PDK Airshow 2012

Two Saturdays ago my friend Rena were heading out for lunch. We decided upon the 57th Fighter Group Restaurant at Peachtree-Dekalb Airport.

We had no idea there was an airshow that day.

PDK sits on the sight of the former Camp Gordon, a U.S. army training base during WWI. Today it's classified as a general aviation reliever airport. With an average of 228 take-offs and landings per year, PDK is the second-largest airport in Georgia.

You Can Ride On This Great Biplane at PDK

PDK is also home to the 57th Fighter Group restaurant. Named for the famous flying World War II P-47 fighter squadron, the restaurant sits at the end of a shaded drive speckled with WWII-vintage jeeps, trucks, and ambulances.

A full-sized model of a P-47 sits on a pedestal at the restaurant's entryway.

The restaurant provides superb views of the runways, allowing diners to watch takeoffs and landings.

When Rena and I arrived at the restaurant at 1:30 pm, the parking lot was jammed. We decided to risk it anyway. I'm glad we did.

We got our names in queue for lunch and, beeper in hand, we watched aerobatics for an hour or so.

Alas, I didn't have my camera, and we didn't have binoculars!

Rena tried to take photos and video with her new iPhone, but managed to mostly get pictures of her thumb.

Fortunately, there are lots of videos on the web. Here's pilot Greg Connell's performance at the 2011 airshow:

And here's the view from his cockpit from this year's show:

Coordinated stunt flying:

The following video is from last year's show. The pilot performed again this year. He's batshit crazy, but thrilling to watch. You might want to turn down the sound on this one:

After an hour or so (we had been told our table would be ready in 45 minutes), Rena and I went back inside to check on our reservations. The hostess told us the dining room had just closed.

We weren't happy, but I managed to weasel it out of the hostess that we could be served in the bar, so we went to the bar and placed our order and waited...

... and waited...

... and waited...

Our lunch finally arrived at 4:30. After we had eaten, Rena beckoned the waitress over and told her, "It's not about you, but I'd like to speak to the manager."

The manager, it turned out, had been concerned about how long our order was taking, and comped our meal.

All-in-all, it took far longer than we had anticipated, but we had a good time.