Wings Over Whiteman Airshow Review

Yesterday Janice and I, along with Aaron and Maureen Harris, attended Wings Over Whiteman. Wings Over Whiteman is the airshow that is held every two years at Whiteman Air Force Base which is about 20 miles west of Sedalia, MO. We had a great time watching several aircraft fly, and we also had the chance to see several static displays. Here is a brief review of some of the highlights. These are stock photos I'm using below. Janice took lots of pictures and I will get them posted sometime soon:

Performing Aircraft:

MiG-17F

The Russian MiG-17F was the primary enemy aircraft in Vietnam. I was surprised at how small and quiet the plane was. It was also a lot more maneuverable than I expected. This particular aircraft is owned by a company out of Texas called Fighterjets, Inc. This jet was a lot of fun to watch fly. Check out this website to learn more about this plane.

FM-2 Wildcat

The FM-2 Wildcat was one of the premier fighters in the early part of World War 2. It played a big role in many battles including Midway. We saw a great performance from this airplane yesterday including a dogfight with a Japanese Zero. When the performance was over the pilot had a broken strut on his right landing gear. He ended up making an emergency "dead-stick" landing and his right landing gear collapsed. It took a few hours to get the plane off the runway. The pilot was not injured and the plane was not too badly damaged. We were not able to see this landing as the runway was behind the B-2 hangers so we had to go by what the announcer was telling us.

North American B-25, "Pacific Prowler"

The B-25 was one of the great bombers of World War 2. It was the airplane used on the famous Doolittle Raid on Tokyo that took place a few months after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. To learn more you should read the book, 30 Seconds Over Tokyo. You can also visit this website to learn more about the Pacific Prowler.

Aeroshell Aerobatic Team Flying the AT-6 Texan

The Aeroshell Aerobatic Team performed at the airshow. They fly the AT-6 Texan, also known as "The Pilot Maker." This was the trainer that was used in World War 2 to prepare pilots to fly fighters. If you saw the move, "The Tuskegee Airmen," you would have seen some of these in action. These guys did a great job of flying close formation aerobatic maneuvers, and those big radial engines made a lot of noise. Check out the Aeroshell Aerobatic Teams website here.

F-15E Strike Eagle

The best performance of the day was from the F-15E Strike Eagle. This dual-role jet has been around for several years and is designed for air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. For much of the performance the pilot had the afterburners engaged and this was one performance where ear plugs were required. The last maneuver for the F-15E was a high-speed fly-by and when he was right in front of the crowd he went vertical until he was just about out of sight.

Other planes we got to see perform were:

P-51 Mustang

A-10 Thunderbolt II

Yak 52TW Russian Trainer

Heritage Flight which included the P-51 Mustang, A-10 Thunderbolt II, and the F-15E Strike Eagle. I will be posting some pictures of this flight later.

Static Displays

F-22 Raptor

The F-22 is the Air Force's newest fighter. It has stealth capabilities, unbelievable maneuverability as well as supercruise, which allows it to fly at well over the speed of sound without having to use afterburners. This plane is so new and so top secret we could see it but we couldn't get very close to it.

B-1 Lancer

The B-1 Lancer is the world's only supersonic bomber. It is a large airplane that can carry a huge bomb payload, but it handles much like a fighter jet. It is equipped with 4 engines and has a movable wing that sweeps back much like the now retired F-15 Tomcat, which was featured in the movie Topgun. We were able to get on this plane, which amounted to climbing the ladder and sticking our heads into the back crew compartment where the Weapons Officer and Navigator sit. The cockpit was off-limits. It was still very cool to be able to see as much as we did.

RC-135V/W Rivet Joint

The RC-135 is a reconnaissance aircraft that delivers real-time on-scene intelligence collection. This aircraft is built on the Boeing 707 airframe and has been in service with the Air Force since the 1960's. It has undergone major renovations over the years including new engines and avionics systems.

B-2 Spirit

The B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is a multi-role bomber that can deliver either conventional or nuclear weapons. Whiteman Air Force Base is the only B-2 base in the world. All missions the B-2's are dispatched on are always flown from Whiteman. Many missions for the B-2 last for 40 to 50 hours, and that is 40 to 50 hours of continuous flying. With a 2-pilot cockpit and the capability of in-flight refueling, the plane can fly as long as there are no mechanical malfunctions. The hardest part of being a B-2 pilot is having the endurance to fly the long missions. Much like the F-22 Raptor, this plane is so top secret we could not get very close to it. There was a B-2 that did a series of 3 fly-bys to close the airshow. I will post some of those photos later.

Other Static Displays included:

F-15A

C-21 (Air Force version of a Learjet 35)

KC-135

B-52 Stratofortress

F-16 Fighting Falcon

L-39 (Russian Jet Trainer)

C-130

This is not a complete list of everything we got to see, but I have covered the highlights. It was a full day and it was a lot of fun to be able to see all the airplanes. Janice got some great photos and a little video also. I will pull all that together and post that later for you to see. Thanks to Whiteman for opening the base and letting an aviation fanatic come out and have a great time yesterday. Hopefully we will do it again in 2 years.