SAR 2006 - Gallery 2
   Dan Buchanan
   Otto, the Amazing Helicopter
   Aero L-39 Albatross
   Howard DGA-15

Dan Buchanan

1. Dan Buchanan is in a class by himself as an air show performer. No one else performs with a hang glider, keeps the craft within visual range every second of the performance and is such an inspiration to those who see his performance and are privileged to know him.	2. The dark object near the bottom of the picture is the towing bridle. Dan releases it when he's reached the desired altitude so he can begin his performance unattached to the tow line.	3.	4.
5.	6.	7. On Saturday, Dan landed in the grass near air show central.	8. On Sunday, he landed right in front of aircraft parked on the performer flight line.
9. Though he sppears to be close to the parked airplanes, Dan is a respectable distance away from them.	10. Dan begins his flare for a perfect four-point landing, the four points being his two feet which touch first and the two wheels attached to the main brace of the glider.	Dan Buchanan is another "class act" I am always happy to see. He may not make as much noise as a Thunderbird or Blue Angel, but when it comes to a friendly, cooperative, glad to be in Springfield kind of performer, they don't come any better than Dan Buchanan!

Otto the Amazing Helicopter

11. Otto arrived in Springfield late Thursday with a little help from Roger and Pauline Buis who feed him, fly him and tuck him in each night.	12. Note the USAF Thunderbird paint scheme on Otto's Schweizer 300 frame. Even helicopters can dream.	13. The "voice" of Otto is Pauline, pictured here with her long-haired canine companion Aileron. Pauline is an affable, knowledgeable air show announcer and the perfect "pepper" to Otto's & Roger's "salt."	14. Roger Buis is a handsome enough fellow with more hours in choppers and Cessna Citations than you can count without a computer. Somehow, the camera seems to favor Pauline and Otto, which Roger guides with consummate precision and aplomb when they take to the air.
15. At the conclusion of each performance, Otto tows a banner up and down the crowd line with a special message for fans of all ages.	16. Otto was flying from right to left as he appears to be; he was flying from left to right, and the letters on the banner were reversed. I flipped the picture horizontally to make the batter appear as it should.	17.  Only in a helicopter can you do this, flying facing the crowd while moving sideways.

Aero L-39 Albatross

18. Aero L-39 Albatross was the most used jet trainer of the Soviet Union and Soviet Bloc countries before the Iron Curtain fell.	19. This picture has been slightly retouched. Don Taft poses in the cockpit.	20. The US civil registry number is very low contrast. Don tells me the airplane is finished in the colors of the Royal Thai Air Force, but the colors are similar to those used on the Russian Sukhoi Su-27 twin-jet fighter.	21. The retractable entry step looks fragile
22. The L39 was moved from next to the KC-135 and F-14 to the static display area on an inactive runway.	23. Late Sunday afternoon, Don, with the help of some Air National Guard personnel, repositioned the airplane so Don could start the engine and taxi back to his hangar.	24. With the engine running at just a little more than idle setting, Don approaches the camera.	25. The airplane is equipped with fully functional ejection seats which are armed prior to flight. This is a procedure considered un-necessary when flying a Piper Cub, I'm told.

 
F-16D Fighting Falcon flown by
the 183d Fighter Wing, Springfield, Illinois

26. Lockheed-Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon.	27. This information was presented on the dorsal strake.	28.	29.
30.	31. This picture has been retouched.	32. This picture has been retouched.	33. A 183d pilot banks the F-16. Note the visible condensation from the vortex generated where the left wing joins the fuselage.

Howard DGA-15
The Howard DGA-15 was on display in the static general aviation area Saturday only.
The owner and aircraft are based in Matoon, and I regret I did not return to the airplane to talk to him about the airplane. It was the oldest flying machine at SAR 2006. Future SARs would benefit from early contact with owners of restored historic aircraft and from allocating a special place for these special airplanes to be displayed.

34. This Howard DGA-15 was flown to Springfield from its home base in Matoon, Illinois.	35. This picture has been slightly retouched. Note how much slimmer the fuselage appears.	36. This picture has been retouched.	37. This is an unretouched view of  the Howard.
38. The Howard logo on the vertical stab of the airplane pictured next. The shadow is from a bracing wire which runs from the vert stab to the horizontal stab.	39. This picture has been retouched to lessen the visual impact of the bracing wire shadow.	40. This picture has been extensively retouched.

Boeing (McDonnell-Douglas) T-45C Goshawk

41. Here's what anyone standing by the left wing of Jim Thornton's Cessna 182 would see when admiring the McDonnell-Douglas T-45C.	42. McDonnell-Douglas T-45C Goshawk. It's flown by the US Navy to teach pilots how to fly from aircraft carriers.	43. The BuNo helps identify this particular aircraft. Historians and maintenance crews care about this information.	44. The aircraft is assigned to the pilot whose name is painted on the canopy, but is often flown by other pilots.
45. T-45C nose landing gear close.	46. Looking back at the left main landing gear.	47. View of the inward facing side of the right main landing gear of the T-45C.

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