Somewhere I have pics and vid of a Fat Albert JATO takeoff or 3. My mom used to work for a company that loaned out a couple cranes to hold the BIG American flag for the airshow in Springfield IL. They would give him Flightline chalet passes for it, but he never had time to go, so the tickets trickled down to me. We got to see the Angels, the Thunderbirds, the Red Arrows. And all sorts of things..Did Fat Albert perform as well?
Anybody ever see this nut with a jet engine strapped under his Pitts? He was there a lot. The airshow is defunct now though.
Thanks, I hadn't seen it in a long time and thought it was a Pitts special. As for the show being defunct, I was referring to the Springfield IL, Air Rendezvous. It hasn't been a thing for many years.. The way I understood it, the show was heavily supported by Garrett Aviation there in Springfield. And when they went out of buisness/sold/moved, there wasn't enough money/interest/support to continue the show..That wasn’t a pitts. It was a Waco UPF 7 slightly modified.
He was one of my early flight instructors. We grew up in the same small town. I spent a lot of time around that plane.
The Airshow isn’t technically defunct. Jimmy died in a crash at a show in Canada when his partner turned the wrong way during a formation performance.
His son Kyle carried on the family tradition with shows for many years but is on hiatus for now.
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That boy can fly that thing. wow. Nice share.
Years ago, when I lived in California, I was only about 15 miles from NAS Miramar where Topgun used to be.
I didn't know there was a Superstition mountain near SD, I only know of the ones near Phoenix.We frequently camped and off-roaded at Superstition Mountain outside of San Diego. The Blue Angels would often practice in this area…it was awesome.
I swear those guys turned it up a notch when they realized they had an audience of dozens or more off-readers.
I didn't know there was a Superstition mountain near SD, I only know of the ones near Phoenix.
Don't know how I never saw it. Been to Ocotillo a bunch of times right nearby.Yeah it’s a pretty popular spot.
Here it is on google maps to give you an idea where it’s at…there’s a navy bombing range nearby also
Superstition Mountain
maps.app.goo.gl
Don't know how I never saw it. Been to Ocotillo a bunch of times right nearby.
That’s an older picture, any idea what year? JATO bottles have been gone more than ten years and Fat Albert transitioned to a J-Model a few years back. Cool picture though.I found my pictures, turns out theyre on film. I guess this will have to do till I get some time to do some scanning..
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From the hip? 2002? I need to get it scanned. The plane isn't dark, you can see all the details. I haven't had a laptop since our last burglary. My tablet and phone do everything I really want, except photo storage and sharing between devices.That’s an older picture, any idea what year? JATO bottles have been gone more than ten years and Fat Albert transitioned to a J-Model a few years back. Cool picture though.
I worked right there for about two years. Landfill Remedition. Site is right up against the air strip.We frequently camped and off-roaded at Superstition Mountain outside of San Diego. The Blue Angels would often practice in this area…it was awesome.
I swear those guys turned it up a notch when they realized they had an audience of dozens or more off-readers.