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Musings about BlogWorld and Airshows

blusk
Aviator C
I know the title may seem a little odd, but wait, I can tie it all together.  One of the great opportunities for me at BlogWorld was the chance to meet some of our readers face to face.  Among these was the man many of you know as CF, aka The Cranky Flyer.  His blog is linked from our LUVLinks section, but if you haven't visited it yet, click here, especially if you are a fan of "things with wings." I also enjoyed traveling with the Southwest Airlines Blog Team, folks like my blog compatriot, Paula Berg,  and Christi Day, Linda Hochster (who manages our Adopt-A-Pilot blog), Steve Heaser (who does our internal podcasts), Chris Ronan, the founder of RD2, which designed our blog, and Bill Owen, one of our most read bloggers. Like me, both Bill and CF are "certifiable" commercial aviation enthusiasts, so we had some interesting conversations.  Those conversations got me to thinking about airshows, and my favorite venues.  I went to my first airshow in 1963, and it was at the Pt. Magu Naval Air Station in Southern California.  The Blue Angels performed in Grumman Tigers.  I have also been to Abbotsford, just across the Washington border in British Columbia.  Back when B-52s were stationed at Carswell Air Force base in Fort Worth, I was able to go up inside the cramped cockpit during their show.  We even used to have an annual airshow here at Love Field.  After we got home on from BlogWorld in Las Vegas on Saturday, I found out that Nellis Air Force Base, just outside the city, was holding an airshow the same day.  I do have three favorites among airshows, however.  Third on the list is Oshkosh, just for its sheer size and the number of aircraft.  It usually has a sizeable participation of airliners.  Then tied for first are two English shows, the International Air Tattoo (IAT) and Farnborough.  The IAT has almost every precision team from Europe, along with special displays.  If you love "metal" screaming off the runway with afterburners all day long, the IAT is where you need to be.  The other favorite, Farnborough, is where you can find the latest creations from the world's airframe manufacturers.   Let's hear what your favorite airshows are and why.
16 Comments
crankyflier
Explorer C
It was great spending time with you guys at the show. As for airshows, I honestly haven't been to very many. I would love to go to Paris or Farnborough for the major commercial presence, but I've never had the chance. Of the ones I've been to, my favorite was the one at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson (official website). Apparently, it only runs once every two years, and the next one isn't until 2009. I just remember walking around on the tarmac on a very hot day. The demonstrations were fantastic, of course. My favorite was seeing the B2 in flight for the first time. Another very cool one was Fleet Week in San Francisco. I hiked up to the top of Angel Island in time to see the Blue Angels do a low pass overhead on their way to the city's waterfront. Fantastic.
FriendofBlogBoy
Frequent Flyer B
Brian, What a great post, and bummer about missing the Nellis Air Show! That is even worse than being stuck in an "all-Pepsi" venue. As far as my own air show experience, I've not been to as many as you have, but being a "military plane junkie" (that is more honest than saying 'aviation enthusiast'), I've had some real delights over the years. The first "formal" air show I attended was many years ago in Midland, Texas, on a summer day when the thermometer read 115, but the tarmac was even hotter. It was a real adrenaline rush to watch the USAF Thunderbirds display their legendary skills in the skies of the Permian Basin, and walking around all of the static displays (for you non-air show people, that doesn't mean bad reception on your TV set, it means that the planes are parked so you can get up close and personal) was also a great photo opportunity. Of course, being a Dallas resident, I think I attended every Air Show held at DAL, and really miss the fact that we haven't had one in so long. I well remember the first one where we were teased by a fly-over of an F-117, and that by the next year, it was considered public enough by the USAF that they parked a -117 there for us to see, even though it was behind a rope line manned by armed USAF guards. By virtue of having in-laws living for a number of years outside of Pensacola, we attended a show by the Navy Blue Angels at their home field, NAS Pensacola, and got to see them regularly practicing overhead during vacation trips to the area. On one such trip, thanks to family connections, we were invited to a "rehearsal" air show, which is where they go through all of their routines, but like watching a dress rehearsal of a play, sometimes they would pause to run through one of the manuevers a second time to improve it. At the conclusion, we went behind the flight line and met the Blue Angels pilots and had our picture taken with them! But, for those who haven't made it to an official air show, take heart, because there are always other chances to see cool things if you keep your eyes open! For example, travelers in and out of the airport in Amarillo, TX, can regularly see touch-and-gos by various military planes as well as watch V-22 Ospreys come and go from the assembly plant next door, people in cities like Abilene, TX, (home to Dyess AFB) can routinely watch B-2s overhead, and there are several airports in the country that are "joint use" or at least share some common concrete with an adjoining military field, so you can see planes there. I can think of Albuquerque, St. Louis and Birmingham right off the top of my head. And, on a business trip to El Paso one time, I looked up to see three F-117s flying in a tight formation touch-and-go rising up from the airport at ELP, which is close to their base at Holloman AFB in New Mexico! On the ground or at full AB, our military aviation fleet is AWESOME! Kim EBB and "certifiable" plane nut 🙂
FriendofBlogBoy
Frequent Flyer B
Oh, by the way Brian, you showed just how fixated on aviation and aviation issues you really are when you referenced the Air Show at Oshkosh by describing its "shear" size. That term is usually used in relation to unpleasant wind events or embarrassing sheep events, and I suspect you meant "sheer" size... LOL Kim EBB with OCD 🙂
Beckles
Explorer C
My wife and I were in Vegas last weekend primarilly for the air show (we try and go a few times a year, and picked that specific weekend so we could go to the air show). The show is very US Air Force centric, I was really surprised they didn't have more participation from the other US military branches, but what they had there was great. As soon as you walk in there was a C-5 they had opened up and you could just walk through it. They also had an Air Force CV-22 that you could walk through, I was surprised how small it was in there! They had a Dutch F-16A and UAE F-16E on display next to each other, it was interesting to compare the differences between to the two aircraft, which are vastly different in appearance, though the same basic airframe. The Thunderbirds were very good, but the F-22 flying demonstration put them to shame, the things that aircraft can do were simply incredible, how it doesn't fall out of the sky during some of its maneuvers is quite a feat of engineering. Unfortunately I don't think there is any chance the Thunderbirts would go to the F-22, not just because it's so expensive, but also because they don't have a two-seater. I was a bit disappointed they didn't have a V-22 flying demonstration for some reason (it was on the schedule and we waited until the end for it). One recommendation for anyone going in the future, eat before you go, the lines for food were unbelievably long! Luckily the there were no lines for the beer. 🐵
Another_Mark
Explorer A
Brian, Before moving to Orlando four years ago, home was in Indianapolis which is still home to me. I would attend the Dayton Airshow all the time. Plus the Air Force Museum is at Wright Patterson AB in Dayton. if you haven't been, it is a must see. One of the more enjoyable parts for me is all the aircraft on display from the Vietnam war. As an Air Force Veteran of Vietnam it was most interesting. Also, all Air Force One aircraft are on display from the first through the 707 that carried President Kennedy's body from Dallas.
blusk
Aviator C
Okay,okay EBB I got the wrong spelling of sheer. I will change it . Mark, I worked for about 10 months in Dayton with Delta, and I was amazed by the Air Force Museum. The one Dayton Air Show during that time was extremely interesting. Tom, There's nothing like watching fighters takeoff with their afterburners are lit--unless it is watching them take off at night.
chuchoteur
Adventurer B
Hi Brian! I'm going to have to root for the "home" airshow... The Paris Air Show at Le Bourget of course! On the plus side compared to Farnborough: better public transport access (a direct RER metro line from the city centre). definitely the place where Airbus & Dassault send most of their hardware (and also - perhaps by coincidence - where most new european aircraft types have been presented, for example the A380 back in 2005, and the Falcon 7X this year). THE place where the Russians normally eject from/crash a fighter aircraft (ok, they haven't done that in the last couple of years... but...) home to the Musee de l'Air et de l'Espace. Admittedly, the flying displays can only be viewed well from the chalets... and that is really bad. This year, the Mig 29M with directional exhausts was the best flying display, I was next to a french air force pilot wwhen it performed, and we both agreed that fortunately, these days, dogfights were mostly non existent, negating somewhat its unbelievable handling! The way it went vertical, stopped, and then did a forward sumersault was a neat trick though! I do like Oshkosh though, and particularly in the USA the number of old/classic aircraft still flying... the only place in Europe where such a concentration of collection aircraft can be found is Duxford, home of the Imperial War Museum collection! the Flying Legends show is well worth attending! (they also organise day trips to Deauville in de Havilland Dragon Rapides... that is soooooo cool). :o) Raphael
joe-mdw-plane-d
Frequent Flyer C
I went to the W/P airforce museum several times. I even touched the stealth plane on display. Because the sign said not to. 😜 I didn't get to go to the area where they keep the aliens though. This message will self destruct in 10 second--- BOOM! Ding! boy Joe
FriendofBlogBoy
Frequent Flyer B
Joe, Bad news, buddy. Your message is not the only thing that will self-destruct. There is a reason they don't want you to touch the stealth aircraft. If you are not wearing specially-designed gloves, the lethal chemicals in the LO (low observability) coating will leach into your skin. It's been nice knowing you -- we'll sure miss you around here pretty soon! Kim EBB and Bearer of Unhappy News 🙂
joe-mdw-plane-d
Frequent Flyer C
Kim, That was 10 years ago. I'm sure there is nothing
FriendofBlogBoy
Frequent Flyer B
Joe, The first area affected is the mind... Kim The Unaffected EBB 🙂
blusk
Aviator C
Raphael, I would LUV to visit a Paris Air Show one day. I have visited LeBourget, and it is a magnificent art deco terminal. I've also been to Duxford, and for anyone with an interest in British-built airliners, it is a total must-see. Ding boy! and EBB, the two of you remind me of Spy vs Spy in Mad Magazine. Blog Boy
joe-mdw-plane-d
Frequent Flyer C
or http://www.oldies.com/i/boxart/large/bk/bk0988.jpg
FriendofBlogBoy
Frequent Flyer B
I'm NOT a spy!! But I do have a carefully crafted cover story to explain my unusual travels and erratic behavior. I cannot confirm or deny that I resemble either character in Joe's picture, but this trench coat does get very hot during the summer months. EBB P. S. Brian, is it a coincidence that "Spy vs. Spy" has the same number of letters as "Joe vs. Kim"?? 🙂
joe-mdw-plane-d
Frequent Flyer C
Kim, did you ever try to eat anything with this long pointy nose? I don't know how you do it, but I can't. Brian is off this week trying to stuff a turkey full of candy corn. I wonder if Texas turkeys are larger than normal ones?? Ding! boy Joe!
pzehuz
Explorer C
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