N'Awlins Air Show 2007
From the Times-Picayune (keep all your archives online and then I don't have to archive the story myself):
N'Awlins Air Show attendance flies high
Posted by Paul Purpura, West Bank bureau October 28, 2007 7:57PM
STAFF PHOTO BY ELIOT KAMENITZ A pilot opens the weapons doors of his F-22 Raptor as it passes over the crowd.
Maybe it was the fact that this year's N'Awlins Air Show will be the last one in the near future that drove up attendance, officials said.
Or perhaps it was the high-profile slate of performers that included the Air Force's Thunderbirds and the first-ever appearance of an Air Force F-22A Raptor in the weekend's crystal-clear Louisiana skies.
STAFF PHOTO BY ELIOT KAMENITZ
A U.S. Navy F/A 18 Hornet flies wing to wing with a World War II era Hawker Sea Fury during a Heritage Flight.
But despite competition from three music festivals in the New Orleans area this weekend, and a televised Saints game on Sunday, 88,890 people flocked to the Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base in Belle Chasse over three days, nearly half of them turning out Sunday, air station officials said.
Sunday alone topped last year's total three-day attendance of about 30,000 people, a low number attributed to rainy weather and the lack of a big-name headline act.
"A crowd like this shows that air shows are still something people want to see," said Capt. Jay Adelmann, the air station's commanding officer. "Frankly, I was worried over last year's low turnout. If the folks around here want an air show, we want to give it to them."
Citing a tighter base operating budget that is tapped to pay for military acts, Adelmann said the air station will not host a N'Awlins Air Show in 2008, and it is unclear when another one will be held.
Regionally, the Navy is looking at holding four air shows annually in the southeastern United States, rotating them among the 10 Naval air stations in an area from Texas to Georgia.
But that's not to say the air station here won't be opening its doors to the public next year, when air station officials hope to have a community celebration to mark the base's 50th year in Belle Chasse. The Navy moved its air station to what then was Alvin Calendar Field in 1958, from where the University of New Orleans' lakefront campus now sits.
"It's gaining momentum," Adelmann said of the anniversary event, still in its planning stages. "We're trying to come up with something that will appeal to the entire community."
On Sunday, the Thunderbirds launched their six F-16 Falcons about the same time the Saints opened their game against the San Francisco 49ers. A cheer rose up just after the squadron's performance ended, when air show emcee Rob Ryder announced the Saints were ahead, 7-0.
Indeed, it was a Saints crowd, where people dressed in black and gold were as prevalent as those wearing military garb.
Some, like Sergio Araya and a group of his family and friends, planned their day around both the air show and the game.
"Came early, watch as much as we can, run home, grill some meat and watch as much as we can," said Araya, 32, of Algiers. "We came to support this, and then we will go to support the Saints."
This year's show had a mix of military and civilian aerial performers, although it offered fewer aircraft on display, compared with past events.
"I didn't want it to end," Adelmann said. "The crowd was engaged. Base personnel were excited. I thought every act was fantastic."
But missing were the Marine Corps Reserve UH-1 Huey and AH-1 Cobra helicopters, both usually displayed on the ground and involved in a simulated combat rescue performances, as Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 773, Detachment A, which provides the aircraft, is deployed to Iraq through next year.
Navy Reserve Cmdr. Chris Soler of Helicopter Mine Countermeasure Squadron 14 traveled from Norfolk, Va., to display one of his unit's MH-53 Sea Dragons.
Through much of Sunday, a line of 50 or more people snaked out from behind the mammoth helicopter, waiting to get a look inside at the cargo hold and flight deck.
The Marines, Army National Guard and Coast Guard have helicopters based in the area, but none like the Sea Dragon.
"We love it," Soler said of the public interest, between answering questions from people who wanted to know what kind of copter it is and what it's used for. "People don't get to see these."
Paul Purpura can be reached at ppurpura@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3791.
N'Awlins Air Show attendance flies high
Posted by Paul Purpura, West Bank bureau October 28, 2007 7:57PM
STAFF PHOTO BY ELIOT KAMENITZ A pilot opens the weapons doors of his F-22 Raptor as it passes over the crowd.
Maybe it was the fact that this year's N'Awlins Air Show will be the last one in the near future that drove up attendance, officials said.
Or perhaps it was the high-profile slate of performers that included the Air Force's Thunderbirds and the first-ever appearance of an Air Force F-22A Raptor in the weekend's crystal-clear Louisiana skies.
STAFF PHOTO BY ELIOT KAMENITZ
A U.S. Navy F/A 18 Hornet flies wing to wing with a World War II era Hawker Sea Fury during a Heritage Flight.
But despite competition from three music festivals in the New Orleans area this weekend, and a televised Saints game on Sunday, 88,890 people flocked to the Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base in Belle Chasse over three days, nearly half of them turning out Sunday, air station officials said.
Sunday alone topped last year's total three-day attendance of about 30,000 people, a low number attributed to rainy weather and the lack of a big-name headline act.
"A crowd like this shows that air shows are still something people want to see," said Capt. Jay Adelmann, the air station's commanding officer. "Frankly, I was worried over last year's low turnout. If the folks around here want an air show, we want to give it to them."
Citing a tighter base operating budget that is tapped to pay for military acts, Adelmann said the air station will not host a N'Awlins Air Show in 2008, and it is unclear when another one will be held.
Regionally, the Navy is looking at holding four air shows annually in the southeastern United States, rotating them among the 10 Naval air stations in an area from Texas to Georgia.
But that's not to say the air station here won't be opening its doors to the public next year, when air station officials hope to have a community celebration to mark the base's 50th year in Belle Chasse. The Navy moved its air station to what then was Alvin Calendar Field in 1958, from where the University of New Orleans' lakefront campus now sits.
"It's gaining momentum," Adelmann said of the anniversary event, still in its planning stages. "We're trying to come up with something that will appeal to the entire community."
On Sunday, the Thunderbirds launched their six F-16 Falcons about the same time the Saints opened their game against the San Francisco 49ers. A cheer rose up just after the squadron's performance ended, when air show emcee Rob Ryder announced the Saints were ahead, 7-0.
Indeed, it was a Saints crowd, where people dressed in black and gold were as prevalent as those wearing military garb.
Some, like Sergio Araya and a group of his family and friends, planned their day around both the air show and the game.
"Came early, watch as much as we can, run home, grill some meat and watch as much as we can," said Araya, 32, of Algiers. "We came to support this, and then we will go to support the Saints."
This year's show had a mix of military and civilian aerial performers, although it offered fewer aircraft on display, compared with past events.
"I didn't want it to end," Adelmann said. "The crowd was engaged. Base personnel were excited. I thought every act was fantastic."
But missing were the Marine Corps Reserve UH-1 Huey and AH-1 Cobra helicopters, both usually displayed on the ground and involved in a simulated combat rescue performances, as Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 773, Detachment A, which provides the aircraft, is deployed to Iraq through next year.
Navy Reserve Cmdr. Chris Soler of Helicopter Mine Countermeasure Squadron 14 traveled from Norfolk, Va., to display one of his unit's MH-53 Sea Dragons.
Through much of Sunday, a line of 50 or more people snaked out from behind the mammoth helicopter, waiting to get a look inside at the cargo hold and flight deck.
The Marines, Army National Guard and Coast Guard have helicopters based in the area, but none like the Sea Dragon.
"We love it," Soler said of the public interest, between answering questions from people who wanted to know what kind of copter it is and what it's used for. "People don't get to see these."
Paul Purpura can be reached at ppurpura@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3791.
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