Stuart Air Show

Time certainly has a way of getting past us. I really felt it this weekend when I realized that things we did when we first arrived in Florida are showing up once again on the calendar. This weekend was the annual Chili Cook-off in our neighborhood and the annual Visiting Nurse Association Air Show in Stuart.

The Chili Cook-off was a big draw again this year, drawing folks from the neighborhood as well as from around town. We skipped the chili, but bought an all-access pass to the jumpers for Andrew. As usual, he got his money’s worth, alternating between the two bounce houses, the giant slide, and the obstacle course for almost two hours. The Tom Jackson Band filled the air with a great mix of country hits and their own songs.

After church, we made a quick stop at home, grabbed the coolers and cameras, and hit the highway to Stuart. We exited the highway just after 1:00 and started scanning the sky for planes; the show was scheduled to begin at 1:00. The show cost $20 per person – which goes to a good cause – but we had no plans of entering the gate. We found a good spot to park and watch on the west side of the airport.

I pulled out my scanner and tuned in the “Air Boss” on the airport’s ATIS frequency. Susan pulled out the coolers and started making lunch. Before long, we were settled in and ready to enjoy the show. One of the first acts was an A-10 “Warthog”. After that, it was almost entirely propeller planes.

The Aeroshell team of T-6 “Texans” flew a nice show with thick, white smoke against a perfectly clear blue sky.

Andrew enjoyed the show… for the first hour or so. He was taking pictures and videos with his camera while I took pictures with mine. He even told me, “I don’t know why I used to get bored at air shows when I was younger.” I laughed and said, “Let’s see how you feel later.” Five minutes later, he said, “I’m bored. What can I do?”.

The great thing about having a scanner is that you get to hear what’s about to happen, before it happens. While listening, I thought I heard “blimp”. It’s hard to be sure, because the noise of the air show overwhelms the radio. About 10 minutes later, I heard the Air Boss talking again. I pulled the radio closer, and sure enough, he said, “Goodyear blimp”. He told the blimp pilot to remain south of the field until contacted again. As the show continued, I periodically glanced to the south, just to see if I could see it coming. Before long, there it was. The Air Boss called again and told the blimp to enter the show. The blimp pilot did a couple “high speed” passes up and down the runway. It’s a pretty amazing sight; I wonder what it must look and feel like from inside the blimp. The engines rev to full power, the nose drops down about 20 to 30 degrees, and the blimp slowly accelerates forward and down. After a few minutes – yes, minutes – it reaches top speed. The pilot then pulls up hard on the nose and the climbs steeply, yet slowly, and decelerates.

As the blimp was leaving to the south, the Air Boss called and told him that there was time for one more pass. The blimp pilot turned around one more time, flew to midfield, then turned towards the west before heading back to the south. He didn’t fly right over us, but at least we got a nice clear look at him.

By now, it was starting to get late. The show was scheduled to end at 4:00 and it was about 4:00 already. Some of the fans nearby were growing restless at this point. Several asked me if I knew anything about when the jets would arrive. I hadn’t heard anything yet, and let them know. Apparently, there was a fast jet at the show the day before. Sure enough, their patience wore out and they started leaving. Before long, half the cars were gone. About this time, I heard something about “Mustang” and “Heritage Flight” on the scanner. In the past, the Heritage Flight has always been the P-51 “Mustang” and at least one modern fighter. I figured that if there was going to be a jet in the show, now would be the time.

Within minutes, the Mustang took off, followed closely by the Warthog. They climbed and departed to the east. A minute later, from apparently nowhere, an F-16 “Viper” darted across the airport from the east at a high rate of speed. Ahh, patience is rewarded once again! The Viper pilot put on a great show, then joined the Mustang and Warthog to form the Heritage Flight.

Andrew and Susan returned from a walk and were ready to go home. We packed up and dialed in Home on the GPS. As we were leaving, the Aeroshell team took to the air once again and flew the missing man formation to honor the veterans.