After our Peanut Patch excursion we headed off to the Yuma Air Circus on Saturday. There is a large Marine base in Yuma and when driving by the airport you can see the pilots practising their takeoff and landing approaches. The Marines put on the airshow as a thank you to the Yuma residents and it is free for all to attend. We drove to the assigned parking at the end of a long runway and were bused to the main terminal. Not surprisingly everything was very well organized with hardly any wait time for boarding the buses or for washrooms. Given the thousands of people that were there we were quite impressed. We did have to go through security as we were going onto a military base but it was less intrusive that boarding a plane at the airport. I kept having to remind myself that these youngsters, both men and women, are the same ones who are sent over to Iraq and Afghanistan. They all looked like high school students, which I'm sure some of them were just a few months ago.
They had quite a few different planes and helicopters on display.
This B52 was a big hit. I was going to join the long line till I realized that all you got to do was peek in the cockpit window.
They look so big but its hard to put it in perspective till you compare the size of all those little people walking under the wings and next to the tires.
The show started off with the USMC Drum & Bugle Corps band and some precision jumpers. Then we had an assortment of jet fighters, like the one pictured above, do flybys.
Also saw the Harrier jet fighter made famous in the Falklands war for its ability to lift vertically off the deck of an aircraft carrier.
The Shockwave Jet truck was a crowd pleaser. Basically its a highway tractor with 3 jet engines strapped on the back and a large parachute to aid in stopping.
Top speed 350 MPH.
And Lori says it makes the port-a-potties shake.
Lots of loops, somersaults and flying upside down including one helicopter doing many of the same stunts as this plane.
This was a demonstration put on by Search and Rescue.
This is the MV-22B Osprey. The engines rotate to a vertical position to allow it to lift and hover like a helicopter. The propeller blades can also adjust to change their pitch to maximize lift and speed depending on the situation.
These are apparently replacing helicopters in many combat situations.
Notice how the attitude of the engines change in these three pictures as the plane goes from a vertical takeoff to normal airplane flight mode.
This is one of the main training bases for the Osprey and we see it frequently as pilots are being trained on its somewhat unique operation.
Apparently if one of its engines becomes disabled it can transfer power to the rotors of the damaged engine through a unique driveshaft system and allow it to limp home.
No airshow would be complete without a Biplane doing loops, twists, dives and vertical stalls. And of course no trick biplane would be complete without a wing walker.
Here she is just leaving the front cockpit position to get out on the lower wing.
Above as she make it up to the upper wing to take her position.
Waving to the crowd during a flyby.
Now for a little loop and a twist to gain a new perspective on things.
After they were done they did a little drive by to wave to the crowd.
And finally a race. The biplane came out of a dive to gain maximum speed, about 150 mph and the Shockwave Jet Truck waited a few second to let the plane get a lead. Then he put the pedal to the metal and ignited those 3 jet engines and blew by the plane in seconds.
Monday we headed to the Theatre to take in the movie Kingsman. $5.00 each. not to hard to take. Then we went over to Cracker Barrel for lunch and I had a southern breakfast. Eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, hash browns, cornbread muffins, grits, biscuits and gravy. Far too much food and way too many carbs. I waddled back to the truck and I didn't feel like eating again till lunch time the next day.
Tuesday we are going on another tour. This time its a Date farm.
Till then.
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