Truly a once in a lifetime experience, I was able to attend what was most likely the greatest airshow I will ever witness in person. The Gathering of Mustangs and Legends was held at Rickenbacker Field in Columbus, Ohio, at the end of September. My old roommate and friend Rob drove down from Michigan and we spent the entire weekend there, waking up well before dawn and staying until after the show ended both days.

P-51s idling on the taxiway, waiting to head off into the blue sky

Why was it so special? Well to put it simply, it was the largest gathering of P-51 Mustangs and other warbirds in history and is likely never to occur again on the planet. We met people from all over the world who had flown to the middle of Ohio to be a part of the experience - some of the P-51s on display had even flown over from Europe. Over 150,000 people attended in total. There were more than 80 - yes, over eighty! - P-51s in attendance along with P-40s, P-47s, B-17s, B-25s, P-38s, and other warbirds. There also were modern Air Force fighters including F-16, F-15, and F-22 demonstrations and the USAF Thunderbirds but the main focus of the event was the history. To see many of the Tuskegee Airmen in person and other veteran pilots of WWII and other conflicts and to be able to honor them was an opportunity that soon will no longer exist.

Looking over Slender Tender & Tall towards the control tower

Nearly every moment of the Gathering was memorable but there are certain things that stand out above the rest. There's nothing like walking to the gate each morning with the sun rising over the trees while four P-51s flying in close formation pass just overhead. Or breathing in the damp, crisp morning air and smelling aviation fuel and exhaust from those beautiful Merlin V-12 engines. Looking off into the distance and straining to see anything recognizable and suddenly spotting a giant formation of Mustangs spelling out "51" in the sky. Watching the F-22 Raptor demonstration two consecutive days and still being completely in awe of it doing things that airplanes just shouldn't be able to do. The numerous different heritage flights with P-51s and the F-16, F-15, and F-22 flying together. And, quite possibly the best of them all, the applause from the crowd that kept growing and growing as the Tuskegee Airmen were driven by right in front of us.

P-51s flying overhead in the "51" formation

As you can imagine, I took a ridiculous number of pictures and pared them down to some additional favorites that I will share below. I also must mention that Rob is an absolutely excellent photographer, especially when it comes to airshow and aircraft photography, and I highly encourage anyone interested to check out some of his photos. You can find them at http://flickr.com/photos/gunfighter157.

The P-51 and F-15 Heritage Flight

Thunderbird #5 taking off from the right

Hell-er Bust, Excalibur, and Princess Elizabeth lifting off

Looking over Gentleman Jim's wing and gas cap

Over 50 years of USAF history - P-51, F-16, F-15, and F-22 Heritage Flight

Worry Bird's simple but elegant nose art

P-47s: Hun Hunter XVI & Wicked Wabbit

Yankee Lady landing on 23R at Rickenbacker Field

Checkertail Clan's brilliantly polished prop under the blue sky

John Mohr doing aerobatics in his Stearman

Using pictures to capture an event like this one is priceless, especially since this magnificent event may not happen ever again. I hope those of you who did not have the opportunity to be there in person have been able to somewhat appreciate the experience I had.  Enjoy!

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