Anybody go to Airshows???

[Bean.223 365]

Ive been going to airshow ever since I was a kid. Between the Dayton Airshow, the Indy Air Show, and the Grissom Air Force Base show, I have seen alot of aircraft of all shape and size. I remember when the blue angels still flew the A-4 before going with the Hornet. Ive seen Mig's attack helicopters, Stealth Fighters/bombers, lots of tanks car shows etc.

 

Today I seen the F-22 Raptor fly...........FUCKING WOW...This thing did maneuvers I have only seen in video games. I have heard alot of congressmen/media types criticizing the project for a long time, almost canceling the thing. But after watching the thing in person with my own eyes I can assure you, Discovery Channel and your tv just dont do this thing justice. This thing could possibly fly literal circles around the F-15. I honestly didnt think going into the airshow that I was going to be as impressed with the thing as I was. But what I saw in the F-22 was some Robotech Hollywood SHIT!!! A good kind of shit...

 

So if you get a chance to go see this thing GO!!!

Edited August 24, 2008 by Bean.223

[waltham_41 52]

Its been a while, I used to go every year until a little 16 year old Nazi civil air patrol puke told me I could not take my kid over to the M1 Abrams static display and show him what I used to do in the army, because the air show was winding down for the day. Not over mind you, but the last show had just flown and people were just starting to head for the gates.

 

 

The airplane I remember the most was a flyby by a B1 bomber, low, fast and a full afterburner climb away from us. Man talk about the earth and air just trembling as that big ass bird went by. It was pretty cool.

 

The Canadian snowbirds put on a really good low overcast weather show too. They are used to lots of crappy weather up there I guess.

 

I was going to go last year, but a gun and ammo took its place.

[Superhawk138 202]

I've been to a few growing up in California. They would have them at March Air Reserve base from time to time. This past weekend I was in Camarillo Ca for a funeral and after the services I watched a vintage air show while I was there.

[Cobra 76 two 2,677]

I love airshows. They have them pretty frequently here in NC at the local bases.

My first one was at Eglin AFB (where I was born) in about 1967, the Blue Angels BLEW my mind and scared the crap out of me...quite literally...lol...I was 2.

 

One of the most memorable ones for me was here at Seymour Johnson AFB, where I had the honor of meeting all the Thunderbirds and even driving on the tarmac in my Mother in law's '56 T Bird, when she and her car club got the honor of escorting them out to their aircraft to start the show. They said that was the first time civilians had been allowed out there on the runway. That was pretty cool but not near as cool as seeing the Thunderbirds do their thing, right up close.

 

The show that will probably forever be the most memorable and HUGE, was at Kitty Hawk in Dec. 2003. I stayed in my friend's beach cottage for a week, right across the street from the park, where all the festivities were held. It was a nonstop, week long air show, with about every kind of vintage and modern aircraft the world has to offer...from old biplanes to the one that was unveiled to the public for the first time, The F-22 Raptor. W W! is about all I can say. I took a ton of movies and pictures that week. It was so cool seeing wave after wave of old WWII fighters flying circles around that mile of beach, doing fake bombing and attack runs in formation...P-40 Warhawks, P-51 Mustangs, F4U Corsairs, you name it, they were there! Got to see Bush come in right over our house on his arrival aboard Marine One, Airforce One even did a VERY RARE low, slow flyby and tipped the wings at us all. The most awesome was still probably the low flyby of the B-1, damn that thing can shake the ground!! Got some great footage of an Osprey firing up, then taking off and doing a huge circle around the park. Lots of great skydiving displays, including a really impressive show by the Golden Nights.

Also got to meet and hang out with the guy who built the engine for the new Wright Bros replica that they tried to fly on that morning of the 100 anniversary of flight. It was a way cool event with every kind of aircraft you could imagine. They had all the best aerial acrobats there, including the best female acrobat in the world. I particularly remember a guy named Michael Mancuso, he was outstanding!

There were lots of former astronauts, test pilots (even Chuck Yeager), famous wartime pilots past and present, hell even John Travolta was there with his Boeing.

I'll never forget that week at the beach! It was well worth the $100+ tickets we had to go to all sorts of trouble to get 6 of.

 

I'll try and get some pictures scanned in here from the show. I was mostly using my old fasioned, non digi camera....

Here's a pic of the Osprey when it first sneaked up on everyone from behind the trees. I ran out of friggin film right when I took these so I didn't get the killer shot of it when it got closer. oops..

 

[Cobra 76 two 2,677]

Here are some great pics I got in an email awhile back, of a show in NYC. Some awesome shots here. I think the guy flying the "Klein Tools" plane is Michael Mancuso, the guy I was so impressed with at Kitty Hawk. He was flying a plane exactly like that there. Here's a link to his website that has some good pics and videos.

http://www.mmairshows.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[waltham_41 52]

Some great pics there Cobra.

 

They had a Mustang and a F 16 fly by here in Muskogee too, way cool. One year got to see my favorite airplane of all time, the B 17. It did a low level bombing run with pyrotechnics, even gave some rides, but WAY too much for this poor Okie to afford.

 

I regret not going last year. They always have the Thunderbirds as guests here, because our state national guard is the 45th Thunderbird division. Last year for the first time they had the Blue Angels and I have always wanted to watch them fly. Maybe some other time.

 

One cool plane I remember was a guy that had a stripped down Lear jet that he did aerobatics with. Seriously, a frigging Lear jet. They said he had everthing even the air conditioning stripped out to drop the weight of the plane. He came out of it soaking wet, but did things with that place you would never think possible.

 

This other guy had a stunt plane that he had taken the engine off of and put a turbo prop with huge blades on. That thing was a propeller flying through the air dragging him behind it.

 

Saw an old MIG 19. That was a neat little place.

 

One of the best is always watching the F15 take off and go immediately into afterburner and climb straight up until it is out of sight. They say its engines are so powerful that it doesn't actually need the wings to fly

 

Hell, maybe I will go this year, you guys have got me all fired up LOL

Edited August 24, 2008 by waltham_41

[Elkhound 91]

When my wife and I were first married and living in Muskogee, we went to an air show in Oklahoma City. This was probably 1990. We were having a great time, walking through the massive Soviet transport plane, watching the fly byes and enjoying ourselves. Then, a stunt pilot took off in an old soviet made stunt plane. My wife said "look out, he's going to crash." Of course, I said "no he's not". About three seconds later he smashed into the ground about a 1,000 yards from us. He died instantly. Talk about putting a hush on the crowd. We immediately left. Now, she refuses to go to another air show.

 

I still go to air shows. The coolest thing I have seen was a low level fly over by a B-2 stealth bomber at the Alliance/Fort Worth air show. Totally awesome. It made the wait in line to park and to get in and the oppressive Texas heat, all worth the hassle. That whole day was memorable. It was the first time my kids used a porta-potty! They complained for days. lol Then, we bought the typical, over-priced, air show food. I bought my youngest daughter a four dollar hot dog. She took one bite of the hot dog and screamed "it's burnt" and threw it in the trash. Never mind that dad would have eaten the slightly over-cooked four dollar hot dog. Yes, I enjoy air shows and the good and bad memories they create.

 

 

WJ

Edited August 24, 2008 by WarriorJudge

[waltham_41 52]

Bummer about the crash.

 

They say people go to races like Nascar to see a crash, but I would never want to see a plane crash.

 

WJ did you ever make it to any of the Muskogee air shows?

[Twinsen 86]

I just went to one a month or so ago. It was pretty neat, but I didn't get to see anything I'd really have loved to. I'd love to have seen the B-2 or the F-22 that were there the day before, or an A-10, or the Blue Angels, or a C-5, or an Osprey, or a Valkyrie (impossible, I know), or some Russian stuffs. They put up an F-15 three times, a Harrier-2 three times, and C-130 three times... OH WAIT! I got to see a B-52, that was awesome. They did a cool thing with choppers too, flew in a huey or two, and a few blackhawks and dropped some crates and they blew up. There might have been other helicopters with them, there were more than 5 and less than 10 of them though. That and the B-52 made it worth the trip.

 

They had the guns you could play with, and I got to watch my friends not know how to operate any of them, even a pump shotgun. The M-240 is completely ridiculous. Those things are heavy! There's no chance in hell I could pull off anything pretending to look like a decent shot with one offhand. I tucked it under my arm like rambo and got my picture taken though.

[Huckleberry 0]

I have attended and hosted many air shows since I spent most of my life working for McDonnell-Douglas Aircraft Company at Lambert Field in St. Louis and the Lockheed Aeronautics Company in Marietta Ga. I witnessed the rollout and first flight of the first F-4J, C-5B, YF-22, and the 54 year old updated new C-130J.

[Elkhound 91]

We only lived in Muskogee for about a year and a half, and never made it to an air show there. Just the one in OKC. I made it to the State Fair in Tulsa once and to one OU football game, but that was about it for our time in OK.

[rangerdavid 6]

Yeah, I've seen some nice shows here in NC too. Saw the blue angles and fat albert in Wilmington one year, thunderbirds, golden knights, etc. Back when I was a student pilot, I got a chance to sit front left seat in the Memphis Belle at a show in Greensboro..... now that was cool, but the P57 is my favorite of all time..............

 

and I'd love to see the raptor...... that would be the bomb!!!

[Bean.223 365]

Heres a cool pic I got at the airshow, Survivors of the USS Indianapolis disaster.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 24, 2008 by Bean.223

[waltham_41 52]

We only lived in Muskogee for about a year and a half, and never made it to an air show there. Just the one in OKC. I made it to the State Fair in Tulsa once and to one OU football game, but that was about it for our time in OK.

 

 

Well, I hope you enjoyed your short stay here.

[waltham_41 52]

I have been in the C5 Galaxy, and have flown over the water to europe a couple of times in the C141 Starlifter, but would love to get a close up look at a B52 as far as the big birds go.

 

It would have been interesting to get to talk to the guys from the USS Indianapolis, but they probably do not want to remember their ordeal too much.

[Bvamp 604]

I lived in Las Vegas, when the first f-22's were delivered to Nellis AFB. I tell you what, Bean isnt lying to you. They literally took off in tandem with f-15's, and the f'15s followed them out at about a ten yard spacing, out to one of the ranges, or red flag which was happening at the time. I only heard that there was one wing deleivered at that point, and would get up at 4am to get ready to drive to the block yard, and the f15 shook the house, go take a look, one morning it was two planes. Was outside one evening, and one f the f22s was flying alone aound the mountains that circle vegas, and it literally made no noise. I figure we will never be defeated in the air. Not between those two planes.

 

Bean, look into a famous midair collision involving an isreali f15. the right wing WAS taken off, and the pilot LANDED the plane. you are correct, in that it dont need wings to fly really.

 

 

I have bunch of photos I took from the PIMA aircraft graveyard in a gallery here on saiga-12.com. It is the only place I got to literally "pet" the aircraft, that I have ever been. It is located in Tucson, AZ. It is almost worth the trip alone. They also have the only publically viewable icbm missle silo in the world. You have a background check to get in, and it is only US citizens. very cool shit.

 

Dont overlook the smaller shows with the vintage warplanes. At the geneseo confederate air force show in NY, I got to see 7 b-17s do a large scale carpet bomb attack with pumpkins. I have a lot of flim from that, forget where I put the pictures. I wasnt about to sit looking through the camera at the time, and miss seeing it in full scope.

 

Back where I am from in NY, outside of Rhinebeck, actually, is a famous ww1 and antique airplane living museum. If any of you have watched anything on TV about anything remotely similar, it was probably this place. Im sorry that I didnt take pictures while at that place the couple times I went there.

 

I have only ever seen one successful "lumkevac" (forget how to spell it) aerial stunt performed correctly, which looks like a tight left hand loop/stall, and the aircraft actually flies backward level, across the sky for a moment. I am pretty sure that the stunt monoplane driver cobra mentioned about does this manuever in his routine, sometimes, depending on the weather conditions. Its not a vertical stall, but a high speed ingress, low speed egress horizontal stunt, and you will know it when you see it. That is a move only very very few can perform at an airshow. Just a little FYI.

 

The Kennedy Space Center tours are quite impressive, and I highly recommend that as well, if you find yourself in florida on vacation at some point in time.

[Huckleberry 0]

C-5 Galaxy kneeled on the tarmac outside the C-130 assembly area on family day.

[Huckleberry 0]

This is ugly. No air show, but it was a media show none the less.

Edited August 25, 2008 by I'mYourHuckleberry

[Bvamp 604]

http://forum.saiga-12.com/index.php?autoco...=si&img=401

 

I kept a gallery of PIMA on my profile page. You guys that like this stuff need to go there. Must be logged in to view the pics. Note the lack of barriers in this photo. Yes I pet it. No permission given to photos for reproduction.

 

 

another one that I know you guys aint seen - I was impressed with this aircraft in my American history lessons. Im sorry I dont have a pic of my petting this one! heres a b57 "hustler"

 

[Bvamp 604]

[Bvamp 604]

[lance 4]

I love air shows. being in the Air Force I am around these things all day long, and it never gets old. The picture of the C-5 crash a few posts up, I was in Dover when that thing crashed and actually watched it hit the ground. it was the eerie-est sound ever. all hell broke loose when it crashed too. no one was killed on it thank god.

 

I also was present for the first ever B-2 crash here in Guam. not fun at all. and a few weeks ago we lost a B-52 in the ocean here along with 6 souls. a sad sad day that was.

 

on a lighter note, the F-22s were here recently and I spent a lot of time walking around and admiring them. "rubbing my hands" on them haha. they are awesome pieces of machinery. heres a video of what the OP is referring to: the thing literally stops in mid air, starts falling in a flat spin, and just goes right out of it.

 

[dnp 1]

In about May 1962, the others and I who were working afternoon shift (USAF) at the Base Flight (T-33, Gooney and a Convair) Section at Carswell AFB, were all in the van watching a B-58 starting its take-off roll. It was about 9pm and the AB exhaust was very vivid and the roar was as always astounding. About 1/2 way down the runway, the aircraft suddenly turned into a comet, bounding and ripping down the remaining length. The entire last half of the runway was a huge, tall orange hellish wall of fire.

 

The remains lay at the end of the RW banging and exploding in bursts of flame and sparks as the Fire Rescue raced to the scene...in vain, alas. Some of the jet continued into Lake Worth, which lies at the RW end.

 

One of the lost crewmen had only recently been involved setting a World Speed Record to the Paris Airshow.

 

I remember the shock of seeing such an event happening right before my very eyes. Decades later, in the course of my civilian employment, I happened to work with one of the ground crew of the doomed aircraft, who was also only a one-termer in the AF. He told me that the entire groundcrew had been confined to barracks during the crash investigation.

 

The cause was something to do with controllability, I think I heard.

 

Not an actual airshow post I know. Still, it remains in memory.