Quonset Point 2009 Air Show pics (dial up beware)

[SabreAce]

Last weekend, Quonset Point in North Kingstown, RI played host to its annual airshow, and for the first time in years, I didn't have to work. Thought I'd share the pics, now that I finally got a chance to get them uploaded.

Forgive certain photos not being centered - it was my first time with this particular camera for an airshow, and it never seemed to have the same delay between button press and photo shot twice.

If anyone sees anything they like, just let me know - I've got the original (2832 x 1888) stored on my hard drive. Just shrunk 'em down a bit for posting.

As the Snowbirds were participating in the show, Canada brought a couple of CF-18 Hornets along.

An F-16 was here as well.

Sean D. Tucker flew a short routine as I arrived.

One of the newer Hawkeyes - hadn't seen this version in person before.

Sea King - I believe that's Michael Goulian flying in the background.

The Curtiss XF15C - A mixed-propulsion type like the Ryan Fireball, but only 3 were built. The Quonset Air Museum brought this one to the show.

More in the next post.

 

[SabreAce]

Grumman was well represented in the static display area:

TBF Avenger-

A-6E Intruder-

And an F-14D painted up in the colors of VF-101, "The Grim Reapers" - sadly, this was brought over by the same Air Museum that hauled in the Avenger, XF15C, and the Intruder. Seems wrong seeing the Tomcat relegated to floor display.

Blackhawk flypast-

After wandering down the flightline for a bit, I came across the parking area for the Snowbirds and the Blue Angels.

 

[SabreAce]

And the "Fat Albert" was hiding off to the side.

Looking for all the world like a massive sentinel guarding the demonstration teams, a B-1B Lancer towered over the two squadrons.

Noseart from the Bone

The local heavy-lifters

 

[SabreAce]

A pair of Mustangs were parked next to the runway - they'd be up in the air later.

The first "full" act of the day was the F-22 Raptor. Three words come to mind - big, deadly, and LOUD. Before the Raptor, I'd have argued the Tomcat was probably the loudest US fighter. When that F-22 pulled up at full burner, I'd have sworn a whole squadron of Tomcats was taking off.

The pilot obviously knew what he was doing, and the maneuvers he put the Raptor through were nothing short of amazing.

Takeoff at full power

The Raptor seemed to produce the vapor clouds on nearly every maneuver.

Oh, to have been using my old camera and have this shot centered...

In the words of Scotty, "Full power, now, sir!"

 

[SabreAce]

Looking to not be out-done by the younger "brother", the F-16 demo was up next.

The RI ANG C-130J squadron took the next spot.

Along with their C-23 Sherpa

The Mustangs took off next, with one departing and the other prepping for the Air Force Heritage Flight.

 

[Rezabrya]

Was the Raptor Pilot Max Moga? He has demoed at Oshkosh for the past two years I believe. That Raptor really is something. The sound seems to tear the very air around it apart! Great pics!

 

[SabreAce]

In previous years, the Heritage Flight was a Mustang and two F-15s. Not so this year.

The pilots made three passes, then broke for landing - I'd gotten the shot of the break, but it was horribly blurry. Once again, I missed my old camera.

Although I did like this shot...

The Raptor driver heads back to the hangar, while the crowd cheers.

The Snowbirds departed in three 3-ship formations, instead of their 9-ship takeoff. I'd only seen them once before, years ago, so I don't know if this was standard, or if they only changed it for this show.

Another of my favorite shots - the beginning of the 9-plane split

 

[SabreAce]

And one final shot - the camera ate batteries at a horrific pace, and I found myself burning through my two back-up sets as the Snowbirds finished their performance.

Which, of course, meant no pictures of the Blue Angels in flight. Grrr...

 

[SabreAce]

Was the Raptor Pilot Max Moga? He has demoed at Oshkosh for the past two years I believe. That Raptor really is something. The sound seems to tear the very air around it apart! Great pics!

Thanks! I'm not sure on the pilot's name - the only name I managed to catch was "Capt. Don" in the F-16. The speakers for the narrators were placed very far apart this year, so it was all but impossible to hear over basic crowd noise, let alone the various demos.

The pictures I have of the civilian displays didn't come out so well, unfortunately, so I've not posted them. There was an L-39 painted up in Russian camo (and a sister ship in Czech camo that didn't fly, but did after the show ended), a CAP C172, and several aerobatic displays - Sean D. Tucker, Mike Goulian, the "US Air Force Reserve" Pitts Special, and others whose names I'm not remembering for some reason.

And I do have to say, though she'll never read it, a massive thank you to my fiancee, who came with me and put up with my obsessions for the day without complaint. I figure I'll pay for it in the long run, but...who knows. Maybe one day, I'll finally get her to stop looking at me like a freak when I say "What do you mean, 'just a plane' ?!"

 

[TomSteber]

Fantastic shots! Really nice. Looks like a great show. LOVE the nose art on the B-1.
I agree. The F-22 does sound like it's ripping the very air apart.
In fact, I don't think you've seen a jet fighter display until you've seen a full F-22 demo in person. Unbelievable. Too bad their getting the axe.

 

[djscoo]

I heard the F-35 is supposed to be even louder...twice as loud as an F-15 and 4 times louder than an F-16...yikes!

 

[cheezyflier]

Fantastic shots! Really nice. Looks like a great show. LOVE the nose art on the B-1.
I agree. The F-22 does sound like it's ripping the very air apart.
In fact, I don't think you've seen a jet fighter display until you've seen a full F-22 demo in person. Unbelievable. Too bad their getting the axe.

+1 for everything you said.

 

[luckydog]

:ernae::ernae:

WOW !!

( Don't try to "center" your shots..........action should be ENTERING the frame ).

LD

 

[FlyTexas]

Wickedly cool nose art on the B-1.

Brian

 

[PeteHam]

Thanks for sharing these amazing pics

Love the pair of Mustangs taking off.

I saw the Canadian Snowbirds performing at Abbotsford a few years ago and I reckon they're the most gracefull of all the formation demos I've seen.

Pete.

 

[Allen]

The Curtiss XF15C is huge!

 

[Kiwikat]

What kind of camera DID you use for these?

I love seeing all these airshow pics. Reminds me, 3 weeks till Airventure!!!

 

[hey_moe]

Nice shots, :ernae: thanks for sharing them with us

 

[SabreAce]

Thanks to everyone who's liked the pictures. Now, let's see here...

TomSteber
"Ripping the very air apart" - I like it. That sums up the Raptor's display perfectly.

djscoo
4 times louder than a Fighting Falcon? Great, now I'm picturing the Thunderbirds flying a 6-ship F-35 formation (and going into work the next day deaf).

FlyTexas
The B-1s always seem to have good nose-art. That big fuselage hump behind the cockpit just begs for a paintjob, and whoever the Lancer squadrons have for an artist is obviously top of the line. There was a B-1 display a few years ago, I believe from the 37th BS, that had an equally great nose-art.

PeteHam
Thanks Pete - I'll get the full-size Mustang shot uploaded later tonight when I'm actually on my own computer. You're right about the Snowbirds. They are undoubtedly the most graceful display team I've seen, although that's limited to Blue Angels, Thunderbirds, and Snowbirds. I keep hoping one year to be in England around the time of an airshow there, to see where the Red Arrows stack up, but I keep misssing it (having an English fiancee results in a lot of time spent over there).

Allen
Quite - I don't know exact measurements, but it was definitely bigger than the Avenger parked next to it.

Kiwikat
This show, I used a Kodak EasyShare Z650 digital camera my dad gave me after he upgraded last year. It was the first time shooting things in motion (so, of course, I try shooting things moving at 500 mph...) with this camera. The only thing I wasn't a huge fan of, besides battery life, was that when taking the picture, even through the eyepiece, the view would go dark for a second, making it difficult to see if I was still tracking the plane as I took the picture.

My old camera came just before the digitals started taking over the market - a Nikon AF N6006, with an additional zoom lens (I want to say 70-210mm, but I'm not sure). I still have it - someday, I'll have to see if I can get it running again (and then convince the fine people at the local stores that "film" is something that can be used in a camera).