NAS Oceana Air Show (September 18, 2010)

Been a while since I have had a "Virginia" post on this site (which is entitled "Richmond and Me") but I had a really remarkable day today. Went this morning to the Air Show at Naval Air Station Oceana. The Navy (and an aviation squadron) was a former employer a while back, and it was good to be on a Navy base again. Especially exciting was the Blue Angels flight demo, seen here at left; which I took during the show. I have seen them fly a few times before (like air shows and in fact this was my second one this month) but this one was one of the best I have ever seen, and the Blue Angels flying was the best I have seen from them hands down.
The show also had some other unique flights, such as matching planes from different eras (such as this F-16 Falcon currently flown by the Air Force with a pair of P-51 Mustangs from WWII. There were also other military planes such as the F-18 and the F-22 (the F-22 got to make only one pass before mechanical problems forced it to cut short its display) and some great civilian pilots doing some remarkable aerobatics. There were also a number of skydivers. There was something going on every second of the show from 10am-4pm when the Blue Angels parked their six blue and gold F-18's. The best part of the day was seeing the planes in the skies.
However, a number of planes were also on display. I picked this C-2 Grayhound (used to bring cargo and people to carriers at sea) because it is a plane we civilians do not often get to see. There was a great variety of aircraft up close and in the air, some interesting pilots to talk to and learn from, and lots of things both aviation related and not to entertain everyone. Speaking of everyone, it was a massive crowd on hand at the air show, and in fact it may have been a record for this event. The NAS Oceana Air Show was one of the best air shows I have ever attended, and that is saying a lot, as I have been to a great many air shows.
I have posted many more photos on my Photo Page, which you can see via the link to it on my page here. This was (after a year and a half in Richmond) my first visit to the Virginia Beach/Hampton area, but will certainly not be my last. Getting out of the show due to the crowd took a lot of time, but I spent it checking out the air park on the base. I doubt that can be accessed at any other time due to normal security levels at the base, but I might be mistaken. I do know that the camera got quite a workout during the event, and the grin on my face was day long!