Yesterday, my 10 year old and I went to the 25th Annual Quad Cities Air Show. I haven't been to an airshow in about 11 or 12 years. When I was a kid, we used to go to the air show at Ellsworth AFB every year. I've seen the US Navy's Blue Angels, the USAF's Thunderbirds and the US Army's Golden Knights Parachute team. I was a lucky, lucky kid.
The Quad Cities Air Show is one of the best air shows around...at least that's what I've heard. They had a lot of top notch entertainment yesterday, but the best was the Blue Angels. I was so thrilled that they are back in action after being grounded recently.
For those who haven't seen a Blue Angels show, they start off with their C-130 (a.k.a Fat Albert) doing some flight demonstrations, including a steep descent. Fat Albert carries their maintenace crews and ground support equipment. I love C-130s, so this was really cool for me. Then, after Fat Albert lands, the 6 US Navy's F-18 Hornets that make up the Blue Angels team show up. Airplanes 1-4 fly the entire show in formation, while airplanes 5 and 6 do solo maneuvers. I took way too many pictures, which I may post at some point. The highlight of the show for me is the "sneak attack". I'm not sure if that's what they call it. Basically they distract you with 4 of the airplanes doing something, and then one of the solo airplanes comes in from behind the crowd, and you don't hear it until it's right over you. This was the maneuver that got the team in trouble a couple of months ago because they flew it too low.
The show was great, and I love the jet engine noise. We got to see an F-15 as well...so loud, so wonderful. My 10 year old was thrilled with the noise and the demonstrations. It was so great to see him so excited. When I was a kid, it was going to airshows that got me interested in aerospace and led me to a job in the aerospace industry. I don't know if yesterday's airshow will ever lead to anything like that for my son, and it's not really my choice. All I know is that it was so much fun to see him excited, probably like I was at that age. For me, that was even better than the Blue Angels.
If you ever get an opportunity to go to an airshow with the Blue Angels or Thunderbirds, take it. You won't regret it.
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1 comment:
Your post brought back lots of memories. I, too, remember the noise, and the heat of the tarmac. I'm so glad both you boys enjoyed yourselves!
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