M. Wynn: "Wild Card" Aviation Photography & Images: Gallery Update: Collings Foundation Wings of Freedom Tour 2019

About This Blog:

The primary purpose of this blog is to showcase the best of my aviation photography. As such, you will find links to my main aviation gallery on Facebook containing photos from aircraft spotting, some kind of aviation event such as air shows and fly-in events, as well as aviation museums. I also critique my flights on commercial airlines and the services they provide. Occassionally, you'll find personally written, independent articles based on news and current events involving aviation. And of course, I'll put up links to official and unofficial aviation-related websites when I find them. And when time permits, I'll talk and discuss about anything involving aviation. But most importantly, this is my way to document my journey into the aviation industry!

Saturday, June 15, 2019

Gallery Update: Collings Foundation Wings of Freedom Tour 2019

The 2019 Wings of Freedom Tour is in Salem for Father's Day weekend! It has been four years since I last saw the warbirds of the Collings Foundation, and it has certainly been a while since I last saw them close to home in Salem, that is until today. And since I last saw them, they have expanded on the number of warbirds on tour from three typical planes to five total. In addition to their usual B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator bombers, the tour this year now includes a B-25J Mitchell, a two-seat, dual-control TP-40N Warhawk, as well as a two-seat, dual control TF-51D Mustang in lieu of the TP-51C Mustang seen in the past.

While I did not intend to spend the entire afternoon just for the five warbirds, I ended up doing so and it was worth it in the end as I got to see some additional warbird activity that was happening in front of the B-17 Alliance Museum (most likely in conjunction with preparation for the 2019 Warbirds Over the West fly-in just two months away!) along with some plane-spotting from the ramp.

Wings of Freedom Tour 2019 - Static Display

Wings of Freedom Tour 2019 - TF-51D Flight

Wings of Freedom Tour 2019 - TP-40N Flight

Wings of Freedom Tour 2019 - B-25J Flight

Wings of Freedom Tour 2019 - B-17 & B-24 Interior

Wings of Freedom Tour 2019 - Warbird Activity

Salem (SLE) 24

Preview:

Collings Foundation Warbirds
As previously mentioned, the Collings Foundation brought five warbirds to display and take people on rides. Their usual B-17 and B-24 were static displays all day while their B-25, P-51, and P-40 were going up multiple times throughout the day giving rides.

Curtiss TP-40N Warhawk (NL293FR) parked on the ramp. This dual-controlled P-40N was once on display at the Evergreen Air & Space Museum before being acquired by the Collings Foundation and restored to airworthy condition, so this stopover is a bit of a homecoming for this particular warbird.

North American TF-51D Mustang (NL551CF) "Toulouse Nuts" parked on the ramp. This dual-controlled P-51D Mustang is one of three original, purpose-built TF-51Ds trainers from the post-war era left in the world. With the advent of the jet age, dual-controlled P-51 Mustangs like this one were used to extensively train fighter pilots until jet trainers like the T-33 Shooting Star became available. "Toulouse Nuts" is painted in it's original markings from the days it was in service with the West Virginia Air National Guard's 167th Fighter Wing.

North American B-25J Mitchell (NL3476G) "Tondelayo" parked on the ramp. One of the very first planes to be added to the Collings Foundation's collection, this B-25 is painted in the markings of a bomber that flew in the 345th Bomb Group, 500th Bomber Squadron of the 5th Air Force nicknamed the "Air Apaches," which flew missions against targets in New Guinea in the Pacific Theater.

Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress (NL93012) "Nine-O-Nine" on display.

Consolidated B-24J Liberator (NX224J) "Witchcraft" on display.

"Toulouse Nuts" taxiing out for departure for a passenger flight.

"Toulouse Nuts" just airborne off 34.

"Toulouse Nuts" on a high-speed pass!

"Toulouse Nuts" taxiing back in after landing.

The TP-40N taxiing out for a passenger flight.

Airborne off 34.

The TP-40N making a nice high-speed photo pass!

The TP-40N taxiing back after landing.

"Tondelayo" departing on 34 with some passengers on board.

"Tondelayo" making a pass over the airport, as is customary for any warbirds!

"Tondelayo" taxiing back to the ramp after landing.

Additional Warbirds
You almost kind of expect these things to happen; whenever a specific group of warbirds are in town, you expect more warbirds to show up and gather! In this case, we got two additional Oregon-based warbirds that flew into Salem, which included an AT-6 Texan flown by Bryan K. Harper out of the Eugene-area as well as "Old Glory," a N3N out of Creswell, Oregon owned by Ragwood Refactory owner Kyle Bushman. Most likely they were visiting the B-17 Alliance Museum; we anticipate seeing these warbirds in just over a month for the 2019 Warbirds Over the West event happening in August!

North American AT-6D Texan (N7517) arriving on 34 from Junction City. At the controls is Bryan K. Harper, President of the Lane County Farm Bureau and Vice President of Harper Farms, based in Junction City, Oregon.

Harper taxiing his Texan over to the B-17 Alliance Museum's ramp area.

Kyle Bushman making a flashy entrance with a little air show smoke in "Old Glory." This is probably my first time seeing a vintage N3N in-flight.

Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3 (N61072) "Old Glory" arriving on 34 from Creswell.

"Old Glory" taxiing over to the B-17 Alliance Museum.

N7517 parked on the ramp. Painted in the colors of the South African Air Force.

"Old Glory" parked on the ramp.

General Aviation Traffic
And of course, with access to the ramp, I got some decent plane-spotting in and got a nice variety of General Aviation traffic.

Piper PA-22-160 Tri-Pacer (N9556D) taxiing to the ramp.

Cessna 172N Skyhawk II (N5174E) taxiing to the ramp after a local flight. It's so weird seeing someone else fly the plane my uncle and I spent a lot of time time-building and training in now that it's been sold to the flight club here in Salem!

Beechcraft 95 Travel Air (N9601R) parked on the ramp.

Piper PA-31-310 Navajo (N116GW) parked on the ramp. Clearly, this eight-seat twin hasn't flown in a while...

Piper PA-46-350P Malibu Mirage (N4133G) airborne off 34 for Redmond.

Piper PA-28R-180 Arrow (N3767T) taxiing to the ramp after arriving from Novato, California before continuing on to Tacoma Narrows.

Teenflight Portland/Airway Science for Kids Van's RV-12 (N112TF) taxiing to the ramp after arriving from the Portland-area.

Van's RV-12iS (N412RV) taxiing to the ramp after arriving from Tillamook. This is the new Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) category of the RV-12, which was introduced in 2017. Equipped with the Rotax 912UL engine, the LSA variant comes factory-built and ready to fly, a departure from Van's Aircraft's tradition of providing kit-build aircraft.