My face is still weather-burned after spending four-and-a-half hours out on the flight line with my head tilted back. I got the raccoon eyes too.
The American Air Power planes were as cool as I thought they'd be. That Avenger, and also the Corsair have massive engines and make the air throb when they come down the line. The announcer mentioned the "30 seconds over Tokyo" raid while the B-25 was flying around, and I haven't fully gotten it out of my mind: they flew those things off an aircraft carrier basically knowing they would never be able to land them anywhere (crash-land at best). Ballsy!
The modern jets were great too. The FA-18 put on a great show. One memorable part was the pass at nearly the speed of sound. The jet came in silently, and was gone as thunder rolled across the field.
I felt compelled to leave to meet Meg before the F-86/F-16 formation, but our meeting spot was just below where they formed up, so I got to see them fly together anyway.
One other really cool part was when the B2 flew over. They're from Missouri, not Nebraska; all flown by the unit that dropped the A-bombs back during WWII. A B2 flew the longest mission ever: 44 hours without landing, from Missouri to Afghanistan and back. The one that flew over at Pease came in like Batman, made a couple passes, then slid on out again. Two crewmen in the thing, and it costs and delivers ordinance on par with a missile destroyer. Serious warbucks!
The only thing that could be more far out would be to see an SR 71 Blackbird.
The American Air Power planes were as cool as I thought they'd be. That Avenger, and also the Corsair have massive engines and make the air throb when they come down the line. The announcer mentioned the "30 seconds over Tokyo" raid while the B-25 was flying around, and I haven't fully gotten it out of my mind: they flew those things off an aircraft carrier basically knowing they would never be able to land them anywhere (crash-land at best). Ballsy!
The modern jets were great too. The FA-18 put on a great show. One memorable part was the pass at nearly the speed of sound. The jet came in silently, and was gone as thunder rolled across the field.
I felt compelled to leave to meet Meg before the F-86/F-16 formation, but our meeting spot was just below where they formed up, so I got to see them fly together anyway.
One other really cool part was when the B2 flew over. They're from Missouri, not Nebraska; all flown by the unit that dropped the A-bombs back during WWII. A B2 flew the longest mission ever: 44 hours without landing, from Missouri to Afghanistan and back. The one that flew over at Pease came in like Batman, made a couple passes, then slid on out again. Two crewmen in the thing, and it costs and delivers ordinance on par with a missile destroyer. Serious warbucks!
The only thing that could be more far out would be to see an SR 71 Blackbird.
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