March hosts 2008 air show
March Air Reserve Base in Southern California hosted its 2008 air show and open house May 3-4.
With the theme "Thunder over the Empire," the air show celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Air Force Reserve. In addition, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and the F-22 Raptor delivered lots of thunder and lighting.
The Air Force's newest operational fighter jet, the F-22 Raptor, literally stole the show with its multiple high-speed passes.
The demo flown by Maj. Paul "Max" Moga, commander of the F-22 East Raptor Demonstration Team, amazed the large crowd while showing off the raw power, agility and maneuverability of the aircraft doing a tail slide along with many aerobatic maneuvers only the Raptor can perform.
The headline act of the show was the world famous U.S. Air Force flight demonstration team the Thunderbirds in their front line fighter F-16 Fighting Falcons.
The four-ship diamond and two solo aircraft flew an incredible demonstration of military tactical techniques in their 11th and 12th air shows of the 2008 season. Lt. Col. Greg Thomas commands the team.
The Thunderbird squadron, who train at Nellis Air Force, Nev., from January to March every year, consists of 12 officers and 130 enlisted personnel. The Thunderbirds have performed in all 50 states and 60 foreign countries and have flown more than 4,100 aerial demonstrations for more than 325 million people over the last 55 years. During the 2007 airs show season the team flew in 21 states and eight European countries.
The 2008 team includes a female pilot in her second year on the team. Maj. Samantha Weeks flies the #5 jet in the lead solo position.
March Air Reserve Base is home to the 452nd Air Mobility Wing and the wing showed off its two aircraft - the C-17 Globe master III and the KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft. The KC-135 operated by the 336th Air Refueling Squadron performed several fly bys, some with the refueling boom in the down position.
The C-17 operated by the 729th Airlift Squadron performed a 10-minute ground demonstration with several Humvee vehicles exiting out the back ramp before doing an extremely short field take off and performing a 15-minute flying display that showed off the incredible maneuverability of an extremely large military cargo jet. The C-17 made several pass that looked like it was at a pylon race along with a high-speed pass and a slow speed pass before making an almost unbelievable short field landing.
The U.S. Navy was represented by West Coast F/A-18C Flight Demonstration Team with 1st Lt. Brandon Boggs flying the VFA-125 Rough Raiders Aircraft through a series of high and slow speed passes.
The air show had many military and civilian owned aircraft on static display led by the C-5, KC-135, KC-10,F-18,T-6,T-33,T-38,T-1, AH1, Huey Black hawk, A-1 Sky Raider, MiG 21, C-130, 2 -C17's, 2- A10's from Battle Creek, Michigan and 3- F16's from the California Air National Guard and several aircraft towed over from the March Field Museum including the F-100,F-102 F-105 and the A4B.
The U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team and the Canadian Forces Sky
Hawks Parachute team both performed.
Civilian-flying acts included Bill Reeseman in his MiG 17; the Thunder Flight Four ship L-29 Demo, the Silver Wings wing walking performance. Rob Harrison in his ZLIN-50, John Collver in a SNJ-Wardog, Ed Hamill in his Air Force Reserve Biplane, 2 B-25's flying in formation and a CDF Fire Demo with an OV-10 and its giant DC-10 doing a water drop.
The air show offered the public a unique opportunity to see the flying capabilities of U.S. Air Force aircraft and to get a first hand look at the professionalism of the men and stationed at March Air Reserve Base and their commitment to excellence.
