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April
12 and 13 was the bi-annual air show at Davis Monthan Air force base in
Tucson, AZ. As part of our tradition, we attended. Actually
Terra wasn't feeling like going outside and walking around all day so
she stayed home and I took the 4 kids and headed in. The weather
was overcast and windy. This carries with it both good and
bad. The good is that you aren't staring into the sun as you
watch different Ariel performers. The bad is that the wind can
make it difficult to hear and sometimes see what is going on. |
| One
of the first static displays was a B-17 Flying Fortress. Here the
kids are standing under one of the engines that powered this
craft. We even lined up and walked through the plane. It is
very amazing how small this flying fortress is in comparison to the new
standard line of aircraft flown by the air force. I couldn't
afford to fill this plane up, but one every other year if I saved like
crazy for it, but the air force continues to burn more fuel than that
just idling other aircraft prior to take off. Even with the
impressiveness of the modern airplanes, I really like these propeller
driven bombers. I wish this one would have flown during the show,
but it was just a static display. It is based in Mesa, AZ and for
a fee, they will give you ride. |
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Here
is the current replacement of the B-17, The B-52 Strato Fortress.
This plane dwarfs the B-17. Here are the kids standing under one
of the 8 jet engines the power this craft. The wings are so long,
that each wing has a wheel that comes down at the end of the wing so
that they don't drag the ground when they are full of fuel and ready
for flight. |
| This
one here is a B-1 Lancer. It is another bomber, and probably one
of my favorite current planes. It has 4 jet engines (one pictured
in the background) and can fly Mach1 plus with a full payload.
The wings sweep backward for supersonic flight and are forward for
landing and taking off. |
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This
little car was one of the kids favorite parts of the air show.
This is a jet powered car. It was towed around until it finally
ran. It was loud and quick, but due to the short distance never
really got up to speed. |
| It
ran twice. Both times it accelerated for about 7-8 seconds and
then pulled the chute to slow down. In that time it would achieve
speeds over 300 miles per hour. |
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At
one point in the show, it raced an airplane. The vehicle was at
rest and the air plane cam flying overhead. Once the airplane was
at the same point as the car the car started going. In the race
we watched, the airplane was never overtaken by the car, but the car
had the chute open when they caught up. I think Wyatt would have
really liked to watch this type of thing. |
| Here
is a C-5. A very large cargo plane with 4 jet engines as the one
shown. In the background you can see the B-1 and the nose and
tail of the B-52. The wind was blowing just right to spin the
turbines of these engines. The kids were rather taken with that
when we walked past them. The last performance at the air show was the Thunder birds. With all of the wind they sat on the runway for an hour before they canceled the show. The wind was just too much for their close proximity performance. |
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This
was one of the private planes at the show, and was both on static and
dynamic display. This a B-25 Mitchel. When it got to the
point when it was flying, I was tied up with Rachel. She lost all
desire to be at the show and wanted nothing more than to fight with
Ethen, Kyle, or Landen. She was just in one of her moods and
wanted to just throw a fit. So that is the last of the flying
performances that I was able to capture a photo of. |
| This
here is just before all of the chaos started. Landen isn't to
happy, but Rachel would not be present in the photo. As for the
plane, I have not idea what kind it is, it just had propellers and the
kids wanted a photo by it. |
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This
an Apache helicopter. Landen couldn't be bothered for a smile as
he was too interested in the gun mounted below the cockpit. |
| To
catch others up on recent news, I managed to procure another
bronco. I now have a 4-door bronco. These were built by a
company called Centurion. They are no longer in business, but
they took certain vehicles and extend the mid section of them -
Broncos, pick-up trucks etc. This one is built on a 1 ton
chassis, so the ride is a bit stiff. It is powered by Ford's
gutless, thirsty, 7.3 naturally aspirated, indirect injection
engine. I am less than impressed with the power plant but really
love the car. So naturally, I am now looking for a different
motor to drop in the vehicle. I have been recommended to get
either a 7.3 power stroke (direct bolt-in replacement), 460 gas (direct
bolt-in replacement), or a 5.9 liter straight 6 cumins diesel (major
modifications needed, but would be really cool). I can't decided
which path to pursue. I bought this to go and get me a project
with, not to be a project itself, but that is life I guess. |
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Lastly,
I just finished up another overhaul out at the power plant. This
one lasted 5-weeks, but is finally over. As part of the overhaul,
I was in inspecting some of the ducts on the unit, and I found this
life sized welded portrait. Apparently a few years ago there was
a maintenance supervisor by the name of Owenby. Well if you look
closely you will see his name on his hat. I guess some guy had
nothing better to do on a night shift and completely welded this
portrait out. I guess that it took 12 hours to construct and who
know how much rod he burned up doing it. This may not look it,
but it is 6 feet tall. |