A couple weeks ago there was a huge flyover in downtown DC. Called the Arsenal of Democracy, it was an impressive collection of WWII aircraft, from trainers up to the high performance fighters and bombers. Mark and I had to work the day of the actual flyover, but we got to see something even better: their rehearsal! All but four of the planes (the large bombers) were based out of Culpeper Airport (CJR), which is only about five minutes from our house. Needless to say, I took some pictures.
I haven't seen this many P-51s since Oshkosh!
There was a spectator area on the hill outside the fence. It had a pretty great view of the ramp.
The Stearmans were some of the first planes to get in the air.
A Fairchild trainer taking off while a DC-3 taxis.
There were a few T-6s. They were some of the loudest planes there.
I love the fighters, but man, the PBY Catalina was one of the coolest planes I've seen in a while. These flying boats played a big role in the Pacific theater.
Between the ramp, the runway, and the air, there were airplanes everywhere! They launched all of the airplanes, had them all practice holding and doing their formation flyovers directly over CJR, then had them peel off and land.
They had a few P-40s...
...and a few B-25s, too. This one put out some nice smoke when the right engine caught.
Mark said "I'll take that one" when the P-38 took off. I wish!
I was not at all the only person there with a camera. Lots of other airplane geeks were there, too!
It was especially fun to watch the carrier planes unfold their wings.
Eventually most of the planes were in the air, so it was time for the flyovers to begin!
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