One of my most memorable days covering airshows as a reporter and color commentator occurred Saturday, October 8, 1994, during the Professional Airshow Performers & Producers (PAPPA) Showcase held at Huntsville International-Carl T Jones Field (KHSV) in Huntsville, Alabama, October 8-9. The event was created so airshow performers could showcase their talents, and airshow producers could see performances before they book performers for their next airshow. The showcase was held annually for years and moved around the country from Illinois to Alabama, to Texas. The U.S. Space and Rocket Center located in Huntsville, and Alabama Governor Jim Folsom, were in support of PAPPA’s move to Huntsville.
Press day for any airshow is typically held the Friday before the show. It’s an opportunity for reporters to meet the performers and for local television stations to get some footage for the evening news. And if a reporter is lucky, they can go for a flight with a performer and experience aerobatics.
Back in the day, Peggy and I were publishing both Midwest Flyer Magazine and a magazine for the airshow entertainment industry. We became friends with all of the performers and helped promote their acts.
The Friday before the show, October 7, 1994, I remember seeing Vlado Lenoch readying his P-51 Mustang for his performance the following day. I stopped to greet him and wish him much success in booking some shows for the upcoming season. He responded, “Tomorrow is as good of a day as ever to go flying, Dave. How about meeting me at the plane at 8:00 a.m.” “You bet, Vlado,” I responded without hesitation. “See you then!”
“Moonbeam McSwine” is a P-51D (Serial 44-12473) built in 1944. Its name comes from a character in the Li’l Abner Comic Strip series which ran for 43 years in the U.S. Moonbeam was a beautiful, but unkempt, lazy woman who preferred the company of pigs instead of people. Maybe so, but Vlado’s P-51 was anything but unkept. She was beautiful! The aircraft is powered by a 1,490 hp Packard “Rolls Royce” Merlin V-1650-7 liquid-cooled, supercharged V-12 engine. Its maximum speed is 437 mph at 25,000 feet. Performance range is 2,300 miles, and the aircraft has a ceiling of over 41,900 feet. Cruise speed is 362 mph. Its stall speed is 100 mph.
The aircraft has one seat for the pilot and a jump seat for one passenger.
The North American P-51D Mustang is a long-range, single-seat fighter used by the U.S. during World War II. It was well-made and durable, despite being cheap and fast to build in just 177 days. The aircraft was originally designed and built for the Royal Air Force as a fighter-bomber and reconnaissance plane. Later, the aircraft was flown as a bomber escort in raids over Germany, helping the Allies gain air superiority from early 1944. The aircraft also saw action against Japan in the Pacific. The aircraft was armed with six .50 caliber machine guns.
During the Korean War, the Mustang was the main fighter for the United Nations, but was soon replaced by jet aircraft like the F-86. It then became a ground-attack aircraft and remained in service with some air forces until the early 1980s.
“Moonbeam McSwine” was painted to look like Capt. William T. Whisner’s P-51. In 1943, Capt. Whisner joined the 487th Fighter Squadron in England, known as “the Blue-nosed Bastards of Bodney.” Capt. Whisner achieved 15 1/2 aerial victories in World War II, making him a triple Ace. He also became an Ace in the Korean War, flying the F-86 Sabre, and served two tours in Vietnam. He retired in 1989.
Moonbeam was sold as surplus in 1958 for $1,307.50. It was restored by Cavalier Aircraft Texas in 1963, sold to the El Salvador Airforce in 1968, and flown in the conflict with Honduras from 1968-74. In 1975, the aircraft was restored to “Moonbeam McSwine” livery and acquired by Vlado Lenoch of LaGrange, Illinois in 1981. Vlado performed solo demonstrations, dogfight demonstrations with other WWII aircraft such as a Japanese Zero flown by Tom Frasca of Urbana, Illinois, and in the USAF Heritage Flight Program in formation with modern jet fighter aircraft. Vlado also flew Moonbeam in the 1997, 1999 and 2000 National Championship Air Races in Reno, Nevada. In December 2012, Vlado sold the aircraft to Frederic Akary and it was relocated to France. In March 2018, the aircraft was returned to the U.S., joining the Warbird Heritage Foundation in Waukegan, Illinois. The aircraft was acquired by Warbird Experiences Ltd/The Spitfire Company in Biggin Hill, United Kingdom in November 2024 where it will be used to give rides (https://flyaspitfire.com/aircraft/1944-mustang-p-51d-moonbeam-mcswine/). So, if you would like to go for a flight in “Moonbeam McSwine” like I did, you can!
I’ve been fortunate to fly with some of the best airshow performers in the industry in a variety of aircraft, from jet fighters to high-performance aerobatic aircraft, and now a P-51 Mustang. Each flight was memorable and flown by highly competent pilots… some who held national and world aerobatic titles, and others with combat experience.
Vlado and I departed on Runway 18L and flew south to execute some maneuvers. Unfortunately for me, Vlado’s P-51 did not have dual controls, but Vlado’s skill as a pilot made the flight memorable as we executed every maneuver imaginable. Then a call from Huntsville tower required that we return to the airport immediately. The Space Shuttle “Columbia” was inbound on top of the NASA Boeing 747 flying from Kennedy Space Center to Long Beach to have its tiles replaced. Weather further west required that the B-747 divert to Huntsville as the altitude of the aircraft with the Shuttle on top was limited to 15,000 feet, and therefore the aircraft would not be able to get above the weather. So, with a steep bank to the left, we quickly returned to the airport.
Upon entering the traffic pattern, Vlado requested an update on the inbound aircraft. “Still, 100 miles out,” said the controller. By then the freeway was jammed with hundreds of cars and spectators standing along the fence surrounding the airport to watch the B-747 land. Vlado being the showman that he was requested permission to executive a couple of low-level, highspeed passes to entertain the waiting crowd. “The pattern is yours,” the controller responded. After the second pass, the controller told Vlado to land as the B-747 was now just 50 miles out and the airspace had to be sterilized. We landed on 18L, taxied west of the terminal building and parked the P-51. Our attention was now focused on the inbound aircraft, likewise landing on Rwy 18L. Once on the ground the B-747 taxied to the far southwest corner of the airport where NASA officials were waiting to secure it.
With both performer and media credentials dangling from my neck, I worked my way around the B-747, getting closer and closer until the NASA PR folks stopped me, stating the area was reserved for NASA employees, their families and friends. That’s when I was rescued by one of the astronauts flying the 747, Cory Gordon Fullerton. With a shoutout to the media supervisor, Cory firmly said, “He’s with us!” Instantly the waters parted, and I walked over to Cory and his copilot who escorted me to the aircraft.
Cory allowed me to sit in the flight deck and walk through the cabin to see how the fuselage was reinforced with steel trusses to hold up Columbia. It wasn’t until later that I learned that Cory test flew Space Shuttle “Enterprise” off the same B-747 during early test flights of the space shuttle program.
Ken Szalai, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Director, said of Cory, “He was kind, humble, and smart. He was top tier at everything he did. You don’t replace a Gordon Fullerton.”
Little did I realize then in Huntsville that less than 10 years later Space Shuttle Columbia would meet with disaster.
Columbia lifted off January 16, 2003, for a 17-day science mission (Mission STS-107). Upon reentering the atmosphere on February 1, 2003, Columbia suffered a catastrophic failure due to a breach that occurred during launch when falling foam from the external tank struck the reinforced carbon panels on the underside of the left wing. The orbiter and its seven crewmembers were lost approximately 15 minutes before Columbia was scheduled to touch down at Kennedy Space Center.
Lost on were Commander Rick Husband, 45; Pilot, William C. McCool, 41; Payload Commander and Mission Specialist 3, Michael P. Anderson, 43; Mission Specialist 1, David M. Brown, 46; Flight Engineer and Mission Specialist 2, Kalpana Chawla, 41; Mission Specialist 4, Laurel Clark, 41; and Payload Specialist, Ilan Ramon, 48.
There is memorial honoring the flight crew of Columbia in Downey, California. With its many contributions toward reaching the Moon and beyond, Downey continues to advance the motto of “Future Unlimited” with the Columbia Memorial Space Center and its mission to inspire the future of space exploration: https://www.columbiaspacescience.org/
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is being published in memory of the crew of Space Shuttle “Columbia,” astronaut Cory Gordon Fullerton, and airshow performer Vlado Lenoch who have flown west since 1994.Â
