Saturday's Airshow was Amazing!

I’ve saved the pictures from Saturday’s airshow for the last blog of the EAA convention. We arrived early to get a seat close to the flightline. The operation crew moved the line back for the Blue Angels show – they had warned us this would be the case and we had planned where we would sit. Funny thing – as soon as the Blue Angels finished their part of the airshow, the crowd literally ran forward the couple hundred feet to the regular flightline to see the rest of the show. It was hilarious! Obviously, there were lots of seasoned show viewers in the crowd. We lost our spot, but were not disappointed.  The remaining performances were ones that we had seen earlier in the week when the crowds weren’t so large.

The show was spectacular! We had the best weather – clear skies, gentle breezes and temps that were not too hot. The crowd was excited and happy – I did not see any grumpy or pushy people anywhere.  People have been so kind and accommodating this whole week, actually. 

The emphasis on this show was patriotism. Planes that played central roles in defending our freedom over the years flew over, in some cases, in formations, illustrating the heritage of one generation to another of aircraft. And the highlight performance was the Blue Angels.  Their performance was awesome! The precision and close positions of the formations caused the whole crowd to gasp at times. The power of the engines as they roared over our heads gave me the shivers. I understand what they mean when they say that enemy soldiers often disperse without firing a shot when these type of planes fly over them close to the ground.

The week at Oshkosh was quite an experience.  I am so glad we went and especially grateful that Chris could join us. We had such a good time! I ended up never going to the Craft Barn – I found more than enough things to view and experience that I basically ran out of time to craft.  Maybe next time….

We saw skywriting several times during the week, including digital dot printing. This traditional method helped entertain the crowd before the airshow on Saturday.

The crowd was assembling several hours before the show. In front of the crowd, you can see a few private planes.  Earlier in the week, this part of the field was totally full of planes.  Apparently, some people were leaving before the end of the convention.

The U.S. flag was brought to the show by a parachute team. This shows the paths that the team members took. You can see a couple of them in the middle of the picture.

This act did a seemingly endless set of corkscrews.

A bunch of B-25s (bombers from WWII) took off for their part of the airshow. These were the type of planes that bombed Japan during WWII.

The B-52 is an 8 engine jet plane currently in the inventory. It has been in continuous service for 60 years.

The B-1B is another bomber in the current inventory. Chris and I once saw one take off from the Long Beach airport when we were at the corner of Wardlow and Cherry.  That plane is LOUD!

Two B-25s (the two engine ones) and two B-29s broke into a missing man formation to honor the men who died flying during WWII. There are only two flyable B-29s and this is the first time both planes flew at the same time in a long time.

We saw several A-10, Warthogs, fly in the airshows of the week.  This is the first time we saw them take off at close range.

The F-35 tended to end the airshows during the week.  This is the first time, we saw it take off.  Northrop Grumman is a major subcontractor for the plane.

A P-51, two A-10s and a F-35 paid homage to fighter planes across the years.

The show took a break from showcasing military planes and did several acts of acrobatic planes.  You can see how many corkscrews this plane did before pulling out. I just don't know how the pilot kept their sense of orientation.

This plane did the limbo at about 15 feet!

One of the B-29s landing after their flyover.

One of the B-17s.

There were lots of B-25s at the air convention.

Another B-29.  The Enola Gay was a B-29.

These three bombers represent the current fleet of bombers for the U.S.: B-52, B-2 and B-1B.

I always get emotional when a B-2 flies over. I spent many years of my career managing the navigation software and associated test software development teams.

The B-52 is the oldest bomber in inventory.

The squadron this B-1B is attached to is stationed in the Pacific and is involved in the flights we are reading about around North Korea.

We saw the Proteus one more time. Bert Rutan's designs are always so interesting.

The Blue Angels show started with them taking off very quickly.

It is mind boggling to see their tight and close formations.

Now they do it upside down. You can see why they call the F-18s Hornets.

They had a lot more tricks in their bag. The crowd was excited and cheering at each new maneuver.  So much fun!