Exciting Air Show at Jones Beach

When was the last time you went to an Air Show? Last time I saw one was in Switzerland in front of the Eiger, in the middle of the Alps. What a spectacle. That was a few years back. This time, the backdrop is the beach and the Atlantic ocean. It was, again, fabulous.

Cindy and I went to the 11th Annual Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach. Looking into the sky, there we saw various military tactical demonstrations and civilian performances. The pilots are all by themselves fighting G-force while thousands of spectators watched them from the safe ground sipping beer and eating hot dogs ……. many of them would not be able to squeeze themselves into a cockpit. People took pictures with their iPads, while others mounted a $11’000 600mm tele lens onto their Nikons and Canons ……Nobody looked at my 70-200mm/2.8 lens with an 1.7 teleconverter (LOL).

We were treated with spectacular and precise performances. For instance, the U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team was one of them. For more than 53 years, the “Golden Knights” have been wowing audiences at air shows, competitions, and most recently, with high profile tandems.

The U.S. Navy MV-22 Osprey is the most flexible, capable and revolutionary combat troop transport aircraft in the world, 106th Rescue Wing, Sean D. Tucker, Air National Guard, they all performed a great program.

Needless to say the highlight was the U.S. Navy Blue Angels. At the end of World War II, Chester W. Nimitz, then the Chief of Naval Operations, ordered the formation of a flight demonstration team to keep the public interested in naval aviation. The Blue Angels performed their first flight demonstration less than a year later in June 1946 at their home base, Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville, Florida.  For the Jones Beach show, they flew the F/A18-Hornet. The pictures you will see might be good but cannot bring the atmosphere to you. You have to be there. You have to see it and you have to hear it. You have to hear that “special” sound when they pass you supersonic. It is breathtaking and makes the heart in every man jump like a little boy.

So – I still don’t know when it was you last saw an air show? Check it out.

A little hint. The next one will be June 6, 7, 8 at the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum in Reading, PA. See you there?

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