The Commemorative Air Force Dixie Wing opened their 2014 air show season over the weekend of 15th/16th March at The Thunder in The Valley Airshow in Columbus, GA. with an acrobatics demonstration from the wing’s FG-1D Corsair flown by Chris Avery. During his takeoff roll, Chris was strafed by Jack Van Ness in his replica Zero. In the video, Corsair 530 then took the offensive and ran down the zero and “flamed” it in front of the crowd. As the Zero peeled off, Chris Avery entered his aerobatic demonstration to the delight of the crowd.
CAF member and Corsair historian Mike Schneider has been experimenting with external camera mounts to withstand the G-loading and buffeting issues the cameras face when mounted within the prop wash zones. While results have been mixed, the data gathered from this first test has already helped improve stability for subsequent efforts. Future demonstrations and more camera angles will allow for better, more enjoyable videos. Incidentally, Mike is the webmaster of the popular website F4UCorsair.com which he created to preserve, educate and share visual media related to the military service of the mighty Vought Corsair.
