Air Show 2009

Ahhhhhhh!  It has been way too long since the last post.  So now time to catch up.  A lot going on here.  Very busy, all the time.  Never slows down.  Can't take a break.  Only able to talk in short phrases.  No time for complete sentences.

Okay . . . deeeeeeeep breath.

October 18th was the annual air show.  Even though it was on Sunday, I still had to work (something about being a member of the triage team and I would need to be nearby in case of an air show disaster).  So I took advantage of the fact that I had to be at the airshow and took Alex for the morning (the rest of the fam joined later). 

The base opened up the area near the runway and it was flooded with 250,000 or more Japanese visitors.  The base brought in dozens of aircraft for static displays as well as a few aerial performance teams. One particular pilot with his aircraft caught my eye.  He told me he was from Minnesota.  He wouldn't give me an autograph (although I got a hug later).

I think Alex was more impressed with these big machines than with the planes and shows.

If this is any indication of the amount of snow we get here, we're definitely in for a treat.

The two main aerial teams were the Blue Impulse (Japan) and the Thunderbirds (US Air Force).  Stuck to one of the Japanese fighter copters was a welcome sign for one of the lesser known aerial stunt teams.

Even the famous Japanese Bullet Train made an appearance.

Things did get out of hand after a while, so much so that security forces ended up rounding up some of the more troublesome folks, as you can see by this photo. Despite the extreme danger to myself, I nevertheless felt it my duty to risk my life in order to document the raw savagry of such an event so that others might understand what horrors exist in this cruel world.

On a lighter note, one of the more enjoyable parts of the show was 'people watching'.  (That's where I go around and take pictures of people watching the air show, without them spotting me.)  This shot is entitled "Family Reunion on a Tarp."

I decided that there was an unspoken competition between photographers to see who had the biggest telphoto lens on their camera.  The guy giving me the weird stare wasn't the winner, but he was close.  Some people had 2 or 3 different sizes of cameras strapped around their necks, just to make sure they got that perfect shot.  After I took this picture I walked away very quickly.

I was mingling in the crowd only during the morning of the airshow.  My post for the afternoon was at the fire station at one end of the runway (essentially on the runway).  Unfortunately I forgot my camera at home during lunch, so I didn't get any photos of them in flight.  Although here's one on the ground.  I know, not as fast and impressive this way, but hey, it's a Thunderbird.  Still very cool.  I wish I could describe what it was like sitting at the end of the runway watching the Thunderbirds fly.  I could literally look straight up in the sky and stare directly into the burner (you know, that big round thing at the backside of the jet where the fire shoots out) as the planes flew straight up.  I could have used another set of earplugs too.   I'll remember that for next year (and maybe get some action shots of the Thunderbirds too).

Robert