Posted on 08/19/2011 2:49:09 AM PDT by equaviator
Able to carry the largest payload of both guided and unguided weapons in the Air Force inventory, the B-1B Lancer is the backbone of America's long-range bomber force. A B-1B is scheduled to both fly and be on static display at the 2011 Selfridge Air Show and Open House, Aug. 20-21 at the base.
The highly-versatile and multi-mission capable B-1 is in high demand in support of operations around the world.
"This is an awesome opportunity to see the Lancer up close and personal," said Lt. Col. Phillip Sheridan, vice wing commander of the 127th Wing, which is based at Selfridge Air National Guard Base and is the host organization of the base and the air show.
Sheridan was a B-1 pilot earlier in his military career. Currently, he flies the A-10 Thunderbolt II, an attack aircraft that is assigned to Selfridge. The A-10, along with the KC-135 Stratotanker, also flown by the Michigan Air National Guard at Selfridge, will be on display during the air show.
"The B-1 is incredibly loud, too, which makes it a perfect airplane for shows-of-force -- when it's not dropping its payload on the bad guys," Sheridan said.
During the air show, which is free to the public, the Air Force and the other military services showcase both equipment and missions that are assigned to Selfridge as well as bring in additional aircraft to demonstrate to the public, such as the Air Force's B-1 and F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft scheduled to be flown in for the show by a U.S. Navy demonstration team.
"The air show provides an opportunity for the military services assigned to Selfridge - Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard - to demonstrate the tools and the skills they use to defend our great nation," said Lt. Col. Sean Campbell, a pilot with the Michigan Air National Guard at Selfridge who is serving as the air show director. "It is also a way for the military community here at Selfridge to say thank you to our surrounding friends and neighbors for the positive relationship we have enjoyed with the community for many, many years."
Gates open for the air show at 8 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 20-21. Flying will begin in the late morning both days and some three dozen or so aircraft will be on ground display, along with displays of ground-based equipment by the various military services and several agencies of the Dept. of Homeland Security, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which maintains a significant presence at Selfridge. Both parking and admission are free both days. Visitors are advised to arrive early, as traffic congestion can be heavy. No visitors will be admitted after 2 p.m. The show closes at 5 p.m. both days.
On Friday, Aug. 19, a dinner party and concert will help open the air show weekend. Eddie Money will headline the outdoor concert, held on the aircraft parking ramp at Selfridge. Concert tickets are $10 and may be purchased via www.selfridgeairshow.org.
The B-1 entered service with the Air Force in the mid-1980s. It holds almost 50 world records to speed, payload, range and time of climb in its class. It can carry a weapons payload of approximately 75,000 pounds and has a top speed in excess of 900 miles per hour. It is operated by a crew of four Airmen.
The 127th Wing of the Michigan Air National Guard is the host organization at Selfridge, flying the KC-135 Stratotanker, an aerial refueler, and the A-10 Thunderbolt II, also known as the Warthog, which is an air-to-ground attack fighter. In addition to the Wing, Selfridge is home to numerous other military and federal agencies, which fly a variety of helicopters and small, light fixed-wing aircraft.
More information on the 127th Wing and Selfridge Air National Guard Base is available at www.127wg.ang.af.mil.
I’m going to the airshow at Selfrige tomorrow!
Think you used enough picture there, Butch?
You even fit the golf course in there!
Awesome craft. I had the honor of going to Palmdale and see the assembly line of this magnificent plane. Quite the experience; so much pride from all who were involved. Great times.
Where I live is where they turn around during the air show...they are flying so low you can see the pilots...
The Bone is an amazing airplane. Nothing that big should be able to do what it can do. I saw one at the US Air and Trade Show in Dayton many years ago, and at the start of the show, the pilot took off on full afterburner, got about 100 feet off the ground, pulled the gear up, then slammed it into a 70-degree bank and disappeared behind the trees, vapor streaming off the wings. He ended up doing one whale of a performance.
And loud? It’s the second-loudest airplane I’ve ever heard. Only the Concorde, in my experience, was louder. Both of them don’t sound like they fly, they sound like they move by just tearing the sky open in front of them.
}:-)4
While the B-1 flies like a fighter yet carries a full bomber load, it has always been a weapon system in search of a mission. After all its years in service, the mission is still not well-defined. It is not fully stealth, it was not successful as a penetration bomber, and couldn’t even answer the bell for Desert Storm after every Iraqi fighter was grounded and SEAD was achieved. Best evidence for my thesis: the B52 is still flying with pilots that are younger than the airframe.
Please don’t take my comment as disparaging to the crews or the superior flight characteristics of the aircraft that make it impressive at an airshow. The problem is with the decision-makers that put us in this position.
“The highly-versatile and multi-mission capable B-1 is in high demand in support of operations around the world.”
Hey, Jimmah, do you hear that?
I’m not seeing any Bones on that flight line, just some tankers and hawgs. My hubby was one of the ground floor guys on the B-1; great aircraft. I’m not sure why Sheridan made the comment about noise scaring the bad guys; the bombs got to the target before the sound did.
My husband started his AF career in B-52's in '81. The BUFFs were nearly 20 years older than most of his crew; the AC flew them in Vietnam when they were new.
No kidding, you can practically read the automobile license plate numbers. I love how the golfer below the white hangar on the right is frozen in mid-swing. Pretty good form, too - keeping that elbow straight. :-)
I got to see a B1 fly for the first time in my life at the Dayton, OH, airshow last month. I’ve seen the Concorde, as well as the B2 (which did a triple-flyby at the same show). Well, nothing is more impressive than seeing the B2 profile as it banks on its wing to return back over the airfield, but the B1 was an altogether different, awesome beast.
The B1 took off, came back around with its wings extended, so the speed was somewhat “regular”. Then it came back around with wings swept, at full afterburner at about 450+. And the sound was glorious. In that regard, the B1 was certainly more interesting to witness than even the B2.
Well, the B1 left for an airshow in Michigan, but luckily for us, after the Dayton show had “ended”, the B1 returned from its day up north and made another high-speed pass over the Dayton field and then came in for landing. So we got the proverbial encore by hanging around 45 minutes after the show technically ended.
So in summary: B2 = badass.
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