The Beaumont Municipal Airport is located seven miles west of downtown in Jefferson County Texas. On November 21, 2020, the airport hosted its annual Beaumont Texas Airshow, ‘Fly-in and Drive-in Airshow’. Jeffery McGarr, one of our loyal readers sent us some fabulous photos and a few great videos.
Greg Young’s Navion L-17, also named the “Rescue Waggin”, is a 1950 civilian aircraft that was transformed for military use. When Greg purchased it, he upgraded the engine to a Continental IO-55B which produces 300 horsepower.
The United States Air Force commissioned several civilian styled airplanes to transport military dignitaries and high ranking officials, along with other various missions.
These planes were modified with enhanced communications and a more powerful engine. Just like the one shown to the right, these planes were seldom seen and flew at higher altitudes than their civilian counterparts.
This 1959 Max Holste Broussard was a French manufactured aircraft which was used as a liaison transport and observation plane. The Max Holste was a lightweight – prototype, smaller engine aircraft.
The first Max Holste – shown left, took its first flight in June of 1951. The French army decided the aircraft needed some modifications. The redesign included beefing up the engine and strengthening the overall structure of the plane. After the modifications were made, it was renamed the Max Holste Broussard. It took its initial flight in November of 1952.
This Boeing Stearman Model 75 biplane was built in the 1930s and 40s. It was used for training United States Airforce and Navy pilots.
After WWII, the plane became available on the open market. These powerful planes were very popular with farmers who needed to crop dust. They were also used as sport planes, aerobatic stunts, and air shows for Wing Walkers!
The Yak-52 was primarily used for training Soviet pilots. It was manufactured in Romania in 1977. This inline tandem seat cockpit – metal constructed aircraft weights in at 2,200 pounds. With a nine cylinder power plant, this plane can make very extreme maneuvers. This in turn helped the Russian pilots when confronting their enemies.
The Yak-52’s fuel and oil system is designed to operate when the aircraft is in a vertical flight for approximately two minutes. The powerful engine drives a fiberglass – 2-blade – variable pitch propeller. The plane is designed to handle up to +7 to -5G rolls and immediate inverted maneuvers.
This particular airplane, for its time is an aeronautical marvel for extreme piloting. It is always a hit when appearing in shows.
There were a wide variety of combat, personal and sport aircraft to view. The plane shown right is described as having a Parasol Wing and were used in earlier air wars.
The Low-wing Monoplanes – shown above, played a vital part in World War 2. These low drag, highly efficient and propeller driven planes were the easiest to manufacture.
There were also several High Wing planes where the wings’ connecting shoulder is mounted on the top of the fuselage – shown right. They are mostly used on smaller personal planes.
The Beaumont, Texas Fly-in & Drive-in Airshow is an annual event. If you and your family are ever in the area around mid-to-late November, plan on attending this exciting event. You won’t regret it!
Here is a brief – two minute video showing a skydiver with an American flag flying behind them. I hope you enjoyed this informative blog article. We would also like to give a big ‘shout out’ to Jeffery McGarr for the fabulous photos and videos. We encourage our readers to share their traveling adventures with us here at You, Me and The Dock! Stay tuned for more exciting travel articles!
Author: Anthony Scopel and Jeffery McGarr
Photography: Jeffery McGarr
Video: Jeffery McGarr
Article Creator & Formatting: Anthony Scopel
Video Production: Anthony Scopel & Matt Kemper
Associate Editor: Maureen Scopel
Technical Mastering & Web Support: Matt Kemper
Publisher: You, Me and The Dock
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