Jones Beach, New York
May 26-27, 2007
Airshow report updated on June 5, 2007.
This year represented the second time I had attended the airshow at Jones Beach, and I have noticed a lot of changes for this year's show over last year's. A lot of the acts that I had expected to be booked for this year's show, such as another ACC asset, was not approved and not added to the lineup. However, there was a demonstration from VFA-106 of the F/A-18F Super Hornet. Having attended Sunday's show (I was at Millville on Saturday, and both show sites had huge problems with haze on Saturday, and even more so for Jones Beach), I was VERY impressed with the Super Hornet demonstration that day. I did notice one thing that the team should have done at McGuire that was done at Jones Beach - a simulated takeoff, as it would have kept the jet much closer to the crowd than the standard takeoff. Sadly, there was not a whole lot of vapor in the air, preventing any cones of vapor from coming off the jet or clouds when pulling Gs.
One of the best acts of the day was provided by the 106th Rescue Wing, New York ANG, based down the street from Jones Beach (not literally - maybe at least a half hour east). One HC-130 and one HH-60 simulated a search and rescue demonstration of a downed pilot, plus a simulated aerial refueling of the two aircraft, with the HH-60 as the receiver nearly hooking up into the drogue trailing off the Hercules. The Pave Hawk's extraction was done at a very low altitude and VERY close to the shore, which provided one of the best SAR demos I had ever seen, with the Hercules circling overhead. Speaking of military, two B-1 bombers had made JFK International Airport their home base for the weekend (rather than Ellsworth AFB, SD), with one of them flying down towards Millville and the other staying for Jones Beach. The Bone made a total of three passes, all of which in full afterburner (the first pass was the only pass with the wings swept forward), and the last of which resulted in a climb out and turn that nearly resulted in the aircraft being barrel rolled!
The one major complaint I have about Jones Beach's show is the PA system. The 2006 show had a decent PA system, but it was also broadcasted/simulcasted on a discrete FM band, and this year's show did not feature that FM simulcast. However, the PA system was powerful enough to be heard all the way to the water, but the speakers near me kept cutting in and out, and the parts when I did hear it, I'm not sure if it was loud enough for the microphone in the video camera, since the audio was behind me and the camera was hardly ever pointed back behind me. Other than that, this year's show was a very good one and I look forward to next year's show!
Static Displays - What Static Displays?!
Military Demonstration Teams
Tentative Military Demonstrations
Civillian Demonstrations
Participating Organizations
Announcer: Rob Reider
Gates Open: N/A
Showtime: 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM Saturday and Sunday