WWII planes over Arlington on Saturday, maybe

[PotomacCyclist]

A national flight group was supposed to organize a flyover of WWII-era planes over Arlington on Friday, but they postponed the event because of the rain. They are planning to try again on Saturday afternoon, around 12:30 pm. They will announce their plans by 7 am on Saturday. If the flyover is a go, the group of 30 or so North American Texan planes will fly up the Potomac River and past the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery.

There’s a 40 percent chance of rain. If the group postpones again, they will fly on Sunday when there will be a 30 percent chance of rain.

http://www.arlnow.com/2013/10/11/world-war-ii-planes-flight-pushed-back-to-saturday/

I tried to see them on Friday. Instead, I saw nothing and got myself soaked. Here’s hoping that things work out a little better on Saturday afternoon. At the very least, they will announce their plans and potential postponement in advance this time.

Should be a unique experience, similar to the Space Shuttle Discovery flyover last year. When will you ever get another chance to see a squadron of WWII planes flying past Arlington?

Topic

[PotomacCyclist]

A no-show again. The rain had stopped by 12:30 but the skies were cloudy. Unless they flew later than planned today, they are supposed to try again on Sunday.

[PotomacCyclist]

Someone posted on ARLnow that the flyover has been canceled. While the commenter is an unconfirmed source, the info makes sense. Even if it doesn’t rain this afternoon, there will be significant cloud cover and “low ceilings”. I guess that is a problem when flying WWII-era planes.

I hope they manage to reschedule the event at some point.

[Arlingtonrider]

Thanks for the posts about this, even though it was cancelled. It would have been very cool to see.

[PotomacCyclist]

I can’t believe I missed it. I thought last year’s cancellation was it. But the group returned this year for another attempt at the flyover of Arlington. For some reason, I missed out on the local news last week. Incredibly bad timing. I had no idea they were going to fly this year.

The flight was originally scheduled for Friday. Then Saturday. They finally managed to fly on Sunday morning, from Culpeper, over to Maryland (kind of close to Joint Base Andrews [Andrews Air Force Base]), and then over Arlington National Cemetery and Rosslyn, before returning to Culpeper. And I missed the whole thing!

I did hear the planes as they passed by, but I thought it was a regular plane that was a little off-course from/to Reagan National airport. The sound was a little different, more of a loud buzz than the whoosh and controlled explosions that you hear from modern planes.

Apparently there was a mention on ARLnow, but only in the Morning Notes, I believe. Other local sites announced the flight in advance, but I managed to miss all those stories too (WTOP, Washingtonian, etc.). How? I normally read up on local events like this.

Did anyone manage to see the flight? The Army Ten-Miler took place that same morning, but it was probably wrapping up by the time the WWII planes flew by.

At least the group posted a video, filmed from inside one of the planes in the formation, shortly after taking off from Culpeper. Other local news sites have posted photos. I really, really, really hope the group returns next year for another flight. I think this is cooler and more impressive than Rolling Thunder. (Hope I’m not offending anyone, but WWII-era planes seem to be more appropriate for honoring and advocating for veterans than motorcycles are.) However, they used the phrase “once-in-a-lifetime flight.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=db0a1G3oE70

http://www.culpeperairfest.com/#!potomac-flight/c1d94

https://www.flickr.com/photos/28822253@N07/15515603512/in/pool-arlnow/

[Dirt]

I was riding to work in Falls Church on Sunday at about 11:30am when they flew over. Unmistakable sound.

[baiskeli]

I heard them from my house. Unmistakable. They sounded just like in the movies. Wish we could have seen them too.

[arlrider]

Heard them Sunday. From the sound I would have sworn about 200′ AGL (though probably not the case). A shame they only did one pass. They definitely needed at least two – one to get attention, then the second for show. That said, I can only imagine the regulatory hoops they had to jump through to even get what they did.

[Author]

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