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Miramar - Top Gun, top show

Dave Jones looks back at last autumn's airshow held on 18 October 2003

Landing at LAX courtesy of a packed Delta Airlines 'blue bag special' 757 from Cincinnati just after 1400 EST on the Friday, this was our first time in California and we were intent on enjoying it to the full.

After clearing security and getting our hire car (okay, a van) we headed off to San Diego for our first stop at a hotel just outside of the City in 'Hotel Circle'. Food and drink were consumed and batteries were charged ready for the day ahead. This was to be my first airshow using all-digital technology so I wasn't taking any chances.

Saturday morning - it's warm and bright as we set off at 0900 to visit the 'Top Gun' haven that is Miramar. Unfortunately yours truly missed the turnpike for the I15 and spent twenty minutes searching for somewhere to u-turn and get back to where I needed to go. Thoughts of Fairford and the last Mildenhall traffic congestion ran through my mind while I drove in a mild panic. This was, after all, a FREE open house with lots of promised features, and let's be honest, if you're in the Californian 'neighbourhood', it would be silly to miss it.

Well, imagine my pleasure and surprise when suddenly, and I mean suddenly, we were passing through the security gate and parking up. No fuss, no queues, just straight in!! Decamping the vehicle we queued up for about ten minutes for the free bus transfer to the edge of the show. Quick security check and we're in, and it's great. No words can describe the sights ahead of me when I notice a line up of assorted F-18s and Aggressor F-5/T-38s in the static.

Where to start? That's easy, how about the F-117 sticking its head out of the hangar on display? It looks good and has mission marks - wonderful. Not so were the guards, who were busy not allowing anyone to take pics of the rear end of the beast despite being able to see it!! Paranoia? Not sure, but I did notice a couple of bumps that I hadn't seen before.

Okay - now to brave the Southern Californian heat. Miramar isn't particularly photographer friendly, with a lot of shots being taken into, or slightly into, the sun. This, coupled with no crowd barriers at all, meant to get any type of reasonable shot you had to be patient - really patient.

The list of participating aircraft was pretty good with even a RAF Tornado and Jaguar over for the weekend from a China Lake exercise. The Holloman F-4 and two Tomcats were nice, as were the Buckeyes and Sabreliner. Once pics were taken of the static it was time to buy the ubiquitous tee-shirt and hat and settle back with lots of FREE (yes that's free) water and take in the show.

As seems to be the case with the USA shows, this was a leisurely event with lots of prolonged gaps between items. Starting the jet participation was a display by a F-117, to the rambunctious vocalism of the commentator above the patriotic music. Consisting of a couple of flybys, it departed for a couple of hours only to return for another 'display', and a 'race' against a jet car along the runway. Then the B-1B - plenty of burner and usual slow speed pass and swept high speed with an inverted but non- rolling pull-up and round for the finals to land.

Unfortunately the much promised F-14 demo (had been advertised as a definite display for twelve months on the Miramar website) was cancelled before the show, so we then had not one but three AV-8B solo displays throughout the afternoon, presumably as fillers.

Along came two KC-130 tankers utilising their drogues and actually having aircraft 'plugged in' - the first one having two CH-53s and the second having an AV-8B and F/A-18 'plugged in' with one each outboard waiting their turn.

After the usual barnstormers and aerobatic displays, the main Miramar event hove to over the horizon. This consisted of a simulated airfield attack, utilising plenty of pyrotechnics and smoke, and consisting of three F/A-18s as top cover, three AV-8Bs as airfield attack, two Cobras as airfield suppression, C-130 and CH-47s for troops, and CH-53s for whatever else I've missed, apart from two Medivac helos too!! All very impressive and well executed, again with great patriotic commentary. Finally all performed a formation flyby and landing.

To close the daylight airshow (yes, daylight), were the F-18s of the Blue Angels, unfortunately down to just five aircraft due to a pilot either ill or suffering a family bereavement (I couldn't hear which). However, as a first time viewer of this display team I must admit I was impressed. Do they really fly eighteen inches apart? Simply incredible. The single-ship high-speed flyby from behind the crowd with the vapour 'halo' around the fuselage most impressive, and I regret not being ready for it.

A break followed for about an hour and a half before the evening airshow. This is a feature of Miramar and although quite tedious in places (but only if you do not like fifteen minutes of glider and flare aerobatics), there were some tasty 'displays'. The B-1B took off in full burner for a couple of full burner flybys in the dark, very nice blue candles lighting up the sky on each pass.

A Viking then released a full compliment of flares along the runway in about five seconds, and flew home - a shame we didn't have a daylight display from it. The C-130 'Fat Albert' from the Blue Angels performed a Jato take-off and this was extremely good in the dark, more so than the excellent day display from it. Pretty much the last air display of note was the naval C-130 flying towards crowd centre at about 1,500 feet and letting go all its flares in a few seconds, creating daylight around the aircraft and that famous feature 'Angels Wings'.

All to soon and it was over, my first US airshow. Would I have queued up for the static alone in the UK? You're darn right, it's free and fun, laid back and relaxed. I can only suggest you visit and enjoy, you will never forget Miramar, even if you don't see Tom Cruise racing along the side of the runway shaking his fist at Tomcats!!

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