Mt. Comfort Air Show

[epsylum]

I and my whole family went today. I was worried as there wasn't any big name group there like the Blue Angels or Thunderbirds. There was the Golden Nights parachute team, but I am not big into parachuting.

However there was one tent pitching part of the show...... an F-22 Raptor demonstration. All I can say is...

That has to be some Area-51 UFO technology right there. No plane can possibly do the stuff it was doing. Damn thing was just floating in the air at times.

The other highlight was the old WWII aircraft and the F/A-18 Super Hornet. Both the F-18 and F-22 did just below supersonic passes and you could see the air building up on the front of the plane (I have a couple cool pics of it doing that) as it was approaching Mach 1. Plus the seeing the plane, but not hearing it for a few seconds was pretty unreal.

I have a gazillion pics and when I get them sorted, I will post some. All in all, good fun. If you can, go see it tomorrow.

 

[shooter521]

My Dad and I went, as is our annual tradition, but we took Calvin along this time as well. He (Calvin, not Dad) has been looking forward to the airshow for weeks now, and I think the experience blew his little 2-1/2 year old mind. He held out as long as he could, but finally passed out from sheer exhaustion at about 3:15. We let him sleep a bit, then packed up and got on the road just as the F-22 roared in for it's second performance of the day (it opened and closed the show).

I was initially worried that that this show wasn't going to be as good as last year's, but I think it ended up being every bit as good if not better. The appearance of the Raptor (twice!) more than made up for the lack of the Blue Angels or T-Birds, and the F/A-18C (it wasn't a Super Hornet), Indiana Air Guard F-16s, and several show "firsts" (F-100 Super Sabre, Supermarine Spitfire, Hawker Sea Fury aerobatic demo, FM2 Wildcat) were icing on the cake.

I borrowed my Mom's Nikon digital camera with 200mm telephoto and got some great pictures; I'll post 'em next week (Dad has to download them and put them on a jump drive for me).

Any other INGO'ers make it out there today?

ETA - if you can't make it to the show tomorrow, WTHR-13 is going to be running a live webcast; might pop over to their website and check it out.

 

[RogerB]

I know you said that you have them...but...



since I doubt that I'll be able to make it over there tomorrow.

 

[MamaBryant]

My son was and will be there working with the CAP (Civil Air Patrol). He was on the evening news. I am one proud Mama right about now. So glad he is a good 13 year old and enjoys his CAP program.

 

[SavageEagle]

I was at work. But I did see an F16 take off from the airport on my lunch break and watched him execute a perfect 6-7 G left bank as he crossed I-70 heading back around the airport!

Some of my co workers thought I was crazy for screaming **** YEA! as I jumped out my truck and saluted! That is until they saw me pointing to the jet and they gaucked in pure awe....

Keep in mind most of these people are here in USA on work VISAS and have never seen our jets out in the open...

 

[shooter521]

I was at work. But I did see an F16 take off from the airport on my lunch break and watched him execute a perfect 6-7 G left bank as he crossed I-70 heading back around the airport!

My guess is that was the F-22 you saw; it was based at Indy for the show, while the F/A-18 took off from Mt. Comfort and the F-16s came in from Ft. Wayne.

 

[Caleb]

*in for pictures*

 

[Bigum1969]

I was at work. But I did see an F16 take off from the airport on my lunch break and watched him execute a perfect 6-7 G left bank as he crossed I-70 heading back around the airport!

Some of my co workers thought I was crazy for screaming **** YEA! as I jumped out my truck and saluted! That is until they saw me pointing to the jet and they gaucked in pure awe....

Keep in mind most of these people are here in USA on work VISAS and have never seen our jets out in the open...

That's the sound of freedom

 

[SavageEagle]

My guess is that was the F-22 you saw; it was based at Indy for the show, while the F/A-18 took off from Mt. Comfort and the F-16s came in from Ft. Wayne.

Oh no. I was almost an air force piolt til I had got glasses. I know my planes. They were DEFINATELY F16's. Single tailfin, trademark "mouth" under the cockpit, Sidewinders hanging from the ends of the wings, yea, F16s.

Saw two more today take off side-by-side about the same time I saw that one yesterday. They executed a perfect synchronised left bank, same place the other jet did, and never broke perfect formation. Lucky bastards...

 

[shooter521]

They were DEFINATELY F16's.

Saw two more today take off side-by-side about the same time I saw that one yesterday.

Interesting! I guess the Fort Wayne F-16s staged out of Indy for the show, too, although that seems a little silly given that Mt. Comfort is less than an hour's flight time from their home base.

 

[Bigum1969]

I used to live by Lowry Air Force Base in Colorado and used to love watching the jets practice. What many neighbors found to be loud and a nuisance, I thought was awesome!

 

[shooter521]

OK, picture time! Mom had some wonky settings on her camera, so the pics didn't come out nearly as good as I thought they would at the time I was taking them. I was still able to get a few good ones.

Complete album is here:
shooter2_indy/Misc/Indy Air Show 2008 - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Selected photos:

Calvin flying the USMC TH-57 Sea Ranger

Calvin in his F-22 "Baby Raptor"

F-100 Super Sabre

Indiana Air National Guard F-16s (notice the "FW" tail badge for Fort Wayne)

F-22 Raptor!

F/A-18 Hornet

UH-60 Blackhawk

Calvin waves to the pilots

B-17 Flying Fortress

Wing walker

Smoke on!

Golden Knights

 

[Pami]

wonky camera or not, those photos are still all sorts of awesome!

 

[Cwood]

Good Pics

Thanks

 

[SavageEagle]

KICKAZZ!!

As for the F16s, they were probably doing touch-n-go's. They are known to do that when patroling the friendly skies so maybe they were just doing that....

 

[Panama]

There just isn't anything like it on the planet!
I wish I could have seen it first hand instead of looking at stock photo's, but it is still a BEAUTIFUL thing!

 

[Bigum1969]

I love how the Raptor has its missiles stored inside the fuselage to maintain stealth capabilities. Awesome airplane!

 

[SavageEagle]

I'm just glad they mastered the moving jet turrent for better manuvering capabilities! There's nothing that can touch it except maybe a hundred SAM's while flying low level... Still nothing the Russians could touch! Go get em boys!

 

[Bigum1969]

I'm just glad they mastered the moving jet turrent for better manuvering capabilities! There's nothing that can touch it except maybe a hundred SAM's while flying low level... Still nothing the Russians could touch! Go get em boys!

The Russians don't really have anything close, but I think they do have at least one fighter that uses moveable thrust. Not 100% sure, though.

 

[shooter521]

The Russians don't really have anything close, but I think they do have at least one fighter that uses moveable thrust.

Yup, the SU-37. The Sukhoi lacks stealth, supercruise and all the other technological goodies that complete the F22 "package," but a knife fight between those two with equally trained pilots would be ugly.