2014 MCAS Yuma air show Review by AirShowsReview

2014 Air Shows

MCAS Yuma Air Show March 15, 2014

Location: MCAS Yuma, Arizona

Admission: FREE

Parking: Free off-site and free shuttle; paid preferred parking available.

Value: EXCELLENT

The show began with a finger-four formation flyover of F-5N Tiger II aircraft from the Marine Aggressor Squadron VMFT-401 “Snipers.” They passed over the crowd exactly as the last strains of the national anthem were being played by the Marine Drum and Bugle Corps. Unfortunately, at almost the same time, the wind, which had been calm all morning, suddenly picked up. Strong winds of over 20 mph with gusts to 30mph would plague the show all day, causing a number of acts to be canceled: Dan Buchanan, and John Collver were sidelined by the winds. Jacquie Warda, in her Extra 300 flew for 8 minutes in that awful wind! Surprisingly enough, Roger Buis, flying “Otto the Helicopter,” began by flying the first of three helicopter demonstrations. The winds were almost strong enough in the morning to knock over the traffic barrels which are a part of his act. (Later in the day, strong gusts would knock over the speakers set up in front of the crowds.) Bob Carlton alternated between gliding and powered flight in his Super Salto jet sailplane. Rich Perkins, flying the bright yellow and orange L-39 “Firecat,” put on the second of the three civilian jet performances (the last was Bill Braack, driving the Smoke-N-Thunder jet car), but without his signature wall of fire. The search and rescue demonstration once again featured the HH-1N Huey, shortly to be replaced in the Marine inventory by the four-bladed Yankee model. Soon that familiar “whomp, whomp, whomp” will be a thing of the past. Greg Shelton then took to the skies and put on a barnstorming display in his brightly-painted Stearman. He would return later with Samantha Albrecht for an amazing wingwalking demonstration, leaving many in the audience gasping in disbelief. Kent Pietsch put on all three of his acts. Seeing him perform his comedy routine, including scraping his wingtip on the tarmac, is impressive enough under ideal conditions, but seeing him do it in the gusting winds was incredible. Despite his best efforts, however, he was unable to completely seat his Interstate Cadet on the pickup-truck aircraft carrier.

Then it was time for one of the marquee performers, the MV-22 Osprey. The “Lucky Red Lions” of VMM-363 from MCAS Miramar put on a full tactical demonstration which began with a vertical takeoff followed by a high-speed pass with the engine nacelles fully forward in airplane mode. The nacelles were then rotated 90 ° and the Osprey returned in helicopter mode to perform the hovering portion of its demo before landing once again vertically. Joe Shetterley, former A-10 West demonstration pilot, continues to perform in air shows, but now flies his incredibly shiny RV-8. The low aspect ratio of the wings is similar to the Thunderbolt II’s and “Rifle” puts on a spirited demonstration of its capabilities. He ended his act by handily beating Bill Braack in the jet car vs piston aircraft race.

The next vertical act was the AV-8B Harrier II tactical demo, put on by MCAS Yuma’s own VMA-211 “Wake Island Avengers.” It opened with a very high-speed pass, followed by a number of hovering maneuvers very similar to that of the Osprey, but much louder, ending with a vertical landing. The final takeoff was a high-power vertical climbing departure. Water injected into the engines to provide cooling left dark trails of sooty exhaust as the Harrier climbed into the sky. The final helicopter act of the day was Chuck Aaron in the Red Bull Helicopter, although the way “ Malibu” throws that MBB Bo 105 around you would think it was a high performance aerobatic plane.

Then it was time for the premier attraction. Aviation enthusiasts had traveled from across the US and many from overseas to see the first air show performance of the F-35B Lightning II. Many had worried that the high, gusting winds would ground the display, but right on schedule the stealthy fifth-generation Joint Strike Fighter appeared from air show right and speedily taxied out onto the runway. The “Green Knights” of VMFA-121 are the first operational Lightning II squadron and Commanding Officer LtCol Steve Gillette was at the controls as the F-35 took to the skies, lighting the afterburner shortly after takeoff. After a few high-speed passes he returned. As the jet slowed, panels started to open, what appeared to be a barn door rose from the spine of the aircraft and the exhaust nozzle rotated downwards. He had just transition to hovering flight! Despite the strong, gusting winds, the aircraft slowed to a stop and just hung there, rock-steady, before blasting away. He returned for another display of hovering flight before landing conventionally. What a blast! Literally.

An estimated 25,000 people attended the show. Steve Stavrakakis, who had appeared last year as a performer, was back this year as announcer and did a great job of keeping the narration flowing smoothly as acts were shuffled on account of the winds.

ASR Media would like to thank the staff of the MCAS Yuma Public Affairs Office for all of their support during our visit, in particular 1st Lieutenant Ryan Finnegan, Gunnery Sergeant Dustin Dunk and Corporal Zachary Scanlon.

Aircraft on flying and on static display:

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Report and photography by Norman A. Graf for ASR Media LLC with additional images courtesy of Rifle Airshows

All trade names, trademarks and manufacturer names are the property of their respective owners.

	Report and photography by Norman A. Graf for ASR Media LLC with additional images courtesy of Rifle Airshows
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All trade names, trademarks and manufacturer names are the property of their respective owners.