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Aviation & Flight InformationIt’s An Aviation Nation at Nellis Air Force Base Air Show
by:
Rob LaGrone
It’s An Aviation Nation at Nellis Air Force Base Air Show
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Okay, do the math. This jet entered service in the 1950s, and I'm told the Air Force plans to support it in service until 2040. I'm not sure I'll be in service then!
I'm talking about, of course, the B-52 Stratofortress, long a pillar of America's Cold War nuclear deterrent. With new satellite-guided bombs that can be born
from outside enemy air defenses and strike surgically, this old bird is still the USA's main heavy-hauler in wartime. With its large payload, it's likewise an superior
psychological weapon against potential enemies. Ever seen one take off? There is nothing more apocalyptically sinister-looking than a Buff rising from the runway, a storm cloud of black exhaust behind it, the tremendous landing gear reaching down like the talons of several prehistoric bird of prey.
You've probably seen the mysterious new B-2 Concealment Bomber, the flying-wing craft
that flies about air shows like a large boomerang but ne'er
lands because it's still too secret. The B-52 guys I spoke with joked that their old jets wish perform a fly-by at the Stealth's retirement ceremony.
The annual air show at Nellis Air Force Base is a two-day event (October 5th and 6th in 2002), and it's a good thing: you need that more time to see all of the exhibits, and the flightline is so large that it takes half a day simply to walk from one end of the show to the other.
Aviation Nation is an apt name for this event. It shows us how our tax dollars are being spent to protect the nation, and it provides an diverting look at military and civil aviation. Moreover, this year's show provided a history lesson.
We're coming up on the Ordinal
day of remembrance of the birth of modern aviation (2003), which occurred once
a fragile kite-like craft
upraised off from a sand sand dune in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. To celebrate, the American Institute of Physical science and Physical science has built a beautiful reproduction
of the Wright Flyer and is taking it on tour about the country. (See the schedule at www.flight100.org/activities/tour.html.) The craft was on display in a hangar, encircled by informative record
and photographs. Simply think: in one century we've advanced from kites to boomerangs!
Most folk aren't history buffs, however; they came for the action outside. Besides a gazillion craft
place for close-up viewing, there were many an planes there to fly in the show.
I love the smell of jet fuel in the morning! Plenty of it was burned on this occasion. The Red Bull MiG-17Red Bull MiG-17, an old Russian jet fighter now resplendent in a bright red paint scheme, wowed the crowd with its sweeping turns and dives. Then an even as older American fighter, an F-86 Sabre flown by retired Navy pilot Valley "Snort" Snodgrass, was not to be outdone. The new C-17 Globemaster transport, spell not an agile fighter, showed several good moves and astounded me with its quiet engines. I couldn't hear the plane flying by because of the little Honda generator powering the near camera truck! That wasn't a problem with the next performer, an Air Force F-15C air-superiority fighter.
F-15E Strike EagleThis jet, with its two large afterburning turbofan engine engines, shakes the ground as it flashes by, simply above the runway and simply below the speed of sound.
Earlier I had spoken with a pilot of the F-15E Strike Eagle, an impressive all-weather ground attack version of the plane. He clearly likeable
his jet better than the pure air-to-air version, and I agree. My own background is in Navy attack jets, and I numbers any time you can take a great fighter and hang big honkin' bombs on it, you've done a beautiful thing.
Heritage FlightEven today, flying isn't simply jets. Special propeller-driven stunt planes flown by well-known performers Patty Wagstaff and Jim "Bulldog" LeRoy hypnotised us with their maneuverability.
These small craft
turned on a dime, and often they became invisible in their own colored smoke trails as they repeatedly covered the same small patch of sky.
Speaking of fancy flying, this air show likewise saw the unveiling of the U.S. Aerobatic Team, which wish vie at the Earth Aerobatic Championships in 2003. Next year should be a great one for aviation.
Few things sound as sexy to me as the low roar of an old propeller-driven fighter plane. In the afternoon we had Las Vegas-style Unlimited Air Racing, with several of the quickest
prop planes ever flown. These are old fighters with sleek new low-profile canopies and souped-up engines, and they are blindingly fast. They raced a circuit about the runway in front of us, the lead dynamical
hands several times as they rounded the turns really low to the ground, their wings banked simply about to the vertical. Fantastic!
Read this entire feature FREE with photos at
http://www.jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/fests/nellis/nellis.html
By Rob LaGrone - Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent at www.jetsettersmagazine.com
Simply simply about the Author
Rob LaGrone - Jetsetters Magazine. Join the Travel Writers Network in the logotype at www.jetsettersmagazine.com
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