Bethel, PA — Aviation history buffs inevitably love the sounds of Merlins and big radials that emanate from WWII warbirds. The sound of raw power zooming overhead is enough to send a shot of adrenaline into the veins of most warbird fans.
But there is a quieter, almost relaxing side of vintage aviation. Enter the Golden Age of Aviation Museum‘s Flying Circus Airshow. The museum displays and flies many of the vintage and reproduction aircraft from the “Golden Age” of aviation during their twice-yearly Flying Circus Airshows.
The museum is nestled in the beautiful rolling hills and corn fields of upper Berks County PA and is situated on a private grass strip airport.
Saturday’s event featured rides in the museum’s 1929 Waco GXE biplane, ribbon cutting event as rolls of toilet paper are tossed from the cockpit a Curtiss JN4 Jenny as the pilot then tries to cut the streamers as they descend.
The show also features an “air race” between some of the other aircraft including a 1936 Aeronca C3 “flying bathtub”, 1932 Pietenpol “Air Camper”, 1932 Taylor E-2 Cub and others. The race is almost interrupted as a “drunk” pilot steals a bright pink 1947 Aeronca 7BCM and takes off down wind.
The show has a very relaxed, family-oriented and welcoming feeling and with it’s all grass field and is a refreshing respite from the world asphalt tarmacs highly commercialized airshows.
This is a great way to spend a summer afternoon if you love airplanes. Bring a lawn chair and set up along the grass strip or even in the shade of one of the open hangers.
Golden Age Air Museum home page: http://www.goldenageair.org/
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