Warbirds Over the Rockies
by Stan Alexander
Wow! Spectacular! Huge! Those are just a few words often used to describe an event that is "over the top." I cannot think of a better way to describe Warbirds Over the Rockies, held at the Love-Air R/C club's Drake Field in Fort Collins, Colorado, September 28 through 30, 2012!
This was the military Scale fly-in and air show's ninth year and it continues to grow. More than 5,000 spectators, 170 pilots, and more than 300 aircraft attended this year's event. The weather was great and the field well prepared for the flights and the daily shows for the crowd. At one point on Saturday, the parking lot was packed and people had to be turned away. The group clearly is outgrowing its facility!
All aircraft must have been used in the military and be finished in military paint schemes. Aircraft of any scale, including ARFs and foamies, are welcome. There are no other requirements for participation, other than paying a landing fee for modelers and, of course, being an AMA member.
Regional media covered this event extensively in print and on television. Warbirds Over the Rockies donates a large percentage of the event’s proceeds to the Colorado chapter of Mental Health America, which provides assistance in many areas of mental health and healing. Event coordinators Brian and Bonnie O’Meara’s goal this year was to raise $20,000 for the organization and they reached it!
One of the highlights of the weekend was the presence of Col. Charles McGee of the Tuskegee Airmen, who flew combat missions in World War II, the Korean War, and in Vietnam. He is 92 years young and has a phenomenal memory, wit, and command of speech.
Col. McGee spoke on Saturday night about the five stages of the Tuskegee Airmen and what they went through in the early days of WWII. A great read about this American hero awaits you when you type in his name on an Internet search engine.
On Friday and Saturday, Col. McGee sold signed copies of his autobiography, Warbirds Over the Rockies T-shirts, and other memorabilia for spectators and pilots. He also signed a one-of-a-kind Red Tails P-51C Mustang named Kitten (his wife’s nickname) assembled by AeroWorks for this event.
The model was auctioned off on Saturday night and brought in $2,500 for Mental Health America of Colorado. Col. McGee also donated $300 to the cause from his book sales. Many other auction items provided by sponsors made a sizeable increase in the amount raised for the Colorado chapter of the organization.
Warbirds of every size and description were at the event. Some flew while others were there only to be seen or sold. Many attendees brought several models. Bill Holland, AMA District VIII associate vice president, brought his 1/4-scale Corsair as well as a 1/3-scale Nieuport 17 and an F-15 turbine.
Turbine and electric-powered jets, World War I aircraft, models from the Golden Age of Aviation, World War II airplanes, and modern aircraft were all represented at Warbirds Over the Rockies.
Large A-10 Thunderbolt II Warthogs stood out while flying low passes and making strafing runs on the field. At least one A-10 featured an onboard smoke system, carried 4 1/2 gallons of jet fuel, and a gallon of smoke fuel. I really enjoyed the B-17s and the B-25 flyovers as well as their bomb runs.
One of the big hits of the event was the full-scale flybys of a T-33, a T-28, a BAE Provost Jet, and a P-51D. These beautiful warbirds started the show off at noon each day. Their flybys were impressive. Some featured smoke and others performed quarter rolls back and forth to greet the spectators.
The club obtained a special FAA waiver to allow these flyovers. FAA officials were present during the event. Our thanks go to the pilots and owners for their participation. Many of the pilots donated their fuel bill allotment to Mental Health America of Colorado.
The weather was beautiful! It was warm, but not too hot, with low humidity.
There were flights in front of the spectators along with the themed air shows including WW I, the Golden Age and military trainers, WW II fighters, WW II bombers, dropping the atomic bomb, and modern-day fighters including the A-10 Warthogs.
Angel Light Pyrotechnics provided the “boom” factor and in some cases scared the spectators with their explosions and precise timing with the bombing passes.
Take a great idea of having a Scale warbird fly-in, including all areas of military aviation, add the air show with the pyrotechnics and announcer, include press and media, and provide grandstands for thousands of spectators. Have a worthy cause that the fly-in benefits, a local club and organizers who are dedicated to the event, great weather, and a site that can be flown at from dawn until dusk, then cap it off with a World War II hero attending the fly-in and banquet and speaking about his military experiences, and you have a wonderful event to which people will return year after year.
As I stated at the beginning of the article, all I can say is wow!
Fair skies and tail winds.
—Stan Alexander [email protected]
SOURCES:
Warbirds Over the Rockies www.warbirdsovertherockies.com
Mental Health America of Colorado www.mhacolorado.org
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
