Anyone ever been to an airshow?

F-14 Ace · **on:** April 08, 2006, 04:38:07 PM

I went to the air show at Maxwell Airforce Base today. We had terrible weather this morning but the sun came out. I got to see a real F-22 Raptor which is a stealth aircraft. I also got to see two F-117 Nighthawks aka. the stealth fighter. It is not really a fighter but a light bomber. THere was an A-10 Thunderbolt. Best of all was the Thunderbirds. These guys rock. They are the U.S. Airforce's eleit stunt pilots. They fly amazing maneuvers. Four planes will be flying in a diamond formation and while you are watching them, the other two will fly up from behind real low and the sound almost knocks you down. They use 6 F-16 Falcons. Those planes are actually not so loud when they just fly over but when they use those afterburners, man! And to have 4 of them taking off only 50 feet away... THe Thunderbirds are awesome! But I can't believe I actually got to see a REAL F-22! That is the military's new stealth aircraft!

Cyberlizard · **Reply #1 on:** April 08, 2006, 04:51:42 PM

I haven't been to an airshow, but I remember seeing the Blue Angels at a distance from my old house in Bozeman, I could see the exhaust trails goin in a loop. And my old house is a ten miute drive from town.

A few months ago there were all of these Black Hawks flying over my town. Nearly the whole populace could hear the blades, and they flew extremly low. Montana is known to have more nuclear missile silos than any other state in the country. There was something going on in Harlow, a town which is an hour away brom Big TImber, where they were replacing nuclear warheads.

F-14 Ace · **Reply #2 on:** April 08, 2006, 05:02:27 PM

I've seen the Blue Angels too. Only briefly though. We were going to Disney World and were passing through some town. There was something going on that day and I looked up and there were four blue F-18s in formation. I saw some F-18s at the airshow. Also saw a Blue Angels F-4 ut it wasn't flying. Do you know what kind of training it takes for that kind of flying? I mean, they're flying 3 feet feet apart!

Them they fly at eachother going 600 MPH and turn at the last second, missing eachother by about a foot!

THen, when they all fly over in formation, that is beautiful.

F-16s are so loud, they shake the ground. You just wonder how sush a small plane could be so loud. That rumbling is so cool. I love that sound.

Littlefoot Fan · **Reply #3 on:** April 08, 2006, 05:09:11 PM

I've been to 2 airshows that I can remember (Maybe 3, not sure). Yea it's awesome seeing them flying in the formations

and flying at each other and turning right at the last second.

The first one I went to they strapped a huge jet engine onto the back of a normal car and raced it against a jet. Haha, it was cool

The car won by quite a bit

Mirumoto_Kenjiro · **Reply #4 on:** April 08, 2006, 06:10:09 PM

There was an airshow a few years back where I live, but I really didn't get to see it. However, an F-117 Nighthawk did a flyby over our school. That in itself was cool enough since the only jets we normally have out here are A-10s and F-16s.

F-14 Ace · **Reply #5 on:** April 08, 2006, 06:20:50 PM

You all get to see A-10s???

All we have here at Maxwell are C-130s, T-38 trainer jets, and some lear jets. We do have some F-16s at Danly Field, the local airport but they belong to the Air National Guard, not the Air Force. never get to see A-10s except at airshows and even then, they aren's flying. They are just for display on the ground. :cry2 The F-22 I saw was also only on the ground. I have always heard how fast and maneuverable they are and have wanted to see it for myself. But it didn't happen. :cry2 :cry2

Malte279 · **Reply #6 on:** April 08, 2006, 06:24:54 PM

I visited airshows at Duxford and Old Warden (England) in 1998. I'm more interested in WW1 and WW2 airplanes and they were the kinds that flew during that flightshow (though I reckon the WW1 planes were no originals). It was quite impressive. Among other they had the F4U Corsair, a P51-D Mustang , a Spitfire (Mk IX I think), a Hurricane, a B25 Mitchel, and a Me 109 (which looked kind of strange as a different kind of engine required the nose to be shaped differently). I got to know a couple of WW2 pilots (not there, but on different occassions).

F-14 Ace · **Reply #7 on:** April 08, 2006, 06:30:19 PM

We had an airshow two years ago where they had a bunch of WWI and WWII planes. Most of them were actually real. They had a B-17, C-47, B-25, and some others. I also got to see an A-10 for the first time.

Cyberlizard · **Reply #8 on:** April 08, 2006, 06:35:57 PM

Oh, speaking of planes. When I went on my vacation a few weeks ago I visited the Ronald Regan Library and Museum to see the new Airforce One exhibit. I already know I told F-14. But I forgot one other little detail. In the exhibit you actually get to go inside the Boeing 707 that used to be Air Force One!

Mirumoto_Kenjiro · **Reply #9 on:** April 08, 2006, 06:47:50 PM

We also have a former Air Force One at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, AZ. The Air Force Base there also has rows of A-10s, F-16s, F-4s, and a few other planes that I think are out of service.

Back at home, the nearby Fort Huachuca has constant patrol and training drills with mostly A-10s and some F-16s, along with some rare bombing training.

Cyberlizard · **Reply #10 on:** April 08, 2006, 06:51:33 PM

There's a tank range out by my Dad's house in Townsend.

Malte279 · **Reply #11 on:** April 09, 2006, 03:12:55 AM

Hey Kenji, do you know if there is any memorial or exhibits or the like to the Arizonian pilot Frank Luke at the at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson?

Littlefoot1616 · **Reply #12 on:** April 09, 2006, 10:22:08 AM

They hold an airshow in my Dad's hometown here in the UK. Anyone ever hear of the Farnborough airshow? It's probably the biggest airshow in the south of England. I can see pretty much the whole thing from my bedroom window coz all the planes and flight demos happen to occur directly over my house! Which is both good and bad. Good as I get to see all the pre-show flights and practices before they actually go on show and I actually get to see everything without having to leave my room. Including the Red Arrows display team! Awesome guys to watch!

Bad...the noise levels for a good month is a bit irratating! Especially when the jets shoot over head and set off every car alarm in the area! LOL! A tad annoying!

But cool all the same! Free viewings on the biggest airshow in the south!

Cyberlizard · **Reply #13 on:** April 09, 2006, 10:27:16 AM

Every car alarm in the area?

That's exactly what happened when I went to Hawaii for the New Year and they set off fireworks a mile out at sea on a barge. You could actually feel the sound waves hitting you, and that final bang set off a car alarm in the parking lot. I couldn't go to sleep for the rest of the night!

Littlefoot1616 · **Reply #14 on:** April 10, 2006, 06:12:05 AM

You joke, I experienced it! LOL

I suppose it's a car thief's dream. If all the car alarms are going off at once, noone would you notice if they broke in! LOL

:

Anyway, moving swiftly on! Despite that, the pros outweigh the cons and it's a great show especially from the hill at the local park! You can see everything crystal clear!

Petrie. · **Reply #15 on:** April 10, 2006, 12:36:24 PM

Yep, I've seen a couple of airshows...there usually isn't one too far from me just about every year, but I don't go see it every time. You actually don't even have to get close to it to see it...just pull to the side of some back roads.

I don't like getting close to airports because the excess noise really hurts my ears (any loud bang will as well) so I stay far away, thank you.

f-22 "raptor" ace · **Reply #16 on:** July 14, 2006, 09:15:00 AM

never been to an air show.

Mirumoto_Kenjiro · **Reply #17 on:** July 15, 2006, 03:46:52 AM

Sorry for not replying earlier, Malte. I don't remember an exhibit or memorial after him at the museum, but I'm sure they named an air base after him in Tucson. Luke's AFB.

WeirdRaptor · **Reply #18 on:** July 15, 2006, 06:17:33 AM

I've been to an airshow, but that was a long time ago. I think I was 5, but I remember having a blast.

F-14 Ace · **Reply #19 on:** July 15, 2006, 01:45:15 PM

They even had an F-22 at that airshow. Somehow, it was smaller than I imagined. I saw some F-15 and those things are big. There was a C-5. The plane is big enough to drive 3 trains side by side through. The C-5 has doors at both ends. It is HUGE! The other day, there was an F-15, an A-10 and a P-51 all flying around the city. A-10s are so slow. The WWII P-51 was actually flying faster.