[MilCom] Navy News Service

[Greg Brazil]

  > Well this is what the Navy wrote about Oceana Air Show
> Greg (SF Bay Area)
> 
> 
>>                                   -USN-
>>
>> NNS050923-04. Air Show Packs Them In To See Top
>> Performers
>>
>> By Journalist 2nd Class Barrie Barber and Journalist 2nd Class
>> Cathy Heimer, Navy Reserve Navy Information Det Fleet
>> Forces Command
>>
>> VIRGINIA BEACH, Va (NNS) -- Thousands of aviation
>> enthusiasts saw "the right stuff" on display at the 2005 Naval Air
>> Station (NAS) Oceana Air Show Sept. 16-18.
>>
>> The U.S. Navy Blue Angels, the final air show performance of
>> the legendary F-14 Tomcat, military skydiving teams from three
>> nations and civilian air acts highlighted the three-day event. 
>>
>> The aerial display also featured for the first time since the late
>> 1960s two F-86 Sabres, a military mainstay in the Korean War,
>> performing in acrobatic tandem. 
>>
>> "This is, no fooling, one of the premier aviation events in North
>> America this year," said Randy Brooks, the Red Baron Pizza
>> Squadron director of operations and a former stunt pilot with the
>> Boeing Stearman biplane team that flew in from Portland, Ore.
>> "To have three jump teams from three nations is significant."
>>
>> Parachutists from the U.S. Army Special Operations Command
>> Black Daggers, British Army Red Devils, and the Canadian
>> SkyHawks brought in the American flag with pizzazz and
>> pinpoint landings at show center.
>>
>> "It's just a lot of fun," said Cpl. Billy Blanchard, a Red Devils
>> parachutist. "The people are very friendly."
>>
>> "It's a world class air show," said solo acrobatic performer
>> Nancy Lynn, who made her first appearance at Oceana. 
>>
>> The Annapolis, Md.-based pilot flew her red and white Extra
>> 300L through a demanding acrobatic regime that pushed and
>> pulled her from a grueling seven positive to 10 negative Gs
>> without a G-suit. "You never get totally used to it," she said. 
>>
>> Spectators appreciated the performers' skill and intensity and the
>> multitude of static displays.
>>
>> "The crowd is having a good time since it's a good show," said
>> Brian Benedict, a spectator and vendor who arrived at Oceana
>> from Jamestown, N.Y. "When they're bored, it's not a good
>> show."
>>
>> NAS Oceana Commanding Officer Capt. Tom Keeley was also
>> pleased with the large crowds attending this year's event. During
>> the Sunday morning brief for performers, he told the performers
>> there was a great deal of good publicity for the show, which
>> helped draw in the crowds. For the first time the air show was
>> broadcast via a live Web cast to U.S. military and the public
>> worldwide during the weekend.
>>
>> He also praised the ability of performers and staff to recover
>> from a huge rainstorm and high winds the night before that had
>> drenched the flight line and taken down tents. While still dark,
>> performers such as Rich Gibson of Gibson's Incredible Pyro had
>> cleared away standing water and begun setting up for the show.
>> Air show staff recovered downed tents and cleared away mud,
>> making it impossible by Sunday's opening to tell the
>> thunderstorms had ever happened.
>>
>> The air show was the F-14's last official public display before the
>> aircraft is retired from service and relieved by the F/A-18E/F
>> Super Hornet.
>>
>> "I really love this plane," said Cesar Gonzalez, of Hampton, Va.,
>> as he viewed an F-14 Tomcat up close. "I don't have a word to
>> say how impressed I was with this show."
>>
>> Those were words Oceana Operations Officer Cmdr. David
>> Desimone wanted to hear about this year's show. "There are a
>> couple of measures of success at the show. One is how the
>> crowd and the community react to the show," said Desimone. 
>>
>> "The main purpose is to showcase the men and women of the
>> military, to interact and give back to the community and the
>> taxpayers. That's why it does have a big military open house
>> flavor and a lot of military acts," he added.
>>
>> The other measure of success he said is by the performers'
>> reactions and "our reputation in the business, both as a base and
>> as an air show. It's very important. We get a lot of compliments."
>>
>> Other performances included a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber flyby,
>> F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet and
>> E-2C Hawkeye demonstrations, a Showcopters helicopter aerial
>> display, a U.S. Navy Legacy Flight with an F-4U Corsair and
>> two F/A-18s, a U.S. Air Force Heritage Flight with two F-86s
>> and the F-4 Phantom, a Soviet L-39 Albatross acrobatic flight,
>> the Skytypers Air Show Team and the Shockwave Jet Truck.
>> Gene Soucy and Teresa Stokes also entertained the crowds with
>> a wingwalking demonstration.
>>
>> Planning for next year's show will begin immediately. 
>>
>> For more news from around the fleet, visit www.navy.mil. 
>>
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