Atlantic Ciry Air Show Rocks the Beach

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Windows rattled along the boardwalk as the sky came to life with Raptors, Super Hornets and Fighting Falcons, filling the sky over the ocean surf, bringing the thunder to Atlantic City.

The daylong 2009 air show, sponsored by Borgata Casino, delivered on its theme: "Thunder Over the Boardwalk." Aircraft from WWII through the nation's most modern F-22 Raptor roared just over the water in front of an estimated 750,000 spectators.

Traffic moving into Atlantic City continued throughout the event, with cars and buses still streaming to the beach as the airshow was winding down. The heat and crowds was a boon to boardwalk businesses as sales of water skyrocketed. Not only was the beach packed with people of all ages, the ocean had its own flotilla of sky watchers. The famed U.S. Air Force Thunderbird's did their exceptional crowd pleasing precision flying along the beach. All eyes were to the sky, except for a few youngsters busily putting the finishing touches on their sand castle, as the Thunderbirds closed out the show.

The U.S. Air Force also flew their traditional Heritage Flight, which began in 1997 to commemorate their 50th anniversary. The tradition continues, as it began, with the most recent jet fighters flying in close formation with earlier era warcraft, like the P-51 Mustang. At this event the demonstration included an F-16 Fighting Falcon, an A-10 Thunderbolt (often called a wart hog), and two P-51 Mustangs. The Navy had their own Legacy Flight with and FA/18F & F4U Corsair.

In addition to the military presence, there were a number of civilian demonstrations and aerobatic teams on the program. Jim Beasley, a Philadelphia lawyer, is lead pilot for the three WWII Mustang team called the Horsemen, put on an dazzling show as did the Red Eagle Air Sports team.

If you love crowds, and the roaring sounds of freedom flying overhead then mark your calendar for next year at Atlantic City, or plan on attending the Naval Air Station Oceana Air Show in Virginia Beach October 17 and 18. The Blue Angels will be featured. As for me, next year I plan to stay overnight to avoid the traffic.

Thunderbirds Roar Over U.S. Capitol

ANDREWS AFB, MARYLAND - The world renown U.S. Air Force Demonstration Squadron, the Thunderbirds, roared into the skies over Maryland and Washington, D.C. today in preparation for Armed Forces Day. They are part of the 57th Annual Joint Services Open House Air Show, at Andrews Air Force Base. The three day event began today under overcast skies. The Air Show runs through Sunday May 17th. While some of the most unimaginable aerial stunts take place in the sky, there is plenty to see on the ground that include; static displays of airplanes, jets, helicopters, boats, missile launchers, and more. Representatives of all branches of government, flying clubs, and commercial vendors fill the nearby hangers and flight apron. The theme of recognizing the sacrifices and commitment of the U.S. Armed Forces was celebrated throughout the event.

Celebrating 56 years of precision aerial maneuvers, in front of countless audiences around the world, the Thunderbirds are one of the main attractions, along with the Army's premier parachute team, the Golden Knights. There are also daring aerial acts from the Red Bull sponsored MiG, flown by Bill Reesman, and the only civilian pilot to be licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration to perform aerobatics in a helicopter, Chuck Aaron. This helicopter demonstration has to be seen to be believed as the specially aircraft does flips, rolls and turns upside down.

One of the newer teams on the air show circuit is the Collaborators Formation Aerobatic Team, that brings 4 veteran pilots together in a high energy performance that is unforgettable. The performance put on by Sean D. Tucker, Eric Tucker, Bill Stein and Ben Freelove is fast paced and heart stopping with the close calls, engine stalls, spins and unusual attitudes.

The roar of the F-22 Raptor, the Air Force's newest fighter aircraft can be felt in your chest as it roars past the crowd, using only a fraction of its capability. The 44.5 foot wingspan looks like a ship from Star Trek with its sharp cuts and angles.

The world famous GEICO Skytypers Air Show Team was back again this year with their six SNJ planes, also known as the T-6 Texan by the Army Air Corp in World War II. This team from New York put on a great aerobatic demonstration that includes writing messages in the sky with letters as tall as the Empire State Building.

To commemorate the 65th anniversary of the D-Day invasion and liberation of Europe the Liberty Jump Team is scheduled to drop both static line and HALO jumpers from a WWII vintage C-47 this weekend. The team made its first jump in France in 2006 and went on to form a larger group to perpetuate the remembrance of not only the brave men and women of World War II but all Veterans of all wars.

The U.S. Air Force Heritage Flight included several flybys of the F-22, P-51 Mustang and A-10 Wart Hog in formation. The WWII P-51 led the team and was a bit overshadowed with the power and size of its two wingman. The Heritage Flight was originally going to be a onetime flyby in 1997 to recognize the Air Force's 50th anniversary, but became so popular they have kept it in air shows ever since.

Angels and Knights over Nation's Capitol

Screaming in formation through the blue skies near the nation's capitol, the phenomenal U.S. Navy Blue Angels and the Army's premier parachute team, the Golden Knights join a host of other aerial acrobatic performances at the 2008 Joint Service Open House at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
Civilian and military planes vied for the crowd's attention throughout the day with spectacular air demonstrations and ground exhibits from bi-planes to the Air Force’s newest fighter the F-22 Raptor. The world famous Geico Skytypers, the only World War II civilian squadron flying in existence made quite an impression by spelling out “FRIENDS ALWAYS” in recognition of the United States, Great Britain, French and German effort to keep West Berlin free at the beginning of the Cold War. The team flys six T-6 Texan aircraft that were introduced in 1937 as a basic combat trainer plane. Other planes flying or on display included the huge B-52 Stratofortress long range bomber, the U2 Spy plane.

One of the planes I was interested in seeing was the Memphis Belle, a B-17F Flying Fortress that was the first WWII bomber to complete 25 missions over Europe and return to the United States. The crew and plane were immortilized in two films with the same name as the bomber, Memphis Belle. In fact it turns out the B-17F on display was the plane from the 1990 movie starring Matthew Modine and Bill Zane.

From the Ragged Edge comes Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Jill Long performing high energy aerobatics in a Pitts S2B, two seat bi-plane. Jill has been flying since was 16 and according to her bio has over 3000 hours of flight time. As the crowd was watching Sean Tucker go through his award winning performance LTC Long was standing behind her plane walking through her upcoming flight in deep concentration. Her

experience and daring was evident with her rolls, speed and dives.

Today’s technology was not only evident in the new aircraft but as part of the Air Show. I was impressed with the Jumbotron screens that were near center field and the excellent sound that could be heard clearly everywhere on the flight line. While pilots like John Klatt in his Air National Guard Staudacher S-300D hand crafted plane was doing acrobatics the audience could see him on screen live in the cockpit, telling the crowd what he was doing. This added a new dimension to the Air Show. Now instead of just watching the stunt plane do hammerhead turns and fall toward the earth in a spin, you can glance at the screen and see a close up of the pilot in the cockpit with the world spinning around him.

One of the precision flights of the day was the world’s only supersonic, civilian jet demonstration team, the Starfighters. These three F-104 Starfighters flew in tight formation with not much space between them.

The famous Airlift that saved the people of West Germany from the Soviet Union and becoming part of the communist bloc was honored at the air show with a flyby of the C-47 “Second Chance.” This WWII plane represents the C-47 and C-54 airplanes that flew supplies to over 2.2 million Berliners at what would become the beginning of the Cold War. Beginning in 1948, the airlift continued for eleven months when the Soviets agreed to lift the blockade. The airlift continued another four months until September 1949. At its peak the United States and Britain were flying over 5000 tons of supplies each day to Wes Berlin. Part of the opening remarks were by Colonel (Ret) Gail Halvorsen who was one of the original pilots of the airlift know as the “Candy Bomber”. He received his nickname for tying Hershey chocolate bars to little parachutes and dropping them over Berlin.

Closing out the days events was the much-anticipated Navy Blue Angels. From their first flight in 1946 in Jacksonville, Florida, the Blue Angels have been thrilling crowds around the world. To date it is estimated that over 400 million people have watched their demonstrations. Their performance lasted over an hour with solo flights, dogfights and precision formation flying ending with their trademark Fleur di Lis where all six jets move in unison only to split off into various directions like a blooming flower.