Fly Along In A Yak 52 With The Red Thunder Air Show Team

Flying out of Oshkosh during AirVenture is something that must be experienced to be believed. Flying out of Wittman Field in the back seat of a Yak 52 as part of a five-ship formation is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that can only be described as awesome!

My camera rode shotgun with me as we headed across the grass to the taxi way and jumped in line for takeoff. With approximately 30 planes ahead of us waiting to take off, I was sure it would be a while before we took flight. 10 minutes later, we were taxiing onto the runway 27 and pushing the power forward for launch.

We were number three off of lead's right wing tip. Shane Golden was in command of our aircraft, and he cozied up so close to lead, I could easily make out the David Clark insignia on lead's headset. After turing a 180 back to the east, we immediately flew over the top of Lake Winnebago and headed to the practice area east of the lake. Within 10 minutes, we were in the practice area, and it was time to play with the air show smoke.

The following photos are of a three-ship that pulled out a bit so I could take photographs. There's nothing like flying in close formation with smoke blazing. The sense of speed and movement is unparalleled.