10 featured planes to see at Aviation Gala this weekend

Here is a look at the 10 featured planes at this weekend's Aviation Gala. No boarding pass is required to see them.


1P-51C Mustang (Tuskegee) The CAF Red Tail Squadron's rare P-51C Mustang represents all personnel that are now known as Tuskegee Airmen: pilots, bombardiers, navigators, ground crews, mechanics, cooks, ambulance drivers, medical staff and administrative personnel. To honor all of the airmen, it incorporated a color scheme that honored the four fighter squadrons of the segregated 332nd Fighter Group.

Type: Single-seat, long-range escort fighter; this one is modified with a rear seat.

Dimensions: Length, 32 feet and 3 inches; wingspan, 37 feet; height, 12 feet and 2 inches

Weight: 7,635 pounds (empty); 12,100 pounds (maximum load)

Armament: Four machine guns with a capacity of 1,000 rounds; external mounts up to 1,000 pounds of bombs or six aerial rockets.

Speed: 505 mph; speed 362 mph cruising


2 C123-K Thunder Pig "Thunder Pig" was the nickname used by the 911th Airlift Wing based at Greater Pittsburgh Airport. Since then, this plane received a total restoration and flies in numerous air shows.

Dimensions: Wingspan, 100 feet; length 76 feet; height, 34 feet

Weight: 31,000 pounds (empty); 56,000 (gross weight)

Manufactured by: Fairchild Aircraft Co.

Speed: 253 mph, top speed at 6,000 feet; 186 mph cruising speed

Capacity: 62 passengers

Home base: Air Heritage Museum


3 Cleveland Wing SNJ-4 (AT-6) The first aircraft to officially be designated as AT-6 arrived on April 28, 1939. The mature design, referred to as AT-6, was used by the U.S. Army, Navy and Marines. Produced from 1939 to 1952, this modest trainer can easily be considered one of the airplanes that won World War II.

Dimensions: Length, 29 feet; height, 12.5 feet; wingspan, 42 feet

Fuel: Two 55-gallon tanks; 110 total gallons. Oil: Nearly 11 gallons, one tank

Home base: Lorain County Regional Airport, south of Elyria, Ohio


4 Titan Mustang The T-51 is a tandem two-seat, dual-control aircraft. It can be built as an "N" numbered amateur-built experimental aircraft or as a light sport aircraft. A Titan Aircraft factory is in Austinburg, Ohio.

Weight: 850 pounds (empty), 1,450 pounds (gross)

Dimensions: Length, 23 1/2 feet; height, 9 feet; wing span, 24 feet

Fuel capacity: 25 gallons


5 T-28 Trojan This piston-engined military trainer aircraft was used by the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy beginning in the 1950s. Besides its use as a trainer, the T-28 was successfully employed as a counter-insurgency (COIN) aircraft, primarily during the Vietnam War. The T-28 is owned by Verlin Macintosh.


6 Vought F4U Corsair When he served the military during World War II, Ted Williams served as a flight instructor training young Marines to fly Corsairs. They became the most capable carrier-based fighter-bomber of World War II and were also used in the Korean War. The F4U-1 became the first single-engine U.S. fighter to fly faster than 400 mph.

Crew: One pilot

Dimensions: Length, 33 feet; wingspan, 41 feet

Weight: 8,900 pounds (empty), 14,000-plus pounds (loaded)

Speed: 415 mph at maximum


7 Consolidated PBY-5A Canso This bomber was built in 1944.

Dimensions: Length, 64 feet; wingspan, 104 feet

Speed: 179 mph (maximum), 117 mph (cruising)

Service ceiling: 14,700 feet


8 C-47 Skytrain When it needed transports during World War II, the U.S. Army ordered changes to the DC-3 and gave it a C-47 designation. It was one of the prime people movers during the war, used during various campaigns from Normandy to New Guinea, as well as over the Himalayas after Japan closed the Burma Road. The C-47 was prized for its versatility and dependability, two reasons why it's had more than 75 years of continuous service.


9 B-17G Flying Fortress Production on this war bird, nicknamed Yankee Lady, went into high gear after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Just 30 existed before the start of World War II. The "G" version of the B-17 included a chin turret under the nose, which increased its armament to 13 guns. More than 8,600 were built by Boeing, Vegas and Douglas.


10 B-25D Mitchell The North American B-25 was among the famous twin-engine medium bombers used during World War II. It was the most widely produced American twin-engine combat aircraft, with about 10,000 produced in eight major models, including the B-25D Mitchell, nicknamed Yankee Warrior. B-25 Mitchells fought in every theater of the war, and operated in many roles, including tactical bombing, low-level strafing and anti-shipping strikes. The last operational B-25 was retired in 1959.


SOURCES: 1-7, Erie Promotions and Expo Inc.; Yankee Air Museum