The Airforce really knows how to do open houses. Every couple years the base in Tucson, Davis Monthan, has an open house better known as an airshow. This year’s airshow, 2019 Thunder & Lightening over Arizona, was absolutely spectacular.
I have made it to every airshow Davis Monthan has had since I moved here in 2009. It is hard to believe you can have this much fun for FREE. There are countless extravagantly expensive vendor booths at the airshow. However, the secret is to find the recruiters and squadrons presenting at the airshow. They tend to have the complementary nick knacks.
The last couple shows have featured an F22 Raptor demo. This is one of the latest fighter jets in service. It can do crazy stuff like fall backwards and recover, or spin like a ninja star. Call me old fashioned but I always preferred the older jets. My favorite to watch anymore is the A-10 warthog, stationed right here in Tucson. This subsonic plane is wild. It can turn on a dime, climb rapidly, and is bigger and easier to see.
The Thunderbirds, USAF stunt pilots, put on one heck of a show every time. They use small highly maneuverable stripped down Fighter Jets to do unbelievable maneuvers while in formation. These jets are F-16 Falcons. Rumor has it the F-35 JST which also flew at this show will be replacing those nimble F-16’s in the not too distant future.
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Only one thing left me a bit sad about this year’s airshow, Customs and Border Protection, CBP, didn’t have a display. You get to shake hands with the folks who have such little time to converse at the ports. Typically they have a display with contraband they have found in smuggled cars and some of their equipment. Back in 2016 they had part of a truck engine, in which they found drugs being smuggled. It’s amazing how talented these folks are.
CBP did have one of their Air and Marine AH-60 Black Hawks there though and I made it a point to check it out. I was fortunate enough to get a ride in a Black Hawk many years ago and it is an experience I will never forget.
You will want to mark your calendar for the next time Davis Monthan has an Open House. I will be honest their’s are MUCH better than mine and you don’t want to miss out.