27th Annual Salute to Veterans Memorial Day Celebration and Airshow Features Top Civilian and Military Aircraft, Part One: Friday Arrivals

By Mark Nankivil

The 27th Annual Salute to Veterans Memorial Day Celebration and Airshow at Columbia, MO Regional Airport honored fallen veterans last weekend by providing a variety of military and formerly military aircraft for public display and airshow performances lasting most of the day.  The Aero Experience Team was at Columbia, Mo Regional Airport Friday-Sunday to bring the highlights to our audience.  

Part One of this series features the sights from Friday, the setup day and airshow given exclusively for military veterans.   Highlights include static display aircraft; arrival of the Curtiss Jenny replica and Missouri Commemorative Air Force B-25 Mitchell and TBM Avenger; and airshow performances by the U.S. Army Golden Knights, U.S. Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey, U.S. Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet, Greg Colyer in the T-33 Ace Maker, Michael Kennedy in the BT-13 Valiant Echoes, and the Canadian Forces Snowbirds.