MIDLAND-The Confederate Air Force’s Airsho ’98, the annual “big show” with non-stop warbird action, was a spectacular event again in October.
As many as 44 airplanes simultaneously flew over the field in racetrack patterns. About a dozen Zero, Val and Kate “Tora! Tora! Tora!” replicas buzzed through a smoke-filled sky as explosions rocked the ground. Once again, no CAF show would be complete without the Pearl Harbor and Midway re-enactments. But the most impressive demonstration was the five B- I 7s that few with a B-29, a B-24, four A-26s, three B-25s, two C-46s, a DC-3 and a Lockheed C-121A Constellation. The grand finale was a re-enactment of the B-29 raids on Japan that finally brought WWII to a close. Confederate Air Force plane gets ready for takeoff.
One close call came on Sunday, when CAF pilot Christ Avery flying a Corsair in formation with two others took a bird strike on the leading edge of the left wing. Despite a hole and a bird carcass buried inside the wing, Avery recovered the aircraft without incident. Another episode occurred when two Wildcats ground-looped with only minor damage when their brakes locked up. Aside from a few mechanical glitches, there were no serious problems at Midland this year.
Airsho ’98 provided an opportunity for CAF to honor a number of deserving individuals in the aviation community. Inducted into the CAF’s American Combat Airman Hall of Fame were:
- Maj. Gen. John Alison, Col. Rex Barber,
- Brig. Gen. Robert Galer, Maj. Jack Ilfrey,
- Col. “Bud” Mahurin, Col. Bob Morgan,
- and the crew of Navy Torpedo Squadron
- Eight Avenger serial Number 00380.
Also, the Flying Tigers were inducted as a unit into the Hall of Fame this year. Only 66 members of the unit are still alive, 16 of them pilots. Thirty-three members made it to Texas for the induction ceremony.
Source: Pacific Flyer, November 1998.