Melbourne (FL) Air & Space Show - March 30 & 31

Discussion relating to 2019 airshows/fly-ins/exercises/other events. Post news before the event and post your photos afterwards! Please create only one thread per event.
Ken91
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Post by Ken91 » Sun Mar 31, 2019 1:42 am

First of all, I must say that I have a love-hate relationship with this airshow. It's near home, so I can't help at least going outside somewhere and watching. I did go in for the F-35 Demo today, and it was pretty darn cool. My second favorite performer was Mike Wiskus, who I haven't seen before. The flying was great, the rest was "meh". Anyway, here are a few pics from today.
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Ken91
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Post by Ken91 » Sun Mar 31, 2019 1:43 am

Second batch...
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NavyLegacyFlight-2.jpg
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RyanS
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Post by RyanS » Sun Mar 31, 2019 3:49 am

Ken91 wrote: Sun Mar 31, 2019 1:42 am First of all, I must say that I have a love-hate relationship with this airshow. It's near home, so I can't help at least going outside somewhere and watching. I did go in for the F-35 Demo today, and it was pretty darn cool. My second favorite performer was Mike Wiskus, who I haven't seen before. The flying was great, the rest was "meh". Anyway, here are a few pics from today.
How was the new layout? The photo pit didn't have a truck parked in front of it this year (that I could see).

I wonder if the camo Skyraider was planned for both Heritage and Legacy Flights or if it was pinch hitting. Seems so weird to have a camo Skyraider in the LF but more so just kind of dumb to have it fly both at the same show!
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Ryan Sundheimer
www.AirshowStuff.com

Ken91
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Post by Ken91 » Sun Mar 31, 2019 2:29 pm

RyanS wrote: Sun Mar 31, 2019 3:49 am
Ken91 wrote: Sun Mar 31, 2019 1:42 am First of all, I must say that I have a love-hate relationship with this airshow. It's near home, so I can't help at least going outside somewhere and watching. I did go in for the F-35 Demo today, and it was pretty darn cool. My second favorite performer was Mike Wiskus, who I haven't seen before. The flying was great, the rest was "meh". Anyway, here are a few pics from today.
How was the new layout? The photo pit didn't have a truck parked in front of it this year (that I could see).

I wonder if the camo Skyraider was planned for both Heritage and Legacy Flights or if it was pinch hitting. Seems so weird to have a camo Skyraider in the LF but more so just kind of dumb to have it fly both at the same show!
I was in the general admission area, so I have no idea how the photo pit was. It seemed that there was only a limited amount of fence for the general audience, so we were a couple rows back. As usual, there was a rather large delay getting into the show, but the rumor I heard was that the police had not cleared the event area in order to open the gates. It was a long way from the entrance to the fenceline and I was a bit slower than normal due to a health issue. For all the problems that this show often has, the flying was very good and had a mix of warbirds, aerobatics and military (could have used a full Super Hornet Tac Demo).

Originally, the T-2 Buckeye was supposed to be with the Super Hornets for the Legacy Flights. Since that cancelled, they substituted the Sykraider. I did like that it flew in the HF with the F-35 and P-51. The size differences in those 3 planes was cool to see as they were flying.
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awal2049
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Post by awal2049 » Mon Apr 01, 2019 12:03 am

Show was good. Relatively pleased with everything in terms of crowd/traffic/waits etc., the "usual" complaints. My biggest problem was the bugs. They were EVERYWHERE! Guess it's kind of my fault for not bringing bug spray. First time in Florida!

Everyone flew except for Redline. I don't think they were there at all. Noteworthy that their last post on Facebook was from last week that they were about to get certified for low level aerobatics.

Also, the P-51 left in the early AM. Slightly disappointing, but still cool seeing the full F-35A demo and heritage flight. Though, I got sunscreen in my eyes, so filming was extremely difficult. Two extra passes on the HF, is this standard procedure now?
Pass 1: Photo pass, same
Pass 2: Bottom side pass, from front left
Pass 3: Flat pass from front

Pass 4: Echelon pass from left
Pass 5: Break from rear

We got a T-45 mini demo (take off and one pass) on Sunday. Thought for a moment it might do the Legacy Flight as well, but that was still with the A-1. One of the Super Hornets had a problem after the first pass and went into the hold. The pilot was from Melbourne, so I'm sure that was disappointing for him.

To further answer Ryan's question, the static display area was very small. Then there was a HUGE gap of nothing between that and the front of the crowd area. I guess it works if static displays aren't necessarily your thing. I didn't mind. Less walking for sure. Having the sun to my back was far more beneficial than I had anticipated. Interestingly, most of the commercial aircraft stuck with the southern runway, so there were still some air traffic hangups. F-35 display was held up by a delayed MD-80. Despite that, I think it will work for the future.

Anyway, sorry for the novel. All in all, good show, worth the 10.5 hour drive. Computer is having major problems, so it may be a while before I post any videos. Some of my favorite moments (but not necessarily the best pictures)
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Panchito Bomb Bay
Panchito Bomb Bay
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Daggers Flag
Daggers Flag
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Mike Wiskus Lucas Oil
Mike Wiskus Lucas Oil
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Legacy Flight, Missing Man
Legacy Flight, Missing Man
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American Dream
American Dream
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awal2049
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Post by awal2049 » Mon Apr 01, 2019 12:14 am

Testing gifs

Edit: Ayyyyyy, they work
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T-45 pass
T-45 pass
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"Dojo Drift"
"Dojo Drift"
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RyanS
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Post by RyanS » Mon Apr 01, 2019 12:27 am

awal2049 wrote: Mon Apr 01, 2019 12:14 am Testing gifs

Edit: Ayyyyyy, they work
Ha, awesome! I had no idea
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Ryan Sundheimer
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RyanS
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Post by RyanS » Mon Apr 01, 2019 12:31 am

awal2049 wrote: Mon Apr 01, 2019 12:03 am Two extra passes on the HF, is this standard procedure now?
Pass 1: Photo pass, same
Pass 2: Bottom side pass, from front left
Pass 3: Flat pass from front

Pass 4: Echelon pass from left
Pass 5: Break from rear
Yep, that's the new profile this year.

I was just curious because two years ago it wasn't that awesome of a show. We ended up watching from off site and having a much better time. Glad to hear the new layout mostly worked I guess.

I totally forgot the T-2 scrubbed, I take back all of my comments about the Skyraider because it's great that they even got a formation together. I thought the show was advertising a full demo, but I can't keep track any more so I'm probably wrong on that. A number of shows are advertising a "Super Hornet Legacy Demo" which is quite a bastardized term.
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awal2049
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Post by awal2049 » Sat Jul 27, 2019 11:06 pm

Interesting announcement on Facebook. Based on the comments, it looks like the show will be hosted at a different site next year. Facebook is not letting me embed the post.
Details are coming soon on when and where we’ll be soaring in 2020!
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awal2049
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Post by awal2049 » Tue Aug 20, 2019 12:03 am

Next year's show will be at the Orlando Sanford International Airport on October 31st and November 1st! Looks like they're switching sponsors from Northrop Grumman to Lockheed Martin.
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Screenshot_20190819-200055_Facebook.jpg
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