Miramar Airshow

[MIDNJAC]

Cougar had railroad tracks on the shoulders of her bag. I thought the Marines didn't do that.

Oh then I have no idea. We don't have any Navy WSO's/NFO's in 101, so maybe someone from another sqdn then.

Some of the more memorable questions I have fielded so far:

"Does this thing go all up into space?"
"At what point was this state of the art?"
"So are you a maintainer?" (at which point they were astounded to find out I was a pilot)
"Is there a difference between this and the Tomcat?"
Real hot girl about my age came up and wanted to know how we pee while we are flying, and several others came to get pics with us
also a little kid asked "have you been in war?" which I responded "no", and without missing a beat he said "so you're a rookie". Then his little bro pointed at me while looking at the ground and mumbled "one day you will go to war" and walked off


Also one lady from Montgomery Field (who's husband is a former Tomcat driver, turned AD-4 airshow driver) started jumping up and down and laughing hysterically when she saw my name......we share the same last name, and her dad and grandpa share my full name. She then took like 30 photos with me

First real participant experience at an airshow, and I have to say it has been pretty entertaining.

 

[Jamin'G]

Great lines, John! Especially getting called on the carpet as a "rookie" by the kid! Classic stuff. Makes me want to go to an airshow! ha ha

 

[MPH]

QUASI THREAD JACK. I went to the "Swinging Door bar in old town Tustin CA.

Hey, that's my backyard. I'm a big fan of the swinging door. Partially because it's only few blocks from my place, but mostly because the bartenders are ridiculously hot and for the most part genuinely nice chicks.

Good times. If any AW is making a visit in the future let me know and I'll buy you one of their huge beers.

 

[Scoob]

Oh then I have no idea. We don't have any Navy WSO's/NFO's in 101, so maybe someone from another sqdn then.

Some of the more memorable questions I have fielded so far:

"Does this thing go all up into space?"
"At what point was this state of the art?"
"So are you a maintainer?" (at which point they were astounded to find out I was a pilot)
"Is there a difference between this and the Tomcat?"
Real hot girl about my age came up and wanted to know how we pee while we are flying, and several others came to get pics with us
also a little kid asked "have you been in war?" which I responded "no", and without missing a beat he said "so you're a rookie". Then his little bro pointed at me while looking at the ground and mumbled "one day you will go to war" and walked off


Also one lady from Montgomery Field (who's husband is a former Tomcat driver, turned AD-4 airshow driver) started jumping up and down and laughing hysterically when she saw my name......we share the same last name, and her dad and grandpa share my full name. She then took like 30 photos with me

First real participant experience at an airshow, and I have to say it has been pretty entertaining.

Did a static display once.
My best question from a kid: "Are you a Blue Angel?"
Me, pointing to the mighty 60 behind me: "No, I fly that."
Kid: "Oh" - with an immediate about face and mosey-on.
:icon_smil

 

[Catmando]

About a month or two after the movie Top Gun came out, I was fortunate to take an F-14 for a static display to Cedar Rapids, IA.

Un-f'n believable. We were absolutely mobbed! Like rock stars!
[There is a lot more, but I'll leave it to your imagination. :tongue2_1]

 

[nittany03]

Went to the Fort Smith airshow in 2006 with a T-45. Some old coot comes up and says "I remember seeing these when I was in Grenada." Umm . . . no. You didn't.

 

[phrogdriver]

Went to the Fort Smith airshow in 2006 with a T-45. Some old coot comes up and says "I remember seeing these when I was in Grenada." Umm . . . no. You didn't.

Good, but not quite as good as a buddy of mine working an MV-22B display getting told by someone that he'd been on that bird back in Vietnam.

Unfortunately, you have to be polite to the crazies at the airshows, and not say,"Look, either you're a faker or you breathed too much Agent Orange!"

 

[Alpha_Echo_606]

About a month or two after the movie Top Gun came out, I was fortunate to take an F-14 for a static display to Cedar Rapids, IA.

Un-f'n believable. We were absolutely mobbed! Like rock stars!
[There is a lot more, but I'll leave it to your imagination. :tongue2_1]

Might have something to do with living in the middle of a corn field; I know my exposure was limited before I got the F*%# out.

 

[KBayDog]

About a month or two after the movie Top Gun came out, I was fortunate to take an F-14 for a static display to Cedar Rapids, IA.

Un-f'n believable. We were absolutely mobbed! Like rock stars!
[There is a lot more, but I'll leave it to your imagination. :tongue2_1]

You know, Hot Tub Time Machine brought us all back to 1986.

Just throwing that one out there, Gramps

 

[MIDNJAC]

Yeah kind of hard sometimes to meter the "no you are wrong" response with some of the more insistent and incorrect know-it-all types. Realized today that I can no longer tell the difference between 15 year old girls and college aged ones.

 

[phrogdriver]

Yeah kind of hard sometimes to meter the "no you are wrong" response with some of the more insistent and incorrect know-it-all types. Realized today that I can no longer tell the difference between 15 year old girls and college aged ones.

Hopefully it wasn't a police officer who had to point that out to you!

As Chris Rock said,"If a woman tells you she's twenty and looks sixteen, she's twelve. If she tells you she's twenty-six and looks twenty-six, she's damn near forty."

 

[NightHawk7125]

Not the best quality, but I think the picture is awesome. Took it with my Iphone at the Twilight show.

 

[navyao]

View attachment 12270

Not the best quality, but I think the picture is awesome. Took it with my Iphone at the Twilight show.

No! That's a very cool pic.

A couple of things...I don't remember there being any bleachers at the Miramar Air Show when I was stationed there, just the sea of lawn chairs. Although people could bring tons of stuff onboard back then.

I was a Sophmore in H.S. when Top Gun came out (oh my God I'm old) anyway, the Air Reserve Base in Milwaukee hosted a pair of F-14A's from VF-33 and my future sq. VF-114 during their open house. One thing I noticed immediately was the difference between east and west coast guys. The VF-33 crew wore a green bag with rank insignia, their boots were shined, Aviator sunglasses & they both wore their covers. The 114 crew wore their orange bags, boots were dull black with orange laces, no covers and non-issue shades. Both jets were mobed but that Aardvark crew looked a hell of a lot cooler. Oh! and I asked good questions, nothing stupid and got a FREE VF-114 patch, by far the coolest air show experience I ever had.

 

[Catmando]

... One thing I noticed immediately was the difference between east and west coast guys. The VF-33 crew wore a green bag with rank insignia, their boots were shined, Aviator sunglasses & they both wore their covers. The 114 crew wore their orange bags, boots were dull black with orange laces, no covers and non-issue shades. Both jets were mobed but that Aardvark crew looked a hell of a lot cooler. Oh! and I asked good questions, nothing stupid and got a FREE VF-114 patch, by far the coolest air show experience I ever had.

There was a huge difference between East and West coast crews back in the day.

It was probably a carryover from Vietnam. Westcoast guys had flown in SEA, while most (but not all) east coast guys had only cruised the Med.

Different environments, different experiences, different rules, different cultures, different priorities.... and it carried over for years.

 

[MIDNJAC]

And that being said, nobody wears covers on the flight line (ie at the airshow), so that part is probably a moot point these days....unless you are a Blue Angel of course. I know very few aviators in my community who wear aviator shades (myself included). I think high school/college aged d-bags have that accessory pretty well covered for the moment