Greg Morehead
The 9th Annual “TBM Reunion and Salute to Veterans” returns to Illinois Valley Regional Airport-Walter A. Duncan Field in Peru, Illinois on May 17-18, 2024. It featured eight TBM Avengers and a Titan aerobatic team. Warbird. With the sun and blue sky, there were many eye-catching attractions, attracting as many as 20,000 spectators. It was an iconic year for small, feature-rich airport shows. The show, an increasingly rare occurrence at aviation events, is once again free and open to the public thanks to funding provided by the city of Peru, Illinois.
Event planning was the responsibility of announcer Tim Gillian and the new airport management team. Keeping it safe was the responsibility of Air Boss Greg Witmer and the EAA Warbirds Flightline team. Volunteers led by Tracy Baer, Roberta Finkler and Jane McCarty Deckert provided the highest level of hospitality. Operations were assisted by airport staff and volunteers, including Sherry Schaefer, Shawn Timko, and Bill Ruder.
Friday's show began at 6 p.m., followed by a night show that began at dusk as the Marquis Energy-sponsored Titan aerobatic team performed formation loops against a canvas painted in a mix of dark orange and dark navy blue. Then, as the ethereal remnants of light weakened, the seven Avengers unleashed their full power, blue flames spewing out from the exhaust of each plane. The ground shook with a total of 13,300 horsepower generated by 18,200 cubic inches from 98 cylinders. The first event of the TBM reunion marked the night with a city-sponsored fireworks display and drew “oohs and aahs” from the public.
The event is adjusted each year in the pursuit of continuous improvement. Changing the parking lot required moving the reenactors' encampment from its traditional site. With some grumbling, the loyal reenactors broke camp and invested a few extra hours to trek to the hilltop area. There is no doubt that they were happy after a little sweating because they realized they had the best view. Of course, everyone knows that the Army wants to take the high ground! As the Greatest Generation fades into history, the value of living history exhibits increases as a compelling way to tell the stories of people who can no longer share them themselves.
Friday's highlight was the night show following the day show, but Saturday's focus was the Salute to Veterans and the Air Show. The Veterans' Parade is unique with each branch of service walking in groups down a temporary boulevard of American flags created when members of the public become flag bearers lining the route. Young, old, and really old veterans moved together along the crowded, flag-lined path, applauding and tearing up. Folded flags and service photos of those who died were placed on the TBMs at the Tri-State Warbird Museum by retired U.S. Navy Capt. John Bishop and placed in his care by Greg Vallero as they took off aboard two TBMs flown by JP Mellor and Jordan Brown. I left it to you. The missing man's pass was timed to coincide with the sound of a 21-gun salute and the taps of two buglers.
At the time of the first TBM reunion in 2016, there was a large number of relatively healthy WWII TBM veterans. This was not the case in 2024, as only a small number of people could travel. TBM radioman Joe Wills had the opportunity to fly in a TBM for the first time since World War II. Our newest TBM pilot, Wes Atteberry, was thrilled to have Joe in the backseat of David Prescott's TBM. aida red. “Flying a World War II veteran has been on my bucket list, so I was excited to have the opportunity,” the young combat pilot said. Charlie Cartledge, owner of the Oshkosh Award-winning TBM, piloted the Avenger with veteran TBM turret gunner Alvin Gould in the backseat. Two TBMs with veterans on board made for some really fun formation flying. Partly because no one shot them after 80 years.
Warbirds in attendance represented history from World War II to the Cold War and included a pair of Stearman biplanes flown by mother and son team Julie and Ben Thomas from Memphis, Tennessee. Aircraft sales included a PT-26 Cornell from the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) Indiana Wing, an AT-6 Texan from the Kokomo Flight Training Center, a TBM from the CAF Missouri Wing, and a B-25 from EAA. berlin express. The only jet fighter in attendance was a CT-133 Mk.III (RCAF 21556) in Texas Air National Guard colors owned by Kathryn Tyler and pilot Steven Jones. In addition to the Avenger at the Tri-State Warbird Museum, there is also a beautiful C-45 in GTMO colors flown by Mike Durkee.
The show's most popular FG-1D Corsair was flown by Fred Bower, a retired Air Force pilot for the Warbird Heritage Foundation, with more than 20,000 hours of flight time in the U-2, A-10, T-38, and KC-135. And KC-10. He performed aerobatics and provided great photo opportunities for photographers. Also impressive was the 1952 Douglas AD-4N. Naked Fanny, owned and flown by Jim Rohlf, not only did he perform for two days, but he also flew home to spray his fields. Now it's a promise!
Pilots Ray Brown and Matt Throckmorton flew Jordan and Nikki Brown's C-47 in Terre Haute, Indiana, in a unique legacy formation flight that paired father and son with aircraft of different generations. Ray Brown led the formation in a C-47 and his father, Jordan Brown, flew on the right wing in Daniel Mosley's TBM-3E Avenger with Jim Rohlf on the left in the Skyraider. The C-47 was used as a jumping platform when Skydive Chicago put on a show flying the American flag and as a photo platform for Brad Deckert to document a large aerobatic team flying the TBM-3E.
The Titan aerobatic team performed two complete performances, including a daytime show and a signature nighttime show. Traditionally, slot pilot Jimmy Fordham took the lead position, while Steve Gustafson and Bryan Regan took the wing positions. Team Titan is proudly flying the new look, which was applied to the paint shop at Hangar 360 Aircraft Services in Raymond, Mississippi, early in its first airshow season with new sponsor Titan Aviation Fuels. The name Titan not only represents an amazing sponsor; This also accurately describes the team pilots who amaze not only the average air show audience, but also professional pilots who understand the challenges of operating the T-6 in formation aerobatics.
At the center of the event was the show's namesake TBM Avengers. Several aircraft were canceled due to mechanical problems, including the much-anticipated return of Edward “Tanker Ed” Wuerker in a bomber version. Sherry Schaefer shared Ed's disappointment after all the years of preparation. Steve Sorge of East Troy, Wisconsin, also had to cancel. Of the eight Avengers in attendance, several notable mechanical issues were experienced by the group. Daniel Mosley's TBM developed a poor magneto, but thanks to the incredible efforts of Bill Ruder, the new magneto was installed in an impressive four hours. During an LHFE flight a few miles from the airport, JP Mellor experienced a prop failure that resulted in the loss of 10 gallons of oil in a short period of 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Brad Deckert also experienced serious oil consumption problems due to a faulty blower seal that required the engine to be removed and disassembled. During the trip home, the Rocky Mountain Wing's TBM loses its magazine and is grounded, but Bill Ruder plans to head to Nebraska to rescue the crew with a ninja-like magneto repair.
Brad Deckert shared his thoughts on learning points beyond the obvious fact that this is an old plane falling into disrepair. One important message is to always take off with a full tank of gas. Don't assume 25 gallons is “enough.” Deckert is acutely aware of the consequences, having shut down his TBM after an engine failure due to oil starvation despite having no symptoms whatsoever. He knows firsthand that sometimes a full tank isn't enough. Deckert recently developed and installed a low-oil warning system that gives pilots critical time to find a place to land before the engines shut down. Deckert hopes operators will contact him to discuss installing the system on their aircraft. The second message derived from mechanical problems is “Stock is your friend” and having a spare magneto is a good idea, although it can be expensive.
The Titan aerobatic team is clearly a giant in aviation. But we hope they don't mind sharing the label with the Titan maintainers and TBM Reunion veterans who keep these old planes flying.
TBM Avengers in attendance: Aircraft Owner Pilot TBM-3E (BuNo 85632) Brad and Jane Deckert Brad Deckert TBM-3E (BuNo 91436) Lake Erie Warbirds Charlie Cartledge TBM-3E (BuNo 53420) Tri-State Warbird Museum Greg Vallero TBM-3E (BuNo 53353) CAF Missouri Wing JP Mellor TBM-3E (BuNo 91726) Daniel Mosley Jordan Brown TBM-3U (BuNo 53768) Tom Buck Tom Buck TBM-3E (BuNo 85882) David Prescott Wes Atteberry TBM-3E (BuNo 53503) CAF It's been nine years since Rocky Mountain Wing Bill Shepard TBM Avenger owners Brad and Jane Deckert decided to host a gathering of flyable Avengers. It was not planned as an annual pilgrimage. But this one-off event inspired patriotic support from the local community and introduced thousands of people to the world of warbirds. It has now become an annual tradition that many locals simply refer to as “the air show.” Those familiar with air shows understand that this is far from the usual display of aerial equipment and pilot skills. This is essentially a Warbird-only event where the rumble of radial engines and whirring of jet turbines are described by announcer Tim Gillian as “the sound of freedom.” when Greg Morehead When asked about the event, Brad Deckert said: “The TBM Gathering/Salute to Veterans was a huge success by all accounts. We are facing an increasingly rare situation here in Peru, Illinois where we have tremendous city, airport and community support. I have never related to anything like this anywhere else. We couldn't have chosen a better venue to host this unique event. I think we can look forward to it. [similar events for] It will take several years to come. I'd also like to say a special thank you to the non-TBM Warbirds who showed up and added so many…