Veteran's Day Part Two- The Big Gaggle

Coming off the flights from the day before, I was jubilant to know that I had been a part of a nice salute to our veterans. I knew that we had another big one planned for Sunday's parade in Santa Barbara. This was one we called "The Big Gaggle". For the parade, The Sheriff's department would fly their helicopter over the parade route first. Darren Moore brought his P-51 Mustang up from Torrance to lead off the flyovers with several passes to warm the crowd up for what would come next. Veteran flight had three elements. Element 1 consisted of a B-25 with 4 Nanchang CJ-6As. Element Two was a C-47 Skytrain with a Yak-52 and 4 Nanchang CJ-6as and Element three was 4 T-34 Mentors.


Moment of smoke as engines start.


We warmed up on the taxiway as the warm up pad was full with the rest of the flight.


Taking to the runway.

Everyone got off the ground safely. I have to admit as I watched all these planes take off and head skyward, I found myself getting a little misty thinking that all these guys were doing this for our veterans. What an amazing sight to watch all these planes take off and start to form up. Getting everyone off the ground and formed up in their individual flights was no small task. Getting all these groups together at proper interval spacing is an even bigger task with dissimilar aircraft with a wide range of speed and maneuverability.


Element 1 heading toward the right and element 2 going to the left as everyone circles to cut angles and trade altitude for speed to get lined up. It's like an aerial dance. This is where flight leads show their mettle


Element 2 below us, over the Pacific.


Element 3, as seen from my view in #4, flown by Ron Alldredge

Once we formed up, we headed up State Street, the parade route, heading north. Looking ahead of us, I could see the other elements as they made their passes and turned out over the ocean for pass two. After pass two, the gaggle made 3 more passes along the beach, with our element making a fourth pass for the missing man formation.


Element 2 going feet wet after the first pass.


Vintage look for one of the beach passes.


Turning out for another pass.


Smoke on for the missing man

After that final pass, we headed back south to return to Camarillo for some much needed beverages. The warmth of the cockpit combined with the work of formation flying and the emotion of doing what we were doing left us all a bit parched. We flew inland over Moorpark on the return flight, passing near the Reagan Presidential Library before turning back west. These guys are consummate professionals, and returning to base was done in grand style with an overhead break over the airport.


Michael "Viper" Maloco and Werner "Mule" Holdereid near the Reagan Library. The large white building below their aircraft is the building at the library that houses Air Force One. Viper and Mule were the ones who put all of this together, and their attention to every detail was the best.


Marc "Big Daddy" Russell with Mike Hohls over Thousand Oaks. Mike is a former A-10 pilot who got a little stick time on the flight.


Mike Hohls giving a thumbs up after landing at Camarillo.

To me, there is no greater honor than to be a part of these flights to salute the men and women who have put on a uniform to keep us free. I am proud to have served with people from all walks of life that joined together for a common cause that was bigger than themselves. Honoring our veterans is not just a one day thing, but when the day is an official day for it, it is great to see so many people come out to honor them.

Finally, I wish to thank Michael Maloco and Werner Holdereid for their tremendous efforts putting this all together. The amount of time and effort to cover all the details to get this done is huge. A big thanks to all of the guys that flew this event, staying professional in the air and getting us all over target and returning home safely. Personal thanks to Marc Russell and Ron Alldredge for the opportunity to document this by providing me a smooth platform to get some great shots. Looking at the controls during a flight like this, I know how hard they work to make the formation look good. All I have to do is compose the shot and press the button.

To all the men and women who have put on the uniform of our military, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!!!