AGAZINE - Midwest Flyer

free air-transportation to wounded
veterans and their families (www.
veteransairlift.org).
For “something completely
different,” Dan Buchanan flew
his hang-glider aerobatic routine.
Buchanan is towed aloft by a pickup
truck on the runway, and performs
an amazing set of aerial maneuvers
starting while still attached to the
towline, and continuing after being
released. His hang-glider is festooned
with streamers, smoke generators,
and an American flag. He ends his act
landing on the grass right in front of
the crowd.
Rounding out the civilian side of
the show were three privately owned
jets. Fowler “Big Dog” Cary brought
his beautiful T-33 “Shooting Star”
painted in the colors of the U.S. Air
Force Thunderbirds. Paul Keppler and
Carl Schwerman also brought their
T-33s and flew a formation routine.
In addition to the flying acts, there
were many airplanes on static display.
Two DC-3s were parked on the ramp,
along with a Canadian Air Force
CT-156 Harvard II trainer, and many
other aircraft. One special visitor
was Joe Shepherd’s beautiful 1936
Lockheed 12A “Electra Junior” (Dec
2009/Jan 2010, MidwestFlyer.com).
This aircraft was used in the 2009
film “Amelia” starring Hilary Swank
and Richard Gere. Working with
the plane’s history, the show had an
“Amelia Earhart look-alike contest”
Saturday morning.
And, somewhere in between
flying and the static display, was
Steve and Joan Hay’s Ornithopter.
An ornithopter is a machine that flys
by flapping wings, like a bird – or
in Steve and Joan’s case, “tries to
fly” is a more apt description. Steve
is better known for his meticulous
reproduction of early airplane engines
(“early,” as in the 1903 Wright Flyer).
He indulged his whimsical side
by creating the stone-age looking
ornithopter, complete with a wingwalking
stand for Joan. You may have
seen them putting around the grounds
at EAA AirVenture-Oshkosh, or you
Steve and Joan Hay’s Ornithopter.
may have seen Steve, Joan, and their
contraption in a recent television cellphone
commercial.
In addition to all the fun, there
were a few somber moments. The
2010 show was dedicated in memory
of one of the founders of “Thunder
on the Lakeshore,” Bob Vanover, who
passed away in January. Around the
airport he was known only as “Crazy
Bob,” a nickname earned when he
announced before the first air show
that he was going to call the Pentagon
to get a jet demonstration team. The
response was, “You’re crazy, Bob,”
and it stuck. His persistence paid
off and the show got its first, then
its second, and then its third singleship
jet demonstration team, helping
to establish the show. In honor of
Bob, the “Trojan Horsemen” flew
a missing-man formation during
Saturday’s show.
The success of the show was
doubly important this year. Poor
weather for a number of years had
expended the “rainy day fund” and
the show’s board of directors set a
minimum fund-raising level before
they would allow planning to proceed.
Luckily, long-time sponsors
stepped up. Chairman Curt Drumm
reports that everybody he approached
said they couldn’t imagine not having
the show. That kind of support is
really the best indication of how much
the event matters to people, and it
starts at the grassroots, too.
Last year, even with a morning
temperature of 50 degrees, overcast,
and winds gusting to 20 knots, there
was still a crowd of fans hunkereddown
on the flightline under
blankets, waiting for the show to
start. “Thunder” also has a strong
relationship with performers. Many of
them are “regulars,” and quite a few
have been performing at Manitowoc
since the inception of the show 18
years ago. That connection was
evidenced this year, as many of the
performers held the date open on their
calendars, even when it was not clear
the show would even happen.
Hopefully the weather this year
was the start of a series of greatweather
shows in the coming years. In
any case, I know where I will be the
first weekend in June next year! q
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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2010 MIDWEST FLYER MAGAZINE 35