Thunderbirds steal the show Thunderbirds steal the show (June 04, 2004)

Powerful jets headline Moffett air show

By Colleen Corcoran

It was nothing but wind, sky and concrete at Moffett Field last weekend -- that is, except for the coming and going of Lear jets, sail planes and F-16s.

A sea of noses pointed towards the sky to observe civilian stunt pilots and other military jet teams. The F-15 Eagle, a plane that has been called the world's superior air-to-air fighter, graced the same air space as an antique P-51 Mustang.

On the ground, a long line of spectators shuffled in and out of a Federal Express 727 while curious kids took to flight simulators.

But the main attraction of the day was the Thunderbirds, arriving from their training base at Nellis in Las Vegas for the first time since 1988.

"If you took the starting lineup of two NASCAR races, that's what that plane would be," said Staff Sergeant Joseph Turner, adding, "Eight out of ten media people who go up in them throw up."

The planes were Lockheed Martin F-16Cs with 71,000 horsepower capable of flying in excess of Mach 2, or more than 1,200 mph. The fastest planes at Moffett's air show achieved a speed of about .98 to .99 Mach, or nearly the speed of sound. Pilots in flight can experience up to nine times the weight of gravity.

"As far as their capabilities, these planes have the same capabilities as any F-16. The only difference is that a normal F-16 has a gun on it -- a 20 mm cannon," Turner explained.

Instead, the show-ready Thunderbirds hold 50-gallon drums of smoke, which can be replaced in an emergency. "If, last minute, we were really desperate and the Air Force needed these to go to war, they would just have to put that gun back in. We are given a 72-hour time frame to convert each, and in 1988 it was actually done in 27 hours," said Turner.

The Thunderbirds are in the midst of an eight-month season, performing every weekend from March through November in five countries at about 40 show locations. They represent the 690,000 men and women in the Air Force, Reserve and Air National Guard.

"Every weekend we go out and deploy F-16s. It's unheard of to do that," Thunderbird Captain Dave Haworth announced as the pilots and ground crew marched to their planes in perfect synchronicity with plenty of heel snapping and saluting along the way.

The pilots and crew appeared in black sunglasses with gold rims, wearing black belts with silver buckles, stripes on their sleeves, clean-shaven and close-cropped. Officers go by numbers embroidered in circles on their uniforms -- blue for the ground crew and black for the pilots -- that are referred to as "meatballs."

For 51 years, the Thunderbirds have carried on an Air Force tradition that Major Scottie Zamzow called "dedication, pride and professionalism."

"What you'll see at a Thunderbird demonstration is just representative of the precision and the pride that you'll see across the Air Force, and that's our idea," said Zamzow.

Recorded testimonies from Tony Hawk, George Bush and Walter Cronkite attested to the valor of the team as the show began.

"When I saw the Thunderbirds fly, my idea of big air changed forever," said professional skateboarder Tony Hawk.

In a puff of smoke and with a rumble that rocked rib cages, the four planes that would spend most of the flight in diamond formation disappeared from the runway. These planes focused on basic maneuvers.

Two solo pilots, No. 6 Zamzow and No. 5 Major Todd Canterbury, followed.

As solos, Zamzow and Canterbury showcased the capabilities of the jet, some flying low, some upside down. Among the moves they did were the close-cutting "knife edge" passes, "slow rolls", and a trademark mirror image "calypso pass" with one plane upside down, directly above the other.

Due to the fact that Canterbury performs most of the flight inverted, the painted No. 5 on the nose of his jet is upside down.

Another highlight of the show was a graceful diamond roll completed by the four formation planes to classical music, along with some passes 18 inches apart and at speeds up to 500 mph.

"I don't even think about parking my car 18 inches next to another car much less flying at 500 mph 18 inches apart," Zamzow noted.

All Thunderbird pilots flew fighters for a minimum of 1,000 hours prior to being eligible for the team and are combat proven. The pilots average about 2,000 hours of flight time experience. Half the team rotates out every year, and it is a two-year assignment for the officers.

"Our mission is really simply to show off the Air Force, and we do that not only through our air demonstrations but also getting out and going to the high schools, going to the middle schools, going to the elementary schools, visiting different groups around the community and interacting with folks," said Captain Steve Rolenc. "We're ambassadors in blue, as they call us."

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