Santa Maria Thunder Over the Valley
Arrival Day
Friday, August 25, 2006

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The Santa Maria Airport and the Santa Maria Museum of Flight hosted the annual Thunder Over the Valley show over the weekend of August 25 - 26. A highlight of the show was the presence of the Seattle Museum of Flight's Douglas DC-2, which had just been painted in TWA livery by Art Craft. In addition to a variety of warbirds and trainers, there were several military helicopters and McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18 Hornets from the U.S. Marine Corps and the Canadian Air Force.

Many airplanes and helicopters arrived at the Santa Maria Airport on Friday, August 25.

Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion, BuNo 162004, 131 of HMH-462 based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

Boeing-Vertol CH-46F Sea Knight, BuNo 155310, 407 of HMM-764 based at Edwards Air Force Base.

Cessna 305, N342FS is restored as a U. S. Army L-19 Bird Dog.

Aero Vodochody L39C Albatross, NX54XX took off twice, accompanied by a Bell 206B JetRanger photo chase each time. It was built in 1983. Its construction number is 332511.

North American T-28B Trojan, N306WW was built in 1955. It served the U.S. Navy as BuNo 138306.

Convair C-131D Samaritan N131CW of the Southern California Wing of the Commemorative Air Force. It served the U.S. Air Force as 54-2809.

North American SNJ-5 Texan, N1038A War Dog was built in 1944. Its U.S. Navy Bureau Number was 90917 and it still wears that number on its tail. It has been a familiar sight on the airshow circuit for many years. It is owned and piloted by John Collver.

U.S. Marine Corps McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18C Hornets, BuNo 164639 and BuNo 164879, 365 and 375 of VFA-125 Rough Raiders, based at Naval Air Station Lemoore.

F/A-18C Hornets, BuNo 164639 and BuNo 164879 of VFA-125.

F/A-18C Hornet BuNo 164639, 365 of VFA-125.

F/A-18C Hornet BuNo 164879, 375 of VFA-125.

North American AT-6D Texan, N3326G was built in 1943.

English Air Bell 206B JetRanger, N59541 carries a cameraman to document the take off of L39C Albatross, NX54XX.

Bell 206B JetRanger, N59541 was built in 1974. Its construction number is 1412.

Grumman C-2A Grayhound, BuNo 162172, 22 of VRC-30 Providers Detachment 1 based at Naval Air Station North Island. It deploys on the USS Ronald Reagan.

Hawker Sea Fury FB Mk II, N260X has been a regular participant in Southern California airshows for over a quarter of a century. It still has a Bristol Centaurus engine with a five-bladed propeller. It was delivered to the Royal Australian Navy as WH587 on March 7, 1952. It was retired on September 3, 1963. G. Grieg of Sydney bought it in 1963 and sold it to Lord Tefgarne of Sydney in 1964. Grant Weaver of San Jose, California gave it its current registration in May 1965 and flew it as Race #33. Stan Booker of Fresno, California bought it in 1967 and sold it to James R. Fugate of Aurora, Oregon in 1969. Sherman Cooper of Merced, California bought it in 1971 and sold it to Westernair of Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1972. Ellsworth Getchell and Gretchell Aircraft Incorporated of San Jose, California acquired it on July 7, 1975.

North American AT-6C Texan, N7055H carries construction number 88-12150.

North American SNJ-6 Texan, N349JB is restored as U. S. Air Force T-6G, 49-3319.

L39C Albatross, NX54XX.

Stearman A75N-1 Kaydet (PT-17), N4777V was built in 1943. Its construction number is 75-5733.

U.S. Army Bell UH-1H Huey, 73-21702 serves as a threat simulator at Fort Irwin in the Mojave Desert.

U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60A Blackhawk, 89-26127.

Douglas DC-2-118B, NC1934D was recently painted by Art Craft at the Santa Maria Airport. Its Douglas construction number is 1368. It was delivered to Pan American Airways as NC14296 on March 16, 1935. It was later operated in Mexico as VA-BJL and in Guatemala as LG-ACA and TG-ACA. It returned to the United States civil registry as N4867V. It is now in the collection of the Seattle Museum of Flight.

DC-2-118B, NC1934D.

F/A-18C Hornet BuNo 164639, 365 of VFA-125.

Sikorsky MH-60S Seahawk, BuNo 155753, 02 of HSC-3 Merlins based at Naval Air Station North Island.

North American T-28A Trojan, N81643 served the Air Force as 49-1643. Its construction number is 159-155. Norman B. Dennis Jr. of Brookneal, California registered it as N9674C in 1966. Robert Eggmann of Belleville, Illinois registered it as N28RE in 1978. Edward A. Buerckholtz of Chesterfield, Missouri registered it as N81643 in 1985. It has been registered to Round Power Limited of Reno, Nevada since March 4, 2004. Its owner, Gregg Weitzman, recently had it restored in the colors of a T-28A that was flown by the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in the 1950s. It is based at the Santa Barbara Airport.

Cessna 120, N77376 was built in 1946. Its construction number is 11817.

Cessna 140, N76415 was built in 1946. Its construction number is 10841.

Beech A45 (T-34A) Mentor, N44MT.

Hunting Percival Jet Provost Mk 5A, N4XW was built in 1971.

General Motors FM-2 Wildcat, N5833 and Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat, N1078Z Minsi III.

General Motors FM-2 Wildcat, N5833 has been restored in the colors of a Royal Navy Martlett. It originally carried U.S. Navy BuNo 86819. Its General Motor construction number is 5877. It crashed in 1955 while flying as a sprayer for Butler Aviation of Redmond, Oregon. The rebuild project took many years and the airframe passed therough the hands of several owners. It received its current registration in August 1983. It was returned to the air on April 24, 1987 by Air Group One at Ramona, California. It spent a short while in the hands of Military Aircraft Restoration Corporation at Chino. It is now registered to the American Airpower Heritage Flying Museum and based with the Southern California Wing of the Commemorative Air Force at Camarillo.

Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat, N1078Z Minsi III. Its construction number is A-5634. John Sandberg recovered it from the Fergus Falls Airport in Minnesota in 1962. It was subsequently owned by Lloyd Nolan from 1972 to 1973 and Ed Messick from April 9, 1973 to 1990. The Confederate Air Force acquired it in 1990. It has been registered to the American Airpower Heritage Flying Museum since 1991. It is part of the collection of the Southern California Wing of the Commemorative Air Force and is based at Camarillo.