Festival of Flight 2026
Saturday August 8, 2026
A bright and sunny Saturday morning brought 12 DVJC members and guests to historic Hanks Place in Chadds Ford for a late breakfast or early lunch. We crowded Hank’s parking lot with a dozen member Jaguars ranging in age from 1958 to 2020. After admiring some the famous Wyeth prints on display inside the newly rebuilt restaurant, we enjoyed a hearty meal of cooked to order food that were mostly prepared in an open kitchen and grill much like the original Hanks. Our delicious grilled entries were not quite as rich in butter as they were many years ago when prepared by Hank, a retired Navy cook who saw service during the war in the Pacific, and the new menu included numerous healthy options.
After carefully watching the rapidly approaching thunderstorms on our phones, we decided to hasten our departure to the New Garden Air Field only about 20 miles away. Losing a number of members who feared the show would be canceled due to the storms, six members and guests made it to the New Garden Air Show entrance exactly at the same time the dramatic thunderstorms appeared accompanied by torrential rain. All of this unfortunate weather created some confusion about the Car Show location but eventually we got everything sorted out just as the weather cleared about 1 ½ hour later.
By 3:30 PM, the runway was re-opened and flights resumed with the promise of blue sky’s and much cooler weather turning into an excellent afternoon for the Air and Car Show! The astounding performances of the numerous vintage aircraft, most from the WWII heydays of flight were nothing less than dramatic. Despite the earlier storms, attendance to the show was pretty good and a steady flow of spectators continued to fill the show fields into the evening. Following a spectacular display of unbelievable flights of remote-controlled model aircraft of every imaginable configuration, the evening performances included many of the same vintage aircraft with their marvelous radial engines operating at full song followed by laser and drone shows lighting up the night sky until 10 PM. It was a marvelous day celebrating the past century of flight and everyone who braved the storms was rewarded with a great Air and Car show. It was an event to remember.
thanks to Rob Hill and Ed Petrow for the photos.
