Gallery Update: Warbirds Over Utah 2017 Recap

One week after the last warbird event up in Heber City, I found myself going to another one, this time up in Bountiful, Utah at the Skypark Airport for the Warbirds Over Utah fly-in/open house. The event was hosted by the Vintage Aviation Museum, which recently re-located to Boutinful from Salem, Oregon. And this year was the first event of its kind at this new location. The purpose of this event is to raise funds to get a Lockheed PV-2 Harpoon currently sitting derelict out in Wyoming airworthy and bring it out to Skypark Airport as a living history piece. As of right now, the Vintage Aviation Museum is collaborating with the Warbird Warriors Foundation in Heber City by sharing their PV-2 Harpoon "Attu Warrior." It's been about a year since I last visited the Skypark Airport (or as some UVU students like to call it, "Scare-park Airport!"), so it was nice to be there again. In addition to the warbird displays, I got some plane-spotting in from the display area. Here are the links:

Warbirds Over Utah 2017 - Static Display

Warbirds Over Utah 2017 - Warbird Movements

Bountiful-Skypark (BTF) 2

Photo preview:

Warbird Activities/Displays
As expected, there was a limited amount of warbird activities both on static display and flying for the event and it was great to see and hear some or that round-engine noise!

North American T-6G Texan (N49388) from Utah Warbird Adventures out of Heber City parked on the ramp. The pilot of this aircraft, Barry Hancock of Pilot Maker Air Shows flies this Texan at air shows. Utah Warbird Adventures were offering rides in this aircraft during the event.

Piper L-4J Grasshopper (N5580), a military liaison variant of the venerable J-3C-65D Cub on static display. Formerly with the United States Air Force as 45-4496 and painted in the colors of the New Mexico National Guard. 

Stinson L-5 Sentinel (N4914) nicknamed "Swamp Angel" on static display.

Stemme S-10VT (N140VT) on static display. Built in Germany, the S-10 is a motorized and self-launching sailplane. It's engine is mounted amidships and it features an unusual folding propeller which is stowed inside the aircraft's nose-cone when the engine is not in use. 

Cockpit and control panel of the Stemme S-10VT sailplane.

Beech G18S (N50WA) from Utah Warbird Adventures out Heber City on the ramp. Along with the T-6, this Twin-Beech was also being used to give people rides throughout the event. I last saw this aircraft down in Spanish Fork about a year ago. But today, I had the benefit of seeing this venerable warbird fly. Aside from it's military career flying as a executive transport in the U.S., this aircraft also once served as presidential transport for the president of Mexico back in the day.

Aeronca 7AC Champion (N2914E) in Army colors to look like an L-16 on static display. This aircraft flew in to the airport later on in the day, just as I about to leave! So I made sure to get a few photos of it! It was pretty neat to photograph three different vintage military liaison aircraft, all from different manufacturers at one event!

Barry Hancock taking the T-6G up with a passenger, departing via 16.

The Twin-Beech departing on 16 with some passengers on board for a joyride.

The T-6G flying overhead, just as any warbird should at any aviation event!

The T-6G rolling out on 16 after landing.

The Twin-Beech rolling out on 16 after landing.

Plane-Spotting
And of course, the event allowed for that unprecedented access to portions of the ramp to observe regular air traffic at the Bountiful-Skypark Airport. And during this spotting session, there were quite a few general aviation aircraft I haven't seen before in action, so those alone made the trip worthwhile.

Cessna 172N Skyhawk II (N739RL) doing a touch-and-go on 16.

Tecnam P2006T (N998TA) also working the pattern. This is my first time seeing one of these Italian twins fly!

Czech Sport Aircraft (CSA) SportCruiser (N613DD) taxiing for departure.

Van's RV-A (N149TC) arriving on 16.

Aviat A-1B Husky (N155WW) airborne after departing on 16, demonstrating its STOL capability. Note the large tundra tires on the main landing gear.

Czech Sport Aircraft (CSA) SportCruiser (N275SC) taxiing for departure.

Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee Cruiser (N1671J) airborne after departing on 16.

Taylorcraft BC-12-65 (NC36044) airborne after departing 16. Again, it doesn't take much runway for these type of planes to get airborne.

This was a cool shot; getting two SportCruisers (one taxiing, one on landing rollout) in the same shot!

Czech Sport Aircraft (CSA) SportCruiser (N607SX) arriving on 16.

Backcountry Super Cubs Mackey SQ2 (N70KR) arriving on 16. Note the large tundra tires on the main landing gear. The SQ2 is an American STOL amateur-built aircraft based off the Piper PA-18 Super Cub supplied as a kit for amateur construction. As of right now, there have been seven examples built and flown. The Piper Cub family sure has come a long way over the years!

Piper PA-28R-200 Arrow II (N4314F) airborne after departing on 16.

Van's RV-4 (N126JR) parked on the ramp. Note the wooden propeller.