By ANN Correspondent Rob Milford
Where to
begin: If you didn't know you were on the outer banks of
North Carolina, you could be in the Florida Panhandle, driving down
Highway 98. Or heading towards Mesa from downtown Phoenix. Looks
the same. Food Lions, Outback Steakhouse, Shell gas stations,
normal stuff. And then, you drive north along Highway
158, through Nags Head, and into Kitty Hawk, and on the left, on
the bay side of the barrier island, there is the monument. Atop
Kill Devil Hill, now covered with grass, the sixty-foot marker
reaches to the sky. Just the names there, Wilbur Wright, Orville
Wright.
This is it. This is where it all started, 100 years ago.
Monday's weather couldn't have been better, CAVU, winds 15-20
knots. The procession of flight was awesome. This is how the
US Military chooses to honor the men who gave us wings. A steady
stream of Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps aviation. I didn't see
everything, but I heard most of it, and savored some of it. The
four-ship Legacy flight, with 2 P-51's, flanked by an F-15 and
F-16. They did a half dozen passes, making sure everyone could get
a picture.
The Marines from Cherry Point, the 2ndMAW, with a KC-130
dragging an F-18 and EA-6B along with an AV-8B making the diamond
formation (nothing like a formation refueling!).
The KC-135 and KC-10, low and slow and the booms hanging down. The
two-ship E-2C Hawkeye flight.
The 10 minute display of the V-22 Osprey. It was breathtaking.
Nothing fancy. Simple fly-by and then a hover, some pedal turns,
and a transition to forward flight. Wow.
A few minutes later, Marine helos, CH-53, Ch-46, AH-1W Cobra,
UH-1 Huey. The guys from Seymour-Johnson blew through twice with
F-15E Strike Eagles. Low and Loud…the ground shook. People
loved it. There were thousands all over the park, the hill looking
at times, like ants were all over it.
Someone know the F-14 pilot who came through around 2:30 or
so… ?? That would be the ONLY aviator who cut in burners as
they came onto the show area. People who knew what they were
looking at saw the concentric circles made by the afterburners as
the aircraft was accelerating, and to my knowledge, that's the only
pilot who did that…(high five!).
I didn't get a chance
to listen to all the narration from announcer Dale Michael Brisson,
but it seemed like most of the fly-overs started right here in
North Carolina, or maybe Virginia and South Carolina.
One of the morning highlights was a candy run in the C-54 flown
by the Berlin Airlift Association. That was a crowd favorite to see
hundreds of small parachutes blossom from below and behind that
thundering Douglas aircraft.
The fly-overs continue Tuesday and Wednesday, with the
Thunderbirds here on Tuesday. John Travolta (pictured right) will
not only Emcee the morning event on Wednesday, but will leave the
podium, and participate in the parade of flight in his 707. That
will happen twice. The first time after the re-enactment of the
first flight at 10:35, and then again at 3PM.
Some of the other Monday fly-bys: (not in any particular order),
C-130, C-5B, C-17, 2 Hueys, 2 S-3Vikings, KC-135, KC-10, 4 ship
A-10 Warthogs, 4 ship F-15E, 2 ship E2C Hawkeyes, 4 ship diamond
formation, Marine F/A-18's. 3 ship F-16 from Shaw AFB, Single ship
F-117 (the black one, not the gray one we wrote about last
week).
I sent postcards late on Monday afternoon. To my other airplane
buddies. "Wish you were here (so you could buy the beer)." We'll
have one for you, 'cause I know you wanted to be here too! [ANN
Thanks Jim & Susan Tury for the great Heritage Flight
photo].
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