Knoxville, TN   MCAS Cherry Point, NC   Saint Louis, MO   CFB Trenton, ONT   Thunder Over Michigan, Bellevue, MI   Marion, IN   Waukegan, IL   NAS Patuxent River, MD
Quinte International Air Show Warbird Photo Review
Warbirds at CFB Trenton Ontario - June 25-26, 2016  (Photos taken Saturday, June 25.)

The airshow at CFB Trenton was the first show the base has held since 2003.  From the size of the crowd and its enthusiasm, hopefully the show will return a lot sooner than in another thirteen years.  Below are a few photos from the event.

Friday afternoon I was at the Canadian Air Force Museum on the west side of CFB Trenton; and was able to view the F-22 Raptor during its practice show.

 
This Fleet Finch trainer was one of many warbirds on display.  The Finch was manufactured in Ontario and used exclusively by the Canadians in the WWII training program.

The show was truly international in its scope.  This AWACs came over from the UK to be on static display.

This KC-10 came from Travis AFB in California.

This was a first for me!  In all of my years visiting and helping to produce airshows, I have never seen a military aircraft from Mexico.  This C-27J is one of four operated by the Mexican Air Force.

The Canadian designation for the C-17 is CC-177.  All five operated by the Canadian Forces are located at CFB Trenton, and flown by 8 Wing, the airshow host.

This A-4 Skyhawk is owned by Draken International in the US, which owns 70 aircraft that it contracts out to various countries for various uses. 

Over the years I have seen various materials used for a crowd line.  This has included rope, pennant rope, and plastic or wooden snow fence held up by barrels or fence post.  This was the first time I have seen a steel fence used. 

As at MCAS Cherry Point earlier in the season, I sat directly across from the F-22 Raptors and the Heritage Flight Mustang.

Before the show started, the B-25 from the CWH was giving press and VIP rides. 

The warbird flying for the show consisted of the Lancaster, B-25 and P-51 multiple formation fly-bys along with individual photo passes.

The weekend weather was perfect for photos.  The sun was behind the crowd for enhanced photography.  Here the CF-18 Demo does its dirty roll on take-off.

8 Wing showed off the capabilities of its CC-177s with a demo.

Show time for the Raptor!!!  After the required hand salute, the pilot shakes hands with his ground crew.

It was a great day for afterburners. 

Heritage Flight.

And the low pass down the runway afterwards.

With the mostly clear blue sky and the line-up, the show was a pleasure to visit.  Hopefully it will return soon!

Side trips on the way to the show.
I took advantage the trip to stop at museums, forts, and other historic locations on my trip to and home from the show.  Here a sampling of photos from some of the locations visited.

My first stop of the five day trip was at Michigan's Military and Space Heroes Museum in Frankenmuth.  Simply placed on top of a display cabinet is this iconic photo of General Eisenhower talking to some of the paratroopers of the 101st Airborne the day before D-Day.  I actually have a poster size version of this photo in my house.  Each time I look at it I have always wondered several thoughts.  First, what is the General saying to the troops?  Second, and even more sobering, I have wondered how many of the soldiers in the picture were still alive at the end of June 6, 1944?  I now know that, at least Capt. Strobel, survived both D-Day and the war.

The Executive Director of the museum explained, as told to him by Capt. Strobel,  that General Eisenhower was not explaining tactics or strategy for the next day.  When the General walked up to the Captain, he asked him where he was from.  When the reply was "Michigan", General Eisenhower said something to the effect of "Great fishing in Michigan."  At the same time he simulated casting with a rod and reel with his wrist.  So simple.  So General Eisenhower!

Camp X at Whitby, Ontario.

The next photo explains the WWII purpose of Camp X.

It remains controversial whether Ian Fleming trained to be a spy here at Camp X.  My research indicates he visited the Camp with Bill Donavan of the American OSS. No doubt he was allowed to train as a guest while visiting.  However, Ian Fleming's position within the British Royal Admiralty during WWII was that of assistant to one of the admirals.  Ian's job was to coordinate clandestine and spy missions.  He knew too much of the overall operations, and was therefore forbidden from going into Europe as a spy.  While visiting the camp, he stayed at a hotel in Oshawa located on Bond Street.

This is one of only two known photos of the camp.  I took this photo of one on display at the nearby Oshawa Military Museum.  The camp site was located, what was 75 years ago, out in the middle of nowhere.

Today development has moved right to the boundary of the park.

This is one of four Martello towers at the Kingston, ONT harbor built after the war of 1812.  Its purpose was to defend against further attacks from the United States.

Fort Henry was also built for the same reason.  A second Martello Tower guards the entrance to the harbor.  During the war of 1812 Kingston was an important Royal Navy base.

My last stop of the trip was at the Canadian War Museum in downtown Ottawa.  Hanging overhead is this restored Japanese Balloon Bomb.  With the exception of myself, everyone there at the time was walking underneath it, not realizing the significance or rarity of the display.  This the only time I have ever seen a Japanese Balloon Bomb on display.

Knoxville, TN   MCAS Cherry Point, NC   Saint Louis, MO   CFB Trenton, ONT   Thunder Over Michigan, Bellevue, MI   Marion, IN   Waukegan, IL   NAS Patuxent River, MD