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2019 Airshows

Spirit of St. Louis Airshow Warbird Photo Review
Spirit of St. Louis Airport, Chesterfield, MO - September 7-8, 2019 (Photos taken Saturday 9-7-2019.)   

How cool is this?  The Red Arrows in loose formation with a Mark IX Spitfire.  This was a one-time pass that happened before the Red Arrows started their normal show. 

This was one of the many great flying events at the 2019 Spirit of St. Louis Airshow.  The show has demonstrated its ability over the years to present not only a good collection of warbirds, but to bring in new ideas while most other shows have become stagnant "cookie-cutter" events with the same acts, and lack of a variety of warbirds.  The Spirit of St. Louis Airshow, since its re-inception in 2014, has become of the best airshows in the country.  Along the way, it has also become one of the best warbird shows in the country. 

The opening of the show with the Black Daggers.

An Air Force MC-130J in formation with two Navy F-18 Growlers.  Another unique fly-by at the Spirit of St. Louis Airshow.

The Grumman Bearcat takes off for the Legacy Flight as the MC-130J taxies back in. 

The Legacy Flight.

The Boeing-Saab T-X next generation trainer.  As noted on the bottom of the fuselage, it won the competition among several companies vying for this contract.  Final assembly will be at the Boeing plant in St. Louis.  However, Saab is responsible for the fuselage, and will build a new plant at the Purdue University's Discovery Park District in West Lafayette, IN that will employ 300 persons building the fuselage sections. 

The T-X trainer has an after burner.

The Aeroshell Team was part of the warbird lineup at the show.

Spitfire aerial demonstrations are rare event at airshows.  This was a welcome surprise for the warbird enthusiasts at the show.

This particular aircraft is a World War Two veteran having served with both the Free Polish and Free French Forces during the war.

One of my main reasons for attending the Spirit of St. Louis Airshow was to see the Red Arrows.  The red, white and blue smoke adds a lot of color to the demonstration.  Each aircraft can do all three colors of smoke. 

Besides several large nine-aircraft formations, the Red Arrows also did opposing passes. 

The last pass.

Also part of the several warbird aerobatic routines was one by the F4U-5 at the show. 

B-26K "Special Kay" was the first of three bombers to take off as part of the bomber portion of the show.  This was my first chance to see this one-of-a-kind warbird fly.

The locally based B-25 "Show Me" is always at the show.

B-17 "Texas Raiders" was the third bomber in the group. 

The B-17, along with the Spitfire, did the lowest fly-bys of the day.

While the bombers were doing low passes, the P-51C, Spitfire IX, and F4U-5 were flying top cover.  When the bombers landed, the fighters came down and did several low formation passes.

Last act of the day for me was the F-22 Demo.  When it was done, I left, as it was a long drive home.  While leaving, the Heritage Flight flew over me as I made my way to the parking lot.  I missed Matt Younkin and the Blue Angels by leaving early.

Taxiway shoots:  I set up on the east end of the crowd line, because there is a taxiway next to this area that the warbirds utilize to get the active runway.  This allows for nice taxi shots as shown below.

Static Displays:  All the warbirds, with the exception of the F8F, were on display at some time during the day, along with a good selection of modern military aircraft.  Below are a couple photos from the static area. 

The EA-1E is a local warbird that did not fly in the show.

Yes, the photo is crooked. With the large crowds around the F-35C, I had to raise the camera over my head in an attempt to photograph the entire aircraft.  My alignment was obviously not square.  This is the first Navy F-35 I have seen at at a show.

The Tuskegee Airmen P-51C Mustang on display. 

Other warbirds at the event were UH-1s and an AH-1 that were giving rides.