This trip has been on my schedule for three years. The original plan was to go last year, but had to be delayed. Now tickets purchased and ready to go!
Really, really excited.
My fascination with flying vehicles started at a young age. My father was a pilot, as a hobby/addiction. I remember some of our flights together around the WashPa area. Back in those days, there wasn't much of Ops building for Washington County, it was more of a shed. Probably nothing exciting, but for a kid it was everything! I remember the charts, the pre-flight inspections and the whiz-wheel flight planning. I thought checking for water in fuel tanks was so cool. Chocks around the tires, does it get any better for a kid?
Around the '67-68 (I think) time, my father and I flew to Cleveland with some other flyers from the Washington County Air Force to attend the Cleveland airshow. We flew in a Bonanza aircraft. Funny aircraft with a non-conventional tail. (Although we shared the flight/Bonanza with another two, I got to ride co-pilot on the way back. Again, the kid thing - fantastic!)
I have vague recollections of meeting a number of the show pilots. Who knows for sure, but I remember many of them knew my father and that was so special. And I'll go to my grave thinking he knew them all, on a first name basis.
We can skip a number of years until I enlisted in the Air Force. My first job was as a jet engine mechanic. My ASVAB scores indicated I should be in administration. I remember thinking, why should I do that? If I needed help in mechanics, I should go mechanical. And I did. (Insert government jokes here.)
Between finishing technical school in Illinois and Okinawa, my first duty station, I had a two week stop over at Offutt AFB, Nebraska. Offutt was home to many interesting aircraft, many were specialized. Working with the flightline mechanics, I saw a lot these aircraft up close. My primary job for those two weeks was pretty much to stay out of the way of working people. But I was allowed to see. The first aircraft I saw take off from Offutt was a British Avro Vulcan bomber. I knew I was home.
From that point on, I have loved the smell of anything synthetic oil based. Burnt AV gas or stale hydraulic fluid, can't get enough. Brings a smile to my face. And don't get me started about the Sound of Freedom.
After I had been fixin' em for a while, it was time to do something else. I took advantage of cross training and went to flying. I trained to be a flight engineer and was assigned to the Lockheed C5. The C5 is the largest cargo in the Air Force inventory.
I arrived in time to watch the C5As get new wings and engines. I flew on some C5Bs with single digit hours, enough to get them from Marietta, GA to KDOV.
So here's where we tie up the Air Show fascination. During my time in the Air Force, I was on the other side of the Air Show game. I didn't have to pay to get in. We flew in. Being the biggest thing in the show, we were first in and last out. BUFFS move aside, FRED is here. I did probably 6 or 7 air shows. Seriously, my autograph is on probably a 100 air show programs, mostly for kids. And walking around a show with a flight suit on - pure chic magnet stuff. What a time.
Best air show story.
My initial check ride to Engineer included a stop to do the Halifax/CFB Shearwater Air Show, which would have been 1984 ish. With the Evaluator watching, I did my job to get out of KDOV. He didn't ask me a single question. I was a bit miffed. So we arrived at Shearwater and put the plane to bed for the night - again no questions. The next morning, we met as a crew and my Evaluator volunteered me to stand most of the Q and A shifts for the day. And he would be there with me every minute to hear my answers to every question from the public. Ha. There was nothing off limits from the public. From how long of a take off roll, to how far can you go, to how fast can it fly, both true and indicated, to how many ping pong balls can you carry. Just awesome! (It didn't help that the other Engineers would egg on some of the kids. Can't pick your crew. Ha.)
So I will be on the other side in a few weeks. Paying airshow attendee. This will be so much fun. I'm going with friends who are pilots and veterans of this show. We'll be there for four days. If your going too, you'll recognize me. I'll be the one with the biggest grin. This will be a great time.
(Thanks to sister Kate for digging up the Cleveland Air Show photos.)
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