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25th Wings Over Houston Anniversary Show full report Part 1
16 years ago
A bit belated, but I thought some may be intersted in seeing a full report to go along with all the pictures.
The show started early with the usual radio controlled aircraft exhibitions. There wasn't much this year. Of interest was a witch on a broom, a flying lawn mower, and an f4F Wildcat that didn't have the prettiest landing. An RC-jet was supposed to be the finale, but it broke down before it took off.
After the National Anthem and a small jump by the ReMax skydivers, the show started out the way it should at that hour of the morning. The opening act was none other then the F/A-18F Super Hornet west coast demo team. The demo was one of the best I have seen from this jet, and was flown by a native Houstonian to boot. The demo was an indicator of the way the day would go-flowing fast, smooth, and with very little down time! I have to say, on one downside, it was a rather dry day, so even the Super Hornet, which typically produces a ton of vapor, didn't produce a whole lot. But, the aggressiveness and generous use of afterburners made up for it!
Right after the Super Hornet landed, the AC-47 and C-17 took to the air to set up for the Lifter's Legacy flight, and while they formed up and circled out in the distance, the US Coast Guard flew their normal simulated rescue. While interesting to see, there wasn't a whole lot to note in this demo. As soon as the HH-65 cleared the showline, the C-17 and C-47 moved in to perform the Lifter's Legacy flight, almost before the announcer even had time to call the crowd's attention to them! This was my first time seeing this formation, and although it was mostly back-lit with their passes coming from right-to-left, seeing the size differences between these aircraft was quite a sight. They flew three passes, then broke to land. The AC-47 taxied off, but the C-17 took right off again to perform it's full demonstration. I have to say, this was the best C-17 demo I have seen so far, as the crew from Altus was not quite as hesitant to push the aircraft to the limit like the McQuire crew seemed to be in years past. That being said, seeing something so massive nearly flying like a fighter, and needing so little runway space to take off and land is something that needs to be seen to be believed!
When the C-17 landed, it was time for the first civilian performance of the day, with local John Mohr doing a brief aerobatic flight. Immediately following him, the P-47 Thunderbolt launched, with the A-10 Warthog following. This was my first time seeing the East Coast A-10 demo team with their signature 'shark-mouthed' jet since the team briefly stood down in 2005, and 'Dusty' was the day's demo pilot. Again, it was a fantastic performance, and the pyrotechnics used in the routine really added to it! (for my brief video of his simulated bomb run, click here: http://www.asb.tv/videos/view.php?v=fb2175ee ) To conclude his performance, he formed up with the P-47, a locally based one, as well, to fly the first official ACC Heritage Flight of the day. Seeing the old and the new Thunderbolt flying together to the tune of Dwayne O' Brian's 'We Remember' is something that won't be soon forgotten, and their perfect cross-over break to end the routine capitalized on the moment.
Once more, there was no down time, and as soon as they landed, 'Mr. Air Show' Gene Soucey took to the air for a teaser performance, minus his wing walker. Of an interesting note, due to the wind, the smoke from his take off was blown right towards the crowd and to make it more amusing, the A-10 and P-47 had to taxi right through all of it. Gene is one of those, who, while he's a local, is a world legend on the air show circuit, and is capable of making that fat biplane of his do things it really shouldn't be able to do!
Right after Gene, it was a Houston first. Normally, the AH-64 demo is a single aircraft just strutting around some. This year, two Apaches popped up to wreak some havoc on the field with the help of the Tora pyro team. Seeing an Apache fly at an air show itself is rare, seeing two do a simulated attack is doubly so, and seeing two do an attack with full pyro is an almost unheard of treat! And keeping with the close-air support spirit, as soon as they cleared, the AV-8B Harrier roared into the air. On top of demonstrating the harrier's rare abilities, the perfection of the weather was also shown when the pilot was able to make two vertical landings without bouncing the jet-something that the pilot was even stunned at!
That's a quick run down of the first half of the show...second half will be posted soon!
The show started early with the usual radio controlled aircraft exhibitions. There wasn't much this year. Of interest was a witch on a broom, a flying lawn mower, and an f4F Wildcat that didn't have the prettiest landing. An RC-jet was supposed to be the finale, but it broke down before it took off.
After the National Anthem and a small jump by the ReMax skydivers, the show started out the way it should at that hour of the morning. The opening act was none other then the F/A-18F Super Hornet west coast demo team. The demo was one of the best I have seen from this jet, and was flown by a native Houstonian to boot. The demo was an indicator of the way the day would go-flowing fast, smooth, and with very little down time! I have to say, on one downside, it was a rather dry day, so even the Super Hornet, which typically produces a ton of vapor, didn't produce a whole lot. But, the aggressiveness and generous use of afterburners made up for it!
Right after the Super Hornet landed, the AC-47 and C-17 took to the air to set up for the Lifter's Legacy flight, and while they formed up and circled out in the distance, the US Coast Guard flew their normal simulated rescue. While interesting to see, there wasn't a whole lot to note in this demo. As soon as the HH-65 cleared the showline, the C-17 and C-47 moved in to perform the Lifter's Legacy flight, almost before the announcer even had time to call the crowd's attention to them! This was my first time seeing this formation, and although it was mostly back-lit with their passes coming from right-to-left, seeing the size differences between these aircraft was quite a sight. They flew three passes, then broke to land. The AC-47 taxied off, but the C-17 took right off again to perform it's full demonstration. I have to say, this was the best C-17 demo I have seen so far, as the crew from Altus was not quite as hesitant to push the aircraft to the limit like the McQuire crew seemed to be in years past. That being said, seeing something so massive nearly flying like a fighter, and needing so little runway space to take off and land is something that needs to be seen to be believed!
When the C-17 landed, it was time for the first civilian performance of the day, with local John Mohr doing a brief aerobatic flight. Immediately following him, the P-47 Thunderbolt launched, with the A-10 Warthog following. This was my first time seeing the East Coast A-10 demo team with their signature 'shark-mouthed' jet since the team briefly stood down in 2005, and 'Dusty' was the day's demo pilot. Again, it was a fantastic performance, and the pyrotechnics used in the routine really added to it! (for my brief video of his simulated bomb run, click here: http://www.asb.tv/videos/view.php?v=fb2175ee ) To conclude his performance, he formed up with the P-47, a locally based one, as well, to fly the first official ACC Heritage Flight of the day. Seeing the old and the new Thunderbolt flying together to the tune of Dwayne O' Brian's 'We Remember' is something that won't be soon forgotten, and their perfect cross-over break to end the routine capitalized on the moment.
Once more, there was no down time, and as soon as they landed, 'Mr. Air Show' Gene Soucey took to the air for a teaser performance, minus his wing walker. Of an interesting note, due to the wind, the smoke from his take off was blown right towards the crowd and to make it more amusing, the A-10 and P-47 had to taxi right through all of it. Gene is one of those, who, while he's a local, is a world legend on the air show circuit, and is capable of making that fat biplane of his do things it really shouldn't be able to do!
Right after Gene, it was a Houston first. Normally, the AH-64 demo is a single aircraft just strutting around some. This year, two Apaches popped up to wreak some havoc on the field with the help of the Tora pyro team. Seeing an Apache fly at an air show itself is rare, seeing two do a simulated attack is doubly so, and seeing two do an attack with full pyro is an almost unheard of treat! And keeping with the close-air support spirit, as soon as they cleared, the AV-8B Harrier roared into the air. On top of demonstrating the harrier's rare abilities, the perfection of the weather was also shown when the pilot was able to make two vertical landings without bouncing the jet-something that the pilot was even stunned at!
That's a quick run down of the first half of the show...second half will be posted soon!
