Reading WWII Weekend Featuring a Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe

Coming up in three weeks.

It's not an original one but it's built to original specs with exception of the engines which are modern.

Link here: The Mid Atlantic Air Museum

I've heard rumors that the wings will be on the P-61 Black Widow but I'm not holding my breath on that one. Photos aren't showing them yet. B-29 Doc will be there again. B-17's must still be grounded.

I highly recommend this show. I go most years. Hundreds of reinactors, lots of military vehicles. If you have an arm and a leg to give up you can ride in the planes. My chance at that passed years ago.

They still have a few WWII vets coming, they are getting fewer in number every year. No well known vets for the past couple of years.

They have a flea market which isn't bad but they know what they have and bargains are few and far between. I tend to come home with a lot of books and the occasional bayonet or munition.

Wish I could.

Marvelous. Our local Me262 just emerged from an upkeep that had it in thew shop for several months. They were prepping it to visit Air Ventures. It is also a reproduction built off the original plans and powered with Lear Jet engines. Due to metallurgy problems, the original engines only lasted ten hours of flying! They could be rebuilt, but each rebuild yielded a shorter lifespan than the last and they were toast and discarded after thirty hours due to expected compressor fan failure.

You can get an intimate recollection from the book, A Higher Call. My grandfather-in-law, who drove a Stutz Bearcat back in the day, used to talk of "driving out ahead of your headlights.," ie., driving so fast that you couldn't see well enough to react in the pre-sealed-beam headlight days. The Germans were doing this with technology in several of their aircraft designs including the Me262.

Bob

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Originally Posted by Bob Womack

My grandfather-in-law, who drove a Stutz Bearcat back in the day, used to talk of "driving out ahead of your headlights.," ie., driving so fast that you couldn't see well enough to react in the pre-sealed-beam headlight days.

Bob

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It's amazing how large a segment of the population seems to lack this instinct or understanding, whichever it which it is, and whatever the visibility conditions are.

Aragorn, have you ever been to D Day Conneut in Ohio? One of my brothers lives near Erie and raves about how good it is, from landing in a Higgins Boat to a drop from the C47 Placid Lassey, artillery and tank duels he says it's the best WWII reenactment he's seen.

Schedule

I have not. Reading is half an hour from my house. Other than it, I've only been to a few smaller local ones. The big draw about Reading is the aircraft.

The Higgens boat landing sounds pretty good.

I must say I'm impressed that everything is free. Reading has gotten to the point that I'm skipping because of the price. You can sit outside the grounds and watch the planes so I just do that some years. But then they get an airplane in that is rare and I end up going in anyway.

I've been searching the local pages re the air show in Reading, but nothing................. It doesn't even have an airport! YOUR State-side Reading must be the one we named OUR Berkshire county town after!

Was hoping to meet Aragorm, the bayonet maestro there to discuss a yet another variant of the longer Indian L1A1 bayonet. But, alas, YOUR Reading is a bit too far

Have a great day out though!

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Originally Posted by Peter Laidler

I've been searching the local pages re the air show in Reading, but nothing................. It doesn't even have an airport! YOUR State-side Reading must be the one we named OUR Berkshire county town after!

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Not anymore it doesn't but it sort of did once upon a time......nearby Woodley Airfield was classed as Reading Aerodrome back in the day, and infamous for the place that Douglas Bader crashed his Bulldog while showing off, which resulted in him loosing his legs. Now a housing estate of course, like so many others.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...d2FOIP_N-1.jpg

Heading to the show this morning. Cloudy with some blue sky. Rain expected late in the day. Temps in 70’s and muggy. Talked daughter into going along. She as usual isn’t ready yet. Did not see a single plane flying around yesterday which is unusual. The big bombers giving rides are usually around the house. Doc is the only one here this year.

I'm set to go to the "Flying Proms" next Saturday. It is held at the Military Aviation Museum and involves planes flying demonstrations while the Virginia Symphony plays themes from aviation movies. It starts at five in the afternoon. When dusk falls, the orchestra transitions into patriotic themes and eventually a fireworks display is shot off at around 9:30 at night. The ME262 is based at another, asphalt field while the museum has two crossed grass strips. I have no idea whether it will do a flyby during the show. I'm hoping to see the BF109 fly.

Bob