Air Show!

By Mark W. Danielson

I grew up watching air shows. To me, there was nothing better than watching my heroes perform aerial ballets in their colorful airplanes. When I got older, I became one of those guys, performing in my red, white, and blue bi-plane. To some, we were stunt pilots, but to those in the industry, we were aerobatic performers who adhered to strict scripts.

Years had gone by since I performed at or attended an air show, so I was quite pleased to take my wife to the Colorado Sport International Air Show last weekend. Although her father flew B-17s in WWII, she had never attended an actual air show until now. This made the event special for both of us.

The theme for air shows is to promote aviation and salute our veterans. Patriotism and airplanes go hand-in-hand, and there were plenty of display aircraft that represented the military’s past and present. Country singer Aaron Tippin added his salute while performing in concert in front of the B-24 bomber.

There is no prettier setting than the Rocky Mountain’s Front Range and both days were blessed with clear air. We watched numerous performances by skilled pilots who had to face already thin air made thinner by hot temperatures. Thin air not only steals power, but robs lift from every aircraft. They all handled it beautifully, so the crowds who were repeatedly dazzled by noise and smoke, smiled and waved at the pilots as they safely taxied back.

As air shows go, I rate this one a ten. I’ve never seen so many acts, and on Saturday night, they ended the show with fireworks. Navy and Air Force pilots gave performances in the FA-18 and F-16, and the Commemorative Air Force gave rides in their C-47. Kids of all ages walked through the Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey and the Commemorative Air Force’s B-24 and TBM. The German Air Force brought in a Tornado fighter. German Air Force pilots are trained in Wichita Falls, Texas, and then further trained at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, which is where this Tornado came from.

The ultimate goal of every air show is to put smiles on kid’s faces, and there were plenty. Many kids walked away tired, but still clung to their toy airplanes. Unlike the circus, kids who have attended air shows will forever look to the sky when they hear an airplane. Some will become pilots. Others will only dream of flying. But none will ever forget an air show like this one.

The Bone Yard

By Mark W. Danielson

Why are all these airliners in the desert? In a word, they’re being preserved. Aircraft bone yards are a testament to the WWII B-24 bomber, Lady Be Good. You see, on April 4, 1943, the Lady Be Good and 24 other airplanes took off from Soluch Airstrip in Libya to bomb the port at Naples, Italy, but things didn’t go as planned. Strong winds and poor visibility forced the bombers to take off in small groups, and Lady was one of the last to depart. Fatefully, engine problems forced the other two bombers to turn back leaving Lady alone and well behind. Lady attempted to join the bomber group prior to the target, but poor communication and crew inexperience made this impossible. Arriving too late, Lady dumped her bombs into the ocean and attempted to return to base, but somehow during this journey, managed to vanish without a trace.

Fifteen years later, a British oil exploration team spotted aircraft wreckage in the desert and decided to investigate. The markings on the nose revealed it was Lady Be Good. Other than her fuselage breaking apart just behind the wings, the B-24 was in remarkable condition. Her guns fired, her engine oil was good; even her tires had pressure. This revelation prompted the US government to “mothball” its aging aircraft at Davis Monthan Air Force base near Tucson. Since then, aircraft stored at the so-called “Bone Yard” have been used for spare parts, put back into service as drones, and sometimes put back into service as line aircraft.

Many years later, a surplus of commercial airliners led to civilian Bone Yards at Marana Airpark near Phoenix, Mojave, and the former George Air Force Base near Victorville, which is shown in the above photo. Sharp eyes will spot aircraft from a variety of airlines, including FedEx. FedEx has since returned several of these airplanes to service while storing others that are awaiting modification.

Mothballed aircraft have served other purposes as well, such as law enforcement hijacking/hostage training, movie sets, and music video backdrops. If these planes could speak, they would all have tremendous stories. Sadly, most of the bone yard aircraft await their fate of becoming recycled scrap metal.

For mystery writers, what better setting is there to hide a hostage or dump a body than a yard full of ghost planes? A setting like this offers endless opportunities. A visit to your local aviation museum may be enough to inspire a future story.