air show stuff magazine - may 2013

8/12/2019 Air Show Stuff Magazine - May 2013

1/58

Golden Knights Tandem Camp

Space Shuttle Endeavour

Bombers Over SoCal

Red Flag 13-2 and 13-3NAF El Centro Photocalls

Reports from the Field

and more!

Inside:


2/58

32 AirshowStuf Magazine May 2013

Cover PhotoASM contributor Kevin Marni, strapped to US Army Golden Knight team member

SSG Jared Zell,leaps from the Twin Oer jump plane during Tandem Camp at theteams winter training ground, Homestead ARB. Photo courtesy US Army Golden

Knights/SGT John Lopez. For more on Kevins me with the team, see page 14.

08 Now Showing: Endeavour Goes On Display

How does this work? Its easy! Simply scroll from

page to page, or use the bookmarks to jump to

specic arcles.

@AirshowStu /AirshowStu

AirshowStuVideos

2 AirshowStuf Magazine

26 Bombers Over SoCal

40 NAF El Centro Photocalls

Grounded:

Sequestraon and the 2013 Airshow Season

06

2 AirshowStuf Magazine

54 Red Flag 13-2 and 13-3

Knights Away!

Tandem Camp with the Golden Knights14

Reports from the Field72
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3/58


May 2013

Joseph D Ahmad

Alan Barbor

Sam Bulger

Darren Fulton

Tom Hedlund

Kevin Helm

Mar

Pa

Kevi

Christo

Eric

Thanks to those w

contributed to this

This publicaon is copyright 2013 Airshow-

Stu LLC and may not be printed, edited, sold,

or distributed without prior wrien consent. All

photographic and textual works submied and

used in this publicaon remain property of their

respecve owners.

ArsoS Ol Mag

If you are an a irshow enthusiast, we want

your help! Everything you see in this mag-

azine is created and submied by people

like you. All it takes is a simple e-mail each

month with photos or arcles you would like

to submit. We may even be able to help you

get a media pass if you cover a show for us!

If you would like to join our team, please

drop us an e-mail at [email protected]

Wed love to talk with you!

Editors: Ryan Sund

Anthony R

Chad Gros

Ricky Ma

Patrick Ba

Mark Hrutkay

Coordinator: Ricky Ma

S yorslf r!

5

5


4/58


The 2013 airshow season is set-

ng up to be like none we have ever

seen before. Due to government

mandated budget cuts, the 2013

Blue Angels and USAF Thunder-

bird schedules have been canceled,

along with USAF and Navy Tac

Demo performances and any oth-

er military support including stac

displays. Bases around the coun-

try have abandoned plans for open

house events as they struggle to

maintain even normal operaons.

How did this happen? In 2011,

Congress put sequestraon into theBudget Control Act of 2011, to en-

courage lawmakers to reduce the

annual decit by 1.2 trillion before

the end of 2012. If they failed to

act, automac budget cuts would

kick in for the 2013 budget. When

Congress failed to pass a budget,

the cuts kicked in on March 1st of

this year. The military budget was

slashed, and leaders immediately

announced that they would end

non-essenal ying, suspend many

defense contracts, delay construc-

on/maintenance, and limit ying

hours.

Even casual airshow fans know

that the jet teams are the major

draw that shows regularly depend

on to bring in enough money from

spectators and sponsors, and many

shows have chosen to skip 2013

plans. As of press me, the current

count of shows that have canceled

due to lack of military or budget

support is a whopping 42. This in

turn is hing civilian performers,some of whom make their living

performing at shows, hard. Ma

Younkin, who ies a Twin Beech 18,

told AirshowStu that he has lost

10 of his scheduled shows this year

due to cancellaons.

The Internaonal Council of Air-

shows has gone so far as to hire a

lobbying rm in an eort to present

the dramac impact sequestraon

has had on the airshow industry to

lawmakers. Some industry profes-

sionals have aempted to organize

leer wring campaigns and pe-

ons to pressure representaves

as well. Unfortunately, it seems

that there is lile hope for military

support for airshows to be restored

this year. The jet teams do connue

to y, but must use their precious

few ying hours to maintain basic

currency in the aircra rather than

pracce rounes. The Blue Angels

have announced that some mem-

bers of their team will be scking

around for another year since theydid not get to y this year. Both

teams fully intend on ying their

full show schedule in 2014. The

USAF Thunderbirds are taking appli-

caons for 2014 performances and

the Blue Angels are scheduled to

release their 2015 schedule at the

ICAS Convenon in December.

GROUNDEDSequeStRAtiOnS iMpAct

On 2013 AiRShOw SeASOn

Arcle by Ricky Mahews

Photo by Ryan Sundheimer

May 2013 7


5/5898 AirshowStuf Magazine May 2013

LOS ANGELES -- On October 30,

2012 the California Science Cen-ter (CSC) opened the doors of the

newly built Samuel Oschin Pavilion

to the public. During the next few

years, visitors will be able to view

Orbiter Vehicle 105 (OV-105), com-

monly known as the Space Shule

Endeavour, up close. The temporary

facilies currently house two exhib-

it spaces while the design and con-

strucon of the permanent Samuel

Oschin Air and Space Center is un-

der way.

Beginning in the main hall of theScience Center, the exhibit Endeav-

our: The California Story provides

a grand introducon to OV-105 En-

deavour. Wall displays tell OV-105s

life story. They begin with the con-

cepon following the January 28,

1986 Challenger STS-51-L tragedy,

connue with the Made in Califor-

nia construcon montage which

spans the growth from August 1,

1987 when the vercal tail arrived

in Palmdale to May 3, 1991 with

the introductory delivery ight de-parture. Photographs detail all 25

of Endeavours missions to space

own during her working years,

and a commemorave video loop

chronicles the last mission during

rerement, Mission 26: The Big En-

deavour, its nal transport journey

from the Los Angeles Internaonal

Airport to the California Science

Center.

As visitors enter the exhibit,

theyre confronted with a venerable

collecon of arfacts. The strongsmell of rubber permeates the air

from the set of single use Michelin

main landing gear res. They are

the very ones Endeavour relied on

for the nal 43 seconds of her last

mission STS-134. Her landing was

the second shortest of the shule

program and had resulted in a small

brake re. Visitors are also invited to

touch the nose landing gear res re-

used during STS-134 from the previ-

ous STS-130 Endeavour mission.

The galley, one of three fuel cellsand the waste collecon system

(WCS) were removed from Endeav-

ours middeck for the exhibit. They

are presented alongside video sta-

ons to explain the technology be-

hind how astronauts eat, breathe

and funcon in space. With an

eye toward the younger, curious,

yet somewhat info

the eight minute N

Poy lm explain

WCS modes and a

ing the ground ba

and posional W

Johnson Space Cen

For the mission

the CSC went to g

acquire the Rocket

Support Center (R

Canoga Park plant.

by the Space Shu

(SSME) contractor pletely reassemble

the ROSC, engineer

RS-25 SSME perfo

ters real-me durin

ights and about 3

rings.

Spectators can v

sequence beginnin

ute and ending at

a compelling featu

right at the heart of

almost. According

ence Center Curat

Science, Kenneth P

screens display da

sanized and pres

sent a noonal laun

launch videos from

ery and Endeavour

the exhibit is to per

beer understand

data used by launch

ing Endeavours 8.5

orbit, he said. Of co

25 performance da

sensive informao

Proceeding to thvisitors are given th

of Endeavour up cl

al. Sing approxim

the ground, visito

degrees around a

the 147,000 lb. or

sits atop the 25,0

Transporter, which

Arcle and Photos

By Kevin Helm



sion, Endeavour ew a boundary

layer trip le experiment on the

port wing. A special le with a .5

tall protrusion was mounted to

transion the boundary layer from

smooth, laminar ow to turbulent

ow around Mach 19.5 and an-

other le with an embedded ther-

mocouple was placed downstream

to measure any increase in surface

temperature. Both of these les are

marked INSTRUMENTATION and

are easy to idenfy.

An RS-25 Space Shule Main En-gine that was previously in Canoga

Park is also on display in the main

pavilion. It was pieced together for

display purposes from ight hard-

ware and is generally representa-

ve of a Block I engine. The SSME's

gimbal bearing, the part that con-

nected the engine to the orbiter

and allowed the engine and nozzle

to move to steer, ew on OV-102

Columbia during the rst ve shut-

tle ights (STS-1 through STS-5).

The nozzle ew aboard OV-99 Chal-

lenger during its rst four missions

(STS-6 through STS-8 and 41-B) and

aboard Columbia during STS-32.

The three nozzles mountedon Endeavour herself are actually

known as replicas reulized from

producon nozzles that were used

for tesng purpose

the fact that NASA h

II SSMEs to use o

systems. Engine noz

ve missions prior

test specimen; thre

deavour (STS-54, S

68), one aboard D

and one liing Co

The other two no

red a total of 91

Endeavour will r

ion unl 2017, whe

home in the SamueSpace Center is bu

nia Science Center

million of the $200

the previously built Space Shules

from USAF Plant 42 in Palmdale to

Edwards Air Force Base. Shes stable

on this perch, and state-of-the-art

seismic shock isolators ensure her

protecon from earthquake dam-

age by allowing 24 of lateral dis-

placement in all direcons.

Since Endeavour is in her nal

resng place, NASA, at the Science

Centers request, performed very

lile post-ight work other than

harvesng systems for future use

and ensuring the orbiter was safefor public display. Thankfully for

aerospace enthusiasts, there are

many interesng scars and features

to be seen on the thermal protec-

on system, which consists of dif-

ferent types of surface materials

applied in various temperature re-

gions that protected the orbiter on

re-entry.

During Endeavours nal STS-

134 mission, some of the over

20,000 black High-Temperature

Reusable Surface Insulaon les

that cover the boom and nose of

the orbiter were damaged during

launch. The damage was severe

enough that one le had to have afocused inspecon by sensors on

the boom arms of the Shule and

Internaonal Space Staon before

being cleared for re-entry. The im-

agery and laser scans showed that

the damage site measured 2.43

x 2.95 with a maximum depth of

0.89. Analysis showed the alumi-

num structure below the damage

would experience maximum tem-

peratures of around 219 degrees

Fahrenheit during re-entry, well be-

low the 350 degree safety limit. This

area and the other lesser damaged

les can clearly be seen on the bot-

tom of the orbiter. Its easy to noce

the le interiorwhite in color andvisually resembling the consistency

of Styrofoam.

Also during the STS-134 mis-


7/58

Courtesy US Arm



Courtesy US Arm

May 2013 1514 AirshowStuf Magazine

Arcle by Kevin Marni

i th I thiKevin MarniKevin Marni



Skydiving. Some people consid-

er it crazy, some consider it an amaz-

ing rush. Merriam Webster denes

it as The sport of jumping from an

airplane at a moderate altude and

execung various body maneuvers

before pulling the rip cord of a para-

chute. Either way, I am about to

nd out for myself. Its around 8:30

in the morning on a beauful south

Florida morning at Homestead Air

Reserve Base as a large group of

people are ushered into a ny oce

trailer. There is just enough room

to t the 10 or so jumpers around

a table, a television, and the hand-

ful of family and friends who have

come along to support their loved

ones. Waing for us at each posi-

on at the table is a four page docu-

ment and a pen. The room is full

of the sounds of chairs dragging

against the linoleum oor, meaning-

less chit chat, and laughter. A lot of

laughter. Aer a couple of minutes

I recognize that it is a strained and

nervous sort of noise. Filled with

the kind of jokes, conversaon, and

laughter that only come from a mix

of stress, nerves, and excitement.

Can you blame anyone? In a maer

of an hour we are all going to thrust

our bodies out of a perfectly good

airplane at 13,000 feet.

SFC Noah Was, the tandem

team leader, enters the room and

stands in front of the group. A tall

and t man, he quickly commands

the aenon of the room without

saying a word. Good morning la-

dies and gentlemen, as you may al-

ready know, I am SFC Noah Was

he begins. His cadence and delivery

are disncvely Army, however

he presents each sentence with a

natural sense of humor. Before div-

ing into an instruconal video, SFC

Was makes one point clear. If you

remember anything from this ses-

sion, I want it to be this. Arch, Relax

and Have Fun. He says this again,

only this me with a smile. Arch,

Relax and Have Fun.

We watch the presentaon vid-

eo which consists of some excing

footage of various famous people

who have had the honor of jumping

with the Golden Knights in the past,

broken up every minute or two with

the expected warnings and legal

mumbo jumbo. Once the video n-

ishes, its on to the legal waiver sit-

ng in front of each person jumping

that day. As SFC Was begins to go

over each secon I noce a glaze fall

across the faces of some of those

in the group. I thi

sat paently for ju

as possible given

of what the near fu

Noah dely picks u

and his words per

to a level where I

a trained court sten

have a hard me ke

ing is being missed

wonder in my head

this document in

here, Inial her

name here, Havewitness and sign fo

utes and two page

I am skydiving toda

new house. We n

completed waivers

are told that our

equipment room, w

ted with the necess

just about to get u

from the rear of t

Now honestly, ho

can stand up witho

ing with you? T

into laughter, but I suspicion that ther

the group who are

double-take as they

SFC Was leads

the room and star

or so feet of open

to cover to the tan

room. Its a bit li

As soon as the en

out in the open, t

into individual disc

themselves looking

of the demo team

for landing. The ta

a schedule to kee

does a good job ge

head out of the c

on terra rma whe

be. We enter the e

and aer a few sec

for our eyes to di

Kevin Marni



sure to the bright Florida sun, we

are greeted by the pleasant smile

of Liz Homan as she is engaged in

a sort of rhythmic dance with herarms repacking a parachute. Due

to the fast paced schedule a full day

of tandem jumps demand, the indi-

vidual members of the team simply

do not have the me to repack their

own parachutes. That job and re-

sponsibility falls squarely onto Liz.

A job that demands 100% aen-

on to detail combined with being

able to perform said job masterfully

quick. You see, not only are every-

ones lives completely in her hands

as she packs each parachute, but for

everyone to get the chance to make

a tandem jump before the sun goes

down, Liz has to pack each para-

chute quickly.

A few moments pass before the

rest of the tandem crew enters the

room. Smiling and in good spirits,

they begin to call out the names

of the jumpers they have been as-

signed to. Once located, each

group begins a casual banter that

includes the requisite introduc-ons. I start to understand why Liz

is required to move so quickly, be-

cause the tandem team moves just

as fast equipping each jumper with

their kit. Each person is given the

gold and white jump suit, helmet

and goggles, gloves (if desired) and

of course a harness. I glance over

at SSG Jon Ewald who is working

to fasten and adjust the harness

on a young woman who has a deer

in the headlights look all over her

face. Clearly shes nervous, but a

few calming words from SSG Ewald,

followed by a couple of well-med

jokes puts her at ease. You can tell

this isnt the rst me that any of

the team has had to deal with fear

and anxiety, and they know just

what to say.

Its only a maer of 15 minutes

before the rst group of four jump-

ers is ready to go. They are led out-

side, and into the waing cargo vans

along with their respecve tandeminstructors and videographers.

Those of us in the later jump groups

can only look on with jealousy and

ancipaon as the two vans pull

away on their way to the aireld

and the awaing jump plane. Some

choose to pass the me sing in qui-

et reecon. Some meander about

chang with one another, while

others stand in the tough Bermuda

grass craning their necks skywards,

watching either the Gold or Black

demo teams praccing, or looking

for the small black dot of the Twin

Oer ying high above. No maer

which they choose, the me passes

slowly. Obviously Homestead ARB

does not defy the space/me con-

nuum, but standing on the ground

waing for your turn to go feels like

youve awakened early on Christ-

mas day. Knowing that you have

another hour before you can wake

your parents and begin the fesvi-

es. All you can do is lie there, stareat the ceiling, and wait.

Aer what feels like two hours,

we hear the radio crackle to life

with the sounds of Oer pilot CW5

Kelley Caudle announcing they are

inbound to the target. Roger re-

plies SFC Tom Bovee the landing

zone safety ocer, You have a hot

target. Winds are at two ve zero at

ve to ten knots. The faint drum of

the Twin Oer can be heard, and I

nally nd the lile black dot in the

vast sea of blue sky. Moments later,

I spot even smaller black dots being

le behind by the plane. I watch

as the team and their passengers

fall from the sky. The large white

drogue chute is easy to make out

against the Florida sky. Squinng a

lile, I am actually able to make out

the silhouee of the solo videog-

rapher falling along with the tan-

dem jumpers. The speed at which

they are falling is percepvely high,

made even more obvious when thetandem jumpers deploy their main

parachute. The solo videographer

connues to fall away from them

so quickly I hear myself verbally say

WOW without intending to do so.

A few seconds later, I hear the faint

WHOOSH sounds as each of the

parachutes ll rapidly with air. All

jumpers are out and safely under

canopy.

In no me at all, the solo vid-

eographers start to land aer mak-

ing several high speed spiraling

descents. They need to get on the

ground quickly so that they can in

turn lm the landing of their as-

signed tandem pair. Next up are

the tandem groups, stacked one

on top of each other in the sky,

like the spiral sha of a parking ga-

rage. High above me, the screams

of exhilaraon com

High pitched screa

wooooooos make

to the landing zochutes get larger a

sky. Fami ly membe

the ground begin

cheers and applau

as one by one each

come in for a safe

in the grass. Seve

the ground crew ru

son to quickly spill

parachute, as well a

excitement that e

just enjoyed.

With lile me

team members qu

jumpers to their fe

them regale how a

15 minutes of their

tandem instructors

chutes over a sho

with a purpose tow

ment room and Liz

Kevin Marni Kevin Marni Kevin Marni

All the while talking laughing and SSG Sloan heads o to help oth- outside into the sun where we chat check The team had just taken My ears pop several mes and the main D rings a



All the while talking, laughing, and

of course, high ving the jumpers

who just went along with them.

Once into the equipment room,

they grab a freshly packed para-

chute, the next jumper they are as-

signed to, and begin the process all

over again. At rst I expected it to

be methodical and repeve, how-

ever I was pleasantly incorrect. Each

member of the team took the same

me and care on the next group of

jumpers as they did with the rst.

SSG Rich Sloan approaches me andintroduces himself. He helps me se-

lect a jump suit, nds a helmet that

ts my abnormally large head, and

then assists me into my harness.

The reality of what I am about to do

begins to set it, and I am reminded

of some of the faces of those I saw

go before me. The harness weighs

quite a bit more than I expected,

and I am actually reassured by this.

SSG Sloan heads o to help oth-

ers when I am introduced to the

second person who will hold my

life in his hands this day. Kevin?

asks SSG Jared Zell as he walks up

and shakes my hand. We exchange

pleasantries as he begins to ghten

and adjust my harness. I chuckle

out loud and comment heyat

least buy me dinner rst because

a few key adjustment locaons

feel as though I'm being ed for

a tuxedo. SSG Zell laughs politely,

clearly this is not the rst me hehas heard that one, but I appreciate

the laugh, aer all, it was a prey

dismal joke. SSG Zell moves quickly

and competently, and before we

have me to talk very much more

he is nished. The harness has now

gone from reassuring, to heavy and

ght. Next I am introduced to SGT

John Lopez, the videographer as-

signed to my jump. He escorts me

outside into the sun where we chat

for a minute or two. He explains

that he will be falling with us in the

sky, taking pictures and video of

my free fall, all of it in high deni-

on glory. We then move into a re-

corded video interview. One ques-

on, do you have anything to say

to your family or loved ones? gives

me pause. Aer an uncomfortable

stare into the empty camera lens, I

could only think to say my last will

and testament is that my wife gets

everything. We both chuckle, andwrap up the interview because its

me to load up into the vans.

Aer a ve minute ride over to

the aireld, we exit the van and

then pause on the ightline. Each

member of the Knights checks, and

double checks each other's gear.

Sing o in the distance I noce

something bright and shiny, and my

aenon is drawn o of the gear

check. The team had just taken

ownership of a brand new DHC-6-

400 Twin Oer. It was sad to see it

sing ed down, because the thing

just looks like it wants to be up in the

air. My hopes of geng a chance to

jump from it were dashed as it was

explained that the pilots were sll in

the process of going through the re-

quired check rides and supplemen-

tal training that comes along with a

new aircra and more importantly,

a new glass cockpit. In almost per-

fect ming, the Oer that I will jumpout of begins to start, and a minute

or two later, taxis over to where we

will board. We are then escorted

in pairs, each jumper with their re-

specve tandem instructor, over to

the plane. We board, strap on our

seat belts and before you know it,

feel the power of the Oers twin

turbo prop engines pulling us down

the runway and into the air.

My ears pop several mes, and

the ambient air temperature drops

as we ascend higher and higher in

to the sky. The mood in the plane

is jovial, but also tense at the same

me. The loud drone of the en-

gines makes it hard to hear one an-

other so conversaon is a struggle.

At around 10,000 feet SSG Zell an-

nounces that it's me for me to be

aached to him, and Im invited to

do something that I have no adult

memories of. I'm asked to sit on

another man's lap. It's humorousand every bit as awkward as you

can imagine. Next I hear words

that I honestly never thought I'd

ever hear another man say to me.

"I have you buckled in at the hips,

but now I need you to lean back

into me." I chuckle, smile an awk-

ward smile towards SGT Lopez as he

snaps a quick picture, and then lean

backward into SSG Zell. He aaches

the main D rings, a

everything down. A

almost feel each bre

we're so aached I

his pulse. I only ho

my leg bouncing up

excitement and ner

We're only a fe

from the big plung

yells in my ear tha

over our exit proce

ce where I need to

and the ever impor

and Have Fun. I goer couple of mes

ing to make sure th

this up. Before I k

bound towards th

and are given a h

exit door slides op

who will be jumping

makes their way ov

hear a few mued

in an instant they

Kevin MarniKevin Marni

Lopez SSG Zell and I are up nextKevin MarniKevin Marni



Lopez, SSG Zell, and I are up next.

We have to perform a combinaon

crab/duck walk up to the precipice,

stopping with my toes dangling

over into the void. I can feel the

power of the windstream as the Ot-

ter pushes through the 13,000 foot

air at around 100 MPH. From be-

hind, I hear SSG Zell screaming over

the wind "Ready? One.. two.

and...." during which me we rock

forward at the one count. The ma-

jority of my body weight dangling

in the air. Then backwards on thetwo count, safely back inside the

plane. I should stop and explain

something here. They may say this

procedure is so you and the videog-

rapher can be sure to exit at the

same me, however I'm convinced

this lile maneuver is there simply

to A, scare the crap out of you, and

more importantly B, give the tan-

dem instructor the momentum he

may need to make sure I get out of

the plane, in case fear paralyzes me.

Thankfully this day, fear was not the

victor.I hear the three count and we

plunge forward, and even now, I'm

having a hard me trying to nd

the right words to explain just what

happened next. I've built this jump

up in my head countless mes, all

the while I kept imagining that it

must feel like the rst drop of a roll-

er coaster. The way your stomach

ies up into your throat. Or like the

lightness sensaon you get when

driving a car over a parabolic hump

in the road. I couldn't have been

more wrong. It's like all the ying

you've ever done in your dreams.

No sudden sensaon of falling, no

uncomfortable feeling of imminent

death, you're just there...simply

present in the atmosphere. The

only indicaon of movement is the

sound of rushing wind ying by my

ears, or the eeng vision of the Ot-

ter climbing higher and higher away

from me (reality is it s not climbing,

Im falling!) That all lasts for a split

second before I think, "Oh crap...

don't forget the arch! The one thing

they said not to forget...hurry!" as

I arch my back hoping it wasnt too

late. All of these thoughts went

through my head in what felt like

2 minutes, however a quarter of a

second was more like it.

Of course I wasnt too late with

my arch, and a second later I feel the

slight tug of the drogue shoot slow-

ing our decent. SSG Zell slaps me on

my shoulder, leng me know that

I could release my hands and that

I was now free to move about the

cabin. What follows next was sim-

ply sheer exhilaraon. Freedom.

Awesome. Rushing to the ground

at 120 MPH simply feels like oat-

ing. I was screaming, what in my

head had to be very manly guural

noises, mixed in with "heck yeah"

but I have a feeling that SSG Zells

ears might have been full of the

annoying screams of the Geico pig

commercial. Thankfully, the rush-

ing air prevented him from either

conrming or denying exactly what

sounds were made. During our free

fall, videographer SGT John Lopez

was orbing around Jared and I,

snapping pictures, as well as docu-

menng this ride in HD video. Even

though the only sound heard in free

fall is the wind, you can clearly make

out my mouth screaming THIS IS

AWESOME!! WOOOOOOO. SGT

Lopezs mastery of control in free

fall was extraordinary. Eortlessly

moving le or right, up or down,

wherever the creave desire for

"the shot" took him. At one point he

rolled over onto his back and I had

to chuckle to myself, in between the

manly yells, that he appeared to be

relaxing in a reclining chair made of

nothing but air.

All too soon I begin to feel the

drag induced by the main parachute

being deployed and I brace myself.

Just like the feeling of free fall, I've

built this moment up in my head,

expecng a sudden and jolng stop.

I was once again incorrect. The de-

celeraon was dramac; however

it was smooth throughout approxi-

mately 5 seconds. The only pain or

discomfort I feel comes from the

harness taking up my weight. Its a

fact of life that most harnesses pinch

in areas that most folks wouldn't

appreciate very much, especially us

men. To say it was painful would be

over dramac. It was unpleasant,

and I cant say I enjoyed it, but I also

can't say that it "hurt".

Once under canopy I can fully

appreciate the view. The chaos of

free fall is quickly replaced with the

serenity of canopy decent. I am

able to converse with Jared easily

at this point, but most of the me

was spent simply enjoying the ride.

Beauful white puy clouds to the

le and right, F-16s parked on base,

the other members of the tandem

team descending both above as well

as below us. SSG Zell makes gentle

swooping right, and then le turns.

All of which ensure proper spacing

from other membe

but that doesn't m

convinced he's do

my sheer enjoymen

ery second of it.

need to descend ra

ed, and we enter in

ing turn. Centripe

our bodies paralle

and we dump som

in a hurry. This forc

our perspecve of

duces a higher G-lo

pated. I feel my b

into the harness, o

ing with it the dis

leg loops. Along w

a second sensaon

pect has made its p

I should preface th

not prone to moo

to land near their Courtesy US Army Golden Knights Courtesy US Army Golden Knights



not get queasy or dizzy on airplanes

(both large and small) or on roller

coasters. However, about the me

we nished our rst spin, in came

the twinge of dizziness. It never

got bad, and I know if I asked, SSG

Zell would stop, but I didnt want

him to. We nish our second revo-

luon and Jared rolls us out of the

spin, once again on a slow comfort-

able descent. I think it took my eyes

and ears about a full second to sync

back up with the rest of my senses.

We begin our approach to the

landing zone, and I can hear the

people on the ground hollering up

to me. Even without really know-

ing one another there was a sense

of camaraderie as I hollered and

applauded back. Looking ahead to

where we would land, I could see

SGT Lopez standing on the ground,

his hand waving largely over his

head. The tandem jumpers need

video of a landing 1

nowhere near as e

SSG Zell click his h

acknowledgement

signal. We turn righ

onto nal approach

easy towards the s

up! I hear SSG Zell

and I li my knees

Were geng close

and everyone else,

at a sprinng pace

ed call out Legs ouall I had to do was

straight out from m

heels up as high as

have done this righ

second or two later

on our bus across

we were sliding in

Members of the te

ing cables to spill t

parachute, as SSG Z

to disconnect hims

back on the grou

my own two feet a

do is go again. SGup with his camera

ride was and witho

him a high ve. D

man, Im excited! W

camera interview, g

gear and start walk

the equipment roo

SGT Lopez have to

grab a fresh parach

jumper and go do

I enter the room an

minutes remove t

met, and jump suit

water from the d

grab my camera,

outside just in me

group load into th

away. I look at them

sky and nd one e

slightly under the

adrenaline. Jealous

Courtesy US Army Golden Knights


14/58

2726 AirshowStuf Magazine May 2013May 2013 2726 AirshowStuf Magazine

Arcle by Christopher Roberts


15/58


trip into San Diego for FIFI in re-

cent memory. Aer San Diego the

AirPower tour made stops in Palm

Springs, Camarillo, and Burbank.

The next tour to y into the re-gion was the Liberty Foundaons

Memphis Belle tour. The tour had

last visited San Diego in Febru-

ary 2010 with the B-17 "Liberty

Belle". Sadly in 2011 Liberty Belle

was forced to make an emergency

landing in a eld outside Chicago,

Illinois. The aircra sustained lile

damage during the forced landing

but the re which caused the land-

ing burned out of control and con-

sumed most of the aircra aer thelocal re department refused to en-

ter the eld to exnguish it.

The Liberty Foundaon turned

to another B-17, "The Movie Mem-

phis Belle", to connue the Liberty

Tour, while Liberty Belle is being re-

built. The Memphis Belle on tour

is not the original

which completed 2

the 324th Bomb Sq

but it was the airc

1991 movie of the Belle made a stop in

lespie Field, just ea

on March 23. Wh

could get rides an

through tours. O

stops following San

Long Beach and Bu

The roar of radial engines was

very prominent over Southern Cali-

fornia in mid-March, as two sepa-

rate bomber tours made stops

in the region. The rst to swingthrough was the Commemorave

Air Forces AirPower History Tour,

which showcased their B-29 Super-

fortress "FIFI", the only ying exam-

ple le in the world. This tour was

followed up by the Liberty Founda-

ons Memphis Belle B-17 tour.

The AirPower tour ew into San

Diegos Brown Field on March 11.

Accompanying FIFI on this leg of

tour was the P-51 Mustang "Man-

O-War", C-45 Expeditor "Bucketof Bolts", and an SNJ. The general

public could book a ight on any of

the four aircra, and prices ranged

from $65 on the C-45 to $1495 for

the bombardier seat on the Super-

fortress.

One San Diego resident, Re-

red USAF Brigadier General Rob-

ert Bob Cardenas, was one of the

lucky few who got to experience a

ride in FIFI. However this was not

Cardenass rst ride in a B-29. In factover 65 years ago Cardenas was the

pilot at the controls of one of the

most famous B-29 ights in history.

On October 14, 1947 he piloted a

B-29 that dropped Chuck Yeager

in the Bell X-1 to the rst manned

supersonic ight. This was the rst

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Christopher Roberts Christopher Roberts Christopher Roberts Christopher Roberts

Eric A Rosen


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The quiet lassitude of a warm

and sunny October day in the Im-

over the base as a Naval Air Staon

where it was used primarily for air-

provides training f

go simulated car


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y y

perial Valley of California was dis-

rupted by the overpowering sounds

of aerburners, prop wash, and jet

noise. At 42 below sea level, it is

certainly a unique locaon for a na-

val base. Originally opened in 1942

as a Marine Corps Air Staon, it was

used to train many Marine aviaon

squadrons for deployment to the

South Pacic during World War II.

By 1946, MCAS El Centro was de-

commissioned and the Navy took

p y

cra storage, gunnery, and rocket

training. In the following year, the

Navy made Naval Air Facility El Cen-

tro a permanent installaon.

With good weather occurring

over 300 days of the year and plen-

ty of wide open space in which to

pracce, plus limited non-military

air trac and mulple bombing

ranges in the area, the base oper-

ates by hosng acve and reserve

aviaon units of the Navy. NAFEC

g

pracce ordnance

ing air-to ground

ring, strang run

bomb drops. Beca

exceponal locao

every naval aviator

cial role in their tra

ber of ight ope

200 per day and 65

In 1967, the Blu

using NAFEC as th

ing base. Starng ev

Arcle and Photos by Eric A Rosen

May 2013 4140 AirshowStuf Magazine


22/58


team arrives from its home base of

NAS Pensacola in Florida to prepare

for training at the ranges in the sur-

rounding area were T-45 Goshawks

phers gathered that day had hoped

for a photo opportunity of the EA-

their training cycle at NAFEC. The

nal cycle of their training included

load versions including 5 inch Zuni

rockets, 500 lb JDAMs (GBU-38s),

since I have never

photograph these


23/58


training for the following airshow

season. During their two month

training, the Blue Angels team per-

forms up to two ights a day as they

learn and rene the demonstraon

roune for the upcoming airshow

season.

Toward the end of Blue Angel

training, the Public Aairs Oce

(PAO) on base hosts a photocall for

a select group of aviaon photogra-

phers from several aviaon forumsincluding Aviaon Photographers

of Southern California (APSoCal)

and Arizona Aviaon Photographers

(AzAP) to get up-close and photo-

graph some of the Navys aircra

arsenal in acon, performing daily

operaonal training. El Centro is a

four-hour drive from Los Angeles,

so I decided to arrive early in the

morning to catch some launches

and recoveries before we were al-

lowed on base. This aorded me a

grand opportunity to preview which

squadrons and aircra types werebeing hosted later that aernoon.

Im glad I arrived early because

there was a plethora of squadrons

and dierent types of aircra on

base this year. I tried to catch the

Brish RAF Lynx and Merlin heli-

copters but they were both camera

shy. The xed-wing aircra vising

from VT-23 "The Professionals" and

VT-22 "Golden Eagles. There was

also a mixed detail of legacy and

Super Hornet F-18s of VFA-106

"Gladiators" from NAS Oceana,

two detachments of US Marine

F-18 squadrons from MCAS Beau-

fort VMFA-115 "Silver Eagles" and

VMFA (AW)-533 "Hawks", and EA-

6B Prowlers of VAQ-129 "Vikings"

from NAS Whidbey Island.

From the moment we arrivedon the eld, the ying acon kicked

into high gear. A KC-130J from MCAS

Miramars VMGR-352 "Raiders"

was beang up the paern with

six touch-n-go passes. In between

passes, T-45 Goshawks from VT-23

headed out on training ights. Af-

ter departure, some would circle

around the eld and perform simu-

lated carrier landings. Others would

y o for other training scenarios.

The KC-130J crew nally nished

their pracce touch-n-go's and re-

turned to MCAS Miramar. The nextset of aircra to start their training

rounes included mulple F-18s

from VFA-106 with touch-n-go sim-

ulated carrier landings. They would

take o in singles and in formaon.

Some of them were even carrying

BDU-33 pracce bombs for range

training. The groups of photogra-

6B Prowlers taking ight along the

runway. We had seen them in the

morning beang up the paern for

quite a while and were wondering if

they would y during the photocall

itself. As they taxied out to the run-

way, the groups were ecstac to see

them so close as they lined up on

the runway and took o in secons.

As it happened that day, the

two detachments of Marine F-18s

from MCAS Beaufort were nishing

dropping live ordnance, character-

ized by yellow stripes on the muni-

ons. The payloads varied widely,

with all load-outs geared toward

close air support, which was the fo-

cus of this training evoluon. Dur-

ing morning launches, they carried

CBU-99 Cluster Bombs, also called

the Mk-20 Rockeye II, and MK-77

rebombs, or Napalm canisters.

During the me of the photocall

we observed several dierent pay-

and 500 lb Paveways (GBU-12s). A

few of the aircra were equipped

with the AN/AAQ-28(V) LITENING

targeng pod and Mk-80 series gen-

eral purpose bombs. To be able to

photograph several aircra loaded

with live ordnance during a photo-

call event when normally we would

see empty racks or the small BDU-

33 bombs was quite a treat. Appar-

ently, we just happened to be at the

right photocall at the right me,

previous photocall

on, a D-model Ho

(AW)-533 was ou

Advanced Taccal

naissance System (A

for image acquisio

and data link used

States Marine Corp

rare modicaon a

in the Marine Corp

this set-up and the

by the all-weather


24/58



25/58


More recently, myself and oth-

er photographers from the same

groups returned to NAF El Centro

for a February photocall which in-

cluded a Blue Angels over-the-eld

pracce session before the start ofthe airshow season. Some individu-

als arrived early to photograph the

morning pracce of the Blue An-

gels from outside the base. Aer

the Blues nished up their morn-

ing ight, the base opened up to its

normal training acvity. Inially, the

skies started out bright and clear

for the morning pracce. Before

being allowed on base, we caught

a C-2 Greyhound from Fleet Logis-

cs Squadron (VRC-30) Providers

praccing several simulated carriertakeos and landings. Before long,

some clouds started forming in the

skies around the base, adding some

dramac background scenes later

as the Blues ew their aernoon

demonstraon.

Having been given permission to

come aboard base, we were given a

safety brieng by PAO Michelle Dee

and her deputy, Kristopher Haugh,

who would be accompanying us out

on the eld. Kris briefed us on the

squadrons we would see in trainingthat day, and it turned out to be a

very short list. This gave everyone

the impression that it would be a

very long day with lile acvity.

By the me the Blue Angels re-

turned for their aernoon pracce,

the skies that had been lled with

nice puy white clouds earlier had

changed to an ominous grey. Com-

mander Thomas Frosch, Blue Angel

#1, called for the four-ship diamond

formaon to iniate the pracce

roune by throwing on full aer-burners as they took o down the

runway. Shortly aer the diamond

formaon cleared the eld, the two

opposing solos took to the skies and

joined in the pracce. All the while,

the skies kept geng darker and

more ominous. With all the dier-

ent angles and maneuvers the Blues

exhibited during their aernoon

pracce, it certainly made photog-

raphy a bit dicult in such contrary

lighng. As soon as the Blues n-

ished their demonstraon praccerun and released the eld back to

normal ight operaons, we head-

ed out to the other runway for the

rest of the photocall.

At the brieng, it was menoned

that both EA-6B Prowlers from

VAQ-129 Vikings" of NAS Whidbey

Island, Washington

hawks from Traini

1) Eagles out of

Mississippi were th

The Vikings were

conduct eld carrice (FCLP) training

painted similarly to

rier deck with the

ing 10,000 feet lo

wide, compared to

dimensions of only

100 feet wide. The T


26/58



27/58


out for ight and range training us-

ing blue Mk-76 pracce bombs.

Throughout the day, Goshawks and

Prowlers would take o, land, or

perform a few touch-n-gos. This is a

very standard sight to see at NAFEC.

Suddenly, the airspace around

NAFEC became quite busy as sever-

al other aircra entered the paern

around the base and did touch-n-go

take o and landings.

There was a Boeing E/A-18G

Growler from VAQ-129, an F/A-18E

Super Hornet from VFA-86 Side-

winders out of NAS Lemoore, an

E/A-18G Growler from VAQ-136

Gauntlets, as well as several otherHornets from VMFAT-101 Sharp-

shooters out of MCAS Miramar.

The Sharpshooters had four aircra

visit; a T-34C Mentor, two standard

F/A-18C Hornets and an F/A-18D in

a special paint scheme. This special

paint scheme, known as the 'Medal

of Honor Bird', has been painted to

honor four Medal of Honor recipi-

ents, two US Navy sailors and two

US Marines. The paint scheme is all

white with green trim and leering.

On the intakes of the aircra is the

citaon for the Medal of Honor and

under the canopy are the names of

the recipients. To see this parcu-

lar ghter jet was nothing short of

spectacular. Unfortunately for us,

that turned out to be a one-shot

deal. Though everyone was a bit

disappointed that it did not make

any more passes, it was sll a very

pleasant surprise for the aviaon

enthusiasts since it presented agrand opportunity to photograph

and see it.

Three MV-22 Ospreys also ap-

peared, one from VMM-163 Ridge

Runners and two from VMM-363

Lucky Red Lions; both squadrons

hail from MCAS Miramar. The two

VMM-363 Ospreys arrived for a gas-

n-go and then taxied out toward

the runway, with one implement-

ing a short takeo on the taxi way

whereas the other one turned on

the runway and executed a short

rolling takeo. Let me tell you, the

rotor wash from an Osprey is prey

potent. That was my rst experi-

ence so close to an Osprey and it

nearly blew me over.

Being out along the runway is a

very exclusive experience. With the

EA-6B Prowlers rolling by with their

two Pra and Whitney J52 turbojet

engines, an intense feeling of heat

and power slams through you like

a freight train. Nonetheless, it is

quite a disnct feeling from what

you are hit with when an F/A-18

Super Hornet with its two General

Electric F414 turbo fans in full aer-

burner rolls by on takeo. That kind

of power thumps heavily in your

chest and has the feeling of turning

your insides into jelly. If you are not

ready for all that force, you can eas-

ily be blown o balance. Even sll,

since it was a bit chilly out there

that aernoon, this was a welcome

sensaon.Unfortunately, the weather did

not cooperate this year for the pho-

tocall, and the skies turned a bit

gloomy as the clouds thickened up

throughout the day. The greatest

challenge photography-wise turned

out to be a phenomenal yet eet-

ing 15 minute wind

intensely high cont

ings and dark grey

it was not the com

out or uniform gre

skies can become,

some wonderful te

on to the clouds.

an interesng day

at NAFEC, to say th

pectaons were lo

Angels ew, but y

what will turn up at

I would like to t

sta of NAFEC esp

Dee and Kristophe

Public Aairs Ocescorts, AC2 Nichol

William Larned fro

Southwest, MA3 Jo

and MASN Oronde

know how to choo

portunity for us pa

photography group


28/58


ous air and ground space availablefor peaceme military operaons.

The NTTR is the training range for a

all four branches of the U.S. militaryand its allies for years.

Red Flag can trace its roots back

to enemy ghters) and U.S. losses ha

sasfactory 10 to 1

Arcle by Eric A Rosen

and Christopher Roberts


29/58


Multudes of military aircra

ying over a 12,000 square mile

airspace simulang air-to-air and

air-to-ground target acquision,

air combat, and aack formaon.

This is the Nevada Test and Training

Range (NTTR), the largest congu-

g g

military exercise held by the US Air

Force called Red Flag. Hosted by the

414th Combat Training Squadron,

the formal designaon for Red Flag

based out of Nellis AFB is a realisc

aerial combat training exercise that

has trained various aircrews from

g

to the 1970s, when the United

States Air Force experienced a de-

cline in its air-to-air success rate

during the Vietnam War. Before

Vietnam, the exchange rao (the ra-

o of enemy aircra shot down to

the number of friendly aircra lost

y

to 1972, the overa

was down to about

the Americans. Th

gated a full-scale i

analysis project ca

which showed thre

about the USAF airc

frequently caught t

they were inadequ

the mission they f

were not fully info

enemy. Moreover,

had relavely lile

ence were at great

a pilots survival ra

creased dramacal

completed 10 miss

of their analysis, R

plemented for the

with a radically di

to training ghter

to previously uliz

narios. Its goal is to

Force as it would

Typically there aexercises a year hos

combat training squ

designed to sharpe

skills and provide re

the combined grou

tronic threat env

lar to anything fou

ern baleeld aro

When units deploy

must perform all

nance and be as s

they would during

ronment. At the r

held, there were 37people parcipan

erage exercise eld

units and more tha

cluding ghters, bo

airliers, rescue, a

and control system

jammers. Since the

Eric A RosenEric A Rosen

Eric A Rosen Eric A Rosen Eric A Rosen

Christopher Roberts


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Flag training, over 28 naons have

parcipated with more than 300

dierent types of aircra.

Most of the units deployed to a

Red Flag exercise are part of what

is called the Blue Force (friendly).

They use a variety of taccs to at-

tack targets such as simulated air-

elds, missile sites, tanks, bunkered

defensive posions, parked aircra,

mock airelds and vehicle convoys.

These targets are defended by the

Red Force (enemy) which ulizes

electronically simulated an-air-

cra arllery, surface-to-air mis-

siles, and electronic jamming equip-

ment. Addionally, the Red Force

aggressor group ies F-16 and F-15

aircra from the 57th Wing's 64th

and 65th Aggressor Squadrons to

emulate opposing aircra like the

MiG-29 Fulcrum and Su-30 Flanker.

The pilots from these squadrons

have been trained to closely simu-

late known enemy taccs and the

aircra are painted in the various

camouage schemes of potenal

adversaries.

A typical Red Flag mission day

sees two sets of missions: one dur-

ing the day and one at night. The

rst aircra to leave are the tankers

and AWACS, followed by a non-stop

parade of aerburners. A single

mission can have as many as 120

launches. Aer the last launch de-

parts, the rst arrivals start to land.

In addion, the standard Nellis traf-

c connues to y, including A-10s

parcipang in Green Flag and the

USAF Thunderbirds winter training

ights.

Christopher Roberts Christopher Roberts

Christopher RobertsChristopher Roberts

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Eric A Rosen


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Eric A RosenEric A Rosen Eric A Rosen


32/58


Eric A Rosen


Eric A Rosen

Red Flag 13-3, held in February2013, added another layer of com-

plexity to the already intense train-

ing en ironment This training c cle

Black Ravens, EA-6B Prowlers fromMCAS Cherry Point VMAQ-2 Death

Jesters, F-16s from Shaw AFB 79th

Fighter Sq adron Tigers among

the Blue Force and Red Force. As afriendly, the aircrews pracced their

skills of working together with other

friendl assets As the enem their

Joseph D Ahmad


33/58


ing environment. This training cycle

focused on the use of electronic war-

fare, specically Enemy Air Defense

Suppression and Intelligence. This

was noted by a few of the parcu-

lar aircra that contributed to the

exercise, including EA-18G Growlers

from NAS Whidbey Island VAQ-135

Fighter Squadron Tigers among

several others. One parcular unit

parcipang in the exercise was the

55th Electronic Combat Group from

Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, AZ.

This unit had two EC-130H Compass

Calls, which played a unique role

in the exercise. They ew for both

friendly assets. As the enemy, their

role was to degrade the coalion

forces abilies by jamming commu-

nicaons, something friendly forces

do not normally receive in training.

In addion, members of the 526th

Intelligence Squadron were also ful-

ly integrated into all aspects of the

exercise in real-me. This marked

the rst me the IS had a bigger

chance to train, learn, ght, and

win alongside their counterparts incombat.

Some allied units were also in-

corporated into the Red Flag 13-3

exercise. Two of the Royal Australian

Air Force E-7 airborne early warning

aircra for command and control,

which are similar to the USAF Boe-

ing E-3 Sentry, ew as part of the

pracce. The United Kingdom par-

cipants from the Royal Air Force

comprised of both Tornado GR4

and Typhoon FGR4. The Tornados

played a ground aack role whilethe Typhoons parcipated in an air

supremacy role.

Red Flag was developed from

one grand idea to many ideas over

several years since its incepon in

1975. It creates an exceponal op-

portunity for the aircrew units of

the US Air Force, the Army, the Navy,

and the Marines to get a beer un-

derstanding of the bale space and

providing targeng, so that the air-

cra can be eecve in its mission.Its intense model allows for eecve

and realisc training against a real-

isc threat to test military hardware

and taccs, and has been so suc-

cessful that there are other Flag

exercises, such as the Internaonal

Maple Flag hosted by the Canadian

Forces, designed to benet other

commands and air

as one of the best e

todays pilots and

adapve for any miand in the future.

Many thanks go

ing service men an

lis AFB, and espec

First Class Timothy

Airman Jack Sande

of the Public Aairs


Joseph D Ahmad

Joseph D Ahmad

Eric A Rosen Eric A Rosen Joseph D Ahmad


34/58



Eric A Rosen

Eric A Rosen

Joseph D AhmadJoseph D Ahmad

Eric A Rosen


35/58


Coming next issue:

CHINO!

Ch


36/58


CHINO!


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7372 AirshowStuf Magazine May 2013 7372 AirshowStuf Magazine May 2013

w av som of bs arso oogrars l

s brg yo amazg oogras ad formav rv

from arsos all ovr nor Amra ad v or

t follog ags ar sd s osadg ov

ag of r arsos ad avao vs.

if yo old lk o s yor o oos ad rvs

js oa s ad ask o o orb. t oly r

m s a asso for avao!

Photos by Eric A Rosen

Cable Airshow - Upland, CA


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7574 AirshowStuf Magazine May 2013 7574 AirshowStuf Magazine May 2013May 2013 7574 AirshowStuf Magazine


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Arcle and Photos by Mark Hrutkay

TICO Airshow - Titusville, FL


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TICO (short for the Titusville Co-

coa Airport Authority) is THE war-

bird show on the Space Coast of

Florida, presented annually by the

Valiant Air Command. The showholds the reputaon as being the

oldest warbird show in the country,

hosng their 36th show this year.

While many shows this year

will go without a jet team perfor-

mance due to sequestraon (see

page 6), TICO lucked out. Long be-

fore the budget issues arose, the

airshow management made some

fairly complex moves to change the

dates of the show to assure an ap-

pearance by the Thunderbirds. As a

result, the USAF Thunderbirds put

on their only scheduled show ofthe season at TICO. The Thunder-

birds usually aract record crowds

and aendance for the weekend

probably broke 30,000 by my es-

mates. Vendors told me that when

the Thunderbirds y the number of

people passing through the gate in-

creases by at least 25%. The crowds

were happy and it was great to see

them for this one last me. Due

to TICO not having the requiredrunway length, The Thunderbirds

were based at Patrick AFB about

20 miles south and launched to the

show from there. As expected they

worked hard and put on an excep-

onal show even with the impend-

ing budgetary constraints.

While the Thunderbirds drew

the big crowds, TICO also had ar-

guably the world's most widely

known B-25 pilot on the eld over

the weekend. Col. Richard Cole, a

young Lieutenant and co-pilot for

Col. Doolile was in the VAC tentsigning autographs. Born on Sep-

tember 7, 1915, he is 97 1/2 years

old and could easily pass for 80. A

great man who is sll very acve,

Col. Cole has been aending TICO

for many years and unl recently,

ew a B-25 during the show. Tom

Grin, navigator on one of the Doo-

lile Raid planes, passed at the end

of February at age 96, leaving only

four Raiders with us. Along withDick Cole; Robert Hite, Joseph Say-

lor, and David Thatcher sll survive.

To honor these brave men, Tom Ri-

ley had his B-25 "Killer Bee" on the

eld and it ew daily.

Switching gears to jet warbirds,

Rick Svetko brought his F-104B

over from the Kennedy Space Cen-

ter. I can't think of any other show

the F-104 Starghters have aend-

ed in the past four years or so, so

having it here was a special experi-

ence. During the ights, the back-

seat of the F-104 was occupied byGeneral Steve Richie, the only USAF

ace in Vietnam. While the Thun-

derbirds ew precision aerobacs,

the Starghter did some basic loops

and rolls, and also made a series of

very high speed passes. It is a real


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crowd pleaser and something that

is prey much exclusive to TICO.Jerry Yagen saw to it that the

show had a B-17, sending his B-17

"Chuckie" down from Virginia

Beach to aend the show. Chuckie

got a lot of comments, mostly from

people who had never seen her.

She spent most of her life in Dal-

las and didn't get east of the Mis-

sissippi very oen. Her condion is

nothing short of magnicent, and

the sun glistened o of the polished

skin. There was a lot of hard work

that went into making her look that

good. Chuckie ew daily and it wasawesome to see a B-17 ying some

low passes. Thanks to Mr. Yagen for

his eorts to share the plane with

the people on the Space Coast of

Florida.

Another rare jet at TICO was the

A-4 Skyhawk that came over from

Sanford. This Skyhawk is a superbexample and one of the very few

le ying. The owners did a magnif-

icent job of restoring it from what

amounted to a stripped airframe. It

did several few passes during each

show.

The Army Aviaon Heritage

Foundaon came down from Geor-

gia with the H Model Huey and a

Cobra and sold rides in both. It was

denitely a popular item with long

but fast moving lines. When you

take 14 people out at a me in the

Huey, you can really cut the linesdown fast. Priced at $60 a person,

it was a real value. The Cobra was

more expensive, but well worth it to

those who rode it.

Michael Goulian ew his Extra

300SC in the show and put on his

usual amazing dis

vers and mastery of

show is very profe

enre operaon.

in a custom tractor

with a hospitality

fans can buy specia

The show wou

occurred without th

helped pay for it a

volunteers who di

work running the s

many people who a

here who spent sig

money bringing the

y and display. I wall on behalf of tho

The weather at T

Florida in the spri

on Thursday, it was

ida day with perfec

ideal temperatures

Friday's pracce s

went downhill on S

got overcast with a

day was unqueso

weather day. The

some rain, but as t

started their show

storm hit. Some teover, but luckily the

damage and the w

to be quite a succe

like to thank Col. T

VAC for his assistan

story possible.

Arcle and Photos by Paul Mali

LIMA - Langkawi, Malaysia


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From March 26th to 30th of thisyear, the Langkawi Internaonal

Marime and Aerospace Exhibion

(LIMA) was held at the Malaysian

resort island of Langkawi. This trade


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show focuses on the Asian aero-

space industry. The show was very

diverse; there was obviously heavy

parcipaon by the Royal Malaysian

Air Force, Navy and Army eets, but

the Air Forces of Singapore, Thai-

land, Indonesia, UK, France, United

States, Russia and Australia were

also in aendance.

The RMAF, which is looking fora replacement for their MiG-29N/

NUB aircra, was wooed by several

companies pitching their aircra,

including the Boeing/McDonnell-

Douglas F/A-18F Super Hornet,

Saab JAS-39 Gripen, Euroghter EF-

2000 Typhoon, Sukhoi Su-30 Flank-

er, and Dassault Rafale. The show

opened on the 26th with a yover

of the Royal Malaysian Air Force.

All major ghter types parcipated,

beginning with two Northrop F-5s

that performed a high speed pass.

Then came the Hornets, Flankers,Hawks and MB-339s from all sides.

This was a fantasc sight and a great

opportunity for photography. Ma-

laysia Airways also had one of their

Airbus A380s perform a yby with

four Sukhoi Su-30MKM Flankers.

Both RMAF demo teams, the

"Smokey Bandits" formaon team

and the Su-30 solo demo team, put

on great performances each day.

The Smokey Bandits y four MiG-

29N Fulcrums and one MiG-29NUB

of 17 Squadron (Skn). The MiGs

were purchased in 1997 by Malay-sia and must be replaced by 2015,

making this one of their last perfor-

mances before rerement.

Other demonstraon teams per-

formed at LIMA as well, including

the Indonesian Air Force's Jupiter


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Aerobac Team. The team consists

of eight red-and-white KAI KT-1B

Woongbi jets and has performed

since its incepon in 2008. The Rus-

sian Knights also performed, and

ew a very excing demonstraon

as always.

A large part of the airshow was

the manufacturer's demonstra-

ons. Boeing gave a fantasc demoof their F/A-18F Super Hornet, own

by a Boeing demonstraon pilot.

The aircra used in t he demonstra-

on was from VFA-106 "Gladia-

tors", based out of Naval Air Staon

Oceana, Virginia. The Swedish aero-

space company Saab demonstrated

their JAS-39 Gripen using one of the

aircra from the neighboring Royal

Thai Air Force (RTAF) eet. France's

Dassault Aviaon gave a thrilling

demonstraon of their Rafale mul-

role aircra. The last European

demonstraon was own by the Eu-

roghter Typhoon, an aircra that is

already serving with six dierent airforces worldwide. The demonstra-

on was supplied by the RAF 3 (F)

Squadron. The Russian company

Sukhoi demonstrated their Su-30,

which currently serves the RMAF as

the Su-30MKM.

In addion to t

on, there was also

on in the port of L

al warships from di

were on display an

laysian Navy (RMN

Malaysia put on a l

harbor. The RMN

land Lynx an-subm

along with their EuSN Fennec, while M

sia ew their Au

AW139 and Euro

Dolphin helicopter

their Bombardier C

water bombing.


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49/58


Alan Barbor

Warbird Heritage Foundation Open HouseWaukegan, IL


50/58


Tom Hedlund

Tom HedlundTom Hedlund

Alan Barbor

Tom Hedlund Alan Barbor

Photos by Darren Fulton

Sun n Fun - Lakeland, FL


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Every spring in Houston the blue-

bonnets bloom, the Astros play ball,

and the Commemorave Air Force's

Houston Wing holds its annual open

house. On April 20th and 21st the

Houston Wing held their annual open

Photos and Arcle by Sam Bulger

CAF Houston Wing Open House - Houston, TX


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house to the delight of thousands. In-

cluded in the fesvies were airplane

rides, stac displays, veterans and re-

enactors on the grounds to talk to and

pose for photographs.

Bob Dunn was the rst vising pi-

lot to arrive, bringing his Fairchild PT-

19. He was followed by the Gulf Coast

Wing's impressive Boeing B-17, Rich

Sharpe's Douglas A-26 Invader, and

the Lone Star Flight Museums North

American P-51 Mustang, which made

a brief appearance. Sco Rozzell was

kind enough to bring his Beechcra

JRB (Twin Beech), North American SNJ,

and, aer a mul-year restoraon, the

CAFs Bell P-63 King Cobra. There was

also an interesng and rare vintage

Republic Twin Seabee amphibious air-

cra. Rounding out the display was a

pair of North American T-28 Trojans,

a few Russian Yakolev trainers, Don

Prices Fairchild PT-26 and all of theHouston Wing aircra.

The Houston Wing started the

show every day by performing the

dawn patrol, lead by their freshly re-

stored Lockheed C-60. The dawn pa-

trol was an eecve markeng tool as

they ew around Katy; we had numer-

ous people come out aerwards say-

ing they were drawn in by the aircra

ying over.

The event was a resounding suc-

cess with record aendance which

garnered much posive exposure for

the local Commemorave Air Forcewings, warbirds, and general aviaon.

A big thank you goes out to the Hous-

ton Wing and all its volunteers who

worked relessly on this annual event

promong the CAF and the Wing as

the event went o awlessly.


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On the third Saturday of each

month, Mojaves Air and Spaceport

hosts an event known as Plane Cra

display, ying it in all the way from

Cedar Rapids, TX. Lee Behel ew in

with his Breathless Lancair Legacy

of homebuilt aircra, was also on

display. A few more notable aircra

in aendance were the N26MS and

Arcle by Eric A RosenApril Plane Crazy Saturday - Mojave, CA


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hosts an event known as Plane Cra-

zy Saturday. Each events theme is

built around Mojave Air and Space

Ports mission of fostering a place of

innovaon as the worlds premier

civilian aerospace test center. The

April 2013 edion of this event was

themed the Experimental Fly-in:

Home of the Homebuilding. Air rac-

ers, homebuilt models, and experi-mental aircra, including ex-mili-

tary ghters, were on display. That

meant a whole lot of eye candy on

the super-warm ight ramp.

Among the ex-military ghters

that made it to the y-in were two

Mustang air racers. One was the all-

composite kit built Blue Thunder of

Blue Thunder Air Racing. This par-

cular aircra is a -scale version

of the famous Second World War

ghter, the North American P-51

Mustang. It was prey hard not to

make a beeline to this beauty, with

its bright cobalt blue fuselage and

white wings. Nearby was parked the

other modied Mustang air racer,

the Cloud Chaser Thunder Mustang,

sing in its brilliant burnt orange/

gold livery with the uering Amer-

ican ag painted on its tail. As an

added bonus, the recently restored

World War II P-51D Miss Kandy

ew in from Torrance, CA later in

the aernoon.

Aside from the Mustang air

racers, there were approximatelytwelve race teams on display at

the event. A few examples are the

sport class series racers from John

and Tricia Sharp, who brought their

Nemesis NXT. A biplane racer called

Phantom from Tom Aberle was on

with his Breathless Lancair Legacy

as well.

Some other homebuilt and ex-

perimental aircra included Cory

Birds Symmetry, a bright canary

yellow aircra with owing lines

that was a past Grand Champion at

Oshkosh. Gene Sheehan brought his

Feuling Green Flight Challenger,

the rst all carbon ber, all-electricRutan Quickie. It was entered into

the NASA Green Flight Challenge,

which called for conceptual designs

that can y at a speed of at least

100 mph in a range of 200 miles.

A custom kit called a SkyRanger, a

microlight in the ultralight category

in aendance were the N26MS and

Old Blue Long EZ aircra, from

Mike Melvill and Dick Rutan respec-

vely. Between these two aircra,

they have over 9,000 ight hours

and were made famous in their

round-the-world ight in 1997.

All in all, it was quite a turn out

at the Mojave Experimental Fly-In.

In just a couple of hours walking theramp, you could see just about all

of the innovave ways that people

have successfully designed aircra

to y. Plane Crazy Saturday is spon-

sored by the Mojave Transportaon

Museum.

Kevin Helm

Eric A Rosen




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Kevin Helm

Kevin Helm

Kevin Helm




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Kevin Helm

Kevin Helm

Kevin Helm

Kevin Helm

Kevin Helm

Kevin Helm



Kevin Helm


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