Arriving at the 43rd Annual 🛩️ EAA Airshow. (Video)
The Yearly Airshow
I think I mentioned on my last post, the one with pins and needles in my feet, that I was heading to an airshow on the weekend. Well, this is the post about the air show. I will be posting longer videos of different routines and highlights of the air show on another channel dedicated to flying, @maniobras (translated, that means maneuvers).
I had to drive out to the suburbs about an hour in order to get there. It was held at General Rodriguez airport near Lujan, Buenos Aires. We got there about 11:00 in the morning on Saturday morning and the first thing we saw flying was a World War One triplane. See the video within this post.
It was nice out. We had to present our tickets at the entrance, which is a security shack normally only allowing plane owners or flight school students to enter. Today is different. If you have tickets and get right in by scanning the QR or you can buy your tickets for slightly cheaper upon arrival.
Spectators were guided to a road that was created only yesterday. They tossed a bunch of hay down on a dirt surface which was a cornfield just last week. Now cars are driving on it and using it as a road to get to the back of the airport were parking was provided for free.
Saturday was pretty hot, and you're 90 in the shade, and we grabbed our cooler full of cold soda pop and walked to the ramp. "The Ramp" is what they call the place where planes park and get ready to taxi. It includes the hangers and the grass area between the hangers and the taxiways. This airport only has a grass runway, which is cool. The first time I threw a plane out of this field was my first time taking off on a grass runway.
The group that I planned to bring to the air show, six of us, could not all make it on Saturday. Emergencies seemed to pop up and I wondered if they would even get to see the air show. As it turned out, it was just my middle son, who is 23, and me entering to see the air show today.
The largest plane to fly all day was this passenger plane. It is a jet of sorts, a turbo-prop plane like those used in the military. The U.S. has C130 aircraft that have four props and are much larger than this one but if you need a reference, the Hercules is a larger big brother to the one I captured heading in for a high-speed pass. It did not land, just flew a couple feet off the runway with the gear up.
Beyond that line of trees is the makeshift road - aka corn field.
My boy, who is quite a man now, has been to the airfield before when I took him up in a Cessna 170 and after a test to see how he would react, I landed and let him take the yolk that day. As with most who have never flown before, puking was a concern. At one point he had the air-sick bag in his hand and I could tell he was resisting the urge to zuke. I still have footage of that flight from a year ago but I haven't gotten around to posting it due to computer problems. To keep up with what I am posting related to aviation, bookmark and follow this account where they all will be posted as I get them done.
The WWI Triplane Video
Here is her stance on the ground, complete with a center-mounted machine gun.
This crazy looking airplane flew in or around the year 1918. That makes her 107 years old now, if not more! The plane is made out of wood on the inside and the skin is fabric which is stretched over the wooden spars. Someone actually took the time to find one of these and restore it to the condition you see it in today. Amazing!
There is another restoration at the airport which has been in progress for past few years. A Douglas DC3 which has been sitting at the end of the runway for as long as I've been going to this airport. They don't have all the parts to make her fly yet but we did see it start up taxi to the end of the runway and back. So, the motors are ready to go! Look for that one in a future post.
Thanks for your attention! Flying is one of my passions and it is good to have someone to share it with.
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