New Garden Air and Car Show
I had always heard that when it came to airshows, New Garden Flying Field was hard to beat. Tucked between the rolling hills of southeast Pennsylvania, the field is just small enough to give anyone in the crowd a view that would be a front row seat at most airshows as aircraft race into the sky from just 200 feet away. With aircraft parked amongst the crowd and performers racing above, it truly makes for an intimate experience that shows the best of what a small-town airshow is.
This year’s show was going to be a little different than those in the past. Unfortunately, New Garden often finds itself closed on the weekends from Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR), so a decision was made to host the airshow on a weeknight instead. Wednesday would end up being show day as thunderstorms strolled across Pennsylvania in typical August fashion. Just minutes after the gates opened the parking lot began to fill up as fans from the past made their return and first timers like myself eagerly waited for a parking spot.
This was my first time at New Garden, and I quickly understood why so many love the show. After a skydiving demo, Matt Younkin opened the show in his Beech 18. With smoke on, the Twin Beech raced into the evening sky as the sun began to cast golden light across the field. With loops, rolls, and high-speed passes, Younkin opened the show in spectacular fashion.
Once Matt was on the ground, the familiar sound of a T6 Texan filled the air as Kevin Russo started his takeoff roll. Pushing his T6 to it’s limits, Kevin performed an incredible show from precision formation work to 16 point rolls.
Meanwhile, as WWII Liaison aircraft and trainers made their passes there was a different sort of show on the ground. Parked between other vintage aircraft were muscle cars, sports cars, and other vehicles making up a small car show. Spectators could watch the aircraft overhead while admiring the lines of vintage cars down on the ground. Eventually judges began to make their way through the show, picking apart the smallest details, as they looked to choose winners that would be announced after the airshow.
Soon, spectators began to make way for two aircraft to be pulled from the parking area before starting up near the crowd. Phones and cameras were everywhere as the unlikely duo of an A6M2 Zero and P51 Mustang raced into the evening sky together. With Charlie Lynch behind the controls of the Zero being chased in the golden light by Mark Murphy in his P51, the duo made several passes over the excited crowd. Eventually, Charlie brought the Zero in to land as Mark Murphy continued with an exhilarating demo in his P51. With the gun barrels screaming, the P51 tore through evening sky before settling down and taxiing in for the night.
After an RC Jet demo narrated by the legendary “Fast Eddie” Leuter, was an incredible evening show by Jason Flood. Tearing through the sky in his Pitts, the Red Ghost, crowds were amazed at the maneuvers he could pull. Eventually the evening sky turned to black, but even then the show was not over.
All anyone could see was the faint silhouette of the aircraft before it suddenly lit up with smoke on. Racing into the sky leaving a trail of smoke, Matt Younkin looked more like a rocket than an aircraft. Then he was gone, lights out, as the crowd watched and listened. You could hear him approaching, gaining speed, before screaming past show center and lighting up the sky once again. Having never seen Matt’s performance before, I was blown away, and so was the rest of the crowd. Eventually though, the Twin Beech landed safely and taxied back for the night. As crowds made their way out and car show winners were announced, fireworks streamed overhead to cap of an amazing show.
Needless to say, I now understand what makes New Garden’s Airshow such a special event. The intimacy of the field, the spectacular performances, and professionalism of everyone involved combine to produce a truly memorable experience. The worst part of this whole thing is knowing that the next show is a year away, but it is certainly worth the wait.