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I and my son and his family drove to the Gowen Air Show last Saturday. We were going to meet my other son Jared and his Fiancee, Ann (who is a EMT for the Idaho Air Guard and was working there that day), and to see the air show.
There were a LOT of people at the show. It was the first show they had had in over 20 years so there was a lot of excitement, and the US Air Force Thunderbird were going to be there and put on a show too.
So, as you can see from the pics, we walked in (actually, because I am handicapped, they allowed me to park a lot closer and I beat my son and the kids in and we got in contact by cell phone to meet up).
So I went to the MM-60 Blackhawk helos, then the A-10 warthog, followed by the F-15s Eagles, and the F-16 Falcon static displays (meaning they were just siting there). But this let you get up close to them. The 30mm gatlin gun on the A-10 is awesom. The can shoot 30mm depleted uranium slugs right through the top armor of tanks. That's why the soldeirs on the ground love that aircraft so much. It can loiter a long time. It is armored like a tank itself, and it has the tools to support the troops on the ground.
Anyhow, after the A-10, I went to the F-15s Eagles, and the the F-16 Falcons. The F-16s had display Aim-9 Sidewinfder IR missiles and AIM-120 AMRAAM longer range radar guided missiles. The first have a range out to 10-12 miles now, while the AMRAAM can reach out over 80 miles.
After that, I found out the medical tent Ann was at and went over there, arranging to meet Jeff and the family there. It was fun eeing her on the job in her BDUs. Sadly, Jared got hung up in traffi and was unable to get to the parking lots before they closed down the shuttle busses so he had to park outside the filed and watch. We were sorry he couldn;t make it in...but he came for the day the net day to be with his sweetheart.
Anyhow, they then had some fluight demos of a P-51 World War II fighter, followed by an A-10 fluing singly, and thenwe were treated to two A-10s escorting a Veitnam era A-1 Sky Raider...the close support aircraft of that day.
After this there was a break before the Thunderbirds so I went over and looked at the two F-35A JSF stealth fighters they had there. These are awesome aircraft, and their technology and sensor fusion, along with their stealth, maneuverability, and the weapons load they carry is going to make them the dominant world-wide aircraft over the next several decades. And, they have the cost of the USAF version down now to nearly that of a modernized/upgraded F-16. Awesome! There is also a F-35B US Marine VTOL (vertical take off and landing) and a US Navy carrier version (F-35C)
Then it was time for the Thunderbird and they did not disappoint. I just wish I had a better camera.
Jolene had a REALLY nice, semi-professional camera and so I can;t wait to see her very clear and high-res pictures. I will ass some to this album once she puts them out.
Anyhow, enjoy what I was able to do. When those six babies come over, and are rocking along, you can feel the thunder down to the bottom of the soles of your feet. Just fantastic!
All in all it was a great day out. Here are the pics from the show that I took:
I and my son and his family drove to the Gowen Air Show last Saturday. We were going to meet my other son Jared and his Fiancee, Ann (who is a EMT for the Idaho Air Guard and was working there that day), and to see the air show.
There were a LOT of people at the show. It was the first show they had had in over 20 years so there was a lot of excitement, and the US Air Force Thunderbird were going to be there and put on a show too.
So, as you can see from the pics, we walked in (actually, because I am handicapped, they allowed me to park a lot closer and I beat my son and the kids in and we got in contact by cell phone to meet up).
So I went to the MM-60 Blackhawk helos, then the A-10 warthog, followed by the F-15s Eagles, and the F-16 Falcon static displays (meaning they were just siting there). But this let you get up close to them. The 30mm gatlin gun on the A-10 is awesom. The can shoot 30mm depleted uranium slugs right through the top armor of tanks. That's why the soldeirs on the ground love that aircraft so much. It can loiter a long time. It is armored like a tank itself, and it has the tools to support the troops on the ground.
Anyhow, after the A-10, I went to the F-15s Eagles, and the the F-16 Falcons. The F-16s had display Aim-9 Sidewinfder IR missiles and AIM-120 AMRAAM longer range radar guided missiles. The first have a range out to 10-12 miles now, while the AMRAAM can reach out over 80 miles.
After that, I found out the medical tent Ann was at and went over there, arranging to meet Jeff and the family there. It was fun eeing her on the job in her BDUs. Sadly, Jared got hung up in traffi and was unable to get to the parking lots before they closed down the shuttle busses so he had to park outside the filed and watch. We were sorry he couldn;t make it in...but he came for the day the net day to be with his sweetheart.
Anyhow, they then had some fluight demos of a P-51 World War II fighter, followed by an A-10 fluing singly, and thenwe were treated to two A-10s escorting a Veitnam era A-1 Sky Raider...the close support aircraft of that day.
After this there was a break before the Thunderbirds so I went over and looked at the two F-35A JSF stealth fighters they had there. These are awesome aircraft, and their technology and sensor fusion, along with their stealth, maneuverability, and the weapons load they carry is going to make them the dominant world-wide aircraft over the next several decades. And, they have the cost of the USAF version down now to nearly that of a modernized/upgraded F-16. Awesome! There is also a F-35B US Marine VTOL (vertical take off and landing) and a US Navy carrier version (F-35C)
Then it was time for the Thunderbird and they did not disappoint. I just wish I had a better camera.
Jolene had a REALLY nice, semi-professional camera and so I can;t wait to see her very clear and high-res pictures. I will ass some to this album once she puts them out.
Anyhow, enjoy what I was able to do. When those six babies come over, and are rocking along, you can feel the thunder down to the bottom of the soles of your feet. Just fantastic!
All in all it was a great day out. Here are the pics from the show that I took:
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