On August 17th and 18th, 2002 the tiny municipal airport
in Frederick, Maryland was overrun with vintage aircraft (and military vehicles) for the annual Wings of Freedom airshow.
My spouse and I made the 10-plus hour trek to Frederick to see two specific aircraft that, as it turned out, did not even
show up. Apparently other expected acts also cancelled at the last minute due to mechanical difficulties. What did show up
still made for a great show. Being an armour modeller at heart, when I saw all the collectors' military vehicles that had
congregated in a special re-enactment area I was doubled-over with joy.
Getting back to the Wings of Freedom airshow,
we had learned about the event from the Internet, and being mildly familiar with that area of Maryland decided it was a must-do
event this year. The themes for this year were the 60th anniversaries of the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo, the Battle of Midway
and the Eighth Air Force in Europe. Representative aircraft from all of these campaigns put on a heck of a show when I was
there on the Saturday. Some pyrotechnic displays added to the realism of the Doolittle raid.
The collection of warbirds on static display and flying included (but was not
limited to):
- three B-25
Mitchells
- a B-17 Flying
Fortress
- three TBM
Avengers
- an SBD Dauntless
(reportedly one of only two flying examples)
- two P-51
Mustangs
- a P-47 Thunderbolt
and a P-40 Warhawk
- a C-47 Dakota
and a C-60 Lodestar
- a mock Japanese
Zero and Kate torpedo bomber (apparently from the movie Tora, Tora, Tora)
- a Korean
War era F4U-4 Corsair
Many other aircraft were also in attendance including a broad range of classic
trainers (all 22 of which were in the air at the same time during the show), some stunt flyers and an unusual Czech L-39 Albatros
jet now in private hands.
An important piece of advice that I would like to offer to all airshow followers
when you head off for this sort of thing is to get there the day before. In Frederick, the airport was open with no admission
and a special airshow for handicapped children was conducted on the Friday. This was a tremendous opportunity to get photos
of the static aircraft that had already arrived without having to fight a big crowd. Late that afternoon, other aircraft for
the weekend's events continued to arrive. At this little airport it was possible to stand on the apron as the new arrivals
taxied in and parked. The rumble of the P-47 "Jug" as it rolled in and parked right in front of me was something Ill not soon
forget.
Oh ya, what I wanted desperately to see there but wasn't - an AH-64D Apache Longbow and a P-38 Lightning. The photos below will show you why I didn't end up disappointed! I'm already planning for next year's show - August 16th and 17th,
2003 where they will celebrate the 100th anniversary of flight.
