Hot August Weekend Activity

By Chris Turner -
Noting in the previous Sunday's Lansing State Journal that there would be an air show at Mason's Jewett Field, the little kids and Tiffani and I piled in Dolores for a hot afternoon at the airport. The highlight of the show was to be a B-17 bomber, the Yankee Lady, part of the Yankee Air Museum organization. The event drew a bit of a crowd, and folks were lined up to pay $425 apiece to ride the giant, mature, historic aircraft, one of only twelve still flying.

Because of the weather, we parked ourselves in the shade of a hangar, just adjacent to the plane, wondering what the expectant crowd was all doing watching this beast too. But, we learned it was about to takeoff, so with the approaching start of the engines, Tiff and the kids left to a distance safer for eardrums.

It's interesting how long of a process it is to start these engines, each motor taking quite a bit of spinning and warming up before full combustion, one engine at a time. Inside motors first, right to left.

Note the clearer exhaust now.

The rear of the plane, for perspective. The plane was kitted out with turrets and faux guns.

As the Yankee Lady taxis out to approach the runway. It was at this point that the propeller's exhaust pretty rapidly blew my hat off.




The approaching takeoff.


A pretty severe banking maneuver just after takeoff.


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