July 6 –  Well today was a planned road trip down to my old jumping grounds at the Goshen Municipal Airport in Indiana. I started on my trip in the late morning and while driving down drove thru two heavy duty rain squalls which in my mind did not bode well for attending an airshow.  With that said there can be a lot of different weather patterns in a straight line drive of 65 miles.

I arrived as the grounds were filling up with cars, trucks, horse drawn wagons and bicycles. The line of cars backed up to enter was starting to get long but I got in just before the major surge.  It was a bit of a hike  from the parking area to the event entry gate.

The clouds  were getting dark and heavy but I had done a quick run through of the area to get my bearing  before the rain squall hit. I had an umbrella with me but it was not going to be  much help in this downpour but I was able to enter the airport terminal just as the rain and wind struck the airfield.  It rained hard and fast for at least 20 minutes before letting up and the crowds returning from hiding under about a dozen very large tents.

They had lots of military aircraft coming in from World War II, from the Vietnam era there were the Sky Soldiers and their helicopters, and a good number of static aircraft displays to keep you occupied until the airshow started and many food vendors to keep you fed.

A highlight of the air show was the appearance of the United States Air Force F-22 Raptor which did a full 20-minute military combat demo.

It was estimated that  over 30,000 of people watched the planes in action, cars and jet trucks  racing to beat airplanes and helicopters, and skydivers floating in the skies above at this, the  third annual America’s Freedom Fest.

I left right after the airshow and before the fireworks began in order to avoid the traffic going home.   Here is a small sample of what you missed 🙂