Confederates in the Air Center

The Confederate Air Force had their WWII expo this weekend.



I didn't think I'd get to take the girls to it. It's their weekend to be with Mom, and I had to work freelance, and that's the way the cookie crumbles, right?

Except it wasn't.



Normally I'd get to do dinner Thursday if I'm not going to have them the weekend. But Thursday, Em was staying the night at Grandma's on a cousin sleepover bender.

So we had Thursday dinner on Saturday. Still, there was the air show we were missing.



Fortunately, the artist formerly known as Frau Lobster let me borrow an hour this morning.

I think this is the first air show I've ever been to where it wasn't 105º in the shade. Of course, at an airfield, there is no shade, so generally, vintage aircraft equals 120º temperatures if you're lucky.



It was maybe 80º when we got to the show. And not a metric 80º like you'd expect.

The size of things amazes me. Tires half the height of a guy should not be on something you want to fly in. And past 60 years of age, these planes are suffering physical symptoms worse than the few veterans who remember flying them new. Witness the oil slick on and around the tire of the B-29.



You could, if so inclined and adequately funded, take a ride in these pups. A twenty minute joy ride ran from $80 for a wimpy Cessna that differs only cosmetically from the one your dentist flies to $400 for a ride in a real Japanese Zero.



I could fly most of the way to Japan for the price of a ride in that Zero.

Still, if I had the bread, I'd have signed up. Even more if they'd had my favorite plane of that era, the F4U Corsair. The gull wings get me. Or maybe it's because I remember the TV series glamorizing Pappy Boyington, I don't know.



But Mo is one menacing tailgunner, I know that.

Plus, both girls liked standing in the bomb bay. It seems so small, compared to the hug plane itself. Doesn't seem like it would carry enough mayhem to be worth fighting in.



We got popsicles from the shaved ice van, and then Mo tried to break away from me to play a drum set that was there for a band getting ready to play. I thought she'd peel her hand off to get away from me.