One of the many planes seen at Celebrate Freedom Photo by Benjamin Davis

The weekend of October 29 and 30, I went to the Celebrate Freedom Festival in Camden. When I first walked in, the first thing I saw was a huge C130 Hercules towering over all the other aircraft and war machines. This huge aircraft is used for transport of troops, war engines, and cargo. It can hold up to 93 troops or 3,200 pounds of other cargo. I just could not believe this was just a small version of transport planes.

As I walked around I got to see many different types of weapons and vehicles from different wars. The best weapon out there was the smaller version of a machine gun that was fully equipped with a grenade launcher and tripod. That thing can mow down men like a lawn mower mows grass.

VMF-231 Ace is an early version of what the modern day jet is now. This plane is widely used for show of air acrobatics and for training in former Soviet provinces. The N287 was built for the Navy during WWII. It was originally used for bombing runs and patrolling the waters. This craft could really pack a punch!

Next on my trip I got to see some awesome maneuvers by some old WWII planes and by a FA-18 Hornet. Bob Russell piloted the first plane as he performed a barrel roll and the eight–point roll. During a barrel roll, if done perfectly, a glass of water that is set on the control panel will not spill – amazing!

The eight–point roll, a harder version of the barrel roll, looked very challenging. Bob slowly turned his aircraft to eight points on the 360 degree scale while flying. I was amazed.

The Red Star Pilots also got to fly in formation over the crowd. They piloted four planes including two Yak–52s, a CJ–6, and a Bulldog. The Bulldog had some problems and had to return to its home base.

The first maneuver was the Fingertip. It looked exactly like what a hand looks like with the fingers extended and together. Next they preformed the Close Trail. This looks like half of a Fingertip formation.

Next came my favorite part, the FA–18. This machine really had some moves. As the aircraft sped forward, the pilot quickly pulled up and flew straight up just like a NASA space ship does at launch. He came back and the engines thundered across the field. The pilot did a quick turn and made his wings completely vertical as he hit a cushion of air and for a brief second bounced back the way he came. He also did some other moves including the barrel roll.

Later on they had some green berets parachute into the crowd. They did a variety of twist and turns and sometimes just spun in a circle over the crowd. One landed a few feet in front of me. It was a sight I’ll never forget.