(Continued from the previous page)

KC-135 REFUELING TANKER

We both went into this large plane:

 

 

There was no line to get in when we got there; the interior is large enough to accommodate a crowd.

Jim (in red jacket) went down some steep steps to investigate the fuel tanks.

I stood in line for about five minutes to see the cockpit,
which was full of knobs and dials.

I stood by one of the large engines for perspective on its size.

Note that the engine "flanges" are numbered for maintenance/repair purposes.

TC-135S TRANSPORT PLANE

This plane is used to transport troops:

 

 

That one's pretty small compared to the next puppy . . .

C-5A TRANSPORT/CARGO PLANE

One of the more interesting planes to us was the humongous C5A, a transport/cargo behemoth. I had trouble standing far enough back to get the whole thing in my viewfinder:

It looks funny with its nose up and cargo bay open:

That was the easiest aircraft to tour because it was so big; there was a continuous flow of people in one end and out the other, with no line unless you wanted to go up on the flight deck.

 

 

View out the tail end

I was happy to just traipse through the cargo hold twice (alone the first time, then to show it to Jim).

Neither of us stood in the long line to see the cockpit; I imagine it was pretty impressive, too:

Can't wait to see that baby take off!

It's so huge, I can't imagine it getting airborne. The flight crew says they aren't leaving until Monday afternoon, so we'll have to hang around the base that day to see it go. I'm sure we'll hear the engine revving up from the campground.

SOME OTHER AIRCRAFT

I didn't take photos of all the dozens of aircraft on the ground, nor am I including all the photos of the ones I did take. Here are a few more planes that were on display:

T-1A Jayhawk

F-14

A nimble little plane dwarfed by the large TC-135

Some sort of plane used by the Coast Guard

There were also other displays (missiles, bombs, a drone, etc.) and activities going on like military working dog demos, a remote-controlled airplane demo, a rocket shoot, and a B-1B Lancer weapons load demo. We were too busy looking at aircraft to see any of those demonstrations.

Next page: scenes from the show in the air

Happy trails,

Sue
"Runtrails & Company" - Sue Norwood, Jim O'Neil, and Cody the Ultra Lab

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© 2011 Sue Norwood and Jim O'Neil