2008 Rhode Island Airshow by Dave O`Brien

Over 200 years ago, the Boston Tea Party took place to protest the British Government’s rule over its US colonies. On the weekend of June 27 and 28, the British returned to North Kingstown, RI, an hour’s drive to the south, as thousands of people welcomed the Royal Air Force’s jet demonstration team, the Red Arrows, to the 2008 Rhode Island Air Show. It was the third and final stop on the Red Arrows’ North American tour after Quebec, Canada and Langley Air Force Base, VA.

The Red Arrows fly the BAE Systems Hawk T1, the RAF’s advanced trainer, which has been used by the team since 1979. The Hawk’s Rolls Royce Adour engine produces over 5,000 lbs of thrust, giving the aircraft a top speed of Mach 0.84. Unlike US demo teams, who use only white smoke, the Red Arrows use a smoke system that produces five minutes of white smoke and a minute each of red and blue. The multicolored smoke enhances the team’s visual display, as the aircraft switch between red, white, and blue during maneuvers.

The Red Arrows fly nine aircraft during their performance. Most of their maneuvers use all nine jets in tight formation, twisting and rolling with just a few feet of separation between the aircraft. Some of my favorite maneuvers were the Shuttle Roll, the Lancaster Roll, and the Vertical Break, while the Gypo Break (a four-ship sequence), which is flown right at the crowd from show center, brought out a roar from the spectators. The “Reds” also performed some of the two-ship, opposing solo passes that we have become accustomed to. Their “heart” maneuver was dedicated to one of the Strike Eagle demo team’s ground crew, SSGT Frank R Gamble III, who proposed to his girlfriend at show center on Saturday during the Strike Eagle demo. (She said yes.)

Another highlight of this year’s Rhode Island show was the performance by the East Coast F/A-18C Demo Team. I had the pleasure of meeting the display pilot, Lt. Adrian “Catfish” Jope, at the Otis air show last year. Rhode Island was his last demo flight, as he will be entering the Navy War College in Newport, RI. The show was sort of a homecoming for him as well, as he is a 1999 graduate of Tufts University. In addition to his family, many of his “University Brothers” from Tufts attended to cheer him on.

I was able to accompany the demo team on the hot ramp during Friday’s practice show to witness the pre-launch procedure they go through. Despite the cloudy weather it was a great experience for me. The team’s back-up pilot was Air Force exchange pilot Capt. Greg “Gator” Poston, another New Englander from Nashau, NH, whose background is in the F-16. The two maintainers were SSGT Chris Burgess (USMC) for Ocala, FL, and AME2 Nicholas Hallman from Lancaster, SC.

Other highlights of the airshow included the Strike Eagle demo, flown by Pilot Capt. Phil “Ritz” Smith with WSO Capt. Ed “Wild” Colfer. The F-15E capped its routine with several dedication passes for “Catfish”. The Harrier Demo team from VMA-231 “Ace of Spades” and the Combined Arms Demo with pyro were back in 2008. The C-130J demo team from the home unit, the 143rd Airlift Wing, put on a good show; this year, they added a photo pass to their routine. A B-2 performed a fly-by on Saturday while a B-52 took its place Sunday. The Black Daggers were this year’s jump team.

On the civilian side, Sean D. Tucker, Mike Goulian, Les Shockley’s Jet Truck, John Klatt, and Julie Clark, in her first appearance at the Rhode Island show, all gave crowd-thrilling performances.

I would like to thank the men and women of the 143rd AW, Rhode Island Air National Guard, for putting on another great air show. A big thanks to Public Affairs officer Lt Col. Riel and his media crew for dealing with such a big media crowd this year.

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