Joy in the morning!

Member Appreciation Day
Capital Wing
Commemorative Air Force

It was one of those magnificent Spring days in the Piedmont of Virginia. Light puffy clouds in a brilliant blue morning. A perfect time to roll up Rt 29 to the T.I. Martin Regional Air Field and take in some of the great Americans who soar in our Virginia Skies. If you are one of those who has worked around groups of military aircraft, this is more than a bit of a homecoming experience. The aircraft have been preserved and maintained on a shoestring after their government service was done. To hear the rumble of their engines is to hear life as it once was, and the joy that goes along with leaving the searing debt of gravity behind, and taking to the skies above.

There are much bigger assemblies of private and now-privately owned airplanes. My first ride in a Boeing Stearman bi-plane was courtesy of Dad, who had dragged my brother and I out to a local fly-in, passed a few bills to a casually-dressed aviator,, and had us up in the sky by turns, snugged in his lap in the forward cockpit. The visceral feeling of the throbbing engine and the vibration of the rugged machine leaping into the air left a bit of an impression, and made later service in an F-4 Phantom Squadron operating off the USS Midway in Japan and an F-14 Air Wing embarked in USS Forrestal in the wine-dark sea of the Med made it all seem like a roaring piece of everday life.

Today? Casual, volunteers all around. Maintining the four birds in the Capital Wing inventory. Participating in the wide variety of air shows in the mid-coastal area. Hearing the roar of engines close up, and having that old feeling thrill the veins. The sky, my friends, is no limit to joy!

Oh, interested in taking to the sky? Why not come and fly with us! Check the Capital Wing homepage for history, events and rides: https://capitalwing.org/

– Vic

Copyright 2022 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com