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New Orleans Airshow, Naval Air
Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, Belle Chase, LA
C-47 Parachute Drop at the Air
Force Museum
Good Neighbor Airshow, Chamblee, GA
Spirit of St. Louis Airshow, Chesterfield, MO
Dayton Airshow, Vandalia, OH
Coles County Airport Airshow, Mattoon, IL
Marion, IN Fly-In/Cruise-In
Tri-State Warbird Museum Flying Showcase, Batavia,
OH Bowman Fest, Louisville,
KY
2022 Airshows
Purdue University Aviation Day Photo Review
Purdue University Airport,
West Lafayette, IN - April 9, 2022
I was on and off about attending this event.
Originally, I was under the impression it was going to include some
flying. When I discovered that not to be the case, snow predicted
for the morning, and a high temperature in the mid 40 degrees
Fahrenheit, I decided not to go. Then, on Saturday morning I once
again changed my mind. I wanted to see what the Purdue Aviation
Students put together and document it.
I am glad I went. The Purdue Aviation
Student group needs to be commended for the great static display that it
made available to the local population in the greater Lafayette and West
Lafayette area. Persons that don't attend airshows were able to
see and tour aircraft not normally available to them.
The first thing I had to do before I left
for Purdue University was clean the snow off the car. This is not
typical of how I start an airshow day. It was also 33 degrees
Fahrenheit when I left. I was curious as to how the inclement
weather would affect both the number of aircraft on display and the size
of the crowd. While on the way to Purdue, I had to drive through
several snow showers in the Indianapolis area. As I headed north
on I-65, the weather started to break up some. The weather was
looking better.
As I arrived at the airport, I realized that
whatever the weather, people were still coming to see the display.
The traffic was backed up on SR-231 in both directions to get into the
parking lot. Once on the ramp there was a good sized crowd and an
excellent collection of aircraft to look at. This is looking west
on the ramp which had the modern military aircraft on display.
On the east ramp were several airliners for
the crowd to tour. This was a very nice looking event.
The Purdue Aviation students did an
excellent job of getting this Bell 429 in for display. It is
registered to Teledyne FLIR Surveillance Systems in Wilsonville, OR.
The company is the manufacturer of a wide variety of FLIR equipment and
apparently this is a demonstration aircraft for the company. This
is the first time I have seen this at an aviation event. A very
nice addition and unique display by the Purdue students.
The spectators were allowed to tour this
unique aircraft.
The modern military display included one
A-10, two UH-60s, three T-45s, and one Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected
Vehicle (MRAP).
VT-7 from NAS Meridian, MS brought in three T-45 Goshawks.
The Indiana Army National Guard had the MRAP
on display for tours.
The 122nd Fighter Wing from the Indiana Air
National Guard at Fort Wayne, IN brought this A-10 over for display.
The Army National Guard from Shelbyville, IN
flew in two of its Blackhawks.
On the center and east ramp there were
several airliners that were open for tours. Unlike the big
military transports that do tours at aviation events that have an
entrance and exit point, the airliners at Purdue didn't. There was
one door for which spectators had to fit both in and out. However,
that did not seem to hinder spectators who wanted to tour the aircraft.
At the far east end were the warbirds. There was one T-28C and one
T-6 on display, neither of which I had seen before.
Travis Kelly from nearby Frankfort, IN had his T-28 on display. It
is good to know that we now have at least one T-28 located in the state.
Ryan Bach brought his AT-6D down from Chicago, IL for static display.
FAA records show this was built in 1941. For being 81 years old,
it looks brand new.
While I only spent a short time at the
display, it was well worth the trip. I liked what I saw and hope
to return to future Purdue Airport Days.
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