Fairchild AFB Airshow 2010 (pic heavy)

[Bob R]

It was hot, very little shade, a lot of people and overpriced food and drink. All in all a typical air show. As far as airshows go I would give this one a seven out of ten. There weren't a lot of static displays, but the planes that did fly made up for that. I am biased when it comes to airshows. I am used to ones like NAS Moffett Field, MCAS Miramar, Nellis AFB and other larger venues. While this one is smaller, it is still worth the time to go and watch.

The highlight of the day for me was when the announcer was saying it was only 30 minutes to the premier act of the day, "Your Air Force ambassadors in blue.....the USAF Blue Angels".

I never knew the Mig17 had an afterburner, but now I do.

No airshow is complete these days without a P51 in the mix. This is a P51B, before the bubble canopy.

Who knew the Air Force still flys F4's. I didn't, I figured they had all been phased out...color me surprised. Pleasantly surprised. My first time reenlisting I got a back seat ride in an F4J from the USS Forrestal. One of my cherished memories.

What can you say...the A10, resurrected from its death bed to kill tanks in PG1 and has been a mainstay of close air support ever since.

Along with the P51, the most prolific twin engine bomber ever built. The B25 Mitchell.

Another mainstay of air shows these days. The heritage flight. I have always considered the A10 and F4 as reasonably small planes as far as planes go, but they are huge compared to the P51.

There wan't much of a Navy presence, but they did bring their latest F/A 18, the Super Hornet. If you've seen one Hornet, you've seen them all, so here is a different perspective.

And then it was nearly over, the act that most people came to see, the USAF Thunderbirds.

Now you have seen the highlights, you can stay home tomorrow, stay out of the heat, not fight the crowds and still have a little taste of the show.

bob

 

[586L-Frame]

Hi Bob,
Thanks for the shots of the airshow and your narrative.
Brought back memories of the 50's & 60's.

My brother was stationed at Fairchild AFB in the 60's with
SAC's 442nd Bombardment Wing and designed their patch.

My brother-in-law was in the Navy and stationed on #59
USS Forrestal in the Mediterranean with the 7th Fleet.

586L-Frame

 

[Texas Star]

That P-51B looks funny. The rudder has the fillet fitted to later P-51D's when turbulence became a problem with the Tempest-like clear canopies. The B and C models didn't have that rudder modification. Only when the fuselage was cut down to accomodate the bubble canopy did the turbulence issue arise.

The back also looks too thick and high, as if someone got a D model and tried to make it look like a B or C.

What do others here think? Maybe it's a B with a Malcolm canopy and the fillet added to the rudder?

Nice posts, though. Thanks!

T-Star

 

[Bob R]

It definitely has a Malcolm Hood.

bob

 

[BUFF]

The F4D shown belongs to the Collings Foundation, a history preservation group that also owns and flies a B-24, a B-17 and a P-51. You can buy rides in those three.

The Collings Foundation had the clout to gat an amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill of 1999 to get their Phantom from the stock of them the Air Force was modifying into flying drone targets.

They list 20 aircraft that they have on their website.

Nice pictures.

 

[Bob R]

Well, it is a target, but it isn't a drone.

The 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron (Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.) operates approximately 50 full-scale QF-4 aircraft and 45 BQM-167 subscale targets to provide manned and unmanned aerial targets support for numerous USAF and DoD-directed programs. The squadron maintains three 120-foot drone recovery vessels and two smaller vessels to recover aerial targets and support range safety, patrol and salvage operations. Squadron members also operate the Air Force's only two E-9A airborne platform/telemetry relay aircraft that provide ocean surface surveillance and relay missile/target telemetry of missiles fired in over-the horizon profiles on the Gulf Range. The squadron executes an annual budget of $16 million to support three O & M contracts and more than 150 contract personnel.

Detachment 1, 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron (Holloman Air Force Base, N.M.) operates QF-4 full-scale aerial targets for use at the White Sands Missile Range. The squadron manages all contract operations of its QF-4 fleet as part of the overall O&M contract at Tyndall. It directs USAF operations of full-scale targets in support of DoD testing programs to include the US Army's Patriot system.

Factsheets : Detachment 1, 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron

While it looks like they are mostly in the drone business, this isn't a drone.

When I first saw it I thought it was one of the privately owned F4s also, I was surprised when I heard differently.

bob

 

[Texas Star]

http://www.fantasticflyers.com/images/2003.jpg

Here's a detailed model of a P-51B with the standard canopy. The rudder is normal for the model, has no fillet in front.

I think the Malcolm hood and the rudder mod. make the one in the air show look a trifle thicker than usual. That's probably why it seemed odd to me.

T-STar

 

[Texas Star]

http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww179/328thDoodle/P-51 Mustangs/ArlingtonAirShowPart1042.jpg

Could this be the very Mustang in the air show?

T-Star

 

[BUFF]

"While it looks like they are mostly in the drone business, this isn't a drone."

I didn't mean to imply this Phantom is a drone. It came from a pool of retired Phantoms that are/were being converted into target drones before it got "fixed."

 

[Indiana George]

Thanks Bob!

I was stationed at Fairchild AFB in the 70's and greatly enjoyed your pictures.

 

[davidenorth]

Great pics, I sat in a MIG 17 out at Nellis AFB back in 1986. Love airshows.

 

[bk43]

The highlight of the day for me was when the announcer was saying it was only 30 minutes to the premier act of the day, "Your Air Force ambassadors in blue.....the USAF Blue Angels".

He'll never live it down...funny. Glad you enjoyed the show...looks like a great time.

Bob

 

[bobcat]

Hard to believe the F-4 is no more on active duty, they were everywhere when I was in in the 70's.

I also was stationed at Fairchild in '74 & '75, was a dog handler with the SP's, we had lots of B-52's on alert in those days as well as a huge tanker wing. The AF closed a county road that ran by the alert area when someone popped a few .22 rounds at one of the Buffs on alert, not good.

Thanks for the pics & the memories...

 

[Swissman]

What a great day you must have! Thanks for sharing the pictures. I reall ylove the A10. I hope, that I can see one
live, but I hope, I will not sit in a tank in this moment.

What camera and optic do you use?

Swissman

 

[Texas Star]

Isn't Fairchild AFB where an SP shot a man firing an AK-47? Killed him with one round from his M-9 Beretta, at some 80 yards.

THe SP was a bicycle cop, and had only his sidearm when the nut began shooting up the base. Never heard his motive.

T-Star

 

[Bob R]

Swissman,

I used a Nikon D60 with a Nikkor lens. It is a 70-200 autofocus with vibration reduction. A 70-200 1:2.8GII. I also had a Nikon 1.7 teleconvertor on it. It is a lens I would love to own someday, as it is I just rented it for the weekend. That is a lot cheaper way to go.

Texas Star,

It was Fairchild where the guy with an AK was shooting people. IIRC, it took more than one shot, but in the end the shooter was downed. They just had an article in the paper about the SP that stopped him last month. I wish I could pull it up for you.

Here is a look back thay did.

A hero?s recovery - Spokesman.com - June 20, 2010

bob

 

[SWID]

Thanks for the pictures, very nice. But what's an air show without four Hamilton Standards churning up the air? (I'm old.)

I think the time of the shooting was also the same week some idiot crashed a buff doing a go around. It's on You Tube, this guy was a cowboy and I wonder how he stayed in the cockpit. I'd like to think that he would not have lasted five minutes in MAC, but we did have our indivduals.

The only time I was ever at Fairchild was for survival school, and that was enough.

 

[Bob R]

But what's an air show without four Hamilton Standards churning up the air? (I'm old.)

You don't have to be that old. I spent 15 years as a P3 Flight Engineer. I can still tell when a C130 or P3 is within hearing distance, much further away than most actually. It's kind of like dog hearing, but just for the unique sound of those 4 T56's and Ham Standard props!

bob