Wings over Pittsburgh air show, lots of pics.

[Brice Burrell]

I spent the morning at the Wings Over Pittsburgh air show.  The show is hosted by the 911th Airlift Wing, located at the Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station.   I got there early so I was able to park close to the entrance and avoided the crowds.   I?m generally not an air show kind of guy but this is show with almost all military aircraft.  This is (usually) an annual event so every year I tell myself I going to try to make it out.  Last year when they couldn't get enough sponsorship the show was canceled so when they announced it was going to happen this year I was determined to go.  

I had plans for the afternoon so I couldn't stay for the main performances, that's just as well since the event draws a good crowd and traffic can be a pain out there.  Also my main interest was the static displays (the aircraft parked on the ground).   You could walk right up to and touch all of the aircraft, that was really cool.  About a third of the aircraft had the pilots/aircrew there to chat with.

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Apache

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Nose of B-52 bomber

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B-52

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Navy T-45 Goshawk

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Ramp of a C-17

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F-18

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One of my favorites, E-2 Hawkeye

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F-16

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Another fav of mine, EA-6 Prowler

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C-130

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Two F-15

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B-52 again

I did get to see several performances, a modified  Pitts Special doing things you wouldn't believe a plane can do, a C 130 drop some parachutists and my favorite, the F-15.  Interestingly, during the F-15 performance a police officer brought out his dog and I couldn't believe all of the "wows", "hey, check out the dog" and "awwww, look at the dog."  I don't know how many of you have seen a fighter plane maneuvering at close range but it's pretty awesome, how an ugly police dog  can even compare I don't know...    

All in all, it was a good time.  If you're ever in Pittsburgh in early September it's worth the time to check it out.  

 

[mastercabman]

......But,did you take a pictures of the dog? [laughing] [laughing]

Nice pictures!    Glade you enjoy it.    Here in Norfolk,VA  The air show goes on everyday!!!

 

[peter halle]

Brice,

Thanks for the photos!  I haven't seen any up close in over ten years.

Peter

 

[chrisrosenb]

Great pictures Brice.
Wish I could have been there.

 

[Wonderwino]

My old office had a stick and rudder pedals.  Great to see some of our military AC on display.  We had a B1B at an airshow here years ago that did a slow, "dirty" flyby and then poured the coals on, sucked up the gear and went straight up!  That was impressive for such a large aircraft.  It sounded like a Saturn 5 when it was vertical.

 

[EcoFurniture]

Thanks for the pics! 
Although I'm a very interested in everything that's flying and I love watching airshows, I sometimes have a tough time ignoring the fact that military planes are only build for one reason...

Talking about flying, I found this very cool video I would like to share. Very impressive!

Enjoy  [smile]
http://www.patricksaviation.com/videos/cpasley/5083/

 

[John Stevens]

Thanks for the pics, Brice!  What a great way to remember 9/11.  My son and I were at a little air show at a small civilian airport.  Several vintage military aircraft were there, and my son spent about an hour in an old Bell Huey 'copter.

I grew up one mile from a naval air base, and one of the flight paths went right over my house.  My elementary school was right across the street from one of the runways.  For a boy, it was heaven.  The Blue Angels came every year, and we got to see them practice for three or four days before the actual show.  But of all the airplanes that we saw, my very favorite was and always will be the C130 Hercules.  Not a flashy plane, but an amazingly versatile mule.

Regards,

John

 

[RONWEN]

Great thread Brice.  I was an Air Traffic Controller in one of my past lives plus spent time in the U.S. Air Force so I'm always very interested in air shows with a military theme.  For a little over ten (10) years a group near by me put on a pretty good annual air show at our local airport & we would get top air show acts and lots of military aircraft.  I especially enjoyed the two days because I and a current FAA controller were the Air Bosses for the show -- lots of fun!

 

[Sparktrician]

A bunch of years ago I went to the Jefferson County (CO) Fourth of July air show, and there were all sorts of great military aircraft spanning many generations.  The public could walk among the static displays and gawk at the great hardware.  The one part that just almost brought tears to my eyes was a flyby of a current F-16 in formation with a perfectly restored P-51D Mustang.  There's just nothing that thrills me like the sound of those supercharged Merlin engines with a good dose of throttle applied.  The second bonus was living close to the flight path for JeffCo Airport, and watching the Mustang practice for a couple of days before the air show. 

 

[RONWEN]

A bunch of years ago I went to the Jefferson County (CO) Fourth of July air show, and there were all sorts of great military aircraft spanning many generations.  The public could walk among the static displays and gawk at the great hardware.  The one part that just almost brought tears to my eyes was a flyby of a current F-16 in formation with a perfectly restored P-51D Mustang.  There's just nothing that thrills me like the sound of those supercharged Merlin engines with a good dose of throttle applied.  The second bonus was living close to the flight path for JeffCo Airport, and watching the Mustang practice for a couple of days before the air show. 

In support of the war effort the North American P-51 prototype was rolled out the door start-to-finish in just 117 days!  The Rolls-Royce Merlin engines iced the cake for speed & altitude.  They have a sound that sends chills through your bones.

 

[greg mann]

Brice,

I hadn't logged in for a while and saw your "Wings over Pittsburgh" post and thought you were conceding the Stanley Cup already.  ;D ;D ;D

 

[RONWEN]

Brice,

I hadn't logged in for a while and saw your "Wings over Pittsburgh" post and thought you were conceding the Stanley Cup already.  ;D ;D ;D

Here now!  [scared]

 

[Brice Burrell]

Brice,

I hadn't logged in for a while and saw your "Wings over Pittsburgh" post and thought you were conceding the Stanley Cup already.  ;D ;D ;D

[big grin]

 

[greg mann]

Almost time to drop the puck, eh? Take heart, guys. Just think about poor Frank up  in Toronto.  ;D