North Kingstown, Rhode Island
June 24-25, 2006 Airshow report written on July 3, 2006.
Performer Brief: None due to weather
No, I'm not being lazy. One of the finest airshows in the Northeast was practically weathered out for both Saturday and Sunday. I made the long trip up to Rhode Island on Friday to catch static display arrivals as well as the practice show, which was held under mostly cloudy skies. Almost all of the performers that were at Quonset State Airport on Friday flew during the show, including Chuck Lischer, who flew his final full show on Friday, as he was tragically killed in a plane crash on June 27 in Ocean City, MD. I will miss Chuck, as he was one of my favorite performers to watch and talk to. If you did not look at my Tribute Page, Chuck was killed while on final approach in a BD-5J Microjet (look at Willow Grove '00 for video of the aircraft type) after successfully conducting instrument tests for the Department of Defense. Essentially, Chuck died doing what he loved AND serving his country at the same time.
Saturday's show was held somewhat under rainy weather throughout the whole day, with sporadic bursts of heavy rain in the early morning and during the early and late afternoon. All of the aerobatic performers got to fly and the only military aircraft in the air was a C-130J-30 from the Rhode Island ANG and the CH-146 Griffon. The static displays were sparse but there were some gems. I was practically unable to go through the statics on Friday (I was very tired and not feeling 100% - mostly from only getting less than three hours of sleep and then driving five hours) or Saturday (the rain), but I am able to give you an idea of what was on display.
I will be back to Rhode Island next year - no doubt about it!
Static Displays - Not Including Museum Aircraft and Some Civil Aircraft
| Aircraft | Squadron | Home Base | Registration | Notes |
| A-10 Thunderbolt II | Barnes ANGB, MA | 78-0632 | ||
| A-10 Thunderbolt II | Barnes ANGB, MA | 78-0612 | ||
| Boeing 727-200F | FedEx | Memphis, TN | ||
| Cessna 172 | Civil Air Patrol | |||
| Cessna 172 | N184MS | |||
| Cessna 208 | FedEx | Memphis, TN | N996FE | |
| C-130J-30 Hercules | 143rd AW | North Kingstown, RI | 99-1431 | |
| CF-188A Hornet | 425 Squadron | CFB Bagotville, PQ | ||
| E-2C Hawkeye 2000 | VAW-120 | NAVSTA Norfolk, VA | ||
| Experimental (Need ID) | N701VK | |||
| F-16C Fighting Falcon | Burlington, VT | 83-1136 | ||
| F/A-18A Hornet | VMFA-115 | MCAS Beaufort, SC | 163133, VE-201 | CAG Bird |
| F/A-18A Hornet | VMFA-115 | MCAS Beaufort, SC | VE-205 | |
| F/A-18A Hornet | VMFA-115 | MCAS Beaufort, SC | 163168, VE-210 | |
| HH-65 Dauphin | CGAS Atlantic City, NJ | |||
| HH-60 Jayhawk | CGAS Cape Cod, MA | 6034 | ||
| HU-25A Guardian | CGAS Cape Cod, MA | 2120 | ||
| KC-10A Extender | 305th AMW | McGuire AFB, NJ | 79-0434 | |
| T-1A Jayhawk | ||||
| T-6A Texan II | ||||
| T-37 Tweet | ||||
| T-38 Talon | Sheppard AFB, TX | 66-4388 | ||
| T-45 Goshawk | VT-7, TW-1 | NAS Meridian, MS | 165471 |
Military Demonstration Teams
Tentative Military Demonstrations
Civillian Demonstrations
Participating Organizations
Announcer: Larry Rutt
Gates Open: 9:00 AM
Showtime: 9:45 AM - 4:30 PM