Wow. What a weekend. I’ve been to a fair number of airshows over the years, but I’ve never been on the inside before. It was quite a thing. We spent a long time on Friday getting everything set up, then all day Saturday and Sunday doing our part to ensure that everyone who showed up had a good time.
Mostly that meant making sure people got off and on the correct buses safely, answered questions, and tried to make sure that people didn’t go wandering onto parts of the airbase they weren’t supposed to go to. As a civilian, just being able to drive a van onto the flight line was pretty neat.
It was kind of amazing how fast the aircraft started heading out too. As soon as the last bus left the base, the cold static area (cold as in “aircraft that weren’t flying all weekend”) turned back into a hot flight line. That meant that a few cadets got a first-hand lesson in jet blast and rotorwash when the Avera helicopter parked next to our tents took off, and the F/A-18E blasted the big plastic barriers back like they were pieces of notebook paper.
Now we get to relax, and enjoy a nice break. Just kidding! This weekend we’re off to a SAREX (Search And Rescue EXercise)!
We may have to make a stop at that museum next January…