Thunderbirds a high point

Fairchild Air Force Base’s Skyfest is back today and Sunday after a one-year hiatus. And this year’s show features the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, including their first female pilot in her first year with the F-16 fighter demonstration squadron.

Numerous acts will perform at Skyfest, and visitors to Fairchild Air Force Base today and Sunday also will be able to see dozens of planes up close on the tarmac.

The Thunderbirds have performed in Spokane many times, but this is the first year Maj. Nicole Malachowski will be here flying F-16 number 3.

“I had always wanted to be in the Air Force, since I was a very young child,” said Malachowski, who added that a childhood air show trip solidified that desire.

The Thunderbirds now give her the chance to both fly and act as an Air Force public relations ambassador.

The Thunderbirds are scheduled to perform at Skyfest at 3 p.m. today and Sunday.

Questions about being the squadron’s first female pilot don’t seem to interest Malachowski much.

Women have served on the ground crew since 1974, she said. “I’m just one person representing 530,000 in the Air Force.”

Fighter pilots compete to become one of the squadron’s six demonstration pilots. About 75-100 pilots apply each time positions come open. Pilots serve two years with the squadron.

Major Steve Horton is in his second year with the Thunderbirds, which he says fits in with his passion for speed.

“I like fast cars. I want to go fast and be on the edge of the sword,” Horton said.

Another 120 enlisted airmen serve as the elite squadron’s ground crew. The Thunderbirds have never canceled a show because of maintenance problems.

“It’s a high standard. These guys are really on the spot. They know what to do,” said maintenance supervisor Master Sergeant Jeff Hernquist of his ground crew.

For every 40 minutes the pilots spend performing in an air show, the ground crew spends three to four hours preparing the planes and another three to four hours, or sometimes more, maintaining the fighters.

Fairchild will spend about $120,000 hosting the two-day air show, said 2nd Lt. Tristan Hinderliter, with Fairchild’s public affairs office. About 100,000 spectators are expected.

The Cascade Warbirds Squadron is a group of Western U.S. and Canadian historic military aircraft owners and enthusiasts. They will fly 18 historic planes that they own and maintain.

Several aerobatic acts will fly in the air show and the Canadian parachute team, the Skyhawks, will perform in the morning and afternoon.