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WING
OVER HOUSTON AIRSHOW |
Wings Over Houston 2008
REPORT FROM THE PRESIDENT
Sunday, October 27, 2008 |
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Another perfect day in Houston and the crowds came out again
for the show. Sunday is usually a slower day in the air show
world and the Wings Over Houston (WHO) staff were expecting it
to be just that but surprise, surprise, SURPRISE there were as
many people here Sunday as on Saturday. By the end of the day
Bill Roach (Executive Director of WOH) expressed that he
believed this would be a record for the event. The destruction
left behind by Hurricane Ike and the economic news of the past
two weeks had everyone holding their breath. Congratulations
to all the staff and volunteers who put on Wings Over Houston. |
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Hangar 57 was busy all day, as we also experienced a day of
record sales. Our Saturday sales eclipsed our best day at
either Sun N Fun or EAA AirVenture! Leah Block has done a
magnificent job sourcing and selecting new merchandise for
sale this year and it has really paid off. Our HQ staff
personnel and CAF volunteers who have traveled to the shows
have made this entire year at Hangar 57 a success. |
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The air show acts were quite diverse throughout the day.
Leading off were some unique remote controlled (RC) aircraft.
There was a jet powered delta-wing airplane that even had
smoke oil! It flew up to 190 mph and did all of the best
maneuvers that military jet demo teams do. This was followed
by three remote controlled helicopters that went along the
crowd line now as a helicopter pilot, I WISH a full size
helicopter could do what these mini versions did?crazy! |
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As one of the best performers in the air show industry, Sean
Tucker and his son also performed and wowed the crowd. A jet
truck brought the crowd rushing to the fences as the smoke and
noise of these high speed acts (300 mph) always do. |
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The modern military demonstrations exhibited the strength of
our current aircraft serving around the world. The C-17
Globemaster III demonstration was awe inspiring as this huge
airplane performed maneuvers that you expect to see only from
fighters. Its max performance take off is frightening to watch
as this huge airplane appears to pull straight up off the
ground. The announcer warns you of what to expect as the
amazing Globemaster III exhibits its rapid roll rate putting
it into a high degree (appearing to be 90) turn. |
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The F-18 demo shows its speed and maneuverability. The unique
sound this airplane makes when it does a high speed pass is
obviously the one used by Hollywood in the movies this high
speed shriek is very unique. |
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The warbirds filled the air again, along with the smoke, pyro
and narration which make our CAF performances so moving. Ken
Crites, with Tora, Tora, Tora is riveting as he brings emotion
to the living history recreation going on above. Ken is a
credit to the CAF and our efforts to keep these airplanes
flying. It is his ability to convey the emotion, not just the
hardware, in the message and motivation of the CAF to continue
our mission of Honoring American Aviation. |
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