Airshow Houston 2015 !!

Hello folks,

Well, Mid-October in Houston is time for "Wings over Houston 2015", the annual airshow at Ellington Field, just next to NASA, a little south of downtown Houston.  We've been a couple of times and had fantastic luck with the weather each time.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

A huge Airlift Command C5A...astounding !

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

My favorite is probably the B-17 Super Fortress, but Brenda's favorite 
is far and away the P-51 Mustang "Cadillac of the Sky !"

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

NASA's "Flying Guppy", for air transport of relatively light equipment, 
aircraft components, large satellites, etc.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

I hope I don't sound arrogant when I say that I am proud of my country.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

"My" B-17.  Brenda's favorite component of the B-17 is the Ball Turret, which you can't see well here, but it's embedded in the belly of the plane, and is just large enough for a small guy to cram himself into, knees up in his face, firing a machine gun between his feet.  It is not a job for a guy with "tiny stones".

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

This year there was a beautiful British Spitfire,  Developed at a time similar to the P-51, and with a bit of developmental cross-pollination, the two had a huge impact in the air battles of WW-II.  Huge.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Here's the Spitfire reflected in the highly polished aluminum skin of the P-51.  
It think this it's my favorite shot of the day.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 Plenty of sun splashing around...

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Looking down the flight line, I noticed something a bit "different"...

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Brenda said, "oh my gosh, look at those shoes !"...
...I said "yes dear...it's all about the shoes..."  ;-)

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

I had never seen one of these fly before, a Junkers 262, the world's first jet powered military aircraft, developed by the Germans late in WW-II.  It was late in the war, and German industry was under such assault by US and British bombing that it couldn't be produced in large numbers.  That's quite fortunate for us, it's speed was a serious game-changer.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

A slightly more modern jet, 
one of the US Air Force Thunderbird's F-16s.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

A bit of a contrast...a US Air Force B-52 Bomber, which still fly in large numbers today even though they first flew in the early 1950's (yes...the 50's)...

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

And a very modern Predator unmanned ground-attack aircraft.  Painted on the side of its two Hellfire Missiles..."Don't Mess with Texas" (this and a few others are based here on the Texas Gulf Coast).

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 Quite a few folks out on the flight line...

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

This B-17 is a tiny one, only 5 ft (1.5 m) wingspan (...a radio controlled model).

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Here come the "Japanese" (only one is a real "Zero", the rest are US-made aircraft with paint jobs to make them look like Japanese planes for movies like Tora Tora Tora.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

What's an airshow without a dog fight reenactment and a little smoke !

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Flying all together is a very rare site, 
the Spitfire, the Junkers 262, 
and "The Cadillac of the Sky !"


Wings Over Houston 2016 
will be October 22-23, 2016


Y'all come on down !!
-Mark

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin