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Demonstration Teams and Pilots for 2016

(Additional demonstration teams may be added as confirmed)



de Havilland
Vampire

Navy
F-18 Super
Hornet

Canadian
CF-18

Army
Golden
Knights

Canadian
SkyHawks

T-28
Trojans

BT-13
Vultee

T-6
Texan

WWI
Dawn Patrol

WWI
JN-4
Jenny

ROTC
Drill Team

 

de Havilland D.H. 100 Vampire
Hosted by Columbia College
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WWII de Havilland Vampire Jet Areobatic Demo is Flying with us for the first time anywhere!  The de Havilland D.H. 100 was a single engine fighter aircraft by the British manufacturer de Havilland Aircraft Company. It became combat ready at the end of World War II. It was the first jet aircraft in British service to be powered by a single turbojet engine. First Flown in 1943 it was the 1st Single Engine Jet Fighter, 1st Jet Fighter to Land on an Aircraft Carrier and 1st Jet to Cross the Atlantic. This rare bird will perform aerobatic maneuvers with smoke.     Max weight: 12,390lbs. Maximum speed: 548 mph.

 

U.S. Navy VFA-122 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet TACDEMO Team
Hosted by Stephen Ditman, PricewaterhouseCoopers
2015 Salute Photos      visit their website      Top of Page

The USN Super Hornet TACDEMO is from NAS Lemoore, California. VFA-122, which is known as the “The Flying Eagles”, will perform a combination of high and low speed maneuvering, rapid rolls, performance climbs and descents that are sure to entertain the audiences. VFA-122 trained aircrews have flown combat missions in support of both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Max takeoff weight: 66,000 lb. Max speed: 1,190 mph (Mach 1.8). 

 

Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 Demo Team
Hosted by Miller's Professional Imaging Foundation
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The Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 Demonstration Team will return to Salute with Captain Ryan Kean and his specially painted CF-18 Hornet commemorating the 75th anniversary of the pan-Canadian effort to train aircrew for the Second World, including pilots, wireless operators, air gunners, and navigators through the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Max takeoff weight: 51,550 lbs.  Max speed: 1,127 mph (Mach 1.8).

 

U.S. Army Parachute Team "Golden Knights"
Hosted by Gwen VanDerhoef to honor her husband, Bill VanDerhoef (US Army Ret.)
and his USMC brother for their service to our Country and in special memory of their late
father, William VanDerhoef, a highly decorated US Army Soldier in WWII
2015 Salute Photos      visit their website       Facebook2.gif (2380 bytes)      Top of Page

The United States Army Parachute Team, nicknamed the "Golden Knights", is a demonstration and competition parachute team of the United States Army. These demonstration and competition parachutists are drawn from US Army Paratroopers who have demonstrated excellence in their parachuting skills.   This team is part of the United States Army Accessions Command's Accessions Support Brigade, Headquartered at Ft. Knox, KY. The parachute team is garrisoned at Ft. Bragg, NC.

 

Canadian Armed Forces Parachute Team "SkyHawks"
Hosted by Miller's Professional Imaging Foundation
2012 Salute Photos      visit their website       Facebook2.gif (2380 bytes)      Top of Page

The Canadian Armed Forces Parachute Team, The SkyHawks, returns to Salute.  For over 40 years they have represented Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces to over 75 million spectators worldwide under their signature Canadian flag parachutes. Bringing their parachutes in close proximity to build formations in the sky, the team puts on a spectacular show. Performing these aerobatic parachute formations requires a high level of skill and courage; and is known as Canopy Relative Work. Supported by the Canadian Army, the SkyHawks are based out of Trenton, Ontario, at the Canadian Army Advanced Warfare Centre.

 

T-28 Aerobatic Demonstration Team “Trojan Phlyers”
Hosted by Missouri Employers Mutual Insurance Company
2012 Salute Photos      visit their website       Facebook2.gif (2380 bytes)      Top of Page

Trojan Phlyers brings us two North American T28B Trojan aircraft to perform formation and solo aerobatics to salute our veterans and the men and women who continue to serve and protect. These aviation professionals are also dedicated to preserving the rich history of the North American Aviation Company’s T28 Trojan. Trojan Phlyers come to us from Mid-Way Regional (KJWY), just south of downtown Dallas and southeast of downtown Fort Worth, TX. Max weight: 8,500lbs. Max speed: 343mph. Power: 1,425 hp.

 

WWII BT-13 Vultee “Valiant Echoes”   (1942)
Hosted by Marberry & Eagle CPA's and Kasmann Insurance Agency
2015 Salute Photos      visit their website      Facebook2.gif (2380 bytes)       Top of Page

It is the only WWII BT-Vultee flying acrobatically! During the 22-minute demonstration you will be transported back to 1942 and experience an Aviation Cadet on his first basic training instruction flight, and then thrill to an elegant and graceful demonstration performed with smoke and a 1940’s musical background. The sound and sight of the BT-13 is like no other aircraft and Valiant Echoes is committed to keeping this very important part of our aviation heritage alive for future generations. Freedom is not free. We must carry on the memories of those that went before to inspire those that will follow. This BT-13 is flown by Michael Kennedy based in Lebanon TN. Michael flew 400 combat missions in Southeast Asia during three combat tours from 1968-1972 in the F-4 and was awarded more than 30 combat decorations. He flew other Air Force jets and his last fighter was the A-10 Warthog. Max weight: 4,496lbs. Max speed: 180mph. Power: 450hp.

 

T-6 "Radial Velocity" Reno Racing Plane
Hosted by Ron Shy and Dave Weber, Allstate Consultants
2014 Salute Photos       Facebook2.gif (2380 bytes)      Top of Page

"Radial Velocity" is a WWII T-6 trainer that has raced the past five years in the fastest motor sport on earth - The Reno Air Races. Owned and flown by John Lohmar of St. Louis, MO, based at Creve Coeur Airport, Radial Velocity missed 2nd place by only 1 second in the 2013 Reno Races.  The North American T-6 Texan was a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1950s. The T-6 is known by a variety of designations depending on the model and operating air force. The USAAC designated it as the AT-6, the United States Navy the SNJ, and British Commonwealth air forces, the Harvard, the name it is best known by outside of the United States. It remains a popular warbird aircraft.
Wingspan: 42 ft.  Loaded weight: 5,617 lb. Max speed: 222 mph.

 

The Dawn Patrol WWI Replicas
Hosted by Dr. Lowell Miller Kansas City, Mo
2015 Salute Photos      visit their website      Facebook2.gif (2380 bytes)       Top of Page

The Famous WWI "Flying Circus" of the Kansas City Dawn Patrol returns for their 24th year.  They will be flying and displaying a dozen planes in their menagerie, including one that was used in filming the Movie "Amelia".

 

1917 Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny"
Hosted by Mark & Brenda Pierce, Bill VanDerhoef and Gene Sandner
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Salute To Veterans is proud to host the "Jenny" again.  Officials at the Columbia Regional Airport are even cutting a special 1,000-ft-by-50-ft grass strip on which it can land.  This JN-4 Jenny is based in Bowling Green, KY and was built by filmmaker Dorian Walker who obtained the design specs for an original 1917 airplane.  It is operated by Friends of Jenny (FOJ), a non-profit organization formed to educate the public about the first mass-produced airplane.  Besides being used a as WWI flight trainer, the Jenny carried the first regularly-scheduled air mail.  In fact, this FOJ plane bears the same tail number (38262) as the plane that carried the first U.S. Mail from Washington, D.C. to New York on May 15, 1918.  FOJ consists of an all-volunteer group of aviators and aviation aficionados who work diligently to maintain and fly this unique aircraft to bring to life the educational significance of the Curtiss JN-4 Jenny biplane.

 

University of Missouri Joint Service ROTC Drill Team
Hosted by PRIMARIS, Rick Royer CEO
2015 Salute Photos      visit their website      Top of Page

They are the ONLY Tri-Service Drill Team with Army, Navy and Air Force cadets and midshipmen as members. They will be performing their amazing and incredibly intricate routines both days of the Airshow during the Salute to the Nation Ceremony at Show Central!