Air Show

 

This was an acrobatic stunt pilot who performed all sorts of scary tricks in his little plane. Here he is flying sideways and upside down, and barely moving, all at the same time.

Watching the sky for cool air planes.

Army parachuters

The Thunderbirds were the main attraction!

We were close enough to the runway and with a little help from the zoom, you could see the pilots wave as they began their take-off.

It was VERY loud. Fortunately, we had noise-cancellation headphones for the boys.

The boys sat in a blackhawk, but I couldn't get Hannah to join them.

Trying to take a family photo isn't as easy as you might think...

The last weekend in September, we went to the Air Show at McConnell. The boys only sort of remembered going a couple years ago and they were excited to go again to the "Air Force" as Jonathan kept saying. It was very confusing to him that we were going to an air show on the air force base, so he just combined and shortened. We were fortunate to get a visitor pass from Keith's work again and so parking was a breeze! We spent the afternoon checking out the inside of giant airplanes and helicopters and watching the amazing pilots in the sky. The weather was perfect and everyone had a great time. We were exhausted by the time we go home and had an early dinner and kids in bed by 7. We call that a successful day!

The Air Show!

The boys going to check out the C-130.

Standing at the back of the C-130 with Daddy.

This was Andrew's favorite act - Matt Younkin's Beech 18. He performed cool tricks and it wasn't loud!

I love this photo!

The same red and blue favorite plane.

Another favorite - a fire-shooting school bus.

It was powered by jet fuel and raced down the runway at 300 mph.

C-5

Andrew and Jonathan sitting in the C-130

F-15

I love that plane in the sky in the upper right. It looks like it's crashing, but no, it's just part of the show.

P-51 Mustangs

B-2 bomber

F-18 Super Hornet - super cool, but VERY loud. We had to break out the headphones for the boys.

By the end of the day, Andrew was riding and enjoying Dippin' Dots ice cream.

Andrew posing with the fire trucks.

Walking back to the car. Jonathan was enjoying some nachos.

Saturday morning, we packed up and headed to McConnell to enjoy the Air Show. The Thunderbirds were the big act this year but weren't scheduled to perform until late afternoon. We knew we couldn't make it that long, so we went until we were tired and watched some cool acts and saw some BIG planes. The boys loved it! And this morning on the way to church, Jonathan asked if we could go back to the airplane show.

The weather was in the high 70s and there was a great breeze, so I was able to handle all the walking. We foolishly took along a chair and blanket, thinking we would be able to sit and watch the show. But the boys wanted to stay on the move and weren't as interested in the planes in the air as they were in the ones on the ground.

We lasted almost 3 hours and were all VERY tired by the time we got in the car to go home. We noticed the sky was getting more and more blue, the closer we got to home. Turns out we left just in time. They cancelled the afternoon performances due to a thunderstorm that moved through the area.

It was great to back on a base, but a little nostalgic for both Keith and I. And it made us a little sad that the boys won't remember our life in the Air Force. But we'll take them to the Air Show again and show them pictures of "way back when."