The Great State of Maine Air Show

The Great State of Maine Air Show was held this weekend at Naval Air Station Brunswick (NASB). As usual the Navy's flight demonstration team, The Blue Angels, was the star attraction. They arrived in Brunswick earlier this week not only to familiarize themselves with the terrain of the Brunswick area but also to check out the beautiful town of Brunswick.
With NASB on the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) list, it is slated for closure in 2011, this will be the last time the Blue Angels will perform in Brunswick. Needing several hundred people to put on the air show it is unlikely, in the near future, Brunswick will be able to handle the tremendous workload. On average the air show brings 100,000 people into town each day. All that traffic on local streets creates lengthy backups. Amazingly everything goes smoothly.
Friday was military and public safety day. Anybody in the military or public safety and their families could go watch the rehearsal show. With tropical storm Hannah travelling up the eastern seaboard, Friday was the day to go. The leading edge of Hannah sent low level clouds hovering over Brunswick all day Saturday preventing air craft from flying. On occasion the air boss would send up one of the smaller prop driven planes in the air to check the ceiling. With ceilings of 200- 300 feet it is not possible to perform aerobatics with the jet aircraft. A big disappointment for all who came to see the Blues. All was not lost though. There were many static displays of aircraft, ranging from early WW2 bombers to present day rotary aircraft and fighter jets. Oh there was a FedEx transport plane too.
Quite possibly the most interesting ground attraction was the US Army's Virtual Army Experience .The Army has chosen a great recruiting tool here. Not only is it fun for the teen but also those of us in the over 40 crowd enjoyed it too. I know I did.
There was a fire breathing Megasaurus showing those in attendance its car-nivorous appetite!
The Blue Angels fan that I am, I was disappointed they didn't fly Saturday but I got to see them perform Friday. With Hannah passing by Maine Saturday evening, dropping about six inches of rain or more, The Blues will fly Sunday. I won't be there though, have to take of chores at home sometime. I just may have to keep tabs with Air Show Buzz for the current air show schedule.