Duluth Air Show

We went up north (about 3 hours north) for the Duluth Air Show this last weekend. We went a couple of years ago and were excited to learn they (the city of Duluth) were having another (show). We were especially excited (didn't you already say that) because the Blue Angels were going to perform and neither one of us had ever seen them in person. The Air Show a couple of years ago featured the Thunderbirds - fyi.

We were also excited because there was going to be an A-10 demonstration team there! That is exciting to us (especially me - no me) because Danielle and Mike (my sister and brother-in-law) both fly the A-10. So we were going to see one in person, and see what it can do for the first time! The A-10 is in the picture to the left.

On to the show:
We get to Duluth on Friday night and it was BEAUTIFUL!!! The sun was out and it was warm (about 75) with a light breeze - talk about perfect! We listened to the weather reports and they all said the rain that was coming in was going to hold off until later in the evening on Saturday. We woke up and it was on the chilly side (thank you Lake Superior) and it was overcast. We got to the Air Show and were appropriately dressed with lawn chairs over our shoulders, sunblock on our skin, and sunglasses on our heads. The gates opened around 8:30am and we began to walk around. We forgot our ear plugs in the garage (right where they belong - with our shooting safety glasses) so we made our way to a souvenir stand and purchased some disposable plugs. Then as we were looking at all of the planes we noticed the seating area was filling up faster than it had a couple of years ago (I think it had something to do with the BLUE ANGELS - but I could be wrong) so we decided to reserve our seats (a.k.a. put our lawn chairs up and continue to look around). The picture above and to the right is of us in our seats.

At 10:30am we decided to take our seats and we waited for the fun to begin! Around 11:00am the show started! We were all smiles (accompanied with squinty eyes as the sun is so bright behind those clouds). We watched in awe as a couple of F-16s from the Duluth base took off. Then we gazed at three stunt planes as they took off and dazzled us with their rolls, turns, loops, and spins. Then we lazily watched two Cirrus planes glide in front of us as the announcer talked about all of their accompaniments. In the picture to the left you can see the P-38 taxiing past us (we had great seats).

But what really choked us up was the P-38 in flight, the A-10 in flight, the P-38 and A-10 Heritage Flight, and of course the Blue Angels (and their C-130 which is in the picture to the right - the C-130 is my favorite - I love the way it sounds) in flight. They choked us up for different reasons - the P-38 because of its history, the A-10 because of Danielle and Mike, the Heritage Flight because it linked the past and present, and the Blue Angels because they are INCREDIBLE!!!

Unfortunately, the show was cut short (at about 3:30pm) due to inclement weather so the Blue Angels didn't get to finish their set (part of which you can see in the picture to the left)! We were very disappointed (and wet - and cold), but we were still thrilled to have been able to see them at all!! Learning about the planes, seeing them up close, and talking with the men and women in our armed forces was an amazing opportunity. The planes took our breath away and learning what they were for/how they were used was so interesting!

I have more pictures that I will be adding to a photo album, and I have videos I am trying to string together as I took them on my digital camera not a video recorder, so check back in a day or two for those!

The only downfall to the whole day was (I hate to say it) the way the A-10 demonstration team (minus the pilot-he was in the air) acted during their introduction and "thank you" clap from the audience. They were right in front of us (their cars were blocking some of the runway in fact) and it was sad to see them not taking the "thank you" claps from the audience seriously. In fact, they were making fun of us clapping for them. I mean, I am not brave/strong/disciplined/courageous enough to be a member of our armed forces but I am very proud of/thankful for/honored by/supportive of those who are and I feel they didn't take it seriously. Don't get me wrong - they took excellent care of the planes before and after flight, but there were people at the show of all ages giving support to those men (I say that because there were no women on the team), and they just made funny faces, messed around on their cell phone, and joked about the audience thanking them. It really made me upset (she still is upset - can you tell)! I am thinking of writing a letter to the team to express my frustration, but I am not sure about that yet...