Thanks for sharing

Bruce

[72modeler]

Bill,

 

OMG, what an awesome photo collection! Thank you for sharing them. I am saving the KA114 and P-38 photos for modeling projects as they show details that aren't seen very often in photos. Bet it took a week to wipe the smile off of your face after you got home!

Mike

 

BTW- regarding the difference in the exhaust staining on the P-38: the leaner the mixture, the lighter the exhaust deposit; looks like the LH engine has been running leaner and/or at higher boost settings than the RH engine. Since current aviation fuels are low-lead or no-lead, exhaust stains would be lighter in color; in WW2 with 130+ octane fuel that had a lot of tetraethyl lead, the deposits would be more grey in color.

Edited February 5, 2018 by 72modeler
added additional text

[Latinbear]

I had the pleasure of visiting this show in 1984 when I was an exchange student at SUNY Brockport. My memory is bit hazy and the black and white photos are goodness knows where but I do remember thoroughly enjoying the day out. I don't know how it is now of course but my recollection is that It had the feel of a village fete about it and was all very informal and therefore incredibly friendly. 

 

We had several flypasts by some Phantoms (F4Ds?) based at Buffalo and a visiting Hurricane, when parked up had no barriers around it so you could walk up and touch it or crawl under it. Can't really imagine that in the UK! A year later I went to the airshow at Miramar and was again struck by the complete absence of barriers around any of the aircraft. 

 

The US Army flew in a Huey and once on the ground the crew opened it up with the invitation to climb in and have a look round on the basis that "You (the taxpayer) own it."

 

Informality can  be an issue though. At one point in the show a P51 Mustang and a Huey were in the air at the same time heading towards each other until the Mustang realised what was happening and pulled sharply away. 

 

Some great images there and thanks for sharing them. They bring back some very happy (but hazy) memories.