Today we went to the Marine Corp Air Station (MCAS) Yuma Air Show. Well, we sort of went. People had told us that, though you can go onto the base, many people don't. If you don't want to get up close and personal with the airplanes, you can park at the side of the road and just watch the air part of the show. We thought we'd give this a try. Here's Ron waiting for the show to start.
And this is what he is looking at. Hmmm, first of all we chose the wrong side of the road, and we also parked by an intersection. Way to much traffic and the big trucks kept blocking some of our view. This was a learning experience and we learned that next year we go on the base.
We did get to see an AMBER truck and that was quite fun.
OK, on to what we did get to see of the air show. I took lots of pictures, but it is very hard to do as these planes move so fast. I have many pictures of blue sky. I even tried some movies, but you really don't want to see those.
And this is what he is looking at. Hmmm, first of all we chose the wrong side of the road, and we also parked by an intersection. Way to much traffic and the big trucks kept blocking some of our view. This was a learning experience and we learned that next year we go on the base.We did get to see an AMBER truck and that was quite fun.OK, on to what we did get to see of the air show. I took lots of pictures, but it is very hard to do as these planes move so fast. I have many pictures of blue sky. I even tried some movies, but you really don't want to see those.
This is an AV-8B Harrier II. It's an amazing plane. It is a vertical/short take off and landing aircraft. It is used primarily for light attack or multi-role tasks. This plane reminds us of a hummingbird. It flew past us at high speed...
and then we saw it hovering over the runway. It has no blades like a helicopter, but it can hover like one. It can also take off and land by going straight up or down. I said it was amazing.
Then it took off from it's hovering position and went up, up, up until it was almost out of sight.
I think this is a T33 Shooting Star. It's called a "jet trainier aircraft" as it's designed to be used for the training of pilots.
This is a vintage WWII War Bird. There were 2 of them - an F-6F and an F-8F. 
and then we saw it hovering over the runway. It has no blades like a helicopter, but it can hover like one. It can also take off and land by going straight up or down. I said it was amazing.Then it took off from it's hovering position and went up, up, up until it was almost out of sight.I think this is a T33 Shooting Star. It's called a "jet trainier aircraft" as it's designed to be used for the training of pilots.This is a vintage WWII War Bird. There were 2 of them - an F-6F and an F-8F.
The War Birds were joined by 2 F-18s for what they call The Legacy Flight. They flew in this formation...
Then split and returned to the airfield. Ron was surprised that the F-18s could fly as slow as the old prop planes.
Next came the helicopter, which sent a Marine down and he attached the American flag on the cable. We thought that signaled the end of the show.
The Blackhawk helicopters took off and headed out towards the Yuma Proving Grounds. We thought they were heading home.
The Chinook helicopters took off and headed east. No other aircraft took off, so we decided it was our turn to "take off" for home.The Blackhawk helicopters took off and headed out towards the Yuma Proving Grounds. We thought they were heading home.
As we were about the get on the freeway we noticed the Blackhawks and the refueling plane. The aircraft that we thought were heading home were actually just getting in formation for the refueling demonstration. I later learned that this was the last event of the show. I'm glad we got to see it. I probably got a better picture of it here than where we had been parked. Sometimes unexpected things just work out for the best.
