Air Power over Hampton Roads 2009
If you love jet noise, you would have loved the history-making Air Power over Hampton Roads 2009 Air Show. We had to break out lots of suntan lotion and lip balm as we got our first taste of early summer ninety degree weather. However, you could not have asked for more perfect air show conditions. The skies were absolutely crystal clear all three days! This was in stark contrast to last year’s show when the area was shrouded in smoke produced by out-of-control fires blowing north from the Dismal Swamp in North Carolina. With the 1st Fighter Wing hosting, Rob Reider announcing and Jim Tucciarone doing the air bossing, this year’s show featured several firsts and one final public performance.
On Friday, prior to the general public night show, concert and fireworks; the media and invited guests were treated to an all day practice show. Along with the C-17 demo and the Wings of Blue Parachute Team jump, all of the scheduled high performance military jets flew. The invited guests also witnessed Art Nalls flying his British Sea Harrier for the first time at a military base. Art put on an extended show for the Friday audience, performing several extra maneuvers throughout his routine in order to complete his required International Council of Air Shows ACE (Air Shows Consulting Enterprises) certification. The maneuvers included aileron rolls, hovering and, vertical take off and landings at show center. Friday was also our first chance to see the GLADIATORS VFA-106 Navy/Marine F/A-18C 30th anniversary paint scheme of all white, blue and gold trim, with gold helmet tail flash. An F4U-5NL Corsair, flown by Dan Dameo, joined the F/A-18C to form the Navy’s Legacy Flight. Following high performance demonstrations by the F-22, F-15C and QF-4, all three joined up for the U.S. Air Force Heritage Flight. The military jets flew again for the public during the evening show. The F-22 RAPTOR demo, flown this year by Major Dave “Zeke” Skalicy, is scheduled to fly only sixteen shows as compared to about thirty in 2008. The Langley show was also the last time the public had an opportunity to see the F-15C perform.
Saturday and Sunday morning, the Hampton, VA area was brought to life when four F-15s from the 71st FS rocketed for take-off. After playing in the off-shore warning area, the home-town jets returned in time for the National Anthem closing with an echelon break, followed by multiple after-burner passes before landing. The ‘State of Arizona’ B-2, DEATH-11, flew by on Saturday only making several passes while speaking to the crowd. Art Nalls flew a complete Harrier demo on Saturday, but eliminated the vertical take off and landings on Sunday due to the high heat. Art’s team still needs to get the onboard water tank fixed which will enable him to fly a complete demonstration under extreme summer conditions. Langley was only the second show Art has flown the Harrier and he held nothing back. He performed many high-speed passes and some lengthy hovering maneuvers at show center capped off with a bow to the crowd.
The Saturday and Sunday shows were pretty much a mirror image with the exception of adding Jim Beasley’s P-51 to the Heritage Flight on Sunday. Both days the military demonstrations were complemented with some exciting civilian acts performed by: The Mohr Barnstorming Stearman, Herb and Ditto's T-28, Bill Leff's T-6, Matt Younkin's Twin Beech, Kyle Franklin's Waco, Sean Carroll’s Yak-9 and a Vintage 1958 T-33 dressed up like a Thunderbird, flown by Jerry "Jive" Kerby. After dropping the Air Force Academy’s Wings of Blue Parachute Team for the show opener and National Anthem, the Altus AFB C-17 did an awesome ‘crowd wowing’ demo. Sunday was the last public demonstration for the F-15 West Coast Team. Prior to take off Captain Sam ‘Nuke’ Joplin spoke to the crowd, thanking them and the Air Force for their support. He dedicated his last performance to the fighting men and women of the United States Armed Forces. ‘Nuke’ then took off, “establishing dominance” over the airfield for one final routine where he absolutely tore it up! His extended after-burning, high-speed routine concluded with a taxi back to parking where he was met by two fire trucks.
In front of the crowd, the F-15 Eagle passed under an arch of water spray provided by the two water cannons. The C-17 dropped the parachute team for a second time just before the Thunderbirds closed the show in their new Lockheed Martin Block 52 F-16s. With the extra power provided by their new jets, The Thunderbirds have added a few new additions to their act, making them much more exciting to watch.
While the crowd enjoyed the flying above, there was plenty to see on the ground as well. Langley’s ramp was filled to near capacity with a nice lineup of static display aircraft, most notably an A-4M Skyhawk. The A-4M appeared along side an F-21 Kfir in the Airbourne Tactical Advantage Company’s (ATAC) display. ATAC recently added three A-4Ms to their fleet of six F-21s and six Hawker Hunters. Other static aircraft included a T-43 from Randolph AFB, an E-3 from Tinker AFB, the B-25 ‘Take Off Time’, an AD-4 Sky Raider, a Corsair F4U-1, the P-51 ‘Double Trouble II’, a C-130 from Little Rock, AR, a T-28, a T-6 Texan II (XL), a Nanchang CJ-6, an L-39, a -38 from Randolph AFB, the P-51 ‘Jackie C’, a C-5 from Dover AFB, a B-52 from Barksdale AFB, an F-16 (LOBOS) from South Dakota, a KC-135 from McDill AFB, two F-22s and two F-15Cs. The NASA display included an OV-10, Columbia 300 and Beechcraft King Air 200.
By Daniel O. Myer
Photo Credits: Jim Deveney: Art Nalls Harrier
F-15 with water cannon: F/A-18 (VFA-106 Navy/Marine) ATAC A-4M, static display