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The Airshow
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Heat races go on pretty much all day so there is a great deal of activity all the time. In addition to all this, they put on a great airshow with everything from military fly-bys to precision aerial maneuvers. During one of the shows, I learned a new word: lethality. Some gentleman in one of the box seats was having a grand time and had a large sign which he would display to the crowd for many of the aircraft. Each one proclaimed some great statement. So when the A-10 "Warthog" (I know, it's really the Thunderbolt II) does it's demonstration, he hoist up this huge sign that says "A-10 = LETHALITY". The whole crowd got quite a laugh. This was early in the week.. The next day there were some new planes in the demo, among them some Navy F-18 Hornets. This guy must be a regular at the show as he was calling the show this day, and he commented that while the Hornet was a very capable plane, it lacked LETHALITY. Everybody got a real kick out of that one. The best part is the guy wasn't blasted, he was just having a great time like the rest of us. Something I've found out about the flying community is that they are a very enjoyable, professional group and they love to laugh. |
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The neatest fly-by was the B-2 Spirit. It had to be carefully pointed out by the announcer who knew where exactly it was coming in from. Stealthy is certainly an understatement, it took me a minute find it and a bit longer to finally make out its shape.
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The crew had flown all the way from Whiteman AFB in Missouri to make this pass. Whiteman is the primary base of operation for the
B-2 and thus when these types of demonstrations are done, its an out an back proposition. The crew made a couple passes and then headed back to Missouri and home. When I got the photos back, I had no idea what the top left picture was. It wasn't until I opened another envelope with the rest of the sequence in it that I figured out that it was the B-2 fly-by. Pretty neat stuff. |
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| The Confederate Air Force came to town with its rendition of the Attack on Pearl Harbor. It is very riveting with tremendous diesel fuel based explosions that carry quite a punch. But the real attraction are the restored Japanese aircraft which perform the show. Some of these are the only flying examples of their type. They include a Kate torpedo bomber, an A6M2 Zero, Val Dive bomber and others. It is a very impressive routine. |
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A pair of Aichi "Val" Dive Bombers
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Nakajima "Kate" Torpedo Bombers
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The Mitsubishi A6M2 "Zero"
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© 2007 Arctic Rail, No part of this web site may be reproduced in any form without the express consent of Arctic Industries. |
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