Chicago Air and Water Show this weekend.

[Sundog]

I was at the Gary/Chicago Airport today watching the planes arrive. That's where many of the fighters and stunt planes base out of for the airshow. One of the guys where I was standing today had a radio to listen into comms between the tower and the pilot(s).

Anyway, seeing a flight of Beechcraft T-6 Texan II's fly in, the first time I had ever seen them; worth my slightly fried ears due to the heat and the sun.

Watching Blue Angels 7 buzz out of the airfield and out over lake Michigan to make a supersonic run to make sure the engine fixes they just performed today worked properly; worth way more than the price of admission ($0.00 to watch the flight operations at the airport today.)

Having Sean D. Tucker perform around 15 to 20 minutes of continuous aerobatic flying to practice for the show with only about twenty people around and hearing;
Tower: "You're landing?"
SDT:"Yeah, I'm done. I'm all out of stunts."
Priceless.

P.S. - The only fighter I didn't see there which is listed as part of the show is the F-15 demo team. I don't know if that means they are a no show or if they will arrive in time tomorrow for the practice airshow.

P.P.S. - That's also the airfield where Boeing keeps it's hanger for their corporate office in Chicago. I saw their BBJ land while I was there, but I have no idea if the CEO, Jim McNerney was on board. I imagined him, while the plane taxied down the flight line, pointing at the air show planes saying, "Our product, our product, not our product..."

 

[BOOM]

Hey Sundog!! I had to work today,but heard some Fighter jet engines late in the day on North side of Chicago,I'm hoping to head to show tomorrow[weather permiting] I was thinking of going to Gary airport to see the planes upclose.

If you have an iphone/ipod touch you can get an app called LiveATC that turns your phone into a scanner!!! pretty cool!! You can also listen via pc. unfortunately Gary is not listed.Check it out here.....
http://www.liveatc.net/

 

[Sundog]

No, smart phone for me. But I'll save that link as I plan to own one some day. Fortunately, there is usually at least one guy there with a scanner, but I think all of the military aircraft are on secure comms because we typically hear the tower, but not them.

Today, a Blue Angel flew back about 15 minutes before their show ended. I could see some wisps of white smoke from the underside around the engine bays. I love watching the C-17 land and depart. They even had the KC-135R shoot some missed approaches to entertain us. I wish they would get the B-1B's to do the same. I alos saw the BA7 give their press ride; well the dpearture (Awesome) and the return. I'll have to watch all of the news stations tonight to see which one it was. Oh, and Vince Vaughn is supposed to parachute in with the Golden Knights, but I don't know if that was today or all weekend.

Anyway, I think you're really going to enjoy the show. I now have to go put some more aloe on as I'm extra crispy after today. :angryfir: <= What I look like right now. I'll be wearing full length jeans, a long sleeve t-shirt and a cowboy hat (Wide brim) tomorrow. I can handle sweating, I can't handle getting anymore crispy.

Edit: P.S. - For Ken Stalling, Fat Albert and the USAF C-130 both gave us some excellent maneuvers to enjoy around the airfield, especially Fat Albert's accelerating after lift off and building up some kinetic energy and rapidly converting it to potential energy. It looks awesome seeing a C-130 do that.

 

[Daveroo]

sounds like youve had a good time so far..hope you get to enjoy it during the airshow..and a handheald scanner at radio shack isnt all that expensive...just get a programable one and one that gets air freqs....i have a base station as well as handheld...i enjoy them both...my base station is on all day and then if i hear sirens at night..my handheld is next to my bed and i click it on and make my cat crazy...LOL

 

[Sundog]

Pictures time. I should note, some of these look kind of blurry, but for some of them I had to really zoom in and what you're seeing is the distortion due to the heat from the tarmac/pavement. Also, I had to take all of these pics from behind a very high chain link fence, which worked to great effect in one picture. I hope you guys enjoy them.

BA7 taxiing out for his supersonic run over Lake Michigan to test his engine fix.

F/A-18F Super Hornet (Rhino) under the nose of one of the West Coast Demo F-16's.

One of the four A-10s on the tarmac.

T-6 Texan II's taxiing in after their demo.

Fat Albert, the BA C-130, taxiing in after his demo.

 

[Sundog]

One of the Demo F-16's receiving maintenance with the morning sun glinting off of the HUD.

Conspiracy Air Show: Black Helicopters!!! (Actually an OD Blackhawk, but the fence made the pic.)

Rhino drivers just cruisin' in...

Wounded bird. This A-10 was damaged in combat and received a Purple Heart.

The clean lines of the clean F-16 Demo taxiing in after his show.

 

[BOOM]

Wow!!! Great pics,Thx for sharing,Did you notice The Blue Angels show was cut short on Sunday?

 

[Sundog]

The C-17 in the pattern.

Bill Stein with the sun glinting off of his aileron. He has one of those cool paint schemes where the color travels based on the sun angle.

Rhino's heading home.

BA in the break. I cropped this as I wasn't zoomed in enough. Had my zoom been set correctly, this would have been a great shot.

 

[Sundog]

C-17 taxiing out for his show.

BA1 after the show.

BA7 after the show.

I like this shot of BA3. Because between it's tails and the nose of BA2, you can really see the wear on these birds.

Since the airport is open while they stage out of here (KGYY), I was shocked at how many biz jets come and go. There are a couple of Challengers in paint schemes similar to the Boeing 757 and 767 prototypes that flew in, and the Boeing BBJ for Boeing flew in and out over the weekend. Here's a few of a CX and a Global Express.

 

[Sundog]

Wow!!! Great pics,Thx for sharing,Did you notice The Blue Angels show was cut short on Sunday?

Yeah, one of the pilots was sick, and then during the show, one of the BA had a bird strike and had to return before the show was finished by the four remaining BA planes, 1,2,3, and 6. On Friday or Saturday, I forget which, one returned about five minutes before their show was done because of a leaking fuel control valve on the right engine. You could see fuel vapor leaking out the bottom as it landed. Also, on the Saturday show, BA5 had trouble again, I think it ingested a bird on the runway, and the pilot had to taxi in and hop in BA7 for the show.