It seems as if Dover AFB is going for a bi-annual airshow, considering the last three shows took place in 1999 (which I was unable to attend), 2002, and 2004.  The 2006 show was originally planned for May, but since neither the Thunderbirds or Blue Angels had Dover on their schedule in May, the show was postponed until October, where the Thunderbirds had Patuxent River, MD on their schedule (and was cancelled, since I don't think Patuxent River has ever had a show in October).  The team got the approval to fly at Dover AFB, and the show was a go.  I was actually a bit skeptical of how good the show would be, since David Schultz Airshows was not in charge of the show, as they were in the last three shows, but seeing the list of performers that were scheduled to appear, I was somewhat relieved.

The Saturday show was a complete disaster, in terms of weather.  It had rained a lot the previous Friday, preventing some performers from getting to Dover (and getting them to Dover on Saturday was also a challenge, since most of the Mid Atlantic was socked in with low clouds).  Sadly, all areas north of Wilmington, Delaware were enjoying clear skies, as I kept getting calls and text messages from my friends at home and at school telling me how nice it is while I'm stuck in the worst weather I could ask for at an airshow.  It was about 55º all day with the winds blowing at more than fifteen knots (with higher gusts).  One of Dover's C-5 Galaxies managed to take off around noon and spent about half an hour in the pattern performing low approaches and a touch-and-go.  Dan Dameo managed to fly an abbreviated aerobatic performance with an FG-1D Corsair before Rock and Ringo flew a flat show with the Super Hornet, which was actually an awesome flat show!  The show ended with the Thunderbirds cancelling their performance for Saturday and sadly, the weather cleared up considerably two hours after the show was to have ended.

Sunday's show fared much better.  Dover AFB had screwed up a perfectly good parking arrangement that was in place in 2002 and 2004 by having everyone park at a mall on Saturday and get bussed over to the base (which was understandable), but on Sunday, we had to drive five minutes away from the base to park on the field adjacent to the crashed C-5.  It would have been easier to access the field from Route 9, but that's my opinion.  The weather had cleared up so much to the point that the sky had the brightest blue I had ever seen at any airshow.  Every act flew their performance and the Super Hornet guys from VFA-106 managed to put on one heck of a show!  One of the "goals" during a Super Hornet demonstration, in my opinion, is to squeeze as much moisture out of the air as humanly possible, especially during the high speed pass, and that was achieved without a problem on Sunday!

Getting off the base and back onto Route 1 was no big deal, except for the two mile walk from the show line to the car!  However, that walk was rewarding, as I was able to snap a few pictures of the wreckage.  It was a good show nonetheless, and I do plan on going to the next show, which should be in 2008 (at the rate we're going).

Military Demonstration Teams

• USAF Thunderbirds
  
• USAFA Wings of Blue
  

Tentative Military Demonstrations

• C-5 Galaxy Demonstration
  
• C-17 Globemaster III Demonstration
  
• F/A-18F Super Hornet Demonstration
  

Civillian Performers

• Aeroshell Aerobatic Team
  
• Dale Snodgrass & Ed Shipley
  
• Ed Hamill
  
• Allen Smith
  
• Tony Markl and Steve Newer
  
• Warbird Reviews
  

Participating Organizations

Announcer: Ric Peterson

Gates Open: 10:00 AM

Showtime: 11:00 AM - 4:30 PM

Note that large camera bags are not allowed onto Dover AFB for the airshow. There is a chance that Dale Snodgrass might not be able to fly because his Sabre is still in the repair stage (it suffered an oil leak at Oceana).