Cleveland Air Show 2011--We Picked the Wrong Day But....

So if you have read my blog before you know that besides traveling for hockey I also love to take the kids to Air Shows. This year we hit only 2, but wow what weather extremes over 6 weeks. In late July we went to Dayton and it was upper 90's and on Labor Day we went to Cleveland and had 60 and 30mph winds. Unfortunately for us the only day I could truly make Cleveland was the third and final day on Labor Day Monday and a stiff cold front had moved thru after Sunday's show had concluded. Saturday was upper 90's and sunny. Sunday was 80 and Sunny and Monday was the previously mentioned dreary cold and misty. However the performers still put on a great and most importantly SAFE show. Even the RC planes flew and those pilots did an amazing job in the winds. The weather also featured a very low ceiling which forced the performers to fly their "flat" shows which I did not mind as it keeps the planes closer to the ground and is different than the normal show so some variety is nice. Now to be honest when I saw the forecast I really didn't want to drive 2 hours to be outside in bad weather all day, but I had promised my son we would go to see one particular plane fly: the F-4 Phantom II.

The photo is not great as there was so little light, but I did work hard to get a few good shots as this was likely the final air show for the F-4 in US markings as this plane and the other 6 still flight ready are due to be destroyed later this year. They have all been converted to QF-4's and are actually able to be remote operated. They use them to test our missile systems and shoot them down. The F-4 was first flown in 1958 and saw heavy use in the Vietnam War. It can do Mach 2.2 and is a huge hulking beast when you compare it to the more modern fighters like the F-16. Even though the weather stunk I'm still glad we got to witness this proud bird thrill the fans one last time. After the show it returned to Tyndall AFB in Florida. The only way to see one now is in a museum.

Also appearing were a US Navy FA-18 Hornet which put on a great display and made sure everybody was hard of hearing with lots of low afterburner passes to make up for the lack of vertical climbs.

We even got a couple of bonus passes when the plane departed with a wingman to return to Virginia Beach. Nothing like having a couple of Hornets high and tight.



We were excited to FINALLY get to see the A-10 Wathog perform and it put on a great show with lots of low passes and simulated bombing runs. It also paired up with the F-4 for the Heritage Flight and although the P-51 Mustang could not go up and take part it was still a memorable Heritage Flight.




Entertaining the fans is important and School Time running 300+mph sure does the trick especially the kids!


Most air shows feature one of the big US military teams like the USAF Thunderbirds or the US Navy Blue Angels. This year we got 2--The US Army Golden Knights feature guys with serious skill jumping from planes. However, the weather was so intense that on this day only the best of the best were able to leap from 2000 feet and that mean several soldiers had to stay aboard the C-31 Friendship. Still the 5 jumpers did an amazing job all landing right on target.


While the Golden Knights were buzzing around the sky preparing to jump we did get a special visit from up north. A Royal Canadian Air Force CP-140 did several low passes. Its pretty amazing to see an aircraft that big banking and turning at such a low altitude. This plane flew at both the Toronto and Cleveland Air Shows on each day.



Finally the show ended with the headliners: the USAF Thunderbirds. Due to the conditions they were forced to fly an alternate show and for the photographers this makes things tough. Catching one or 2 fast approaching planes is doable when they are low. For 6 planes its difficult since the zoom is your friend (if you have a good one). I tried my best, but the conditions were ever worsening and I decided to shoot a few photos and just enjoy the show. I got some nice pics, but not what I'd call great. Here are a few.





So as you can see it was a great air show and I left off many many acts and all the static aircraft. It is a great place to watch even in dismal weather. Probably my favorite locale with Lake Erie and downtown Cleveland providing dramatic backdrops. While I did the best I could with the photos I'm not particularly happy with the results. Maybe next year!