Tennessee
Aviation Days
 Well, the air show has come and gone again.
Seems like only a few weeks ago that I was writing a column
about how to go to the air show: "Get your tickets early to
save money, go early and take a lawn chair, remember to take the
sunscreen," and all the air show essential information and
inside tips.
Apparently, most of you people did not heed my
advice, as usual, and a lot of you were standing or sitting on
hot asphalt and are probably still sporting a nice sunburn.
Well, sorry ‘bout that, but I tried to tell you.
If I close my eyes it’s almost as if I’m
still there:
It is a great air show year because the
fabulous Air Force Thunderbirds are making an appearance. The
crowds tend to swell when the top attractions come to town, and
who can blame them? Boy, are they ever super! Everyone is on
their feet watching and applauding the various maneuvers, as if
the pilots can really hear us over the roar of the jet engines.
Heck, I’m so carried away with them I think I’ll even split
for of those $14 Thunderbird T-shirts.
Course, it is a long standing tradition with
me to go to the air show every year. I went to one a long time
ago and I am hooked for life. I LOVE air shows! You don’t need
to know a thing about aircraft or the military to enjoy the
thrills. Fortunately, there are people who do know all about
things like G-force, and they explain everything patiently over
the microphone to the crowd who pretends to understand, but
really doesn’t care.
We just like the flying! Yeah! Hammerheads,
Cuban loops, spirals, upside down passes, dives, twists, turns,
smoke, bombs - yeah! That’s what we like!
Another great flying team, the Red Barons, are
here this year too. They fly those old bi-winged
WWI planes and do everything in formation that the other planes
do solo. They are really something to see.
And the Thunderbirds, well they are just
magnificent - that’s all. So graceful, so precision, so fast -
man, it makes a tear come to my eye to know they are trained
just like all the other Air Force pilots and perform the same
maneuvers, only at a lower altitude and in a tighter formation.
Well, what can I say? Great public relations
gimmick! They shoulda brought a recruiter. Heck, I would sign up
on the spot, if the Air Force was taking grandmothers this week.
The announcer assures us that the planes,
F-16’s, can be made combat ready, if needed, in a matter of a
mere 72 hours, and all the pilots are trained for combat. Darn,
I wish I had a flag to wave right now!
Yep, it is one big thrill. Can you believe
that diamond formation loop? And while everyone is entranced
watching them, a solo plane shoots by at low altitude from
behind and catches us all off guard. Pretty funny, guys!
And the exploding bomb maneuver, the way they
fly up and split off in different directions, looping around and
passing back close to each other. Four planes all coming
directly at each other from four direction and passing within
what seems like mere feet! Gosh, I may faint. That one is their
most famous maneuver, the all knowing announcer tells us.
Well, it is just another memory now, another
year, another air show. The traffic jam after the show is pretty
memorable too. Took about 50 minutes to get off the parking lot.
Seems like they could have planned a bit better than that.
Wasn’t like they didn’t know we were coming. Before the
show, every Boy Scout in town is out directing traffic.
Afterwards, you are on your own, babe!
But, I just try to forget that part and think
of the flying. Maybe I’ll just slip on my new T-shirt to see
how it fits. I can dream, can’t I?
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