The smile on Mike
Chandler’s face is genuine. It goes from ear-to-ear, and his
face just lights up. Like a Dad talking about his kid’s
little league game, he’s beaming.
Let’s face it. We’re all airplane nuts. We
love this stuff. How many of us get to live our dreams, or even
beyond them… that’s where “Chanz” finds
himself now. As a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force, 17 years
after graduating from the Academy, he says this is the best job of
all. He’s the new commander of the Thunderbirds.
In his dark blue flight suit, with the number 1 on the left
chest, this native of Cedar Falls, Iowa is getting settled into the
new job, even though the official change of command ceremony takes
place in January. He’s being joined by a new #3 and #6 pilot,
half the team, as usual, and they’re flying pretty much every
day, getting accustomed to flying within inches of one another.
“The serious formation work will start next month” he
says, “right now, we’re learning the routines in single
and two-ship flights”.
The ’04 season schedule also has some highlights. LtCol.
Chandler tells ANN: “We’re flying San Diego for the
first time…and doing the show over water, that’s a
plus! Janesville, Wisconsin, a show we had to cancel this year, is
rescheduled for 2004, and Cold Lake, Alberta. It’s their 50th
Anniversary, and we’ve never been there.” There’s
also a five-week box for a trip to Japan and Korea, the entire
month of September, starting after Labor Day weekend. There’s
also a weekend off set for early August.
In terms of proximity, team fans will see them joined by the
Snowbirds in Redding, California, on October 9-10, and have only a
couple of short trips to see Blue Angels and Thunderbirds on the
same weekends, like 15-16 May, when The Blue Angels are at Andrews
AFB and the ‘Birds are two hours away at Dover AFB. And at
the start of the season, 3-4 April the Thunderbirds are at Eglin
AFB and the ‘Blues are at MacDill AFB. That’s more like
a 5 hour trip. On 8-9 May, that will find the Blue Angels at NAS
Atlanta (the old Dobbins AFB) and straight down I-75 to Vidalia,
Georgia, the Snowbirds, and another hour south from there, the
Thunderbirds at Lake City, Florida (Where I-75 and I-10 cross, west
of Jacksonville). Can you say “road trip”?
Like everything, the schedule isn’t written in stone, but
airshow fans can start making their plans now.