Up, Up In The Air
By now you’ve either heard the Thunderbirds are going to be soaring and roaring through Inland Northwest skies, or, you’ve actually heard the Thunderbirds.
The Thunderbirds - the Air Force’s supersonic team of airborne acrobats - arrived in the Inland Northwest Thursday for Fairchild Air Force Base’s Open House on Saturday and Sunday.
While they’re here, the team will give exhibitions on Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
Six General Dynamics F-16Cs, the military’s most agile fighter plane, will wow thousands as they scream through the skies, engaging in an array of spectacular tactical maneuvers.
“The mission of the team is basically to recruit young folks and show people in America what they’ve bought with their tax dollars,” says Thunderbird pilot Captain Matt Modleski, 33, a 16-year veteran of the Air Force.
Maneuvers will be performed in formations by Thunderbirds 1-4, otherwise known as the diamond. Others will be executed by the opposing solos, the planes (5-6) that perform outside of the formation. Some maneuvers will feature all six airplanes flying in formation.
The opposing solos offer an awesome spectacle, showing the audience the plane’s capabilities. The two planes simulate dogfighting and make low-altitude, surprise passes. Further, these two fighters will fly faster than the other four airplanes, reaching speeds near 700 miles-perhour.
Where the opposing solos are about performance, the diamond is about skill and grace. These planes fly in tight formations often just a couple of feet apart from each other. And at several hundred miles-perhour, that’s impressive.
Modleski, an opposing solo who pilots the No. 6 plane, enjoys flying both styles.
“As a solo pilot, my job is to show the folks out there just what the F-16 can do,” he says. “So that part of it is really exciting.
“I also am fortunate in that I get to fly a lot with the diamond in formation. I really enjoy the formation flying aspect of it, too,” Modleski says. “That portion of the team’s mission is to show the people out there the quality of the pilots that they’re spending their money on.”
As with any air show, safety is a concern. Air-demonstration teams have crashed during performances before.
“The way we build our show and the way we build our training program, we really do have crowd safety in mind,” says Modleski. “Obviously, there is some inherent danger. If you wanted to make flying perfectly safe, then you would leave all of the airplanes on the ground.
“I know some folks will talk about our demonstration as stunt flying. There could be nothing further from the truth. It’s a very controlled and regimented demonstration,” he explains. “We won’t push any safety limit because crowd safety is our number one concern.
This is Modleski’s first season flying with the Thunderbirds. Before climbing into the cockpit of the No. 6 plane, the pilot flew low-altitude attack jets, A-10s.
Modleski didn’t see any action in Desert Storm, but his A-10 squadron was instrumental in Operation Provide Comfort, a Kurdish relief effort that commenced immediately after the war. The A-10s flew cover for C-130 cargo planes.
“It was a very interesting and exciting time in my life,” he says. “The war was officially over but the tensions were quite high.”
After his first season expires, Modleski will graduate to the No. 5 plane. All Thunderbirds pilots have a two-year tour of duty.
The Thunderbirds have three different demonstrations prepared, depending on the weather conditions. The high show requires 8,000 feet cloud clearance. The low show requires a ceiling of 3,500 feet. And the flat show requires 2,000 feet cloud clearance.
“If we’re doing loops, then we’re doing a high show,” says Modleski. “If we’re doing rolls with no loops, then we’re doing a low show. If we’re doing no rolls and no loops, we’re doing a flat show.”
Throughout the weekend, several other planes will either give demonstrations or be on display.
Demonstrations kick off at 11:22 a.m. with the Air Force Survival School Flag Jump from a UH-1 helicopter. The demonstrations close at 4 p.m. with the Thunderbirds. Other flight exhibitions include a KC-135 tanker, a Russian YAK-55, two Pitts S2Bs, a Canadian CT-33 and many others.
Stationary airplane displays include a B-1 bomber, an F-18 Hornet, a C-5 Galaxy, an F-15 Eagle and a B-52 bomber.
Those wanting someone else to do the driving to Fairchild can catch a bus. STA is running special shuttles to and from the air base both days. Bus riders can park free at a number of shuttle lots throughout Spokane. For the location of the parking lots and a special shuttle bus schedule, call 328-RIDE or 456-7277.
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MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE OPEN HOUSE Time: 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturday and Sunday Tickets: Free