Mark then landed and hopped in the star of the show, the authentic Mitsubishi A6M Zero, while Charlie Lynch fired up the Corsair for a mock dogfight over the field. Seeing this riveting WWII Pacific Theater action unfold above us was more than impressive.
New Garden Festival of flight
Prose: Nicholas Pascarella
Photography: Nicholas Pascarella, Richard Souza, Ryan Kelly, Ryan Tykosh, Christian Gross, Joe DiAntonio
Full Disc Aviation was afforded the opportunity to shoot from inside the show box at New Garden Flying Field, courtesy of the accommodating show organizer, our friend Jon Martin. This intimate, homegrown show featured hard-hitting aerobatic routines from Scott Francis in his MX-S and Jason Flood in two different acts; a Cub comedy show and "The Red Ghost" Pitts performance, a slew of light aircraft, a parade of vintage military trainers, Mark Merideth in the Super Chipmunk and Kevin Russo in the T-6. Mark Murphy also flew a spirited P-51 Mustang display, the inboard gun ports howling with each pass.
Mark then landed and hopped in the star of the show, the authentic Mitsubishi A6M Zero, while Charlie Lynch fired up the Corsair for a mock dogfight over the field. Seeing this riveting WWII Pacific Theater action unfold above us was more than impressive. In the muggy air, the Corsair was pulling vapor ribbons from each wingtip as Charlie maneuvered to get on the Zero's tail. As the aircraft broke from one another to give solo shows, the nimbleness of the Zero was a stark contrast to the brute power and speed of the Corsair. For the Zero, reposition time for each pass was nominal due to its incredible maneuverability. On the last pass, Mark dove towards show center, and we were given a small, sobering taste of what American forces in the Pacific must have felt as the Zero's streaked down from the sky.
**Full Disc Aviation would like to sincerely thank Jon Martin and the rest of the volunteers at New Garden Flying Field for their generosity.
