Air Force Week, New England Style by Dave O’Brien

New England was one of six places in the nation to celebrate Air Force Week in mid-August. To mark the US Air Force’s 60th Anniversary, airshows were held at Porthsmouth International Airport at Pease, New Hampshire on August 18th and 19th, and at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts on August 25th and 26th.

The Pease show was the first one held at the former Strategic Air Command base since 2000. The airshow was put on with the help of the Wings of Hope Foundation and the 157th Air Refueling Wing of the New Hampshire Air National Guard. The acts included John Klatt in his S-300, local favorite Rob Holland, wing walker Carol Pilon, Dan McCue in the L39 and the F4U Corsair, the East Coast F/A-18C Demo team from Naval Air Station Oceana, Ed Shipley and his F-86, and the East Coast F-16 team from Shaw Air Force Base. A B-2 also performed a fly-by on Saturday.

The flying didn’t start until 11AM. The announcer had difficult time starting the show, first because of technical difficulties with the sound system and then because it was too windy for the opening parachute jump. It also didn’t help that the announcer’s booth was at the back of the ramp, from where he had a very difficult time seeing what was flying.

A Canadian CH-146 Griffon helicopter performed a demonstration, then Rob Holland took to the skies. The way he rips his MX-2 through the sky would make my stomach turn so quickly if I was a passenger! When Rob was finished, the warbirds launched: a P-40, P-47 and B-25. Dan McCue went up next in the L-39 followed by the Red Star Formation Yak team.

Once these acts were down, the B-2 (callsign Death 12) came in for a few passes before Rob Holland took the controls for Carol Pilon. She somehow hung on in the strong winds while walking the wings of her plane. Dan McCue then jumped into the Corsair and did his demo before local Naval Aviator Lt. Thomas “Natty” Clark from Nashua ripped up the skies in the F/A-18C. Afterwards Dan and Natty hooked up for the Legacy flight, making few photo passes from the right and one overhead from the behind.

Next it was time for Ed Shipley to take up the F-86 Sabre and perform to the crowds. Once the solo F-16 demo was done, it formed up with Ed for the Heritage Flight, the show’s big closer. Overall, it was a pretty decent show, seeing that the base had not hosted one in seven years.

The following weekend, Air Force week closed with a show two hours away at Otis ANGB on Cape Cod. Otis was granted the Thunderbirds, which is always a nice draw. Other acts scheduled were the Golden Knights, a US Coast Guard search and rescue demo, Michael Goulian and Michael Mancuso in their Extra 300s, Ed Hamill, John Klatt, the Under Pressure Jet Ambulance, the S-3 demo team, C-17, B-2, CF-18, the West Coast F-16 demo team, the East Coast F/A-18C demo (flown this time by Lt. Adrian “Catfish” Jope), an F-117 demo, and an F-15 formation by the based 102nd Fighter Wing.

Again this weekend, weather played havoc with the airshow. This time it was haze and fog in the morning and high winds in the afternoon. Temperatures were in the high 90s and it was very humid. Some of Saturday morning’s acts couldn’t even go up because of the haze. I was lucky to attend on Sunday, as it was my only chance to see the two-ship S-3 demonstration.

The USCG demo showed how the Coast Guard could deploy a tactical team onto a boat by rapelling from a Jayhawk. An HU-21 Falcon flew around to show how it would search for boats in trouble, and dropped a raft on a target. Next up was the Massachusetts Army National Guard’s Blackhawks. Two of the helicopters carried Humvees while the other two had soldiers rappel down ropes.

The 102nd FW launched four Eagles to burn up the sky; they weren’t allowed to on Saturday, but they really put it into full burner on Sunday. You could tell they were itching to show off to the hometown crowd. A B-2 flew his first pass with gear down, coming back again low to do a slight waggle of the wings. It was a much nicer pass than the one at Pease, as we finally got to see the top of the aircraft instead of only the bottom.

After the B-2 departed they brought the MA-ANG Eagles and the F-117. Both aircraft types were allowed to perform full demos on Sunday, as the weather offered higher ceilings. Ed Hamill was next into the show box in his Air Force Reserve biplane.

I hadn’t seen a C-17 demo in a long time, so I was amazed to see how this aircraft almost handles like a fighter. The pilots turned through 360° almost as tightly as some fighters.

After the C-17, Capt Yannick “Crank” Gregoire took up his CF-18, whose specially-painted tails celebrate the fighter’s 25 years of service in Canada. Next, the West Coast Viper team launched their F-16 to show us “Yankees” how the “left coasters” fly. This was a great opportunity to see a display team that normally doesn’t visit the East Coast. Michael Mancuso and Matt Chapman went up next and performed their 2-ship demo for the growing crowd.

An F4U Corsair (not the same one as had been at Pease) took off and did some passes, then made room for “Catfish” of the East Coast Hornet team. The skies were perfect for some great vapor. The two aircraft teamed up for the Legacy Flight, making three passes to show off “then and now,” Navy style.

Michael Goulian was next to fly, followed by the Thunderbirds. On Saturday, the Thunderbirds had to stop their show three times because they didn’t have the five-mile visibility the solos need. They tried twice to start their “low” show, but there just wasn’t enough visibility to fly safely so they made the right move to cancel Saturday’s performance. Luckily they were able to fly their full show on Sunday for the crowds.

I would like to thank Public Affairs Officers Lt Pierce of the 157th ARW and Cliff MacDonald of the 102nd FW for all of their help on these two weekends.

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