Silent Wings Museum - 69th Anniversity of D-Day!

The following pictures were taken by me at today's Silent Wings Museum's 69th Anniversity of D-Day.  The Allied invasion of Normandy, France, in World War Two.  To remember the great sacrifice of the Allies who gave all.  And especially of the Glider Pilots of which the Lubbock International Airport was once upon a time the training base for the glider pilots.

Two aircraft from the CAF (Commemorative Air Force) along with the Texas Air Museum will offer rides on the C-47 known as the "Southern Cross" for $75.00 a person.  If you wanted to ride the B-25 bomber known as "The Yellow Rose", you better be ready to lay down almost $400 for a 30 minute ride of a lifetime.

As a side note, this blogger did spend such a large amount to ride the B-17G known as "The Liberty Belle."

Ricky Taylor of Shallowater, Texas, provided free Jeep rides around the parking lot in front of the museum today.  Other military vehicles such as the Army cargo truck and trailor was provided by Troy Swinney and Sam Dunn had his own 1951 M38 jeep that his father had shipped back from Korea to his home in Arizona after the Korean War.



Ricky's Grandson Zander Morrison wore my father's USAAF service cap for this picture.  That is his grandmother Karen behind him.

And for those of us who love Aircraft Nose Art...

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Ref:
1.  Flash Force 255 Bunker. "The 1955 M606 Jeep Gift" April 28, 2013. By Don W. Shanks. ( http://flash255bunker.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-1955-m606-jeep-gift.html ).
2.  Flash Force 255 Bunker. "A Shop Full of Jeeps!" May 22, 2013. By Don W. Shanks. ( http://flash255bunker.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-shop-full-of-jeeps.html ).
3.  City of Lubbock. "Commemoration of the Sixty-Ninth Anniversary of D-Day" ( http://www.ci.lubbock.tx.us/news-item/2013/06/06/Department ).
4.  Flash Force 255 Bunker. "B-17 Liberty Belle" July 26, 2008. By Don W. Shanks. ( http://aerospacedreams.blogspot.com/2008/07/warbirds.html )
5.  Silent Wings Museum website ( http://www.mylubbock.us/departmental-websites/departments/silent-wings-museum/home ).

Silent Wings Museum contact information: 6202 Interstate 27 Frontage, Lubbock, TX 79403. Phone number is 806.775.3049. Or their website (http://www.mylubbock.us/departmental-websites/departments/silent-wings-museum/home).

Slaton Air Show 2011

Rarely now days does anybody take any pictures of yours truly. So it came as a surprise that fellow WINGs Miniature Aircraft Society (WINGS MAS) club member Tom asked me to join him on a walk down the flight line - where we took each other's picture standing next to some warbirds.

Every year, the Slaton airport holds a airshow fly-in. This year, Wings MAS had a charity booth spot in the north hangar to hold a raffle of a ready to fly Hangar 9 P-51 PTS trainer with a transmitter, that was won by a young boy. The star attraction didn't show up -

a FW-190. Something to do with a broken cooling fan. Instead, I got to finally see a Hawker Sea Fury in the flesh (so to speak)! There was a fly-over of a C-47 done up in D-Day paint scheme. Turns out the the Silent Wings Museum at the Lubbock International Airport was holding a event the very same weekend!

Of course, no airshow with Warbirds is complete without a Tora, Tora, Tora re-enactment. So, I had my picture taken with both the Japanese Zero and the Japanese Kate Torpedo bomber. There was also the big yellow T-28 Trojan in US Navy paint scheme and carrying the noseart of "Maid in the USA."

When I get around to it, I'll update this posting with some additional pictures that I took of the Sea Fury.

UPDATE June 6, 2011: Here are the pictures that I took of the Airshow.