Warbirds! At Concord Regional Airport(October 23, 2010)

Got out to Concord Regional Airport on October 23, 2010 after driving from Richmond, Va to my home. In my last post I had photos of the three planes that visited Chesterfield Airport in Chesterfield, Va, today I saw Aluminum Overcast, which is a B-17 owned and operated by the Experimental Aircraft Association, flying over the airport. This great plane is a flying museum, and one of the few (along with the Collings Foundation planes and a very few others) of the thousands of B-17's which flew above the skies of Europe and the Pacific during the Second World War. It was amazing to see, and to hear, the plane seen at left.
This is Aluminum Overcast here at Concord Regional Airport. The Boeing built bomber is a big plane. Typically they flew around 24,000 feet, in thin air and under very cold conditions. This plane had no pressurization; so you had to deal with the elements. They also for a long time did not have fighter escorts, but relied on the guns on the plane. There were turrets top and bottom, also guns front and rear and on the sides. They also kept tight formations to protect themselves with massed guns against enemy aircraft. Nonetheless, the big planes were relatively easy prey for German fighters. Later in the war longer range escort fighters such as the P-51 were able to protect the big planes. Ground fire and accidents also took a toll on the planes.
Other planes were also at the airport, including this C-130 transport which is flown by the Air National Guard unit based in Charlotte, NC. Notable in that the Air Force (and also many other branches of the military) fly this aircraft, which like the B-17 has four propeller engines. Now though the engines are turboprops, and the plane is used as a transport. The C-130 in fact has been flying for some 50+ years! It is a most remarkable plane, and has even been used in direct combat roles. The C-130 is built by Lockheed Martin, and is still currently in production. It is also flown by many other nations.
There were a number of T-28's at the Open House, which back around the time of Vietnam were used as trainer aircraft for the pilots of the day. This type of plane also saw combat in South East Asia during the war.
In addition to these planes, saw a number of other aircraft, including some modern general aviation aircraft on display. I will be posting some of those photos, and more photos from this event on my photo page.
Had a great time, and remarkable to see aircraft from the Second World War (and other periods) over the last few days at the General Aviation airports of my two cities.