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                 Gilbert Lodge Blog
         The life and times of Mark and Paula Persons

Saturday, June 1, 2013:  

The annual Discover Aviation Days event was held at the Anoka County Airport in Blaine, Minnesota, on the north side of the Twin Cities.

A formation of vintage T-5 World War II trainers flew over to delight the crowd.

There were plenty of WWII re-enactors on hand to make the day interesting.

Dressed in period costume, they looked great.

Even a few biplanes showed up.
Everyone wanted to see Miss Mitchell, a North American B-25 bomber.  The design goes back to the 1930's. 

You might remember the movie, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo where a group of sixteen B-25s took off from an aircraft carrier in 1942 and bombed Japan. 

Mark couldn't help but remember the U.S. Army OV-1 Mohawk airplanes.  Above is a signed tail section from one that crashed in the first Gulf War. 

His job as an avionics repairman was to keep Mohawks flying during his time in Vietnam during the late 1960's.

Only 390 were built.  They were used as high-tech surveillance aircraft....some with side-looking airborne radar.

Mark belongs to the OV-1 Mohawk Association.

There were also several Stinson U.S. Army L-5 Sentinel observation aircraft there too.

A fun aircraft to fly with a wooden propeller. 

Bringing us into the modern era, NASA Astronaut Curtis Brown told of his six U. S. Space Shuttle missions.

He started out as a U.S. Air Force test pilot before moving to space missions.  Brown said, "What we learn in space, helps us on earth."

He retired from space flight and is now an air racer in his plane, the Sawbones.

Then there was Elizabeth Strohfus.  She is a fun lady...even at age 93.  She was a WASP (Women Air Force Service Pilot) starting in 1942, through World War II and beyond.  A total of 1834 WASPs served.

Elizabeth flew many kinds of airplanes including the four-engine B-17 Flying Fortress, the B-26 Marauder bombers as well as the P-39 Airacobra fighter.
on military training missions and ferried them across the country as needed.

She was asked to marry, but told her suitor that she wanted to fly instead.  She finally did get married, but that didn't slow her down.  She kept flying. 

In 2010, Elizabeth and all WASPs received the Congressional Gold Medal for their ground-breaking work as female pilots in the war effort.   


Quote of the day:  Always fun to experience Aviation Days.   Mark    < Back to previous story Ahead to next story >

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page last edited 06/16/2013