Santa Maria Thunder Over the Valley
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Flying Displays

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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.

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.

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

T-28A Trojan N81643.

T-28B, N306WW.

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.

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

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.