Andrews AFB set for dazzling air show - Thunderbirds fly high at Andrews open house (May 20th-22nd)

Breath-taking aerial stunts by the U.S. Air Force "Thunderbirds" will headline this year's annual air show at Andrews Air Force Base in Camp Springs this weekend. The show, which is free and open to the public on Saturday and Sunday, will also feature an on-the-ground exhibit of vintage aircraft, refreshments and business handouts.

This year marks the 55th annual Joint Services Open House, in celebration of Armed Forces Day. It is the day when the United States "salutes the contributions made by our men and women in uniform," Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld said in a letter honoring the troops.

This year, the Thunderbird aircraft will be the main attraction. The Thunderbird jets are manned by a team of pilots that travel around the world putting on shows. Thunderbird pilots have been staging the shows for nearly 52 years. The team's pilots fly the aircraft at speeds in excess of 450 mph.

Maj. Rusty Keen, the No. 2 pilot on the F-16 Thunderbird, said this will be his first air show. Keen has been a pilot for 10 years. His job will be to fly on the left wing in a diamond formation with five other pilots. His skills will include flying tight and low to demonstrate precession flying that pilots practice in basic training, he said.

More than 400,000 people are expected to attend the free event, which will be open to the public from 8 a.m. and end at 4:30 p.m.

An estimated 250 pilots, support personnel and flight engineers work to bring off the three-day event.

For more information and for directions to the open house, see public.andrews.amc.af.mil/jsoh.

Here is the schedule:

Tomorrow

• 8 a.m.: Gates open. Spitfire demo, S-3 Viking demo

• 10 a.m.: Opening ceremonies. F-16 flyby, U.S. Army Golden Knights, C-17 demo, AH-64 Apache and UH-60 Black Hawk demo, Aerobatic pilot Nancy Lynn and her Extra 300

• Noon: 82nd Airborne Division mass jump, B-1 bomber demo, F-117 Stealth fighter flyby, AV-8A Harrier demo, A-10 demo, F-15 demo, P-51 Mustang demo, F-18 Super Hornet demo, T-6 Texan demo, Heritage Flight, Frank Ryder Oreck XL, AF Reserve Jet Car vs. Frank Ryder

• 3 p.m.: Thunderbirds

Saturday

• 8 a.m.:Gates open, S-3 Viking Demo, Spitfire demo, C-17 demo, U.S. Army Golden Knights, T-6 Texan demo, Nancy Lynn Extra 300, Sky Typers, AF Reserve Jet Car

• Noon: 82nd Airborne Division mass jump, B-2 bomber flyby, B-1 bomber demo, F-117 Stealth fighter flyby, AV-8A Harrier demo, A-10 demo, F-15 demo, P-51 Mustang demo, F-18 Super Hornet demo, T-6 Texan demo, Heritage Flight, Frank Ryder Oreck XL, AF Reserve Jet Car vs. Frank Ryder

• 3 p.m.: Thunderbirds

Sunday

• 8 a.m.: Gates open. S-3 Viking Demo, Spitfire demo, C-17 demo, U.S. Army Golden Knights, T-6 Texan demo, Nancy Lynn Extra 300, Sky Typers, AF Reserve Jet Car

• Noon: 82nd Airborne Division mass jump, F-117 Stealth fighter flyby, AV-8A Harrier demo, A-10 demo, F-15 demo, P-51 Mustang demo, F-18 Super Hornet demo, T-6 Texan demo, Heritage Flight, Frank Ryder Oreck XL, AF Reserve Jet Car vs. Frank Ryder

• 3 p.m.: Thunderbirds

PING

I can say from first hand knowledge that this is an event that should not be missed. It is an amazing show and a delightful teaching tool to all those who attend and for the kids as well. :)

So, if you are in the area I recommend getting there early and be prepared for one heck of a time, and frankly not only will parents be tired after the military open house, but so will be the kids. There will not be a complaint to hit the rack early.

The U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, the Thunderbirds, performs precision aerial maneuvers demonstrating the capabilities of Air Force high-performance aircraft to people throughout the world. The squadron exhibits the professional qualities the Air Force develops in the people who fly, maintain and support these aircraft. The Thunderbirds squadron is an Air Combat Command unit composed of eight pilots (including six demonstration pilots), four support officers, three civilians and more than 130 enlisted personnel performing in 25 career fields. The highly maneuverable multirole, F-16 fighter has proven itself to be one of the world's best precision tactical bombers and air-to-air combat aircraft. The only modifications needed to prepare the aircraft for its air demonstration role are installing a smoke-generating system in the space normally reserved for the 20 mm cannon, and the painting of the aircraft in Thunderbird colors.

I was at the show most of today. I've attended it maybe 8-10 times since the late 70's, but hadn't been there in probably 7 or 8 years. Overall, I thought it was much better than past years, particularly their latest approach to parking and getting folks in and out of the base. Very efficient compared to past years where you'd get stuck in 3 hour traffic jams just trying to get off the base, or in 2 hour lines waiting for military buses. We were out in less than 1 hour this year - very efficient. Kudos.

IMHO, the big minus at this show was the supposed main event, i.e. the Thunderbirds. It was a big let down. They only managed to fly 5 aircraft (rather than 6), the "warmup" activities prior to getting off the ground drug out well over 1/2 hour (major boring for the 80% of attending folks who don't have a good view of what's going on on the ground out by the flight line and can't hear well anyway), and I'm pretty sure they cut the flying part of their show short.

To be fair, it might be because they had to clear the airspace to allow Air Force One to land about 15-20 minutes after they FINALLY got into the air after wasting much of their time budget marching around and bloviating for well over 1/2 hour.

BTW, interruptions by Air Force One activity happened twice during the show. The Pres's helo flew down the flight line during the time the 82nd Airborne were supposed to do their drop just before 12 noon. The entire show had to be put on hold for about 1/2 hour until two identical Air Force One jets finally took off. Then it happened again about 4 hours later (I assume during the T-Birds demo) when they returned.

Interesting to see, but I'm guessing a major disruption to the Thunderbirds. However, given that they only flew 5 F-16s today anyway, and the fact that their "ground show" was ultra-boring and mostly unseeable, it all added up to a lackluster and somewhat anticlimactic performance. I enjoyed the earlier back-to-back sequence of F-15, F-117A, B-2, Heritage flight, A-10, and F/A-18 demos much more than the T-Birds. IMHO, they didn't hold a candle to past Blue Angels shows I've seen. And, what's the excuse for only flying 5 jets? I thought these guys always traveled with an extra jet and backup pilots just to prevent this. Not very professional. The AF folks should be embarrassed. The Navy's demo team has it all over them in the air, IMHO.

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