Celebrating
SEPTEMBER 14-15, 2024
Celebrating
Current & Former Military!
PERFORMERS
RE/MAX
SKYDIVING TEAM
RE/MAX Jefferson City
The RE/MAX Skydiving Team, famed for jumping into municipal stadiums, festivals, and events across North America, will kick off the Show Me State Air Show both Saturday and Sunday. The sky-divers will make an awe-inspiring entrance, when they leap from a plane at 4,500 feet and experience a 120-mph free fall. This is a show stopping performance as these experienced jumpers float through the air. Between the four team members, they have more than 100 years of jump experience and more than 15,000 jumps.
PITTS RAPTOR
Stephen Covington
Stephen Covington started flying 23+ years ago and has his commercial rating.
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SRC airshows is owned and operated by Stephen Covington. Stephen is also the pilot at SRC airshows where he amazes everyone with his aerobatic performances in his highly modified Pitts s2s named the”Raptor”. There is alot of info and pics of the raptor in its own section.
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Stephen has been flying for 23+ years now and holds his commercial pilots license and also is surface level rated.
Stephen also has a couple of formation/dual acts that he performes. One is with Jason Newburg in his Viper pitts.
Crowds will be amazed at these two tearing up the skies in their jaw dropping twin Pitts act! The second is the New Immortal Red Barron act, where the WWI German pilot comes to an airshow near you and has a real life dog fight with the Raptor. In this show you will get to hear and see authentic machine guns shoot at the airplanes, and even FROM the airplanes. This new act received the ICAS Gold award in 2018 for best new act.
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Aviation has been in Stephen’s blood since a kid. Airplanes was always his favorite toys when he was little and war movies with planes in them he could never pass up.
TROJAN PHYLERS
Both of the Trojan Phylers' aircraft were used by the US Navy as primary flight trainers. These aircraft were used to teach Navy and Marine aviators basic transition, formation, aerobatics, and instrument procedures and techniques.
The Trojan Phylers own and operate two T28B aircraft. Both aircraft have Wright Cyclone R1820-86B nine-cylinder radial engines rated at 1425 horsepower. The fully aerobatic aircraft can take off in less than 800 feet runaway, climb to 10,000 feet in less than 90 seconds, race level above 335 MPH, and dive faster than 380 MPH. In fact, the T28 can outperform most World War II fighters at low altitude.
Franklin's Flying Circus
PT-17 STEARMAN
Missouri Wing Commemorative Air Force
Stearman Model E-75, Serial Number 75-8509 was manufactured by the Boeing Aircraft Company, Wichita KS and delivered to the Army Air Corps in March of 1943 as a PT-17. It was used as a primary trainer for the Army from 1943-1945 and was based in Florida.
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The Stearman was removed from the inventory and sold as surplus in November 1947 for $250. It was then converted to a crop duster and flew as such until sold in 1977. These owners had the dusting and spraying equipment removed and put back in the original PT-17 configuration.
This aircraft spent its entire military and civilian flying career based in Florida until purchased by the America Heritage Flying Museum, operated by the Commemorative Air Force and assigned to the Missouri Wing of the CAF in April 2022. It is currently based at Smartt Field, St. Charles, MO.
JET PROVOST
Richard Dawe
Richard Dawe routinely flies and performs in airshows in British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) Jet Provost (mark 5) which is based at 42A in Melbourne AR. Richard flew aircraft carrier-based aircraft during his career as a naval aviator and retired as a captain in 2004 at US TRANSCOM as the TCJ8. He is a decorated, combate experienced aviator with over 750 carrier arrested landings on numerous aircraft carriers.
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Rich and his wife, Chris, perviously owned and operated an L-29 which Rich raced in the jet class at the Reno air races. He is rated in the Jet Provost, Strike Master, Vampire, Sea Venom, Citations. He is a DFI, CFII, MEI and sea plane rated commercial pilot.
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Dr. Dawe has served as president of Ozarka College in north Arkansas for 14 years and is proud to have established a thriving professional pilot degree program at Ozarka College.
He has also served as president of Arkansas Aviation Historical Society and currently as Chair of the Arkansas Division of Aeronautics Commission.
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The Jet Provost is a British Jet Training aircraft designed for use as a basic to intermediate jet trainer. The side by side seating offers dual controls which make it ideal for jet familiarization flights. Although the design does not provide for the faster performance, the jet accelerates quickly and offers exhilarating performance.
GROUND DISPLAYS
DOUGLAS AC-47
"SPOOKY"
American Flight Museum, a flying museum located at Topeka, Kansas, operates "Spooky" which is restored as John Levitow's Medal of Honor Douglas AC-47 gunship. Airman 1st Class John L Levitow was an AC-47 loadmaster who won the Medal of Honor on a Feb 24, 1969 mission.
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The Douglas AC-47 "Spooky" was the first in a series of gunships developed by the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War. It was felt that more firepower than could be provided by light and medium attack aircraft was needed in some situations when ground forces called for close support.
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The AC-47 was a United States Air Force C-47 Skytrain that had been modified by mounting three 7.62 mm General Electric miniguns to fire through two rear window openings and the side cargo door, all on the left (pilot's) side of the aircraft. (However, first prototypes had a group of up to ten Browning .50 machine guns instead.) The guns were actuated by a control on the pilot's yoke, where he could control the guns either individually or together. Its primary function was for close air support for ground troops, both U.S. and South Vietnamese. Once called into action, it could loiter, orbiting the designated target, sometimes for hours, providing suppressing fire. A three second burst from all guns, according to Air Force reports, would put one round in every square foot of a football field sized target. As it carried over 24,000 rounds of ammunition, it was highly unpopular with those on the receiving end of its fire and extremely popular with the troops it flew in support of who gave it the nickname of
Puff the Magic Dragon. In addition to the miniguns, it also carried flares, which it could drop at will to light up the battleground.
Due to the age of its base airframe, the aircraft was very vulnerable to ground fire. Consequently, further gunship designs, the AC-119 gunship and the AC-130 gunship were developed, based around newer cargo airframes.
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In August 1964 years of fixed wing gunship experimentation reached a new peak with the intiation Project Tailchaser. This test involved the conversion of a single Convair C-131B to be able to fire a single GAU-2/A Minigun at downward angle out of the left side of the aircraft. It was disovered that even using crude grease pencil crosshairs it was very easy for a pilot flying in a pylon turn to hit stationary area targets with relative accuracy.
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By October, a C-47D under Project Gunship was converted to a similar standard as the Project Tailchaser aircraft, but instead with a total of 3 Miniguns. These weapons were initially mounted on locally fabricated mounts, which essentially strapped gun pod versions of the guns (SUU-11/A) onto a mount that allowed it to be fired remotely out of the left side of the aircraft. This aircraft was sent for use by the 4th Air Commando in the Republic of Vietnam for operational testing. By Mid-1965, a total of 6 aircraft were operating with the 4th Air Commando, and by fall of 1965, there were 20 more.
The original gunships had been designated FC-47D by the United States Air Force, but with protests from fighter pilots, this designation was changed to AC-47D during 1965. Eventually the 4th Air Commando was absorbed into the 14th Special Operations Wing (SOW), and AC-47Ds were assigned to the 3rd and 4th Special Operations Squadrons (SOS), as well as, later to the 432nd Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW) at Udon Royal Thai Airbase (RTAB).
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As the United States began Project Gunship II and Project Gunship III, many of the remaining AC-47Ds were transferred to the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF), the Royal Lao Air Force (RLAF), and to Cambodia, after Prince Sihanouk was deposed in a coup by General Lon Nol.
A-1 Skyraider
"THE PROUD AMERICAN"
Manufactured by Douglas Aircraft, the first prototype for the Skyrader took to the skies in 1945. It would be the mid 1950's, during the Korean conflict, before the Skyraider saw front-line service with the US Navy and Marines. This single-seat, pop-driven attack aircraft found its niche carrying 14,500lbs on take-off and delivering its payload with precision, often enduring significant battle damage in the process.
During the Vietnam conflict, when most other propellered fighters and attack aircraft had been traded for the latest and greatest jets, the venerable "Spad" carved out another niche for itself wiht it's long loiter time, 'low and slow' delivery system, and ability to get home dispite being in less than one piece
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The Skyraider proved itself to be so useful that the USAF added it to their helicopter Search and Rescue missions. It served as the 'Sandy' helicopter escort, providing close air support, forward control, and anything else required its special brand of support.
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By the end of 1972, all Skyraiders in the US inventory had been taken out of service. Many went to the South Vietnamese Air Force and later to the French l'Armee de l'Air.
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Because the HFM's USAF background and because the Skyraider was used with great success by the Navy and the Air Force, we chose to 'dress' our Skyraider in typical USAF colors thus the reason we refer to it by it's USAF designation of A-1.
NANCHANG CJ-6
The Nanchang CJ-6 is a Chinese basic trainer aircraft designed and built by the Nanchang Aircraft Factory.
T-28
HU-60 & HU-72 will also be on Display!
Newsletter
BECOME AN INSIDER
2023 SHOW ME STATE AIR SHOW
A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Show Me State Air Show carries the mission to provide an exciting family-fun event to Central Missouri to celebrate our current and former military members, involve community, offer educational STEM experiences for youth, and to promote aviation and associated organizations found within the Show Me State.
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The organization is presently fundraising to present the inaugural Show Me State Air Show in September of 2023 at the Jefferson City Memorial Airport in Jefferson City, MO. Are you interested in partnering with this exciting event? Please contact Air Show Coordinator Penny Smith at info@showmestateairshow.org or at 573-533-0648.
