Geneseo is a wonderful place for an airshow and the National Warplane Museum does it up right. Located in upstate New York, about 30 minutes south of Lake Ontario and the city of Rochester, Geneseo is a quaint little town that comes alive airshow weekend in conjunction with another event in the town, the Annual Summer Festival. Between the 2 events, Geneseo is the place to be but for aviation enthusiasts, the only thing happening is the airshow!

Things at Geneseo tend to heat up on the Friday when many of the aircraft begin to arrive. As there is no cost to visit on the Friday, many people bring their chairs and a cooler and begin to line the edge of the runway to watch the for aircraft coming in for the show. This is a great opportunity to see many aircraft without hundreds of people walking in front of your photo, talking loudly when you just want to hear the noise of the airplane or if you want to meet the pilots and crews.

Of the aircraft that flew in to Geneseo for the airshow and either performed or were just static, probably the most popular was the stunningly beautiful de Havilland Mosquito. This wooden wonder, as it was called, is a two-man crew aircraft and was one of the most versatile aircraft of World War II and, as the nickname suggests, was almost entirely built out of wood. Though originally designed as a bomber, the "Mossie" was also adapted for roles as a pathfinder, day and/or night fighter, fighter-bomber, tactical bomber, intruder, photo-recon, intruder and a maritime strike aircraft. There really wasn't a role in which the Mosquito wasn't capable of or didn't perform during the war. Mosquito Ka114 is owned and operated by the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, VA.

Another very popular aircraft was the twin-boom Lockheed P-38 Lightning. The lightning was a single seat twin-engine aircraft, referred to as the "fork-tailed devil" by Luftwaffe pilots and was used in multiple roles which included ground attack, dive bomber, night fighter, photo recon and level bomber but also more than capable of flying as a fighter aircraft. Though it flew in the European Theatre of War, it was most successful against the Japanese in the Pacific Theatre. This P-38, known as "Ruff Stuff," is owned and operated by Fagen Fighters WWII Museum located in Granite Falls, MN.

Returning to Geneseo once again was the Goodyear FG-1D Corsair "Sky Boss." The Corsair was designed by Vought-Sikorsky Aircraft however, the company couldn't keep up with production so the Corsair was also produced by Goodyear and Brewster Aircraft. It was originally designed as a carrier based aircraft but, as it was a difficult aircraft to land on carriers, it became a land based aircraft where it performed very successfully. Powered by the P&W R-2800, the Corsair had a maximum speed of 417mph and a service ceiling of just under 37,000 feet. Sky Boss is owned and operated by the American Airpower Museum in Farmingdale, NY.

Rob Holland also returned to the National Warplane Museum airshow and outdid himself with a fantastic performance in his fully aerobatic MX-2 aircraft. Rob always puts on a great show and puts his aircraft through a series of high-G aerobatics that tests both his and the airplane's limits. There is no doubt that Rob loves doing what he does in the MX-2 and he shows it every time he flies. Originally based on the design of the Giles G-202, the MX-2 can handle a G-load of +/-12 and with a Lycoming IO-540 slung on the nose it has a top speed of 253mph.

Always a popular aircraft at airshows is the stunning P-51D Mustang "Quick Silver." This beautiful example of the P-51 was built with from over 200 Mustang parts and projects with all necessary metal work being done by Bill Yoak. The love, care and attention to detail is obvious in every aspect of this Mustang, which has to be one of the finest examples of its type still flying today. The pilot, Scott Yoak, flies Quick Silver in a fabulous aerial display, winding the Rolls Royce Merlin up in high speed passes, rolls, loops and more. Quick Silver is a spectacular tribute to the aircraft and those who flew her, as well as to all veterans of the American Military. The aircraft was lovingly rebuilt and restored with great care and attention to detail that is likely unsurpassed in any other P-51 restoration anywhere.

Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum from Hamilton, Ontario brought their uniquely painted National Steel & Car (Westland) Lysander built in Malton, Ontario. The aircraft was originally designed as an Army Cooperation aircraft for Britain during the mid 1930s but, at the outbreak of war, flew as a support aircraft with the British Army in France. Due to high losses, the aircraft was removed from the front lines and then operated as a support aircraft for the Resistance, flying in agents to France and picking up POW escapees and returning them to Britain. Most Canadian built Lizzies, as they were affectionately known, were transferred from the RCAF to the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) and were used as target tugs at the gunnery training schools which the CWH aircraft represents today.

Also attending the airshow from the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum was their Douglas (DC-3) Dakota, "Canucks Unlimited." The Dak was a very versatile aircraft, beginning its life as a passenger aircraft but adapted during World War II and utilized as a troop transport, used for dropping both troops and supplies, evacuating the wounded and even as a glider towing aircraft. The RCAF flew roughly 170 Daks that were operated by four transport and several ferry squadrons. The Canadian Forces flew the Dak until 1989. The museum's example is painted in the livery of RCAF 435 & 436 Squadrons operating out of Burma in 1944 & 1945. The squadrons slogan was "Canucks Unlimited" which is visible on the fuselage of the aircraft. It is one of the highest time DC-3s still currently flying with over 82,000 hours!

This week we had a look at some of the aircraft that attended the 2014 National Warplane Museum's Geneseo Airshow. Next week we'll be back at Geneseo to see what else attended the show.

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