The Air Show at Andrews

The Jet Age, the Space Age and the Boomer Age are almost one and the same. Jet bombers and jet airliners came of age in the 50s and 60s, space flight in the 60s and 70s and all forms of flight have been refined through the 80s, 90s and now in ways that defy imagination.

I have always loved flying devices. As a kid, I flew kites. My love of reading took off with books about Sikorsky helicopters and an autobiographical account of Charles Lindberg’s solo flight across the Atlantic. Dad took us to a public tour of an aircraft carrier once. I was glued to the TV during Gemini and Apollo launches in the 1960s, and watched Armstrong walk on the moon live.

As an adult I have narrated skydiver shows, filled in for an airborne traffic reporter and was a passenger in a hot air balloon race. I interviewed a Shuttle astronaut on the radio in the 90s. I have visited the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum eight or ten times and the first IMAX film I saw was “To Fly.”

In December, 2003 I went to the First Flight Centennial Celebration in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina and felt like a kid in a candy store as I climbed on and photographed planes from every era of powered flight.

Today, after hearing about this annual event for more than a decade, I finally went to the Joint Service Open House at Andrews Air Force base near Washington DC.

Wow!

Big planes, little planes, old planes, new planes.


A former Air Force One, a medical helicopter from the Viet Nam era, a DC-3, giant cargo planes, Homeland Security planes, a stealth bomber. I climbed aboard some, photographed others.



During my four-hour visit, there were non-stop aerial displays featuring everything from bi-planes to F16s to the Golden Knights parachute unit to rescue helicopters.



Many people in my half of the boomer age range have a love-hate attitude about the military. I protested the Viet Nam War but also served in the Army near the end of the conflict, stationed safely in Texas. At the time my feeling was mostly hatred toward anything military.

During the decades since, my attitude has change to one of understanding and respect. The men and women who serve in the armed forces believe in their missions and I appreciate that they put their lives on the line to protect our freedoms. I disagree with the Iraq war but I fully support the individual servicemen and women who are fighting there.

This event is a powerful example of how proud military people are of their mission and their tools. All service branches were represented there, but I mostly went for the planes.