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| Fred Harl and Carmelo Turdo |
Airshow organizers across the country faced a dilemma during the 2013 season: what jet aircraft performers to offer in the place of the idled USAF Thunderbirds and U.S. Navy Blue Angels jet teams. In some cases, the entire event collapsed for lack of a suitable substitute for the excitement of these military jet team headliners, while other airshow organizers persevered with innovative civilian jet teams and solo acts that successfully entertained the loyal community audiences. Just two Midwest aviation examples: The Cape Girardeau Regional Air Festival featured Randy Ball in his Cold War era MiG-17 in both Friday night and Saturday airshows, and the Memphis Airshow secured the Canadian Forces Snowbirds as their headliner. Even the comparatively gigantic EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2013 was not immune to the effects of the military jet team stand-down, and some creative airshow scheduling was used to secure a number of popular civilian jets. The civilian jet used most often during the week-long series of airshows was the Aero Vodochody (Aero) L-39C Albatross, flown by individual owners and also by the Black Diamond Jet Team.
Aero produced over 2900 L-39s in the Czech Republic (formerly in Czechoslovakia), and later produced about 80 L-59 Super Albatross trainers from 1986. Currently, Aero produces sub-assemblies for significant aircraft programs, such as the Sikorsky Blackhawk, Saab Grippon, Alenia C-27J and various aircraft from Airbus, Embraer and Boeing. The Aero Experience continues our coverage of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2013 with this extensive photo essay featuring the Aero L-39s flown by the Black Diamond Jet Team (led by friend of The Aero Experience Ltc. Jerry "Jive" Kerby, USAF Ret.) and the individually-owned aircraft that participated in airshows throughout the week.
The Black Diamond Jet Team
Thanks Also to These Airshow Participants
Special Feature: 3-Ship Formation from 2012 Airshow by Fred Harl
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