Corsair Crazy

摘要

Willow Run Airport at Ypsilanti, near Detroit, Michigan is perhaps best known for being the wartime birthplace of thousands of Ford-built B-24 Liberators. During peak production, one of the mighty bombers would roll off the production line every hour. Nowadays, the airport's main claim to fame is that it hosts an annual, themed airshow. This year its title was 'Corsair Crazy', the organisers aiming to bring together as many airworthy Vought Corsairs from around North America as possible. The highest count in the show's planning phase reached 13 aircraft, a record that had not been matched since the type flew in service with air forces around the world. Eventually, a very healthy total of 11 examples reached the southwestern suburbs of the Motor City (as Detroit has long been known), to captivate and delight a patriotic crowd. A varied selection of other types also appeared, from vintage classics to modern military airframes - overall, the event had the feel and pace of an old RAF At Home Day, and its highlights more than mitigated for long pauses in the flying programme. The sight and sound of so many Corsairs in one place was breathtaking - and may never be experienced again.