Aviation Nation 2007
Posted by: Ryan, 2007/11/20
The civilian part of the show included such great acts as Sean Tucker flying his bi-plane through three gates just 10 feet above the ground, cutting the ribbon at the top of each. Another airshow favorite, Ed Hamill, and his Air Force Reserve bi-plane wowed the crowd with moves like the double hammerhead. Red Bull brought four amazing acts to the show this year. The Red Bull Mig-17 flown by Bill Reesman awed the crowd with smoke tanks on each wingtip and a very vibrant afterburner. Aerobatic champion, Kirby Chambliss, flew his Red Bull Edge 540 with his typical precision with a trademark move named the “Cobra”. He also was part of the Red Bull skydivers act. They jumped out of the Red Bull Helicopter flown by Chuck Aaron then spiraled down towards the ground at speeds of nearly 70mph, miraculously slowing down enough to land near the Red Bull tent. The whole time they were circled by Kirby and followed by Chuck. After they were down safely, Chuck put on an amazing demo, flying his Eurocopter BO-105 CBS 4 in ways that you would think were impossible for a helicopter including back flips and rolls.
The most interesting parts of the show though were not the individual acts, but the parades and re-enactments that happened throughout the day. In the pre-WWII parade, Boeing Sterman’s and other biplanes flew in a parade like fashion. The WWII reenactment included some of the biggest attractions of the day, including a B-17 Flying Fortress, two B-25 Mitchell’s, and a C-47 Skytrain. Up in the sky with the bombers were some of the most prolific fighter/attack planes of the war including the P-51 Mustang, P-40 Warhawk, Supermarine Spitfire, Japanese A6M Zero and Me-109 simulating dogfights and strafing runs. One other thing to note was the tribute to the dropping of the atom bomb with a video showing clips from the era and a taped interview with the pilot of the B-29 who dropped the first bomb, the late Paul Tibbets.
After the WWII era came the Korean War re-enactment that included a mock dogfight between an American F-86 Sabre and a Korean Mig-15 which included simulated bomb drop runs and strafing runs. After the dogfight, a parade of a few other Korean era planes that included T-28 Trojans, 0-1 Birdog’s, T-6 Texan and a T-33 Shooting Star flew by and gave a few passes for the crowd. Up next was the Vietnam era which simulated the rescue of a downed airman in Vietnam. One of the best parts of this feature was the re-creation of radio calls during the act. The USAF graciously provided a B-52 Stratofortress to make it even more accurate. The act included such other planes as the Mig-17, A-37 Dragonfly, A-1D Skyraider’s, and an AC-47 Spooky Gunship. Two UH-1 Huey’s, including one gunship, rescued the downed airman. The precision of the act was just amazing with the non-stop action. If you were near Nellis during these parts of the show, especially the WWII, Korean and Vietnam eras you would have thought that the base was under attack. It wasn’t, it was just the amazing pyrotechnics that were being used to simulate strafing and bombing runs – Huge balls of fire and big black clouds of smoke it made the effect even more intense.
After Red Bull, Sean Tucker, and Ed Hamill did their acts, then it was the Thunderbird’s turn to be in the spotlight. Starting out by showing the precision on the ground, the ground crews get the red, white and blue F-16′s ready for the six amazing pilots that will fly them. Making this show extra special, especially during the Sunday show, was that Thunderbird #3, Nicole Malachowski, the first female Thunderbird, would be ending her two years as a Thunderbird. It was extra special as she is from Las Vegas and each day when her name was announced to the crowd, she received a loud cheer. Once in the planes they would taxi out two by two and get ready at the end of the runway. Once they were ready all four “diamond” pilots took off together and right after them came each solo one right after each other. With their amazing show that includes moves such as the “diamond loop”, “arrowhead roll”, and “5 card loop” they never cease to amaze with the precision that is needed to fly so many F-16s as one. Although the four “diamond” pilots have some amazing moves the two solos also have their tricks that never cease to get the crowd going. The biggest one being the “sneak pass” in which one of the solos comes from show left at full afterburner just as the four ship diamond formation is leaving show right. The other passes that get a lot of attention are the “calypso pass” in which the one of the solos goes inverted and creates a “mirror” effect of the one below, then there is the “opposing pass”, where the two solos come from each end of the show towards each other then go knife-edge at show center with one F-16 showing the top and the other showing the bottom.
After the Thunderbird’s were done and had given autographs, the “Modern” era of the show was introduced. Starting out with a small explosion at show center the UAV parade would begin, with the MQ-1 Predator that had been circling up above during the whole show and providing some amazing images coming down and giving the crowd a nice fly-by. After the MQ-1, came another small explosion then the MQ-9 Reaper would show itself with a flyby. When the UAV parade was done and the QF-4 Phantom took off with a roar, the P-51 departed with its amazing sound and looks, and the A-10 West demo team did their demo. Showing the abilities of the “Warthog” as a many call it, including an amazing simulated strike and strafe runs that had some amazing pyro, really drove home the experience. Then the F-22 Raptor took over the show with its amazing demo that seems to amaze no matter how often you see it. Seeing a plane the size of the Raptor doing a back flip, tail slide, or high speed pass is something that everyone needs to see. One of the most amazing moves is when the plane looks like it is just slowly falling to the ground in a level orientation but it is rotating 180° then just flies away in complete control. Once the Raptor finishes its demo, it joins up with the A-10, P-51, and QF-4 to form the “Heritage Flight” which is a sight to see, showing the history of the Air Force with new and old planes flying in formation. After breaking from formation, each plane gave a high speed pass or the like. The QF-4 was one of the standouts, with multiple high speed ear splitting passes it really got the crowd going. Despite the V-22 Osprey being grounded, the end of the show was just as interesting. After the Thunderbirds show was done, the F-117 Nighthawk departed and came back to close the show with a few passes – With the sun just setting it really made the you feel like you were back when it was first flying.
Overall it was an amazing show to be at and to photograph. Despite some notable planes being absent (F-15, B-1, B-2, C-17) the re-enactments made up for that and with the Raptor, any show will be the one to be at. Here’s to another 60 years of the best Air Force in the world!
John "Shamu" Markle
-November 20th, 2007 at 6:47 pm says:Ryan, thanks for the good words about the Phantom!
Shamu
Phantom West 2007
Ryan
-November 20th, 2007 at 7:11 pm says:Shamu,
No problem, my grandfather was a WSO in a Phantom during Vietnam so it holds a special place in my heart.
Dave O'Brien
-November 27th, 2007 at 7:46 pm says:Ryan, fantastic shots on this report. The lighting on the evening shots is awesome!
Ryan
-November 27th, 2007 at 9:03 pm says:Thank you Dave!
joseph pavlovich
-November 4th, 2009 at 5:33 pm says:flew f9f and ad-1′soff the usscoralsea
also f-2h [camera ] in korea and other places
the sandy was and still is a rock steady gun platform