Cats, Clouds, and Ceremonies

The F7F Tigercat and F8F Bearcat of the Historic Flight Foundation flew in celebration of the Centennial of Naval Aviation.

Last Saturday was the 16th Annual General Aviation Day at Paine Field here in Everett and while the weather didn't continue with the blue sky streak it had earlier in the week, the fun and festivities continued on as planned with a few hiccups.

The flight operations began with a formation flight of eight Vans RV kit airplanes making a couple passes high over the airport in different configurations.

The Hawker Hurricane served with the British RAF during World War II.

Kicking off the flight demonstrations, the Flying Heritage Collection flew their Hawker Hurricane as planned with Bud Granley at the controls. However, their Curtiss P-40 Warhawk did not get airborne due to mechanical problems and was supposed to have their Fieseler FI 156 "Storch" WWII German scout aircraft but it too was grounded due to mechanical issues.

Following the Hurricane demo the Historic Flight Foundation took to the skies in their vintage Grumman F7F Tigercat "Bad Kitty" and F8F Bearcat "Wampus Cat" for formation and solo routines to celebrate the Centennial of Naval Aviation this year. Both the Tigercat and Bearcat shook the crowds gathered on either sides of the airport with their powerful radial engines thundering up and down the runway at low-levels and high speeds.

Once the Grumman cats had landed, it was time for the visiting Cascade Warbirds to occupy the pattern around the airport in a 6-ship wagon-wheel of individual and paired passes on the field. The flurry of aircraft and pilots included a trio of Ryan L-17 Navions, a Romanian IAR-823 trainer, and Bud's son Ross Granley in his Yakolev Yak-18 Russian trainer.

While warbirds made up the majority of the flight demonstrations, Boeing threw in a couple surprise passes by a factory-fresh 737 from Renton, a 747-LCF Dreamlifter on its way to pick up another piece of the 787 Dreamliner for the production line, and a large 777 running flight tests before delivery.

Not all the fun was in the air that day  thanks to a large static display outside the Flying Heritage Collection of different warbirds and a Boeing 747-LCF available to walk around and see up close the aircraft normally seen hundreds or thousands of feet overhead. Booths for Everett Community College's aerospace program and various other aircraft operators and organizations bordered the flight line with information about what opportunities all ages could have to become involved in the industry or recreation of flight.



Dusty and Donna Smiley pose in uniforms from WWII.



After 5 p.m. passed, the festivities moved from the Flying Heritage Collection to the Historic Flight Foundation across the airport where a second static display was setup. A large part of their collection was rolled out as well as a few visiting aircraft unseen before. A display of vintage cars and military vehicles were on display with personnel standing by in historic uniforms and garb.



Among those in uniform were Dusty and Donna Smiley were dressed in WWII service uniforms. The mother and son work along with the father Dale Smiley in restoring  military vehicles for the Puget Sound Military Vehicle Collectors Club. Dusty was dressed as a USMC infantryman while Donna wore the uniform of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, better known as WASP, in honor of the women that served in the Second World War and were unrecognized for their duties for over 30 years.



Though weather scrubbed the last bit of some flying acts that were scheduled, the Historic Flight Foundation went ahead with the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Supermarine Spitfire, a fighter known for its remarkable service with the Royal Air Force and notably during the bloody Battle of Britain. Barry Latter spoke briefly about the history of the collections Spitfire which served with four different militaries before landing in John Sessions' collection. It's most notable service was with the British 312 Squadron where escaped Czechoslovakian pilots flew the Spitfire against the Axis. His introduction featured information about Reginald Mitchell, the designer of the Spitfire.

Concluding the ceremony was a flight of the Spitfire alongside the collections North American P-51C Mustang "Impatient Virgin?" The hum of the legendary Packard and Rolls Royce Merlin engines in both aircraft provided a perfect conclusion to a otherwise near-perfect day for fans of aviation old and new alike.

Two of the most recognizable aircraft of WWII share the skies once again to finish General Aviation Day.

For more photos, please visit the gallery set up at AirshowStuff.com.