Aviation

Coming soon: www.highflight.org which is to be dedicated to the Fifty of The Great Escape from Stalag Luft III during World War II and will include John Toth’s collection of aviation stories, artwork and artifacts.
Planes

High Flight
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious, burning blue,
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew -
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untresspassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.
pilot
-Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee
  No 412 squadron, RCAF
  Killed 11 December 1941

(above courtesy of www.deltaweb.co.uk/spitfire/hiflight.htm
Copyright © 1996, DeltaWeb International Ltd)
Blue Angels & Bearcats
USAF Thunderbirds Making a Heart
CAF Airpower History Tour
Bob Hoover -- Engine-out Aerobatics!
Click any video to watch it.  Double click to enlarge to new window.
Photo: Smithsonian #2001-2949, Eric Long
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
The Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum maintains the largest collection of historic air and spacecraft in the world. It is also a vital center for research into the history, science, and technology of aviation and space flight, as well as planetary science and terrestrial geology and geophysics.
www.airandspace.si.edu/museum
Photo: Smithsonian #2005-12594, Eric Long
Photo: Smithsonian #2001-2949
The National Mall building in Washington, D.C. has hundreds of artifacts on display including the original Wright 1903 Flyer, the Spirit of St. Louis, the Apollo 11 command module, and a lunar rock sample that visitors can touch. The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Photo: Smithsonian #2001-2949
Photo: Smithsonian WEB 10079-2004
The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington Dulles International Airport is the companion facility to the Museum on the National Mall and displays many more artifacts including the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay and Space Shuttle Discovery. http://airandspace.si.edu/udvarhazy/
Photo: Smithsonian 12609-2012
Photo: Smithsonian Web
The Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility, located in Suitland, Md. is where the National Air and Space Museum preserves and stores aircraft, spacecraft, and other artifacts, and restores these artifacts to represent a specific period in their history. www.airandspace.si.edu/museum/garber/
Photo: Smithsonian 2000-9380
Photo: John Toth 2011
Voodoo and veteran Unlimiteds Champ Steve Hinton Jr. did not finish 2015 Unlimited Gold Race 2015!
Photo: John Toth 2011
Photo: Lewis Air Legends
Rare Bear’s racing history started in 1969 when Lyle Shelton dragged the old warhorse piece by piece out of a field where it had crashed seven years earlier. the Bear is generally known as "The Fastest Propeller-Driven Aircraft in the World." Today the Bear is with the Lewis Collection and 500 pounds lighter, 1,000 horses more powerful, nearly 200 mph faster than the original.www.lewisairlegends.com/aircraft/rare-bear.
Stewart Dawson flying “Rare Bear” finished 2nd in 2015 Unlimited Gold Race with speed of 471.957mph.
Photo: John Toth 2013
Photo: Kraz '01
Precious Metal is the world's only Rolls Royce Griffon powered P-51 Mustang. Flown by Thom Richard and based at the Kissimmee Air Museum in central Florida. www.facebook.com/pages/Precious-Metal-Air-Racing-Fan-Page/271055266243368
Precious Metal suffered fire on Sept 9 enroute to 2015 Reno Air Races.
Photo: William Sebastian Photography
Photo: Evan Flys
Strega is a highly modified P-51 Mustang, and 10-time Reno National Unlimited Gold Class Champion www.strega.com.
Robert "Hoot" Gibson Wins Unlimited Gold Race in "Strega" at 2015 National Championship Air Races in Reno.
Photo: John Toth 2013
Short-lived National Air Race Museum, Sparks, NV (1993-1994) with which John Toth was a Volunteer Director. www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Air_Race_Museum