Skookum Traveler: Penscola NAS Air Show (FL)

(See the previous post for some background on my visit to Pensacola.)

I headed for the museum Saturday morning (Nov 8), plus day two of the airshow. The Blue Angels would be flying both Saturday and Sunday afternoons and I was able to catch them both times, along with countless other aerial feats performed by more crazy guys in their flying machines. However, I did make it into the museum, spending hours there and walking around with a knowledgeable guide. I eventually found my way to The Turtle, a P2V that once flew from Perth, Australia, to Columbus, Ohio, without stopping—over 11,000 miles. The plane on display still holds the distance record for an internal combustion powered aircraft. Mostly they were spy planes way back when and my dad flew them around the Mediterranean in the early years of the Cold War.

The AJ Savage was out in the bone yard, as they say, and could only be seen from the window of a trolley tour. The trolleys, however, were cancelled that weekend due to the airshow. Come back Monday, they said. I came back, but the yard was still closed. Luckily, a guy with some authority took pity on my story, and considering how far I’d come to see that particular plane, offered to walk me out there to see the Savage. So indeed the force was with me all weekend and I zipped on back to Gulfport and home to Virginia, happy as a clam.