Weather was much more Tucson-like on the second and final day of the Davis Monthan Open House with temps reaching a more bearable 68°. The bright sun gleaming off the Thunderbird canopies was much more welcoming than the gray clouds and rain that brought in Saturday's show.


Clear blue skies and the Catalina mountains make a great backdrop for an airshow!


With no outside food or drink allowed in, the onsite vendors were raking it in - even water had to purchased at $2-$5 a bottle. Stands varied from simple ones, like this hotdog stand, to a complex BBQ joint like you'd find at a state fair.


And what air show would be complete with out a jumping castle, inflatable space shuttle slide, bounce cage, and rock climbing wall?


At the other end of the airshow from where I camped yesterday, there were many more large static displays available, including the tilt-rotor MV-22 Osprey. This display had the cockpit and cargo area open for visitors to walk through, but check out that line! Unfortunately, today, I didn't have the time to wait.


This C-130 also had its doors open for the public, but the lines were just incredible.


This B52 dominated the display line. The enormousness of the BUFF has to be seen in person to be really appreciated. Each flap (there are four of them) is bigger than the wings of most small planes. Again, the aircrew were on hand to answer questions and share information about their pride and joy.



This semi-static display housed an A-10C and a few of the weapons that it gets to carry into combat. Three times a day the weapons crew would demonstrate an upload and download of a weapon onto the A-10C. Here you can see the crew using the MHU-83 "Jammer" to load up a training WCMD-103. That little jammer is loud but scoots around pretty quickly.


Here's a close up of the Jammer's panel. Seems simple enough to operate, but complex enough to be fun to learn. Hey ED, how about adding "DCS: Jammer" to the project list?


This A-10C had a ladder up to the cockpit, but this uniformed guy was always in it and would never share with anyone else. Haurmph!

I finally talked (nagged) the Wife into bringing The Kid out to the show and he got VIP access to most of the displays, including this experience in a gigantic fire truck. He might need some help getting to the pedals, though.


The Grumman A6 Intruder is also a popular airshow aircraft, being slightly odd-looking but not quite odd enough to be considered eccentric, like the Hawg. This aircraft, with the swollen up tail, looks to be the EA-6B Prowler, but I didn't get a chance to look closer.


The Aero Spacelines Super Guppy is one of those planes that you can't help but stare at - is that really a plane? Or is it a blimp? It is most definitely a plane and it is most definitely huge. The internal cargo area, seen below, is cavernous, but it's still amazing to think that this aircraft shipped Apollo rocket stages from one side of the country to the other.


Here a couple of visitors pose with the 7.62 mini gun hanging off the side of an Air Force Reserve HH-60 Pavehawk, which is used in rescue missions. Callsign "Pedro", these aircraft are heavily modified Blackhawk helicopters with some amazing capabilities.


I managed to elbow my way past some kids into the cockpit to take a few glamour shots of the controls. My shot of the top of the cockpit didn't turn out so well, but it is equally packed with buttons, switches, dials, knobs, panels, lights, and levers.



Of course, in addition to the static displays, the show had aerial events - even more than the previous day! There was always something going on in the air.

With the winds behaving themselves, the parachutists came out in force. This one brought an American flag with him.


The Air Force "Wings of Blue" paraded over the skies, too, demonstrating their colors and capabilities.


These smoke trails aren't from a rocket or jet aircraft - they're from human parachutists falling at top speed then arcing out over the display area. Much more impressive to see in person, here's a single pic that (hopefully) captures the essence of the display.


Not only did this hang-glider pilot wow the crowd with his loops, spins, dives, and pyrotechnics...


...he did it all without the use of his legs! Parapalegic Dan Buchanan is an avid aviation enthusiastic and didn't let a minor accident like lower-body paralysis hold him back from his dreams. Dan also claims to never use handicap parking spots and when asked why he continues to fly likes to reply with "Well, I can't walk!" Way to go, Dan!

The B-1B Lancer was back for a triple pass, and is just as pretty in the sunshine as she was underneath the clouds.


Two Hawgs executing a section takeoff.


A T-33 Shooting Star dubbed the "Ace Maker" was put through its paces, screaming by at 500+ kts in various maneuvers. My favorite maneuver, however, was this "dirty pass" which gave us all plenty of time to oggle this historic craft as it cruised by.


"Border patrol" can be a hot topic in Tucson, but the Customs and Border Patrol team was on fire in their demonstration: a suspect truck is being hotly persued by Border Patrol agents when a BP chopper rushes in to help. This photo doesn't capture it, but the car chase was at pretty high speeds (80mph?) and the chopper pulled right up next to that truck, just like in the movies.


This show of force didn't deter the perp' so the BP calls in the big guns, calling in their Blackhawk to execute a swift and crisp ultra-SWAT-style rope-in and apprehension. That'll teach him to run!


Next was this USA Aerobatics pilot doing some crazy stunts that just can't be captured in still shots, but I'll give you as best a taste as I can. Immediately after takeoff, the pilot goes into a crazy slip and scoots down the runway. It's like watching a huge RC plane demo.


At one point, the pilot arcs up straight into the sky, slows down, and then hangs on his prop for what feels like minutes.


If the prop-hang wasn't impressive enough, instead of doing a boring ol' tailslide out, he corkscrews out in a ridiculously tight spin.


Here he is, finally safe on the ground, with the Tombstone Rider's Steerman with wingwalker act in the background.


As if the USA Aerobatics wasn't exciting enough, the Red Bull team comes out with "swooper" parachutists with tiny canopies, another supercharged Extra, and the world's only aerobatic certified heliocopter. Again, static photos fail to convey the impressive maneuvers this nimble little craft was executing. No, the photo isn't upside down: the helicopter is!


The Red Bull Extra executes an impressive prop-hang of its own.


Yet another great day at the flight line. I can't say enough about the hospitality of the Davis Monthan servicemen and women, particularly the Public Affairs office which went out of their way to make sure us media folks were happy.

Thank you!

More great pictures.


Wheels

Nice pics! If there's one thing I miss from my days as a Weapons troop are driving the jammers. They were alot of fun to drive/race. :P

man, it's been forever since I've seen a B-1 fly... Cool shots, glad to hear Sunday was nice