Thunder over the Heartland Airshow Topeka 2024

We had such a good time at the St Joe airshow I managed to cajole the rest of the family to go to the airshow in Topeka. So a quick photo blog. First stop, McDonalds breakfast on the turnpike.


Compared to the St Joe airshow traffic was not an issue at all and we got in quite quickly. Big difference, that one was free of charge, courtesy the Air National Guard...this one is paid. With plenty of ANG present for sure, though. At least two active duty flying gas stations were here:


A couple Blackhawks...


And we sat our chairs up right in front of the Thunderbirds.


It was still a while before the flying would get underway but they were running the engines on the AC-47.


Pete and I took a walk...wind was something for sure:


I believe this was a French Max Holste MH.1521 Broussard.


A-10 Thunderbolt...


Walkthrough of a Chinook.


Several non-flyers on static display, I believe from the local (to the airport) Combat Air Museum, which we have frequented in the past.


Beechcraft RU-8D Seminole.


F-84 Thunderstreak.


Czech MiG-21.


F-11 Tiger that performed with the Blue Angels in the 1968 season.


Grumman F-9 Panther. Most all of these are from the Combat Air Museum, as I said.


Inside the main cabin of the KC-135.


Peter climbing into the (very much still active...this plane would be flying out later that day) cockpit. Don't...touch...anything


Army folks had an MRAP to show off.


As well as the Blackhawks.


Pete getting a closer look.


MiG-15bis from the museum...


Passing the Chinook on our way back.


Debra and I went off to get food...a variety of unhealthy things including burnt ends, mac and cheese with bacon and jalapenos, and they got some sort of ludicrous sandwich. Ended up being too much food!


Gretchen and I wandered a bit some more, waiting for things to start. Back at the A-10, a closer look at the ordnance. This AIM-9 does not look like a simple mockup. It might be disarmed but it looks pretty real with those fins.


The targeting pod under one of the starboard pylons.


People were taking tours of the AC-47...


But we got there just when they had to close things down...to get her ready for flight. Miniguns (or more likely mockups) visible in the windows.


Cessna O-1 Birddog, complete with rocket pods.


Some sky writing artistry before everything got underway...






Then Rob Holland kicked off the actual airshow with some insane aerobatics. There was much of this...grimacing and grabbing my arm like a vice.


He definitely puts on a show.


Skipping over the Thunderbirds.


This was a 1930s era racer replica...much less aerobatic (but that was OK with us)


An aerobatic team of T-6 Texans.


Meanwhile kids had gotten shave ice...


A sailplane that the guy had strapped a jet engine too...at which point it kind of isn't a sailplane any more in my opinion. Like if you put an outboard engine on a rowboat, is it really a rowboat any more? Still, nice to see.


To quote Ralphie..."a crummy commercial?" Several fly-by passes with an old DC-3 and this company's business jets. Weird place to advertise, ain't none of us in the market for a private jet.


More aerobatics as the technical folks start coming out on the flight line to prep the F-16s.




Then, the unmistakeable Merlin roar of a P-51 Mustang. Probably the best looking (and one of the most capable) fighters of the war.


Aerobatic flight from a repeat performer from St. Joe, in a Twin Beech.


DC-3, C-47, and AC-47 flypast.


Thunder Water, you say. We brought a water bottle but couldn't find the (promised) filling station, so had to spring for this.


AC-47 this time in the air. Unfortunately pointing its bristlingly armed port side at us.


MiG-17 showing off its speed and maneuverability.


They definitely liked the Me-262 "Schwalbe" idea...very swallow like in appearance.


S-2 Tracker outfitted for firefighting, doing a water drop.


Gretchen meanwhile had made a very very tiny spider friend.


A Dassault/Dornier Alpha jet, that the British announcer guy (there was one...it was just like on Best in Show...alas the American was not like Fred Willard) seemed overly excited about.


Yep, then its time for the last act. Thunderbirds getting ready.


I took a bunch of short videos and for ease of ...my processing time, I put them all in one video. They put on quite a show, but you NEED hearing protection, this does not convey how loud things were. But it was fantastic!

Sound of Speed Airshow in St Joseph

Last weekend the young lad and I drove up to Rosecrans Memorial Airport in St Joseph for an airshow, put on partly by the Missouri Air National Guard. Gretchen had a marching band thing, so the girls were mercifully exempted (this time!!). I was on the fence about blogging it, but there were some cool pics and videos, and let's face it, I'm only doing this so -I- remember it.

Lots of traffic getting into the airport area (only one entrance).


We opted for the free parking, which meant, a recently harvested corn field and a hike.


Instead of waiting in line for the golf cart ferries driven by young airmen, we opted to walk...it was about a mile in total.


Then onto a bus. Young Mennonite couple in front of us on the bus and in line were talking in quiet...German, or maybe low-German dialect. There's a certain irony...not that I'm annoyed by it, but I'm a little surprised that 1.) you're allowed to just hop on a bus and 2.) you are here for a military airshow, which seems to exemplify the opposite of Mennonite principles of non-violence and eschewing of technology. But hey, all those groups draw different lines, so no worries.


In another line to get in...a P40 Warhawk! We'd see it later.


We eventually got in around noon (90 minutes after getting to the airport area!). Thunderbirds waiting in a line at the front.


Army National Guard doing their recruiting over here, showing off a M777 155mm howitzer. Also Tesla was here for some silly reason.


We ended up staying over here on the right side...past the DC-3 and before the B-29.


Chik-Fil-A for lunch, which surprisingly was one of the more affordable options even compared to the unbranded food court offerings.


The flyable B-29 "Doc", giving tours...you could buy a ride on it for 5pm that night for several hundred bucks.


And there's the aforementioned P-40 Warhawk on a low pass...


"Dropping" some bombs on another pass.


I think they purposefully made this smoke ring with the pyrotechnic effects specifically for them to fly through.


Then standing in line to tour "Doc". Nice mirror finish on the fuselage.


P-40 Warhawk passing by...turns out, it is Congressman Sam Graves in the pilot seat. Kind of weird, but I'll give him this, it's a better extracurricural pursuit or hobby than Matt Gaetz tends to go after.


Some fake bombs in the bomb bay.


View of the cockpit. This is a flying B-29 (like I said, it would be flying today) so the idea that some tourist might accidentally flip a switch or otherwise damage something important would make me nervous, personally.


The pressurized tube that you could crawl down to reach the rear crew compartment.


Beautiful timing as we just got out of the B-29 and back to our seats when this unexpected visitor arrived:


One of the most birdlike planes ever.


I didn't quite capture it, but at one point the sun broke through the clouds briefly and lit up the top of the B-2 beautifully.


The C-130s were the "host" planes, being based out of here with the MO ANG. Doing a tactical drop demonstration here.


The Texan gave a lot of aerobatics demonstrations. Here's a simple fly past.


I'm not exactly sure why the C-130s are shown with huge pyrotechnics, but it was fun nonetheless.


Then they landed and did their victory lap.


Folks waving to the airmen as they taxied past.


The Pseudo-Zeroes of the Tora Tora Tora show quietly taxied for takeoff while the Twin Beech in the background put on a show.


Beechcraft Model 18 zipping by.


Then the Tora Tora Tora show...Commemorative Air Force with replica Japanese planes.


It looks frenetic and prone to accident, with all of the planes diving one after the other in what seems like a random fashion, but I'm sure its all very carefully choreographed.


Then when the show wrapped up, they fly past in formation...


...and then, WALL OF FIRE


Bit of a mushroom cloud left over after that.


Sam Graves again, having participated as the scrambled defender of O'ahu.


Then me and Pete did a walkabout. If I had a Cessna I would want this paint job, absolutely.


The "Top Gun Experience" is kind of silly, you pay to sit in the cockpit. OK, it isn't that silly. They had a Hornet but I was also pleased to know that I could identify this one...an F-5...which I am teaching myself in DCS. I can power it up, start the engines, take off (barely) and fly for a bit til I somehow get my wings ripped off, and eject. A real fighter ace, I am.


The headliners, who will go on in a bit.


We were hot/tired and so opted not to get in line to trudge through the C-130.


KC-135 flying gas station.


A Blackhawk, maybe flown in from Fort Riley.


A-10 Warthog. I inspected the ordnance which obviously could not be live...there was an AGM Maverick type missile that was marked as inert, and the Sidewinder was pretty obviously not a real missile.


C-17 Globemaster.


The Tora Tora Tora planes...which honestly look great, a lot like Zeroes...I assume they may be made from old T6 Texans?


Mocked up Kate torpedo bomber.


It will surprise no one that the vibe was decidedly Trumpy!


Got the lad a frozen lemonade. For 12 bucks, alas....but such treats were promised!


"Dakota Kid", a P-51D Mustang.


Oh yes, forgot to mention...JET TRUCK


The 51 is one of the prettier birds of WWII. Well...maybe the Spitfire is the prettiest but this one is the prettiest one that stayed at the peak of competition til the end of the war.


Robinson ultra-light choppers were doing flights all day. I checked just to text Debra the price to be an annoying husband (we weren't going to do it). 50 bucks, not terrible.


After a "mass enlistment ceremony" (this was all very 'Mericuh) the Thunderbirds started to roll.


It was very kickass. So I just took all the videos and lumped em together here.


Doing a diamond flypast.


We actually left early because we rightly knew what a cluster the traffic would become.


Walking out, some of what we were seeing, while walking. We took out our earplugs for a second and that turned out to be a mistake as they roared past overhead.


The F-16 is a cool plane. I wonder if they'll ever replace it with the F-22, with its supermaneuverability.


It was a fun show...a mile of walking and we got back to the car in the corn field, and an hour plus of driving and we got home. Good times! And tacking this on from the day after...Apache, Blackhawk and Chinook out of Fort Riley doing a Chiefs flyover.