Wed, Apr 03, 2019
Renowned WWII Air Show Team Performs A Dynamic Aerial Demonstration For The First Show Of The 2019 Season
The GEICO Skytypers Air Show Team, the leading vintage airshow performance squadron, is kicking off the season at the Sun 'n Fun International Fly-in and Expo on April 5-7, in Lakeland, FL. The team's six WWII-era aircraft will perform a dynamic 18-minute, low-level precision-flying demonstration.
"We are excited to reveal our 20-maneuver demonstration at Sun 'n Fun, our first show of the 2019 season," said Larry Arken, squadron commander and team flight lead. "Sun 'n Fun attendees will see first-hand what these 'warbirds' are made of."
The GEICO Skytypers fly six WWII SNJs, the Navy's equivalent of the Texas T-6. Both trainer aircraft were used to prepare pilots of "'The Greatest Generation" for combat. In 1940-41, the SNJ was built as an advanced WWII military training aircraft designed to perform all the maneuvers of a fighter plane at slower speeds. The aircraft is powered by a 600-horsepower Pratt and Whitney engine.
The GEICO Skytypers' low-level precision-flying demonstration was designed by team members who served in the United States military.
The GEICO Skytypers "skytype" by creating giant messages in the sky with five aircraft flying in a tight, line-abreast formation. The planes skytype by coordinating dot matrix-style messages with environmentally friendly puffs of white smoke.
A computer located in the lead aircraft sends radio signals to the other planes and their white puffs of smoke create the "skytyped" messages that are often as tall as the Empire State Building and seen from a 15-mile radius.
(Source: GEICO Skytypers news release. Image from file)
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