United States - Texas - Lackland AFB Airshow 2008 - Lackland AFB, San Antonio - 11/01/08

[Liza]

Lackland AFB Airshow 2008
Lackland AFB, San Antonio
Texas
United States
» 11/01/08 - 11/02/08
» http://www.lackland.af.mil

2006 Thread

Attending
B-25 Special Delivery
Cavanaugh Flight Museum
Dale Snort Snodgrass
Ed Hamill
Fighter Jets Inc
Greg Poe
Lone Star Flight Museum
Tora Tora Tora
US Army Golden Knights - Black Team
USAF F-15E Strike Eagle East Demo
USAF F-16 East Viper Demo
USAF F-22A Raptor Demo
USAF Heritage Flight
USMC AV-8 Harrier Demo
USN Blue Angels

Airshow Database Page with Map »

[thetford569]

I'm thinking about attending this show.  I read in past threads that you have to park in fields and take busses into the show.  Can you get back out to your car and leave before the show is over?  Do the busses run then or just at the end of the show?  My plan was to get there very early and get static shots along with the early morning flying demos and then leave and drive around to the west side of the airfield to get shots of the afternoon flying demos where the light will be better.  Any tips would be appreciated as I will be booking a hotel and driving down from Dallas/Ft. Worth if I decide to come.  Thanks!

Brandon

[Georgetown]

My first plan was to visit the aviation nation (Nellis Afb) due to the F-15 flying display there. But then I saw that Lackland also had the F-15 as performer. So does anyone know how Lackland compare to Nellis on following:
- photo opportunities (closeness to the flightline)
- quality of the arrangement.

Thank you for answers.

// Georgetown

[tropicdiver]

Any chance for a Fence Check Photo Pit at Lackland?

I've attended the show at Lackland a couple times in the past. My experiece was that I did see buses running, but if you got there early enough, you could expect perhaps a 10 minute max walk from the parking area. I hoofed it instead of waiting on a bus, which I didn't see that many, anyway. You could come and go to your vehicle at anytime but I do remember it was slow going getting into parking, but getting out at the end of the show was well planned and quick (ymmv).

I enjoyed the shows at Lackland. It was crowded, but there was a lt of space, so one had plenty of space to define as your own without worrying about others trying to stand in front of you and block your photo opportunities. Of course, if you stand near show center, it was pretty much every man, woman and child for themselves. I remember I saw my first static Raptor at Lackland and there was quite a good assortment of statics available to shoot, but there was always people in the area, so it wasn't like getting to shoot on a practice day when there were no crowds.

Hope this helps.
 

[Liza]

Not this year. Sorry.

[dr101z]

If you get there early you can park very close to the entrance of the show.  The best aerial photo ops are in the morning as you'll be facing the sun in the afternoon.  The ramp layout varies from each show depending upon what shows up but you can usually expect a few unusual aircraft on the ramp.  The IAAFA usually tows their A-37 and F-5 down from the north end of the field which always make for a nice change of scenery.  It looks like there should be a decent warbird turnout as well with the Tora and LSFM groups showing up.  Hopefully Rod Lewis will bring a few aircraft from his growing collection of warbirds in from across town and judging from the list of statics on the website he will.

The weather forecast for Saturday and Sunday is partly cloudy skies with temps ranging from the low 60's to the high 70's.  Bring sunscreen!

Runway 15 was in use today and unless we get a cold front in before the weekend I imagine it will be that way for arrivals later this week.

[dr101z]

I stopped by Kelly Field this evening on the way home from work and there were a few arrivals on the ramp.  A resident C-5 was being towed into position, the two Blue Angels '7' jets were there as well as KC-135E 72589 (or C-135E, depending which database you come across).  The next two days should be pretty busy with arrivals and from past experience it's usually Friday that's the busiest. 

Oh, and for those who are planning on leaving the show early and heading to the west side of the field during the afternoon, the police usually have that road blocked off by the time the gates open for the show.

The weather was perfect today and the forecast isn't expected to change much between now and the weekend.

[Andy27]

This so looks so good, it makes me want to cry that I wont be able to go.

[dr101z]

I stoped by Kelly Field again this evening to see what had arrived.  I knew that the Blues were in town since they buzzed the building I work in pretty much constantly between noon and 3pm.  When I arrived it looked like most of the modern jet demo teams were already there and a quick look over the static area revealed that the statics should be arriving on Friday.  They usually put each of the teams through a practice session the day before the show opens so it should be a good day for spotting tomorrow.

On the hot ramp so far:

2 x MH-53E
2 x F-16C 'SW'
2 x AV-8
2 x F-22A 'TY' (43FS & 325FW)
1 x F-15E 'SJ'
1 x KC-130J 'QB'
1 x AT-6
1 x T-34
1 x C-27 51607 (Golden Knights)

Static Ramp:
C-5
C-130J
E-3 AWACS (NATO) LX-N 90454
KC-135E 72589 (VIP colors, listed as Speckled Trout)
T-43A 'RA'
2 x T-38C
C-47 'Bluebonnet Belle'
AT-6
PT-17 (??)
BT-15 (??)
Navion

[dr101z]

I spent some time (well okay, all day) near Kelly Field catching arrivals and the practice show that took place.  The weather cooperated for most of the day although the morning was cloudier than expected.  Temps were great with a nice breeze out of the south most of the day. 

The practice show started at noon and went through to 4:15 when the Blue Angels ended their performance.  Apparently the Blues had a few issues with their jets as with all of their aircraft present they only had five in the air which resulted in a three ship diamond.  I'm sure that they'll have their full complement of aircraft ready for the main event this weekend though. 

Anyway, on to a few pics from the arrivals and practice show.

[dr101z]

...and a few more pics.

[Benjamin Welch]

Hate to be the one to relate this but the three ship Diamond is due to Blue Angel #4 getting the boot from the team for "an inappropriate relationship' with the Administrative Officer. There is a thread over on AirShowBuzz with the details. I am glad that the correcting action was taken but gotta be a bummer for the rest of the season! 

[Liza]

We have a thread about the subject under the Military Performers section.

[dr101z]

Ahh...I did not know about that relationship thing.  I thought it was very unusual to have so many aircraft on hand and then only put up a three ship diamond and this certainly explains it. 

[Galaxy5007]

Someone please get a tail shot of the C-5 on display, thanks!