AMA News District I - 2010/02
The 2010 flying season is still several months away, and except for indoor flying and club auctions, this column will still report on 2009 events. This is a good time to collect some photos, write a short report on an event your club has had, and send it to me.
The following report was forwarded by Associate Vice President Rusty Scott. Rusty said he had a great time at this event and would recommend other warbird enthusiasts attend next year. The event report was written by CD Joe Marrone. Thank you, Joe.
New Hampshire Warbird Meet — McAlister Field, West Deering (September 26, 2009)
New Hampshire's first-ever warbird meet is now a reality. Spearheaded by Don Sage, Event Coordinator, this new event took place on September 26, 2009, at McAlister Field in West Deering.
Fifteen registered pilots brought 32 World War I and II aircraft. There were everything from monoplanes, biplanes, and triplanes from World War I, to lots of heavy metal from World War II, including the most popular types such as P-51s and P-47s, plus a host of others.
One treat was the OV-10 Bronco flown by Kurt Forauer from Hartland, Vermont, who put on a really nice show with scale maneuvers. The pilot who spent the most time in the air was Matt Lupri from Boston, who put in five fantastic flights with his 1/5-scale Hangar 9 P-51 and his Focke-Wulf Fw 190.
One of the objectives of the warbird event was to honor those who have served in our armed forces. In an effort to do so, we asked all the veterans in attendance to pose for the group photo with all their airplanes.
Honoring our military men and women was further accomplished by a surprise flyover of the Collings Foundation P-51B, flown by Frank Morrell, who made a high-speed pass right over the runway at low altitude. What a sight! Be still my heart! We were awestruck having such a close encounter with this beautifully restored warbird. Frank was presented with an award by Don Sage and Ross Power for his absolutely heart-stopping fly-by.
This event could not have taken place without a lot of hard work and dedication by the Warbird Fever staff:
- Don Sage
- Jon Auger
- Ross Power
- Dick Smith
- Kevin Perry
- Harry Newman
- Doug Titilah
We also owe a debt of gratitude to our announcer, Scott Westover, who made each flight come alive with his picturesque commentaries.
Feedback from the pilots was very positive; they liked the site and the overall organization, and many said they would come back next year. We also want to express our heartfelt thanks and gratitude to Chester McAlister, who sponsored us and allowed the use of his farmland for this event. He and his family watched from across the road and said they enjoyed every minute of it.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
