TBM Reunion Features Classic Warbirds and Friday Night Airshow, Part Four: Warbirds

By Carmelo Turdo

The TBM Reunion was held last weekend at Illinois Valley Regional Airport in Peru, IL. The event, inaugurated with the TBM Gathering in 2016, was produced by the City of Peru and a team of sponsors and volunteers spearheaded by Brad Deckert, a TBM owner based at the airport. Aircraft began arriving during the previous week, and the rain held off until Saturday (when the day's public activities were canceled). The Aero Experience was on site Friday afternoon and evening, and we continue our coverage here with a look at some of the warbird aircraft we saw on the ground and in the air.

Here we feature beautifully restored warbird aircraft: Boeing Stearman A75N1 (PT-17) primary trainers, North American AT-6/SNJ Texan advanced trainers, a Nanchang CJ-6A primary trainer, and a selection of jet trainers - Cessna T-37, Lockheed T-33 and Aero L-29.

Special thanks to Big River Aviation, sponsor of The Aero Experience coverage of the 2021 TBM Reunion.

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2013: Cold War Jets

Fred Harl and Carmelo Turdo

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2013 provided a wide variety of aircraft displays, and we continue with the theme from the previous McDonnell Banshee post: Cold War Jets.  The MiG-15 and MiG-21 were on display, along with several North American F-86s, FJ-4B Fury and a T-37 Dragonfly.  We also have archived photos of the L-29 Delfin and Temco Pinto to add to the Cold War Jets collection.  These aircraft were part of the history of military jet aviation during the growth period from the late 1940s to the early 1960s, we are grateful that civilian owners have invested the time and resources to keep these aircraft flying for the current generation to appreciate.