The 26th annual Grand Marais Splash-in on the Bay starts today (June 12) & runs through Sunday. If you get a chance to head up, highlights include a Seaplane Poker Run on Friday & Saturday competitions including a Balloon Target Drop and Take-off / Landing contests!
Even if you can’t make it, you can count on Michigan in Pictures’ Official Grand Marais photographer Gary McCormick to bring you some great pics. Check out some from last year below, view & purchase prints on his website & for sure follow Footsore Fotography on Facebook for his latest!
The 25th annual Grand Marais Splash-in on the Bay happens June 13-16th at the Lake Superior village that’s the eastern gateway to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. In 2024 they will debut a Seaplane Poker Run on Friday, and Saturday competitions include a Balloon Target Drop and Take-off & Landing contests. Add a potluck, cookout & the natural beauty of Grand Marais & the Superior Coast and it’s a recipe for a great weekend!!
Sixty years ago this week a person standing next to Michigan’s Mackinac Bridge might have been witness to an amazing sight: a six engine U.S. Air Force nuclear bomber flying between the spans of the bridge, barely clearing the structure. The stunt was roasted in the local press, which declared the incident “capricious” and “foolish”, and ended the military pilot’s flying career.
The incident, which took place on April 28th, 1959, involved Air Force Captain John S. Lappo, a native of Muskegon, Michigan. Lappo flew his B-47 nuclear bomber under the Mackinac Bridge.
The Mackinac Bridge is five miles long but there is only 155 feet maximum clearance between the bottom of the deck and the waters of the Great Lakes (Lake Huron and Lake Michigan) below. The B-47 bomber is 28 feet high, meaning there wasn’t much margin for error in Lappo’s flying.
The Michigan National Guard shared this this is a pic of four A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and a KC-135 Stratotanker flying (safely) over Michigan’s iconic Mackinac Bridge back in 2016. The aircraft were based at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County, Mich. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Elizabeth Hollicker) You can see their latest pics on Flickr.
I have seen a lot of amazing photos of the April 8, 2024 eclipse, but this shot from Flint by Morgan Andrew Somers of a plane flying into the eclipse is one of the coolest!!
Ayman writes: December 13, 2020 – A FedEx A300 freight plane takes off from Gerald R. Ford Airport in Grand Rapids, Michigan, carrying the first shipment of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for distribution across the US.
You love to see a Michigan company once again stepping up to help our country in time of great need! Head over to Ayman’s Flickr for more pics!
June 16-18, 2017 the Grand Marais Pilots Association will host the 17th Annual Splash-in on Grand Marais Bay on behalf of the National Seaplane Pilots Association. Seaplanes from all over the US and Canada are invited to attend this three day festival with arrivals on Friday, activities and competitions throughout the day on Saturday and departures on Sunday morning. Click the link for details on events including the Water Balloon Bomb, Spot Landing, & Short Takeoff Contests!
A reminder that The Lunar Express boards early tomorrow morning for a total eclipse of the October full moon. The partial umbral eclipse begins at 5:15 AM EDT on October 8, with the total eclipse starting at 6:25 AM, peaking at 6:55 and ending at 7:24.
Michigan in Pictures 