QuoteWell, let's try this again.
What else do you guys do besides hang out here and hit the casinos from time to time.
Saw this gem making the run south out of Minneapolis on I-35.
Of course I had to stop and get the "photo op". That's what I do!
AD
I pass this all the time, it is on the west side of Interstate 35 in Owatoona, Minnesota. Here is the story behind it. And I pay special attention within eye-sight of this display because people that never seen it before have tendency to decelerate pretty darn quick!!
"In 1996, the City of Owatonna acquired one of these jet planes, a T-38 Talon "Thunderbird" Jet, from the U.S. Air Force to be used as a monument at the airport. The cost of the project exceeded the City's budget at that time, and the plane was put in storage. In 1997, R.W. "Buzz" Kaplan proposed that the plane become part of a signature display outside Heritage Halls Museum, which was ΒΌ mile north of the airport. Buzz thought the display should consist of three planes flying formation. The City proceeded to acquire two more jets from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona."
The jets, after being stripped down to reduce their overall weight, and repainted to make them resemble 'Thunderbirds' were then waiting on the engineers to figure out the best way to mount and showcase them. The engineers spent several months creating a design for the display that would not only be unique, but also practical as it would have to withstand the high winds that sometimes sweep through Owatonna and Southern Minnesota. Waymarking states that the current design "withstood 113 miles-per-hour winds when tested in a wind tunnel."
The formation the jets are in is called the 'bomb-burst formation' and is a truly unique display that hopefully gives others the same thought as R.W. "Buzz" Kaplan had to "create a breathtaking realistic display of aerobatic flight and to honor our United Stat United States fighter pilots who help protect our great country."
A fun fact you might not know about the three jets is that the pilots of tail-number 1 and 2 are Owatonna residents. Tail 1's pilots are "R.W. "Buzz" Kaplan and Betty "Bunns" Kaplan. Pilots of the #2 plane are MaryAlice "Bunky" Hanson and Capt. Jim "Cool Hand" Hanson.