Calendar

Category All Art Classes Classical Music Concerts DANCE Etc Exhibits Families Farmers Markets Film Happenings Holiday Holiday Lectures Music (non-classical) Theater

Submit events

Air Expo returns after three-year hiatus

By Matt Nagle

Tacoma Weekly
mattnagle@tacomaweekly.com
Published on: July 17, 2008

On July 19 and 20, McChord Air Force Base will open its gates free to the public for Air Expo 2008. Encompassing all four branches of the U.S. military, the expo is a truly world-class event featuring many civilian and military flying acts along with numerous aircraft to tour, all of it topped off with performances by the Air Force’s internationally renowned aerial demonstration team, the Thunderbirds.

“This is our way of saying thank you to the community,” said Staff Sgt. Oshawn Jefferson. “This year’s event is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, ever. There’ll be a lot going on.”

This will be the first Air Expo held at McChord since 2005. With so many military personnel involved in ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and in other worldwide military operations, there just weren’t enough soldiers or aircraft available to put on the show over the past few years. “We just didn’t have the time or people,” Jefferson said, “but even though we’re still stretched thin we just had to do it this year.”

AIRCRAFT TOURS

With gates opening at 8 a.m. and aerial acts not starting until 11, there will be plenty of time to explore the more than 40 aircraft that will be parked at the air base and open for families to tour.  With so many it’s difficult to point out the “best of,” but a few must-sees include:

With excellent maneuverability at low air speeds and altitude, A-10s are highly accurate weapons-delivery platforms. Their wide combat radius and short takeoff and landing capability permit operations in and out of locations near front lines. Using night vision goggles, A-10 pilots can conduct missions during darkness.

Wingspan: 57 feet, 6 inches

Length: 53 feet, 4 inches

Height: 14 feet, 8 inches

Weight: 29,000 pounds

The F-22 Raptor is the Air Force’s newest fighter aircraft. Its combination of stealth, supercruise, maneuverability, and integrated avionics, coupled with improved supportability, represent an exponential leap in warfighting capabilities.

Wingspan: 44 feet, 6 inches

Length: 62 feet, 1 inch

Height: 16 feet, 8 inches

Weight: 43,340 pounds

The C-17 Globemaster can be seen flying low over Tacoma many days of the week. The newest, most flexible cargo aircraft to enter the airlift force, the inherent flexibility and performance of the C-17 force improves the ability of the total airlift system to fulfill the worldwide air mobility requirements of the United States.

Wingspan: 169 feet 10 inches (to winglet tips)

Length: 174 feet

Height: 55 feet 1 inch

Maximum Peacetime Takeoff Weight: 585,000 pounds

AIR SHOWS

“If you’ve never seen them, they’ll blow your mind,” said Jefferson of the Thunderbirds, known as “America’s Ambassadors in Blue.” This year the Thunderbirds celebrate 55 years of representing the more than 500,000 Airmen, National Guardsmen and Reservists worldwide.

Based at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, this demonstration flying team is the best of the best, exhibiting the professional skill required of their pilots to perform aerobatic formation and solo-flying maneuvers for wide-eyed audiences around the world. The Thunderbirds are also part of the U.S. Air Force combat force and a component of the 57th Wing.

Another highlight will be the re-creation of the Dec. 7, 1941, bombing of Pearl Harbor called “Tora! Tora! Tora!” Heralded as a highly entertaining and dynamic history lesson, hundreds of volunteers, most belonging to the Commemorative Air Force (CAF), assemble to pull off the awesome performance that includes pyrotechnic fires and explosions with many Japanese fighters and bombers simulating the Pearl Harbor attack.

Not all the air show action will be happening in the wide, blue yonder. On the ground will be another sight to see – the Air Force Reserve Jet Car. This “mustang with the fighter engine” will display its capabilities racing aircraft in four races July 19, reaching 400 mph in eight seconds, and slamming to a stop just before becoming airborne.

Organizers of Air Expo 2008 are making it easy to attend this year with help from Pierce Transit, which is offering free rides to McChord Air Force Base. Guests can catch a ride on Pierce Transit buses from one of two transit stops: the southeast corner of Lakewood Towne Center and the park and ride at State Route 512. Both routes will run buses every 15 minutes from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. inbound and outbound to the expo both days.

Story Tools

This Week's
Front Page