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One of the better air shows around is the Riverside Air Show, right here in our home field. My parents have attended this air show, almost from the very first and I can remember going to the air show for as far back as I can remember. Things at the air show are a little different for me now as instead of being a spectator I am now a participator |
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Riverside Air Show
My part in the 2010 Riverside Air Show started on the Thursday before the show. That evening members of the Commemorative Air Force - Inland Empire Wing (CAF-IEW) were called to the hangar for a work detail, the cleaning of the D-Day Doll. The Doll is a 1941 vintage military C-53 (Douglas DC-3 for you civilians) and is quite the big airplane to clean, but the Colonels of the CAF-IEW have done this a few times and have it down to a science. Before the big surfaces are cleaned with a hose and brush, the heavy oil and grease areas must first be cleaned by hand, using degreaser and lots of elbow grease. I did my part by climbing up inside the front landing gear and de-greasing all the landing gear components.
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There was a lot to do at the CAF-IEW hangar on Friday morning, but I had school and was not able to help move the planes and prepare the hangar. After school, my dad and I drove over to the airport to see if we could be of any help, but it looked like they had everything pretty much done, so we hung out and checked out the planes that had already arrived and watched a few fly in. This is the perfect time to take pictures of the planes as you do not have to worry about people walking in front of your camera or having 20 people in the picture.
Saturday morning started early, I was in the CAF-IEW hangar by 7:00am and out on the airfield at 7:30 setting up the Post Exchange (PX) and doing what ever else I was asked to do. The air show got off to a windy start so everything that we had on the tables, of the PX, was flying around, but nothing that could not be fixed with bungee cords. The show was a big success and one of the highlights was the flyover of one of the only F-4 Phantoms still flying in the United States, now that made my day!
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The air show day wraps up with the Survivors Party, hosted by the CAF-IEW. Several of the CAF-IEW members bring in food and a smorgasbord style dinner is served for people that participated in the air show. The hangar was packed and I got to spend some time talking to some members of the 82nd Airborne WWII Living History Association re-enactors, while eating dinner.
Riverside Air Show 2010 Photos
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